Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) hit the campaign trail with 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The two are making their way through Iowa, in hopes of garnering support in the early-voting state.
What's interesting, however, is Ocasio-Cortez seems to think combating "white supremacy" will somehow fix the "climate change crisis" she has thwarted into the forefront of American politics.
"The way that we preserve our systems is by transitioning to principles of universality. That means I want you clothed. I want you educated. I want you paid a living wage. No ifs, ands or buts," she told a crowd in Des Moines, Iowa. "And what that also means ... is directly, consciously combating white supremacy in the United States of America."
"I, for the life of me, cannot understand why we are panicked, about what we get so panicked about terrorist activity all over the world and we don't seem to recognize it in our own backyard," she said to cheers from the crowd.
When the Green New Deal was launched, AOC said there were "frontline communities" that legislators wanted to target.
"We talk about bringing it straight to communities that were left behind – rural communities, poor communities, Flint, the south Bronx, Baltimore," she explained. "We talk about putting these committees first."
What does fighting white supremacy have to do with combating climate change and implementing the Green New Deal? The two do not go hand-in-hand, despite what progressives like Ocasio-Cortez tell you. It is possible to stand against those who advocate for white supremacy while also taking a stand against the Green New Deal.
AOC said rural and poor communities can benefit from the Green New Deal but she seems to forget something important: rural communities rely on logging, farming, coal mining and drilling, things that people like Ocasio-Cortez want to eliminate with the Green New Deal. And she thinks these areas of flyover nation, that also happen to be predominantly white, are somehow going to love the idea of losing their jobs and their livelihood? Think again. They're against her proposal because their way of life is at stake, not because they're white.