Is there a universe in which they’re hostile enough that we’re talking about a Senate run in a couple years?

AOC: I genuinely don’t know. I don’t even know if I want to be in politics. You know, for real, in the first six months of my term, I didn’t even know if I was going to run for re-election this year.

Really? Why?

AOC: It’s the incoming. It’s the stress. It’s the violence. It’s the lack of support from your own party. It’s your own party thinking you’re the enemy. When your own colleagues talk anonymously in the press and then turn around and say you’re bad because you actually append your name to your opinion. I chose to run for re-election because I felt like I had to prove that this is real. That this movement was real. That I wasn’t a fluke. That people really want guaranteed health care and that people really want the Democratic Party to fight for them. But I’m serious when I tell people the odds of me running for higher office and the odds of me just going off trying to start a homestead somewhere — they’re probably the same.

Barack Obama omits AOC’s name while endorsing New York Democrats

By Steven Nelson August 3, 2020 | 1:42pm




Former President Barack Obama on Monday endorsed six New Yorkers running for House seats, but he did not endorse freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Obama’s “first wave” of 2020 endorsements follow the Democratic primaries, meaning they won’t influence who makes the November ballot. But the popular former president still carries sway with donors and voters. Obama released the list of candidates he supports on Twitter. It’s possible he will add additional New Yorkers closer to the election. Ocasio-Cortez, a self-declared socialist known by her initials, AOC, has been a powerful figure in Democratic races this year and has helped steer the party to the left on issues like health care and education. Obama endorsed two incumbent Democrats in New York, Reps. Antonio Delgado, who represents the Hudson Valley, and Max Rose, who represents Staten Island and southern Brooklyn.

Rose, a 33-year-old Afghanistan War veteran, clashed with the 30-year-old AOC last week over her attempt to restrict military recruitment online.

“This is incredibly insulting as it perpetuates the limousine liberal trope that soldiers are idiots who only get duped into enlisting,” Rose told The Post about the measure, which was defeated by a wide margin.

Obama also endorsed Jackie Gordon, a Jamaica-born teacher running to replace retiring Rep. Peter King (R-NY) on Long Island, and upstate candidate Dana Balter, who is running to represent Syracuse.

The former president additionally backed former school principal Jamaal Bowman, who defeated Rep. Eliot Engel in a primary challenge in the Bronx and Westchester County, and lawyer Mondaire Jones, who is running to replace the retiring Rep. Nita Lowey in a district north of New York City.

https://nypost.com/2020/08/03/obama-omits-aocs-name-while-endorsing-new-york-democrats/

AOC Insists Joe Biden Can Forgive Student Loans by Executive Order Despite Constitutional Questions
Darragh Roche 3 hrs ago

.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants President-elect Joe Biden to forgive student loans through an executive order when he takes office early next year, though there are constitutional questions around his powers to do so.

© Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) questions Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during a hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on August 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. Ocasio-Cortez has said student loan debt could be forgiven by executive order.Biden has not said he will cancel student loan debt. During the presidential campaign, his proposal was to cancel up to $10,000 of student loan debts but this would not apply to all borrowers and may not cover private loans. He is now under pressure to go further.

In two short Instagram videos on Tuesday, the New York Democrat said it was possible to relieve students of loan debt and she suggested there may not be a limit to the amount forgiven. "No, it is not a pipe dream at all," Ocasio-Cortez said in response to a question.

"And most importantly is that it can be done by executive order, which means Biden would not need [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell or the Republican Senate to forgive people's student loans."

"The key is that we need to push him," she said.

In a second video, Ocasio-Cortez addressed whether all student loans would be forgiven or just certain amounts.

"It really depends," she said. "The easiest and fastest type of loans to forgive right off the bat are federal student loans...

http://www.msn.com/en-us/...ocid=ientp

Can AOC push to have mortgage loans forgiven?? Now, we're talkin.

She needs to stop.

[Edited 11/25/20 8:46am]

Margot said:

Can AOC push to have mortgage loans forgiven?? Now, we're talkin.

She needs to stop.

[Edited 11/25/20 8:46am]

lol RIGHT!!

Can you imagine how salty one group of people will be, the ones who just paid of their student loans, then the next day student loans were forgiven/paid? lol Salty

OldFriends4Sale said:

Margot said:

Can AOC push to have mortgage loans forgiven?? Now, we're talkin.

She needs to stop.

[Edited 11/25/20 8:46am]

lol RIGHT!!

Can you imagine how salty one group of people will be, the ones who just paid of their student loans, then the next day student loans were forgiven/paid? lol Salty

LOL

AOC is responding to her constituency but not the entirety of the Dems, many of whom are very attached to their job-related private insurance. Trying to supplant private health insurance w/M-Care for all will not fly...guaranteed. Americans love private health insurance.

I'm not certain what she is referring to re: basic healthcare. Low income people qualify for Medicaid. Lower income seniors qualify for both M-Care/M-Aid which is a fairly lush benefit.

AOC strikes me as a short-term 'personality'. I can see her transitioning to Hollywood, broadcast news etc.

Margot said:

AOC is responding to her constituency but not the entirety of the Dems, many of whom are very attached to their job-related private insurance. Trying to supplant private health insurance w/M-Care for all will not fly...guaranteed. Americans love private health insurance.

I'm not certain what she is referring to re: basic healthcare. Low income people qualify for Medicaid. Lower income seniors qualify for both M-Care/M-Aid which is a fairly lush benefit.

AOC strikes me as a short-term 'personality'. I can see her transitioning to Hollywood, broadcast news etc.

.

As an Australian with knowledge and experience of the US medical system, your system leaves far too many people out, far too many people dependent on seriously poor insurance that covers little and it requires that you are employed the right way by the right generous employer and it is FAR TOO expensive. It is depressing just how badly the US system is. The British NHS has its own flaws for the opposite reason so is not much better. A hybrid system of public and private is what we have in Australia and it works better than both extremes. Job related medical insurance is responsible for far too many bankruptcies and untreated medical conditions. It contributes to widely disparate life expectancies and quality of life issues across people in the USA. It only covers 56% of the population. It creates job lock and provides much less benefit to lower income people than higher income people.

.

On AOC: Any policitian that fails to respond to their constituency because they seek to respresent only what people think a whole broadly based party should represent deserves to be removed from office at their first re-election. All parties need to be a mix of individuals, not cookie cutter clones.

IanRG said:

Margot said:

AOC is responding to her constituency but not the entirety of the Dems, many of whom are very attached to their job-related private insurance. Trying to supplant private health insurance w/M-Care for all will not fly...guaranteed. Americans love private health insurance.

I'm not certain what she is referring to re: basic healthcare. Low income people qualify for Medicaid. Lower income seniors qualify for both M-Care/M-Aid which is a fairly lush benefit.

AOC strikes me as a short-term 'personality'. I can see her transitioning to Hollywood, broadcast news etc.

.

As an Australian with knowledge and experience of the US medical system, your system leaves far too many people out, far too many people dependent on seriously poor insurance that covers little and it requires that you are employed the right way by the right generous employer and it is FAR TOO expensive. It is depressing just how badly the US system is. The British NHS has its own flaws for the opposite reason so is not much better. A hybrid system of public and private is what we have in Australia and it works better than both extremes. Job related medical insurance is responsible for far too many bankruptcies and untreated medical conditions. It contributes to widely disparate life expectancies and quality of life issues across people in the USA. It only covers 56% of the population. It creates job lock and provides much less benefit to lower income people than higher income people.

.

On AOC: Any policitian that fails to respond to their constituency because they seek to respresent only what people think a whole broadly based party should represent deserves to be removed from office at their first re-election. All parties need to be a mix of individuals, not cookie cutter clones.

What is the Australian medical system like?

IanRG said:

Margot said:

AOC is responding to her constituency but not the entirety of the Dems, many of whom are very attached to their job-related private insurance. Trying to supplant private health insurance w/M-Care for all will not fly...guaranteed. Americans love private health insurance.

I'm not certain what she is referring to re: basic healthcare. Low income people qualify for Medicaid. Lower income seniors qualify for both M-Care/M-Aid which is a fairly lush benefit.

AOC strikes me as a short-term 'personality'. I can see her transitioning to Hollywood, broadcast news etc.

.

As an Australian with knowledge and experience of the US medical system, your system leaves far too many people out, far too many people dependent on seriously poor insurance that covers little and it requires that you are employed the right way by the right generous employer and it is FAR TOO expensive. It is depressing just how badly the US system is. The British NHS has its own flaws for the opposite reason so is not much better. A hybrid system of public and private is what we have in Australia and it works better than both extremes. Job related medical insurance is responsible for far too many bankruptcies and untreated medical conditions. It contributes to widely disparate life expectancies and quality of life issues across people in the USA. It only covers 56% of the population. It creates job lock and provides much less benefit to lower income people than higher income people.

.

On AOC: Any policitian that fails to respond to their constituency because they seek to respresent only what people think a whole broadly based party should represent deserves to be removed from office at their first re-election. All parties need to be a mix of individuals, not cookie cutter clones.

I agree with some of what you say, but I am saying many Dems have private health insurance through work. There would be a revolt if that was touched because Americans with private insurance are quite spoiled. These voters would not agree to an immediate transition to 'M-Care for all'

There will likely be an incremental change around the edges.

Many of the government plans are managed by private insurance, with success, as costs were sky-rocketing. The coverage is good and there is outreach and outpatient services. The insurance co. is given a lump sum per patient and they need to provide preventive care, outreach, hospitalization etc. Many with chronic conditions are followed closely by by case mgrs such as myself.

Some patients opt out of these plans and are not well-managed, but they do have gov't insurance.

This is often a non-compliant group.

Seniors over 65 have Medicare with a supplemental privately-paid insurance which is affordable and high quality. (80-20% ratio) $225/mo.

One does have to pay a bit more for Vision. Dental is not provided.

Lower income seniors have Med-care/M-Aid and they do better.

I work as an RN Case Manager and know about this intimately as I wear both the nurse and business hats.

Many companies profit from the US medical system as well, so change will come very slowly

AOC's constituency may include a number of 'illegals' as well. Americans are ambivalent about providing coverage for this group.

[Edited 11/25/20 22:14pm]

[Edited 11/25/20 22:15pm]

OldFriends4Sale said:

IanRG said:

.

As an Australian with knowledge and experience of the US medical system, your system leaves far too many people out, far too many people dependent on seriously poor insurance that covers little and it requires that you are employed the right way by the right generous employer and it is FAR TOO expensive. It is depressing just how badly the US system is. The British NHS has its own flaws for the opposite reason so is not much better. A hybrid system of public and private is what we have in Australia and it works better than both extremes. Job related medical insurance is responsible for far too many bankruptcies and untreated medical conditions. It contributes to widely disparate life expectancies and quality of life issues across people in the USA. It only covers 56% of the population. It creates job lock and provides much less benefit to lower income people than higher income people.

.

On AOC: Any policitian that fails to respond to their constituency because they seek to respresent only what people think a whole broadly based party should represent deserves to be removed from office at their first re-election. All parties need to be a mix of individuals, not cookie cutter clones.

What is the Australian medical system like?

.

It has better access than the US - This does not mean we don't have waiting lists for elective surgery and issues with dentistry but the poor have much better general access.

.

It is more affordable than the US - Everyone is covered even New Zealanders by a reciprocal arrangement. Most taxpayers pay a 2% levy for the public side and for this much is covered with an affordable co-payment. You can choose to add to this via private insurance and you get a tax rebate on your contributions. Most common essential drugs have a low price because the supply contract is negotiated at a national level or subsidised - this does not affect access.

.

As far as research and technology it is as advanced the US. Look at Cochlear. I have clients from the US doing clinical trials in Australia for access to our system and CROs.

.

The clearest example I experienced was my second child was born severely premature (less than 25 weeks and about a pound and half or 750g - he was about he size on my hand). Under the UK NHS at the time if has was born 4 days earlier, by the rules he would not be resuscitated. Under the US system with the funding system common to most places and the mix of different insurances, it may well be that you could not find a hospital prepared to save him and if they did it would have bankrupted us. In Australia he was saved and it cost us nothing - it was covered by medicare and all ancillaries by insurance with no co payment.

It is not always well-known, but at least in my hospital, many hospital bills can be significantly reduced or forgiven. We ask patients who do not have insurance and, do not qualify for a government plan, to speak with the business office after discharge.

IanRG said:

My daughter just moved from Queens. Greek food is amazing.

My daughter just moved from Queens. Greek food is amazing.

The old Irish dig her?

Margot said:

Margot said:

technical difficulties.

Margot said:

AOC's snub of a tribute to an assassinated Nobel Peace Prize winner sure makes it seem like all Israeli leaders are too problematic for the progressive left

Ocasio-Cortez had originally been scheduled to speak at the Rabin memorial, but in late September cancelled her appearance at the event after backlash from left-wing activists, who claimed APN organizers had not informed AOC's team that the event was billed as a Rabin memorial.

According to the Jerusalem Post, APN had billed the event as a Rabin memorial on its website since August 29. An APN representative declined to comment about the group's conversations with Ocasio-Cortez's team.

Rabin was a Labor Party leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize — along with Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat — after insisting his country make painful concessions toward a two-state solution and a lasting peace. For those efforts, Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli ultra-right-winger.

If Rabin is too problematic for a progressive American lawmaker to participate in an online tribute, a quarter-century after his murder, it's hard to see how any Israeli leader would pass progressive muster.

...

AOC's snub shows progress...ss Insider

Obama Faces Intense Backlash For Comments On The “Defund The Police” Movement

© Provided by Refinery29Mandatory Credit: Photo by Lynne Sladky/AP/Shutterstock (10993087i) Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally as he campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, in Miami Election 2020 Obama, Miami, United States – 02 Nov 2020

After an interview on Snapchat, President Barack Obama is receiving blowback for criticizing calls to “defund the police,” which he referred to as “a snappy slogan.” The conversation occurred during a political show on the social media platform called Good Luck America, hosted by Peter Hamby, where Obama joined to promote his new book, A Promised Land. But when asked about making impactful change, the former president gave a confusing answer regarding a movement that seeks to end police brutality.

“You lost a big audience the minute you say it,” Obama said of demands to ...the police, “which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done.” Instead, he suggested advocates for police defunding rally the public around the idea of reforming police departments “so that everyone’s being treated fairly.”

Progressive politicians, many of whom have challenged policies championed by Obama and the Democratic establishment, were quick to respond to the former president’s criticisms. “We lose people in the hands of police. It’s not a slogan but a policy demand,” Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar explained on Twitter. “And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets us progress and safety.”

Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley also stepped in to comment on the president’s statements, saying that she will “never stop fighting” for the justice of unarmed Black people who have been killed by police...

Obama Faces Intense Backl... (msn.com)

Of course Obama is correct. I posted the same here the very first moment these bafoons strarted this "movement".

The "backlash" is by so-called "progressives" who seem more like GOP operatives or just democratic bafoons intent on making sure democrats loose elections.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Obama Faces Intense Backlash For Comments On The “Defund The Police” Movement

Britni de la Cretaz 7 hrs ago

---

Obama Faces Intense Backlash For Comments On The “Defund The Police” Movement

© Provided by Refinery29Mandatory Credit: Photo by Lynne Sladky/AP/Shutterstock (10993087i) Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally as he campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, in Miami Election 2020 Obama, Miami, United States – 02 Nov 2020

After an interview on Snapchat, President Barack Obama is receiving blowback for criticizing calls to “defund the police,” which he referred to as “a snappy slogan.” The conversation occurred during a political show on the social media platform called Good Luck America, hosted by Peter Hamby, where Obama joined to promote his new book, A Promised Land. But when asked about making impactful change, the former president gave a confusing answer regarding a movement that seeks to end police brutality.

“You lost a big audience the minute you say it,” Obama said of demands to ...the police, “which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done.” Instead, he suggested advocates for police defunding rally the public around the idea of reforming police departments “so that everyone’s being treated fairly.”

Progressive politicians, many of whom have challenged policies championed by Obama and the Democratic establishment, were quick to respond to the former president’s criticisms. “We lose people in the hands of police. It’s not a slogan but a policy demand,” Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar explained on Twitter. “And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets us progress and safety.”

Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley also stepped in to comment on the president’s statements, saying that she will “never stop fighting” for the justice of unarmed Black people who have been killed by police...

Obama Faces Intense Backl... (msn.com)

Progressives unveil 2021 agenda to pressure Biden
By Holly Otterbein 10/8/2020

.

Black Lives Matter leaders, organized labor, progressive groups and members of the House Democratic "Squad" are unveiling a 2021 agenda Thursday, laying down markers for how big a Joe Biden administration could go on coronavirus aid, economic relief and more next year.

© Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images Eight members of Congress, from left, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, are backing the program.Known as the Working Families Party's "People's Charter," the 1,000-word proposal calls for universal free health care, a jobs program employing 16 million people, retroactive hazard pay for essential employees and the reallocation of resources from policing toward education and other services. It also promotes giving the public an ownership stake in firms that receive bailouts, as well as buying out gas and oil companies, among other policies...

https://www.msn.com/en-us...EUgoFDdub4

OldFriends4Sale said:

Progressives unveil 2021 agenda to pressure Biden
By Holly Otterbein 10/8/2020

.

Black Lives Matter leaders, organized labor, progressive groups and members of the House Democratic "Squad" are unveiling a 2021 agenda Thursday, laying down markers for how big a Joe Biden administration could go on coronavirus aid, economic relief and more next year.

© Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images Eight members of Congress, from left, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, are backing the program.Known as the Working Families Party's "People's Charter," the 1,000-word proposal calls for universal free health care, a jobs program employing 16 million people, retroactive hazard pay for essential employees and the reallocation of resources from policing toward education and other services. It also promotes giving the public an ownership stake in firms that receive bailouts, as well as buying out gas and oil companies, among other policies...

https://www.msn.com/en-us...EUgoFDdub4

They should be more considerate of moderate Dems...this is a radical agenda and will harm the possibility of Mod Dems trying to find common ground with Repubicans.

Wake me up when this over...

OldFriends4Sale said:

Progressives unveil 2021 agenda to pressure Biden
By Holly Otterbein 10/8/2020

.

Black Lives Matter leaders, organized labor, progressive groups and members of the House Democratic "Squad" are unveiling a 2021 agenda Thursday, laying down markers for how big a Joe Biden administration could go on coronavirus aid, economic relief and more next year.

© Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images Eight members of Congress, from left, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, are backing the program.Known as the Working Families Party's "People's Charter," the 1,000-word proposal calls for universal free health care, a jobs program employing 16 million people, retroactive hazard pay for essential employees and the reallocation of resources from policing toward education and other services. It also promotes giving the public an ownership stake in firms that receive bailouts, as well as buying out gas and oil companies, among other policies...

https://www.msn.com/en-us...EUgoFDdub4

.

This is fantastic - a return to normalcy where elected people in a party can express an alternate view to the President without being treated the way even long term heavy weights like McCain and Romney were treated.

There are a fledgling group of Republicans who seem to be open to working with the Dems (moderate).

Let's appreciate the attempts being made by a few more receptive Republicans.

The radical Left, at this time, are an impediment to this delicate process.

Margot said:

Are you American Ian? Or do you live here?