AOC Staffer Says Gov't Health Care Will Deny Seniors, Then Realizes He's Totally Wrong
Wide-eyed newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be the youngest person in Congress right now, but that youth has predictably come at a cost: inexperience.
The New York leftist has already become known for her rambling, incoherent answers to basic questions like “how will you pay for this.” But it seems her staff members on Capitol Hill are just as incompetent, at least if two examples from this month are any indication.
First, Ocasio-Cortez and her team earned mockery from both sides of the political aisle after a half-baked “Green New Deal” was released to the public. That plan — essentially socialism wrapped in environmentalism — was laughed at by ranking Democrats including Nancy Pelosi, the current speaker of the House.
Then, in what can only be described as a public relations blunder, Ocasio-Cortez’s staff posted a poorly-written “FAQ” page to her official website which reduced her “Green New Deal” to a bad punchline. The document included phrases like “farting cows” and appeared to be thrown together by middle schoolers, not serious congressional advisers.
Now, the Democratic socialist’s staff members have once again shown that they’re not ready for the national stage.
One of Ocasio-Cortez’s policy advisers posted a shocking admission about the left’s socialized health care proposals, then seemed to panic and delete it after it got noticed.
On his verified Twitter account, Dan Riffle, who works with the young congresswoman in Washington, essentially admitted that medical procedures would need to be rationed and limited if a liberal universal health care plan were passed.
Hardest hit? Senior citizens who need joint replacements.
“Private rooms, 5th Avenue offices, hip replacements for octogenarians the public plan will no longer cover them,” he wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “For the public plan to work, it can’t pay for literally everything.”
So much for the “universal” part of “universal health care.” If you’re an 80-year-old grandmother who needs a hip replacement, good luck! You’re just too over the hill to be covered by oh-so-caring socialized medicine.
Most likely realizing that he had just caused a public relations nightmare, the Ocasio-Cortez staffer then removed that post and back-tracked in a bizarre follow-up message.
“I take it back. We’ll do the hip replacements,” Riffle said, apparently just making things up on the spot. “Many reconstructive surgeries are medically ill-advised for folks past a certain age b/c recovery is too difficult, but apparently that’s not the case with this particular one.”
He then deleted that post as well, but outlets noticed it before it was thrown into the Orwellian memory hole.
Think about his messages for a moment. What this top Ocasio-Cortez staff member just admitted is that the warnings from conservatives about socialized medicine aren’t over the top, but are right on target.
In order for their socialist-style plans to even remotely work, faceless government bureaucrats must decide which medical procedures a person is allowed to receive.
And if a bean counter from Big Brother decides you don’t really need your hips to work or your heart problem repaired? You’re out of luck.
There are two big takeaways here. The most obvious is just how appallingly inept Ocasio-Cortez and her staff seem to be. It’s almost as if she has no political or management experience, and is just throwing anything at the wall to see what sticks.
But the second takeaway is much more eye-opening. When the far left is actually being honest, even they are forced to admit that their policies are far less inclusive than they pretend.
Real people will be hurt by their amateurish dabbling with socialism — and it could soon be you, your parents or your grandparents who are stuck in the bureaucratic hell of socialized medicine if liberals get their way.
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