Report: AOC Indicates McConnell Was Dodging Her, Doesn't Mention She Went to Wrong Office Looking for Him
Democrats are willing to do whatever it takes to end the government shutdown. Anything other than pass funding for the border wall, that is. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez showed this by spending Wednesday afternoon trying to make a statement to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Ocasio-Cortez decided to wander around Capitol Hill with her band of fellow freshmen Democrats, seemingly lost, while accusing McConnell of running away from her.
According to The Hill, Ocasio-Cortez and other Democratic freshmen wanted to hand McConnell a letter urging the reopening of the government. Ocasio-Cortez led the group to McConnell’s personal office in the Russell Senate Office Building, only to discover he doesn’t actually work there.
But of course, Ocasio-Cortez conveniently left that information out when she later accused McConnell of running from them.
Next, they went to the Republican’s Capitol office, where they were met by McConnell’s deputy chief of staff, Don Stewart, who promised to deliver the letter to McConnell.
“I said I’m happy to give it to the leader, as I do with every single letter that comes into this office,” Stewart said.
A spokesman for McConnell told the Wall Street Journal that said Ocasio-Cortez “did not speak during the brief interaction with our staff.”
The freshmen Democrats reportedly accepted coffee and candy from McConnell’s staff before leaving.
But simply delivering the letter to McConnell’s staff apparently wasn’t dramatic enough for Ocasio-Cortez. She then told reporters that McConnell “seems to be running away from us.”
“He seems to be running away from us,” – @AOC, as she heads to the Republican cloakroom on the Senate floor looking for Mitch McConnell
— Josh Jamerson (@joshjame) January 16, 2019
“Where’s Mitch is my question,” says @AOC w other freshmen House members delivering a letter to @senatemajldr asking for a vote on House spending bills pic.twitter.com/ZHAmPGjntS
— lesley clark (@lesleyclark) January 16, 2019
The group then decided they would bring the same letter to the Senate GOP cloakroom and McConnell’s personal office.
However, they encountered two problems: They didn’t have any copies of the letter, and they didn’t know where the GOP cloakroom was.
Thankfully McConnell’s staff offered to help. According to the Wall Street Journal, a staffer reportedly gave the group directions while members of McConnell’s office offered to copy the letter.
“They didn’t make a copy of their letter so we’re making a copy for them,” Stewart told reporters.
The freshmen Democrats then continued on their adventure, this time headed to the Senate chamber. Their dramatic entrance was reportedly delayed by some confusion over finding the correct entrance to the Senate Republican cloakroom.
Ocasio-Cortez was also delayed because she tried to enter the chamber wearing a political button. These are prohibited from being displayed on the Senate floor and she had to remove it before entering.
The group then waited for a while on the benches in the back of the chamber. Deciding they didn’t want to wait around, the Democrats soon decided to split up and a smaller group made their way to McConnell’s personal office.
They still couldn’t find him — which isn’t too surprising, considering they hadn’t coordinated their plans with anyone at McConnell’s office before arriving.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the group “appeared lost in the Senate basement” on their way back to the Capitol. A staffer offered to guide the Democrats to the House.
Ocasio-Cortez later took to Twitter and Instagram to convey her frustration over the lawmaker “hiding” from them.
“He’s running away from us – so we’re leaving our letter everywhere he’ll be,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Instagram. “Where’s Mitch? … You can run but you can’t hide!”
“800,000 workers are missing their paychecks and we’re pushing to get them paid ASAP. We’re here doing our job – the House has voted to reopen government whole or in part several times – so why can’t we find GOP Senators to ask them do theirs? #WheresMitch,” she wrote on Twitter accompanied by a photo of her and her fellow freshman Democrats peeking out of an elevator looking confused.
800,000 workers are missing their paychecks and we’re pushing to get them paid ASAP.
We’re here doing our job – the House has voted to reopen government whole or in part several times – so why can’t we find GOP Senators to ask them do theirs? #WheresMitch pic.twitter.com/FogCPg6ayZ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 16, 2019
This sounds like the group of people who are going to end the shutdown, right? I don’t know what’s better: their valiant attempts to create drama, or their skilled planning and execution.
Either way, the reality is that these are the fresh faces of the Democratic Party. Ocasio-Cortez and her friends attempting — and barely succeeding — to give out strongly worded letters probably doesn’t impress you much. But the fact that these are the people chosen to represent the Democratic Party? That should scare you.
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