Crowley is not required to commit de facto election fraud to further support Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Notwithstanding some excitement and national attention surrounding her primary win, and claims that it shows a fired up Democratic base, Ocasio-Cortez was nominated in a primary election in which about thirteen percent of eligible voters participated. This actually shows massive disinterest in the election rather than the action of motivated, informed Democrats. This situation allowed a committed small minority of the total eligible registered Democratic voters in the district to obtain their desired result; enabled by an overconfident incumbent who apparently neglected to campaign, and to point out the consequences of the election to the primary voters of the district, who turned out of office a potential Speaker of the House. In addition, Democrats nationwide are harmed, not assisted, by attention to Ocasio-Cortez, a candidate with extreme far left views. Crowley should consider actually campaigning on the third party line, this time explaining to the 87% of the Democrats who did not vote in the primary as well as to the general electorate in the District why the District is better served by continuing him in office, given his massive seniority and experience, tenable Democratic positions, and record of competency in office, rather than the District electing a first year representative separated from much of the Democratic party by her extreme positions.
3
She's going to win the seat easily, regardless of who is on what ballot. So what's the point?
She beat him very soundly--now she wants to crush him?
I'd still vote for her if I was in that district. But I think maybe the unexpected success has gone to her head. Hopefully she'll get a grip. Politics is never about getting your way 100% of the time. That's Trumpism.
2
For someone who ran an overtly ageist campaign, this is a reminder why we should not elect children to government. Regardless of her age, MS. OC is behaving like a petulant child.
11
Dear AOC. Politics is a snake pit. Do you know what that is? It’s a place where people die if they can’t find a way to live. Campaigns are a knife fight. Do you know what that is? It’s a one on one where someone either dies or is grievously wounded. Hillary lost hers, because she didn’t know she was in one. Twitter is what tweety bird in the cartoons does, or the pitiful excuse for a president we have does. Stand up, be strong, respect what your opponent has done, because Joe Crowley is a giant in Democratic politics, and hope that in your first term you can do anything close to what he has done for his people in the 14th district of New York. Stop the stupid adolescent whining, and get the voters to support you. Get off Twitter, and play the ground game. Oh, and if you don’t deliver like Joe did, we will vote for him as a challenger to you in 2 years. We do want you to succeed. This is your time. Use it wisely. Cut out “petty” from your consciousness.
7
Boy, it certainly didn't take the "stand together", "unite or lose" party to turn on a candidate and disavow possible entrenched establishment machinations. Love how they all tell her to toughen up and that politics is a rough 'n dirty game, as they, to this day, complain of an upstart ruining their coronation.
Maybe we could all withhold fire till more info arises.!? OR is this just an easy "got 'cha!" against someone you dislike?!
For the establishment, Democratic Party commentators...jeez guys...really?! C'mon.
Reminds me of the great tune by the O'Jay's
Back Stabbers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5OpeUts7sA
4
Politics is a tough business, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Especially Democrat politics, where you have to pander to every special interest group under the sun. Get used to it, if you decide to stay with your chosen profession.
4
Aaah, millenials. Does this one already think she’s got it? My, how important she thinks she is.
6
There are too many old politicians in the government. Please give younger people a chance to step in and take over. You cannot rule until you die in office.
4
NYC Democrats are liberal, but most are not Socialists. The party leaders know this and they will squash her as she should be squashed. She does not speak for the majority of Democrats.
3
This is not just Crowley it is the Democratic party hoping to pull out a victory. He is being told not vacate the Working party's nomination by leadership in the house. These are the same bozos who brought us Hiliary and rigged candidate who could not beat Donald Trump. Should the Democrats loss this seat it will be fault of the National Democrats and its leadership. They should immediately step in have Representative Crowley vacate the nomination. Crowley is running as long as he stays on the ballot. He is being encouraged too by Democratic leadership, the only thing missing will be an Endorsement by the NYT.
Chuck From Ohio.
6
If you are over 40, just get out of the way.
1
Will Mr Crowley concede defeat and move on with his life, or just try to get back in Office, one way or another?
The November elections can't get here soon enough.
4
Hunting season has begun with Dems shooting themselves in the foot. Who would have expected that? **sigh***
3
Democratic SOCIALISM ... starts with nice a speech about universal welfare wonderland and ends up like Venezuela. Welfare can’t be a lifestyle. I’m wondering what FDR and JFK would think about this.
Stop pushing the party to the extreme left!
Joseph Crowley don’t give up! You should run. Who cares what the other candidate think or wants. People pick politicians not politicians pick politicians! Remember Trump won the election because he ran like a bulldozer and not as a nice guy.
On July 4th I decided to become a Republican. Maybe other moderate Democrats should do the same. Maybe there we can bring some progressive ideas.
1
I'm from her district. I can no longer support her. I will vote against her in the general, and in future elections.
This saddens me because I favor her positions.
However, Crowley has every right to be on the ballot due to the Working Families Party endorsement. Ms. Ocasio should respect that. Instead she is outraged.
Ms. Ocasio, has shown herself to be just another hateful, petty, lying, self-important politician who would trample the rights of the opposition. She is not interested in democracy, or the rights of the opposition.
7
What good does the Working Families Party do? They do not consistently endorse progressive candidates. Andrew Cuomo got there nod in 2014, although he had just shut down a corruption investigation (because it got a little too close for comfort).
I really don't see any service they offer, except perhaps to the Republicans by splitting the votes of Democratic voters.
It is better to push the Democratic Party forward from WITHIN the party. If WFP turned itself into an organization that helped progressives run in the Democratic Primary - as opposed to a separate line on the ballot - they would really be doing all of us a much needed service.
2
Problem for the Dem establishment is, she won't play ball, he's got the money connections and only 10% voted in the primary. I agree with you re the Lieberman comparison; this guy isn't going away.
4
If she can’t win despite the enormous Democratic Party registration advantage, she has no future in politics. Crowley isn’t campaigning, he’s just a name far down on the ballot. I’ve voted the Working Families Party line several times in the past, but the Democratic and Republican Party lines appear first before the third parties. Most people bubble in one of those two circles and head straight to the scanner. They often forget to turn the ballot over and vote on the occasional ballot measure and state constitutional amendment.
5
If he's not running then why not come.out and say so? He needs to wait until he's called out?
I have a feeling the blue wave may end up a grey nod.
8
Politics would become a lot more substantive if politicians would stay away from Twitter.
9
What this episode points out clearly, what we as a society have become incapable of changing, is the fact that politicians as typified by our congress people are primarily concerned with their individual personal power and influence. Crowley has shown, is showing his true self-interest politics now that he has been given a wake up call. Someone like Cortez had magnetized voters because she represents an approach that puts people first above partisan self-interests.
7
Ms. O-C ought to have done her homework. If she believes she is suited to legislate she should have made the effort to understand the system. Talk about a sore winner.
21
If the Democratic Party can't convince Crowley that his time is over and to line up behind Ocasio-Cortez, then the party doesn't deserve to hold power. I have issues with Republicans but they have managed to provide a space for new faces and in the process have won statehouses, governorships and control of Congress and soon, the Supreme Court. All this while the Democratic party and its leadership grow more ossified. Crowley lost because he had stopped campaigning simply assuming the position was his. Surprise -- voters thought otherwise. Do the Dems really want to send a message which says, you can run but we might not support you when you win?
13
As the article states by a quirk of election law Crowley can’t remove his name from the ballot, but since he doesn’t intend to run, no biggie.
17
Actually, given that she won with her youthful inexperience, it seems the old guard clearly don't get how modern politics works.
The POTUS is setting policy via Twitter.
That Crowley is embarrassed to be called out to Ocasio's newly-minted audience of 700k and growing enthusiastic voting citizens (compared to his 4k followers) only proves just how effective it is as a platform for speaking to voters.
The only ones being played are the oldsters not with the program. Just ask Crowley.
6
Less than 16K voters voted for her. She is not the Second Coming, although the Cult of St. Bernard sure seems to think so.
5
Having a real third party would be great news for those who cringe at the two party system and increasingly extreme positions from both parties.
8
Having a third party would only benefit Donald Trump and the R Party. This midterm race for the House and Senate needs everyone’s support. Write-ins or staying-at-home is not an option if you want to defeat the people who brought us the separation of children from their parents.
3
Some wise old pol needs to sit her down - if she'll listen - and tell her how she can actually lose in the general election even if Crowley doesn't lift a finger.
Less than 7% turnout in the primary, likely because Crowley supporters figured he was a shoo-in. What if Crowley's voters surge to the polls on Election Day?
She could be the shortest-lived flash in the pan in Democratic Party history.
31
Not all people.
I am an independent who registered as a Democrat in my state the morning after the Bronx primary so I could support moderate, establishment Democrats in their primary battles.
I despise Trump. But I definitely don't want to get stuck with self righteous 28 year old socialists as the only other choice either.
5
This is the problem with electing 28 year olds. They tend to still think things are personal because they don't yet fully understand the system and the many factors that go into decision-making. They also still make a lot of mistakes in communication. No need for a public twitter accusation in this case.
48
This unfortunate exchange shows the lack of strategy in the Democratic platform. The DNC didn't want Ms. Ocasio-Cortez to win. Most news outlets barely covered her campaign. Like Bernie Sanders they now don't know how to embrace her popularity and win. They've let the GOP paint her with their wide "commie socialist" brush and if Crowley's 3rd Party challenge is true it makes the Democrats look weaker at the midterms. The country is craving a more modern leadership that gets results. We're in the middle of one of the best jobs recovery in this country's history. There's a shortage of labor and yet we are turning people away all along the southern border of the United States. We raiding corporations that have been using these workers for years instead of creating a more efficient way to make them citizens. Americans want a health care system that works for everyone, some form of reasonable gun control, and is it to much to ask to elect leadership that has at least a fraction of diplomatic moxie, to operate as an adult on the world stage. It's time for Democrats to embrace change. Embrace changes in definition and name. It's time to move forward and shed some of the entrenched ideas that are holding down progress in this country.
11
The correct question is: should Crowley win as a 3d party candidate, will he concede the win to the Ocasio-Cortez? This assumes that Pappas (R) will not win in a district which has 322,152 registered Democrats against 33,912 Republicans (a/o 2016). I’d cite ethnic percentages but four different sources gave wildly different numbers. Ballotpedia, the 2010 Census, Wikipedia and Statisticalatlas.coms’ numbers vary so much that I wonder how anyone gets accurate numbers.
Anyway, ask Crowley what he’d do if he won and ask it now.
4
If Mr. Crowley should win on the WFP line in November, why should he “turn it down” (if that’s even possible)? Will of the people and all that.
4
If I remember correctly in 1980 Senator Jacob Javits remained on the ballot on the liberal line after Al D'Amato defeated him in the primary.
Javits split the small l liberal vote and helped elect D'Amato.
9
That hardly resembles a heated exchange in this era.
4
Mark these words: This sidelining of the people's favorites (as we saw from the DNC e-mails and the NYT's dismissal of Bernie Sanders's supporters) will backfire. Please don't make this type of mistake again. Crowley should not be on the ballot. Will the Democratic establishment ever realize that many people do not want corporate-sponsored candidates, but rather something different?
25
please read the article
3
The Democratic Party has drifted so far to the Left, they’re beginning to look just like the totalitarians they claim to despise. Not a pretty picture.
19
I’m a 42-year-old white, professional married woman with a family, and I voted for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. I’m also definitely not a Bernie socialist, though I do consider myself a progressive and believe this particular candidate’s ideas have a place in our current political discourse.
I also believe she is correct to raise the red flag, and loudly.
She was chosen fairly in a primary. Crowley lost, and should concede. Arcane election laws aside, he has no place in this election and as a leader of his party, should take one for the team.
But we all know about this particular team. We all know that the Bronx Democratic machine met recently in my neighborhood to discuss this “disaster”. And women my age have long heard Mr. Crowley’s particular brand of condescension. “Now, now, Alexandria, settle down. You’re overreacting.”
She’s not overreacting. I hope she uses all the tools at her disposal—social media, whatever—-to highlight these problems.
And as a voter who has voted in every election of my adult life without ever having voted for a Republican, if I end up with a Republican rep, I’ll only have you to blame, Mr. Crowley.
35
As it says in the article, Crowley conceded on election night and he has no intention of running for his former seat.
5
She slammed him during the primary and ran as an outsider. Embracing support from Crowley doesn’t exactly fit with her political messaging. And he has no obligation to help her win an overwhelmingly Democratic district. Crowley isn’t campaigning anymore. This should be easy. If she can’t win the general election, that’s solely her fault.
3
You’d think? lol This is blatantly obvious, and has stated repeatedly
That he’s not running. His name is still on the ballot only because it cannot be removed. But, even if he decides to run, then tough luck! Nobody said it was easy, she needs to stop complaining and start making allies and planning a race.
I also don’t think it serves her well by calling out fellow Democrats in public. She’d be wise to win first before continuing this fight. Friends are needed in DC, she should make some first.
Or, maybe Crowley can do what Bernie did for Hillary. Give a Luke warm endorsement, tell the media Alexandria is really just the best of two bad options. Decline to campaign, fundraise, or even give Hillary highly useful voter information. Bernie was no team player, and if this young lady wants supportive teammates, she’ll have to start learning.......fast! Friends matter.
Bernie better start learning this as well. Stop attacking your own ranks and you might actually win some higher races.
3
I predicted Crowley would somehow remain on the ballot either as a write-in or another way. He has too much at stake here. Ms O-C sounds whiny and should realize that politics is a rough game and no one is going to be play nice. She can still win the general election but it won't be easy.
11
My first comment was about the reporter neglecting to research election law to tell us what legal way Crowley's name could be pulled off of the ballot - other than changing residency, dying or falsely putting his name in for dogcatcher.
The flip side of all of this - the reporter should have also included that, if Crowley's name is still on the ballot, it's clear that this election is still in play. I don't know how big the Congressional District is, but Ocasio-Cortez got 27,000 votes. Which means anyone who stayed home, assuming that Crowley was a lock, is going to turn out in droves in November and vote for Crowley. Or worse - he splits the vote and a Republican waltzes in.
What is the purpose of going through the expense of holding primaries if there's no easy legal way to be taken off of the ballot after you lose a primary? Why isn't the law fixed to remove the name after the primary loss? The loser would then be required to re-petition to be put back on the ballot if they wanted to run as a third-party inn the general election-and voters signing the new petition would have full information about the risks posed by that third-party candidacy.
14
Hubris, self-importance, and blaming a man when things don't go her way. The spirit of Hillary Clinton lives on in politics.
11
she saw how the democratic machine undermined Sanders and she is wisely calling them out in case they try to pull a fast one (again)
2
None of this matters in the slightest. Republicans must be defeated in every election. Focus. Stop infighting. And NYT, whose side are you on, Trump's or humanity's?
15
Quietly?
She won, he is supporting her, she is certainly going to Congress -- so what is her problem? That he is not digging himself a hole and pulling the dirt in over himself? She needs to remember that she will need his supporters, not just her own, come election day. No one likes a sore loser, to be sure; sore winners are even worse.
37
Nixon is doing the same thing. I'll wait for Ocasio-Cortez to attack her... I'll wait till I'm blue in the face... that is.
5
He's splitting the ticket. He should be ashamed of himself. The voters have spoken!
9
She is splitting the ticket. This did not need to go public. Bad handling of her first challenge.
23
Really, 56 is as old as dirt?
6
Though I don't share her politics, her election was a refreshing story. With regard to this issue, she is being a twit.
25
Dear Ms. Ocasio-Cortez,
Your victory inspired me. Your potential is a future leader and perhaps the voice of a generation. Your comments, however, come off as self-centered (he stood ME up), uninformed (it seems as if you do not know the law), and a bit mean. This is not a fire you need to stoke. Spend your energy in a worthwhile battle.
50
A typical Congressional district has about 720,000 constituents. About 27,000 people voted in the primary won by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.
While I would've voted for the winner if I lived in the district, I'm betting that most of my demographic - white geezers and near geezers - stayed home because they thought Crowley was a lock.
For those who think Ocasio-Cortez is a lock...think again.
17
She is completely out of her league and unqualified to serve. She should drop out of the race
15
Crowley is like Hillary, he thought that he was a shoe in, entitled, the voters said otherwise.
7
Out of all of this brouhaha, I find it most irritating that Federaro, the reporter, didn't research what the relevant election law says - instead writing a he said-she said piece that's nothing but clickbait. Since she did not do the research, I researched election law and, sure enough, the only options are for Crowley to officially change his residence to another state, have WFP fraudulently put him on the ballot for a different job (and what if, because of name recognition, he gets elected for that odds and ends dog catcher job?) or die. It seems easy for Crowley to change his residency to Virginia - but that is a serious move to make so quickly - after his kids are grown, perhaps he'd end up back here full-time and run for some office like mayor!
Two things Crowley is clearly in the wrong about: skipping debates and phone calls, and pedantically calling Ocasio-Cortez "Alexandria" - if he can't be bothered to show up for the debates or the phone calls, he clearly does not have the right to use her first name.
NYT - please step it up and do the research.
16
The Cinderella girl has reached the midnight hour and she's not handling it well
20
Wow! Crowley is acting like a Republican!
4
Joe - you got beat. By a girl. Get over it. Stop pretending to be a good sport and get off the ballot.
3
Crowley is a loser, in more than just a political sense.
6
They need to be certain Rep. Crowley's name is spelled correctly on the ballot: "L-O-S-E-R."
9
Joe Crowley reminds me a bit of the cuckoo, that opportunistic bird who lays its egg in another birds nest, knowing it will be hatched and the starling cared for by the cuckolded parents.
Nothing enrages me more than the holier than thous, in our one party system, and the day I find an honest to goodness political type who genuinely serves the people who trusted him, then I will give it up.
So, let's see, back in 2008, his donors had reason to be pleased with him. In 2008, Crowley pushed legislation that let the trusts resell properties faster without tax penalties, and yet he's said he's gone against the real estate trusts, including raising taxes on profits for investment managers. "I have never, ever, ever sold my vote."
If that isn't selling, then I don't know what is ...
When he was first elected to Congress, labor unions were his biggest financial backers. They've been eclipsed by financial, insurance and real estate interests, records compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics show.
By the 2008 election, half of Crowley's contributions came from those three industries.
In October, as the House wrestled with financial regulatory reform, Crowley and several other members of the New Democrat Coalition traveled to Wall Street to meet with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs executives."
https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/queens-co...
6
This just proves the new rule true:
If somebody does not respond after three phone calls, attack them on twitter for ignoring you. Do not leave a voicemail. You can email twice, but you can not comment on their instagram for a period of at least one month. You may wish to send an angry letter with no return address.
8
Maybe Ms. Ocasio-Cortez should focus her attention on the general election, and take her dispute with Mr. Crowley off-line. Right now, she's a novelty act with no track record. She has a long way to go to be known as anything more than a flash in the pan.
Twitter is for fools. Let's see some evidence of the capability for mature leadership.
19
AOC ran a deceptive ad campaign that misled voters into thinking she's a single mom who drops her child off at daycare and local public schools - like her neighbors. I looked her up - couldn't find anything about a child - but the ad definitely implied she is and relates to families. She then smeared Crowley by implying he's an outsider - because his job requires him to live in Washington with his family Of course, they don't go to local school. Low blow. Makes me think she's as unscrupulous as the "establishment" she is supposed to be better than. I like people who win by making better arguments. Not trickery.
12
If Ocasio-Cortez does not apologize to Crowley -- who has been nothing but gracious to her -- I will stop admiring her.
It is incredibly difficult to get off the Working Party line and Ocasio-Cortez should recognize her ignorance and do a little research before attacking someone who is on her side. This is nothing like the write-in candidate who only had to decline. Crowley can't just ask to be off the ballot. Unfortunately, ignorant people seem to be advising Ocasio-Cortez.
I really liked Ocasio-Cortez, but now I think she is demonstrating a very unappealing trait -- thinking she knows everything and not waiting to learn some facts before attacking her own side.
16
I find it ironic that Ocasio-Cortez is upset about a third party challenge. She is a big Bernie Sanders supporter. Ocasio-Cortez didn't complain when Sanders, an Independent, ran against Clinton. She has not been truthful about her background having grown-up in a middle class white suburb and faking working-class roots. Crowley should give her run for her money. Go for it Crowley.
11
I think AOC should be careful here. She ought to be building a national movement. Personality conflicts won't help here.
7
may be Ms. Cortez is worry that she would lose in the General.
7
Crowley is full of it. Obviously, WFP wants her as its candidate. NYS law allows WFP to change the ballot if Crowley runs for another position. He could agree, say, to run for a minor position in a rural Upstate county (most of these DON'T have residency requirements). That's how it's done in this state with complicated election laws.
Instead, he's staying on the ballot. Since nearly everyone in this district is a Democrat, he's hoping enough people recognize his name that he'll squeak in. It stinks.
7
Ms. Cortez is a danger to the Democrats. This "Bronx Girl" who received a white persons' education in Yorktown Heights is an attention grabbing fraud. She's just the kind of privileged socialist who sits in fancy cafes planning the overthrow of the upper classes. Making a case for her victory is like making a case for deBlasio's second term: yes he won 75% of the vote but only 19% of voters turned out.
The DNC had better be careful that Crowley's cronies don't vote for whomever the Republican challenger is (if there is one) just for spite, just like many people voted Trump because they despised Hillary.
11
If he won't do some bureaucratic maneuvers to be taken off the ballot it means he is hoping to sabotage her so that he can run for the office again after she's lost
3
What's with the nonsense conspiracies about the "establishment" trying to "rig" the election? She's the Democratic candidate, and Crowley has stated he's not actively running. If she can't find a way to broaden her appeal beyond running on identity and being part of the DSA, then that's her problem. Welcome to politics.
17
This is what Republicans say about Trump: he's too popular to make us concerned. It's the evangelical line: it's policies that matter. Not character.
Right wing or left, this is wrong.
1
This is what evangelicals say about Trump: policies are what matter, not character. It's what Republicans say about Trump: he's so popular they're not concerned. Wrong all the way round.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez made a mistake. She panicked. Crowley conceded 100%. She won, despite having gotten a fraction of a fraction of the vote. A few phone calls went unanswered, and she turned hostile. It's who starts the fight that matters.
Politics is war, by less violent means. When you defeat someone, you don't humiliate them, or they work against you behind the scenes. Trump humiliates, and he's left a trail of enemies, waiting and working for his downfall.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was an unknown, and this is going to be the first impression she makes on a lot of people. A sore winner.
Crowley made a public commitment not to contend. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez needs him to campaign for her. If she's capable, she'll admit wrong, learn from this, and move on.
27
My favorite part of this exchange and it’s coverage is how Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is addressed by her first name by Rep. Crowley, which is not addressed in the article. Every woman in the world has had the experience of her first name used in a professional context to implicitly undermine her position. Patronizing the next generation of candidates and voters will only hasten the ultimate reconfiguration of the Democratic Party, or its split, to a more progressive foundation. The comments here also echo an implicit lack of respect for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and her supporters. If Crowley truly wanted to unify his current constituency, he would have used the work around and not himself or had his surrogate tweet such a mansplaining series of replies.
10
First names are the worst!
3
Notice they also mentioned her age early in the story? Yet nowhere in the article does it mention that he's old as dirt.
2
Is 56 "as old as dirt"?
The writer (a woman) mentions her age because it's exceptional: Come January, God willing, she'll be the youngest person in Congress.
1
I receive a huge amount of emails from the Democratic committee and all its associated groups, eager to support one of its candidates or fight the GOP.
however I received *nothing at all* from any of those groups since Ms Ocasio-Cortez’ win. Granted it was an intra-party competition, but still it should have thrown its support behind the winner.
So regardless of whether or not a name can be taken off the ballot (and why was it there in the first place if primaries hadn’t been decided...) it wouldn’t surprise me if she felt a lack of genuine support for her candidacy.
By the way, this is why Clinton lost - the establishment continues to ignore viable, dynamic new candidates if these directly challenge their preordained winner.
13
I am not concerned since Ocasio-Cortez is so popular that she won the primary in not only her own district, but TWO districts. (one district over via a write in campaign)
The policies are what matter, and a vast majority of the electorate is hungering for true Progressive/Liberal policies championed by unwavering leaders that are not going to back down to anyone. (in particular right of center corporate blue dogs within the Democratic party)
Bring on the election. We are ready for change.
6
Wow. More evidence that Ocasio-Cortez is a nutter. Socartes, no, he can't just ask that his name be removed! He would have to pretend to be running for another office to b removed and he quite rightly declined to do that.
18
Really? They can’t just call one another on the phone? If this is the way we do things it’s no wonder things do not get done. Please pleas please please. Be better than this.
16
AOC is a great disciple of the Bernie model: be friendly to your colleagues, but never give an inch in the battle against them.
9
I hate Twitter.
55
This whole incident seriously turns me off of AOC. I didn't know that Crowley remained on the WFP line until AOC made a big deal about it and now I'm likely to vote for him on that line instead of her. We have a big enough juvenile running things in Washington surrounded by fringe values. We don't need one more.
56
In this country we go by the votes of those who show up to vote, not taking into account those who stayed home. In other words, who cares?
7
I think if she were an older man calling Crowley out it would be seen as more acceptable. But women--especially young women--will be judged differently. Unfortunately.
4
Great line of thinking. Your voting strategy seems similar to the one that got us Trump.
3
Graciousness works both ways. If this is how AOC conducts herself, she is not off to a great start.
64
AOC is very competitive, and it has served her well, overcoming finance and name-recognition obstacles. She will need the competitive "chip-on-her-shoulder attitude when she gets to Washington. The Dems will seek to get her to fall into line.
However her competitiveness can also be a detriment. Crowley cannot simply remove himself from the WFP, as the WFP has a self-serving regulation that insures that they will have a visible line on the ballot. AOC should realize that, and not spend time and energy battling with a Dem who supports her in the general election. Her focus should be on he GOP candidate only.
27
Ocasio-Cortez ran a great campaign. She took advantage of the knowledge that voters don’t come out for primaries at anywhere near the numbers that vote in the general. She knew if she could build enough name recognition and enthusiasm for her policies, she might just break through. And she did. Her campaign workers were at our door in Queens 3 times in the few weeks before the primaries. Not a sign of Crowley’s people. His campaign reminded me of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The candidate was MIA everywhere that mattered. Here’s what worries me. There are approximately 195,000 active registered Democrats in NY House District 14. Only 27,700 of them voted. She got just under 16,000 of these votes, or 57%. Only 14% of the potential voters actually voted. She was elected by 8.2% of the 195,000 potential voters. In the age of Trump, Democrats have to show up. If this is how we are selecting our representatives, with only 14% of us actually showing up to vote, no wonder Washington is broken. If Democrats show up to vote, she will win. She is the nominee of the party, and we will vote for her. Joe Crowley was a great representative, but it is her time now.
15
Your comments are GREAT arguments for opening up the primaries to all eligible voters.
It’s also problematic that, in NY, voters must be registered with the party whose primary they plan to participate in one YEAR before the primary!
NY has some of the most antiquated election laws in the US....this is voter suppression.
13
The rule is a reasonable one designed to prevent voters from one party, particularly when their party has no primary for the position, from sabotaging the other party by voting for the obviously weaker candidate in the other party's primary. However, the recent primary elections in which few voters actually participate and extreme voters elect outrageous candidates to represent a major party in general elections (see Roy Moore, in particular), in some cases causing the extreme voters of the party to send it to defeat in the general election, is cause to reconsider the rule.
Exchange seems very familiar and sadly true to the new form of lowest common denominator social interactions. Problem is O-C is much younger and will win easily in Twitter combat by means of quick snarky "Oh snap!" put downs so in vogue in recent years. So much for intelligent political debate. But bottom line, just as O-C doesnt owe him anything, Crowley certainly doesnt owe her anything either, and given how miserable the turnout was he definitely should run as 3rd party. She has no mandate, voters probably would want him in the end.
13
While I am most certainly not a citizen of the state of NY, this latest high powered political public cat-fight, and worse, between two candidates of the same party D, reminds me again, of why this country is fast devolving into the second rate nation so many of us are having to witness and live with, first hand. This kind of perpetual, self-interested infighting, as I see it, is exactly why our political capital is slowly being cast out to sea by the excruciatingly poor judgement and behavior of people who's flagrant sense of self-importance is blinding them to the job they were hired (voted on) to do in the first place.
Little wonder at all for me, why absolutely nothing ever gets accomplished anymore in the public sector- for working people. These yahoo's are much too busy creating personalized pandemonium for themselves, but more importantly for their constituents, losing forever any intended focus on helping solve real world problems. God help America.
9
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is a self-described Democratic Socialist. She belongs to and is supported by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), whose goals are unlikely to appeal to most Democrats, much less Republicans. Here are two of many DSA goals that will turn off many voters: (https://www.dsausa.org/where_we_stand#global )
1. "Economic democracy means...direct ownership and/or control of much of the economic resources of society by the great majority of wage and income earners." This is basic Marxism/Communism, wherein workers own or control the means of production; it hasn't worked elsewhere and won't appeal to US voters.
2. "Social redistribution--the shift of wealth and resources from the rich to the rest of society--will require...massive redistribution of income from corporations and the wealthy to wage earners and the poor and the public sector, in order to provide the main source of new funds for social programs, income maintenance and infrastructure rehabilitation...." This goal is neither feasible nor appealing.
I am sad to see the Democratic Party leaders so out of touch with reality that some are hailing a young socialist like Ms. O-C as the future of our party. O-C and other socialists will not likely achieve other than sporadic electoral successes, and may cost us wins in the mid-terms and 2020. Abolishing ICE and turning the means of production over to workers are suicidal platform planks for the Democratic Party.
Crowley may be the best bet.
31
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was very outspoken and clear about her political views and still she was elected by a majority of Democratic voters in the district. Perhaps you are the person "out of touch." I rather like goals 1 and 2, and would happily vote for a candidate that supporting them.
14
Ms. O-C was indeed clear about her political views, but she was elected by the very small minority of Democratic voters who turned out in the election, not, as you say, "a majority of Democratic voters in the district."
As noted in another comment about this article, "Only 14% of the potential voters actually voted. She was elected by 8.2% of the 195,000 potential voters." This is hardly evidence of overwhelming support for either Democratic Socialism or Ms. O-C.
Ms. O-C did not carry out this campaign by herself. She was aided by support and personnel from the Democratic Socialists of America and other socialist organizations.
Don't get me wrong, the Democratic Party leadership really needs to be shaken up by people like Ms. O-C, but we Democrats will lose the midterms and 2020 if our platform includes abolition of ICE, turning over the means of production to workers and other socialist pipe-dreams.
If we forget what happened with Bernie (another outspoken socialist) in 2016, we will have no one but ourselves to blame another term of Trump and his abhorrent policies.
4
"whose goals are unlikely to appeal to most Democrats."
She easily won the election. I'd suggest maybe if you lived in Queens or the Bronx, you would understand that the tired bored boogeyman politics of the 20th century are dying - and her policies and platforms gain popularity by the day, not only here in her district, but across the nation.
4
Hard to know what's really going on, but my guess is that he's lying, being pushed by big money and powerful people. That won't work for him, and it will make people bitter. He should do the right thing.
23
She's simply using this unintended outcome and the resulting headline as an opportunity to ignite enthusiasm among her donor base and voters. It's a pretty shameless and calculated move.
20
If Crowley's name is still on the ballot, Ocasio-Cortez has a legitimate beef. Gives the GOP candidate a shot of slipping in. Crowley needs to sit it out for a couple of years, find another district to run in, and try again. If he doesn't, I know my Cali representatives will get an angry call to demand that this man knock it off and get with the program that's all about removing 45 and getting this country back on track.
19
Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat. Along with the Russians, he helped put Trump in office with his dilatory support and arrogant supporters and has no business being a kingmaker or arbiter of Democratic politics. I do not support candidates he has endorsed in the constituency in which I live, and I urge other Democrats to do the same. The Republican party has suffered much from a rump party in its midst, and I hope Democrats do not go down the same ruinous path.
13
This message brought to you by the Campaign to Reelect the President and Joementum Industries.
Don't support the candidates who the primaries! It's better to lose to a Republican than win with a Democratic Socialist.
A new poll released Wednesday by YouGov showed that a majority of Democrats want candidates in 2018 to be more like the independent, democratic socialist candidate.
The pendulum is swinging from vulture capitalism to less economic inequality.
7
Apparently from the posters here the point of a primary is to preserve the status quo.
5
Kids, as I read the Tweets and commentary, it seems that to be removed from the (progressive!) WFP line, Crowley (who received their endorsement!) would have to agree to be put up as a pretext candidate for a slot somewhere else in the State. Presumably this would be in a "safe" Republican district where he wouldn't hurt a viable Democratic candidate. Of course, AOC is running in a safe Democratic district where the hypothetical result of possible WFP votes for Crowley tipping the scales in favor of the Republican candidate (whoever that is) is . . . unlikely. Such concerns seem highly overblown. Crowley, who unequivocally has endorsed AOC, doesn't want to engage in the necessary pretext to get off the WFP line. That's his bridge too far. Why? Maybe he wants to run for something other than Congress in the future. Maybe he doesn't want being a nonsense candidate for (e.g.) Clerk of Oneonta County hung around his neck as "ballot fraud". Who knows? What is clear is that certain elements of AOC's fan base, unfortunately egged on by AOC, have chosen to make AOC look like the only thing worse than a sore loser, which is a sore winner. When Crowley starts putting "Vote Crowley WFP" on telephone poles in his district we can talk. But for now, AOC and her happy warriors should just chill.
21
"Instead, he’s stood me up for all 3 scheduled concession calls."
Has he indeed called her with a concession?
I wonder if this is a gendered dynamic. She won. He knows better than to go after her directly as that would look bad, but yet he chooses to remain on the ballot. Older white guy tries to usurp the win of a young women.
29
"yet he chooses to remain on the ballot"
Did you read the article, which explains that he cannot get off the ballot unless he does something like move or die?
9
"how did Crowley's name end up in the Working Families Party slot"
Ana: In New York State, a candidate can run on more than one party line,, after which the votes are pooled
The Working Family Party endorses candidates who support policies that are good for working families, and apparently in the judgement of the WFP Crowley has, as a member of the Democratic leadership in Congress advanced a progressive agenda, and they endorsed him. (Perhaps Ms. O-C did not consider approaching them to ask for an endorsement, or perhaps they felt Crowley was an effective ally)
(By voting on the WFP line, rather than the Democratic line, voters in the past sent a clear message of support for a progressive agenda. However, the WFP recently lost many Democratic allies, and turned some past progressive WFP voters away from its ballot line, by endorsing Nixon over Cuomo)
3
No one owns a seat, they are elected by the people. The Democratic party needs to stop the infighting and that means all of them and go for the prize. The prize is for everyone Democrats, independents and people who think and care about America in office.
Anyone who watched the NATO meetings yesterday and today who listen to these evil career GOP politicians during these ridiculous hearings trying to destroy Peter Strzok from the FBI.
We need to be united, register to vote stop playing word, head games and go to it, the prize is November and nothing should take us off from that star. We all have a great deal of work to do and no time to waste if it has nothing to do with winning.
4
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is a self-described Democratic Socialist. She belongs to and is supported by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), whose goals are unlikely to appeal to most Democrats, much less Republicans. Here are two of many DSA goals that will turn off many voters: (https://www.dsausa.org/where_we_stand#global )
1. "Economic democracy means...direct ownership and/or control of much of the economic resources of society by the great majority of wage and income earners." This is basic Marxism/Communism, wherein workers own or control the means of production; it hasn't worked elsewhere, and is not likely to appeal to US voters.
2. "Social redistribution--the shift of wealth and resources from the rich to the rest of society--will require...massive redistribution of income from corporations and the wealthy to wage earners and the poor and the public sector, in order to provide the main source of new funds for social programs, income maintenance and infrastructure rehabilitation...." This goal is neither feasible nor appealing.
I am sad to see the Democratic Party leaders so out of touch with reality that some are hailing a young socialist like Ms. O-C as the future of our party.
Ocasio-Cortez and other socialists will not likely achieve other than sporadic electoral successes, and may cost us wins in the mid-terms and 2020. Abolishing ICE and turning the means of production over to workers are suicidal platform planks for the Democratic Party.
5
Hi Mon Ray,
The DSA has a platform that is VERY similar to the New Deal and the policies of FDR. He was a pretty popular member of the Democratic Party. Regarding the scare quotes you pulled from their website: 1). Economic democracy means bringing democracy into the workplace- perhaps having a say about whether you want your job being cut in order to pay shareholders more money. Please consider the work of Richard Wolf. https://www.democracyatwork.info/ 2) "Massive redistribution of income" is another way of saying "taxes". Wouldn't you say that the GOP's recent 2 trillion dollar tax cut to the rich is redistribution in the wrong direction?
Consider what FDR said in 1938: "We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace--business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred." http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/od2ndst.html
The crowd in Madison Square Garden cheered for minutes on end.
Any Democrat who accepts corporate campaign donations is part of the problem, part of a government unresponsive to people's needs. DSA is a real choice.
1
"The State Board of Elections shows 27,826 registered Democrats cast votes in Tuesday’s primary in New York’s 14th District. With 235,745 registered Democrats as of April, according to the BOE, this comes out to a turnout of around 11.8 percent".
The above says it all. Calling this primary a landslide is a farce.
Crowley should run as an indie if needed so we have some choices. The republican has not even registered a campaign bank account; don't even know his name.
10
Tells you who Crowley is.
And indicates that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has yet to learn how to deal with the real world. If this is how she is going to handle the rest of nonsense guaranteed to come her way in this desperate time she would better never have run.
15
Understandably, she's fuming! What was the turnout in the primary?! About 7 percent! And Crowley remains on the ballot! Her supposed views are way out in left field! This November will be more interesting than ever, for a non Presidential election.
9
Crowley doesn't even live in New York. Wasn't he living full-time in DC or VA? Maybe he should run there.
6
He lost. He should have his name removed. Period.
11
suddenly he cares about ethics.
6
Why don't politicians JUST STOP using twitter?
How does airing laundry, issues, etc., help this - or any, situation.?
6
I hope this galvanizes her supporters and creates new supporters for her.
7
Where are the calls for party loyalty? Where are the cries that this is the most important election of our lives and we must all come together? Where are the admonitions that we must vote for whatever person that the Democratic Party runs even vif their views do not fully reflect our own. Oh yeah, silly me, that’ only for us lefties. Mainstream (read tstanding leadership even
4
I'm not a member of any organized political party...
4
This has got the smell of Cuomo maneuvering. It always comes from the top.
13
Crowley is right to say he won’t play this game on twitter. Now we find out just how political mature and savvy Ocasio-Cortez is. If she is smart she will stop grandstanding and go back to shoe leather. Demographics are on her side, but only if she ditchss the tea party playbook.
9
She sounded petulant and whiny when this all boils down to a misunderstanding and poor communication. Not a good look for an aspiring congresswoman.
65
You and the 25 recommenders should ask why the use of “whiny” to describe her publicly pointing to his and his campaign’s contradictory actions and statements. Women seem to whine while men assert; I’m sure that’s just evidence of male biological superiority
1
Stop the fighting! Pull together and get some Dem wins on the board.
5
It is frightening to see so many NYT commenters—who I'd wager care about facts—buy into the "progressive" narrative that this is somehow the Democratic Party trying to "rig" the election.
Mr. Crowley has made it clear that getting off the Working Families ballot requires one of four things: 1) Death; 2) moving out of NY; 3) conviction of a felony; 4) running for an unrelated office. Though option 4 is the most feasible, he is under no obligation to pursue it—he has already made it clear that he is not running for Congress.
Perhaps Ms. Ocasio-Cortez should take her grievances to the WFP itself; perhaps she should call for reform to NY's bizarre electoral law that allows candidates to run on multiple party lines. Unfortunately, these tactics don't fire up the base, who have been led to believe that the Democrats are as much the enemy as the Republicans.
I would love for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez's policy positions to take root; unfortunately, her arrogance (e.g. bragging about having a B.A. in economics while already calling herself a House Democrat) and petulance (e.g. starting beef on Twitter with a congressman who graciously accepted defeat) make her extremely unlikeable.
If the left is to unite, the best way to go about it would be to refrain from attacking a sitting congressman who unequivocally accepted defeat and gave the newcomer his full-throated endorsement. Sadly, we're not dealing with folks whose objective is to unseat Republicans and take this country back.
57
"Mr. Crowley has made it clear that getting off the Working Families ballot requires one of four things: 1) Death; 2) moving out of NY; 3) conviction of a felony; 4) running for an unrelated office. "
That may be true, but I bet he could request to be taken off. Those other things can only likely be done without the person's approval.
4
And how is pointing to her degree and its qualification unacceptable bragging? Why is that only a point made when a woman asserts her expertise?
3
Much ado about nothing. Ocasio-Cortez should have more important things to worry about. Who cares whether Crowley's name is on a minor party line.
5
Crowley didn't ask for this. He is totally ready not to really "run." He has no choice but to remain on the ballot. But perhaps this obnoxious, over-reaching "Socialist" (who doesn't even know what the word means) deserves a mainstream Democrat opposing and exposing her naive nonsense.
15
This headline is misleading. A more appropriate headline would be “Ocasio-Cortez misunderstood NY election law".
34
Can Democrats do anything without whining?
9
Can you explain why you always post Ms. Ocasio-Cortez's age in these articles and not Crowley's age.
27
Because it's unusual and significant that she's so young. His age is middle of the road. And perhaps her youth provides some cover for her spectacular ignorance.
4
Please amend the title to "Ocasio-Cortez wrongly accuses Crowley of mounting 3rd party challenge"
There aren't two sides to this story.
24
Two words: Mitt Romney.
This article is disturbingly uninformative, and devolves into (literal) he-said/she-said reporting where the reporter does not fact-check the claims, and goes no further than reporting what Crowley and Ocasio-Cortez each claim.
Either Crowley and/or the NYWFP can, at this point in time, remove him from their ballot line, as Ocasio-Cortez claims, or they can't, for the reasons Crowley cited. This is a factual question that is not that difficult for a reporter to check. That it hasn't been checked is quite disturbing, leaving we readers with the impression that we are experiencing a cat-fight.
This is the kind of reporting for which the NYTimes has rightly been criticized for years - reporting that "opinions differ" even though one side is correct fact-wise while the other isn't. Good reporting checks fact-claims. This article didn't
74
This is the new NYT, which seems to be going for youthful and hip as opposed to the paper of record. Not only does it get stories wrong, the NYT doesn’t apologize or publicize corrections anymore.
1
It’s times like these when I’m disgusted to be a Democrat. Oh, how our party is letting us down.
2
Crowley does not live in the district anyway. So knock that out of the way. Anything he does other than getting his name removed proves he's just another weasel Democrat playing games. So run for something Crowley or forever be branded.
1
Alexandria can stop whining now, she playing an adult game. If u want to win an election, then go out there and do what it takes to win. Quit making excuses, they’ve gotten old. Nobody cares about Bernie’s slights to Hillary, saying she’s the best of two bad options wasn’t exactly a show of support.
But now you want that support for your candidate? Don’t be surprised if Crowley offers her the same sort of support Bernie gave Hillary. You reap what you sow.
It's Hillary-Bernie 2.0
1
Crowley, if you are unwilling to run for another office why don't you:
a) J walk
b) march into your local police station and confess your crime
If you are unwilling to J walk you could violate Section 10-114 of the city administrative code and host a puppet show in front of a window.
Or you could hang some laundry on clothesline without securing a permit to do so?
Or . . .
1
Oh my goodness. Come on, now, Democrats. Get your act together. We do not want another 2016 fiasco. This is a slam dunk seat. Don't blow it now.
Rep. Crowley, please just do what you need to do to get off the ballot and elect Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.
9
So if he's not running for his Congressional seat, what is his name doing on the ballot? I'm trying to figure out how this works. If he was running as a Democrat, how did Crowley's name end up in the Working Families Party slot?
If the man does not want to run for an alternative office just to help someone else save face, that's his right. It's up to the election bureaucracy to sort out this SNAFU with the ballot. They've got nearly 4 months. Surely they can figure this out.
6
Things are tricky in New York. I am curious to know if there was an Opportunity to Ballot for Working Family party ( I doubt it) or did the party simply give him a Wilson Paklula and there he is. I wonder if Crowley can go off that line by signing a certificate of declination, or just refusing to sign a certificate of acceptance. The part about running somewhere else probably does not apply. I believe that is only for judgeships, and Crowley as far as I know is not an attorney. Either way I would like to know how Crowley "must" stay on the ballot. I have received Wilson-Pakulas so yes I know what they are.
try talking
4
It used to be that a party could self-regulate and force loosing primary candidates to bow out and throw their support to the winner. These days that isn't happening for a number of reasons.
1) Each party is becoming more and more fractured.
2) Essentially there are only two parties that can produce viable candidates - the tea party had comparatively recent and small success but little staying power.
3) Candidates that are off the main stream recognize that they themselves can not run as third party candidates, see 2.
4) The electorate seems happy to elect candidates that are indeed off the main stream but unfortunately only if these candidates have the correct labeling see 2 again.
5) Especially main line democrats don't like the further left part of their party. While republicans managed to a least embrace the tea party as not democrats, it seems that the democrats may prefer republicans to the democratic socialists or social democrats or whatever the leftist side of the party is called.
Frankly, I think the party needs to get with the electorate's program or do we need more regulations to make it impossible for a candidate to have a second bite at the apple after loosing?
3
Actually, yes. let Crowley run. Primaries have exceptionally low-turnouts. Who is to say whether the voters in that district really would prefer AOC over Crowley?
If AOC's platform is so appealing she will have no problem beating Crowley in the general.
I predict that if Crowley runs AOC will emphasize her ethnicity more than anything else. She'll be exposed as a fake socialist. Contrary to what media on both the right and left tell us, identity politics are not socialist. She is more vulnerable than you might think.
24
Then, what's the point of the primary?
6
"Then, what's the point of the primary?"
To install either the party favorites or the favorites of highly motivated interest groups as the nominees. In a sense, to crush democracy.
1
So the Working Families Party decided that the best way to get change was to nominate Joe Crowley to run for Congress.
I get the political calculus... provide support to the Speaker presumptive and get paid back later. Standard back-scratching politics.
But somehow I had hoped that the Working Families Party would be less back scratchy.
8
The 28 yr old Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has a lot to learn about politics and maturity/integrity. I sure hope she doesn't turn to Twitter impulsively or too often.
74
I think she'll do fine. And there are a lot of young voters out there on Twitter.
7
She is just emulating Trump.
Clearly aspiring to higher office.
2
One supposes that if Mr. Crowley is genuinely interested in seeing a democrat win in November, he will find a way to remove his name from the ballot. Otherwise, you know what will happen. He will get half the Dem votes, she will get half the dem votes, and a Republican candidate will squeak out a win.
It's incredible how our election system punishes choices. If you have two Democrats on the ballot, and one Republican (or vice versa), the Democrats can have a huge voting numbers advantage and still lose the election.
Instead of preserving and protecting this farce of a system, it's obvious that in order to promote democracy one's vote should go to a first choice candidate. If that candidate doesn't win, the vote should go to a second choice candidate (if one was selected). Otherwise, that person's vote is wasted and *representation*, the crux of our "democracy", does not occur.
This isn't rocket science. It's a matter of modernizing a deeply flawed system that perpetuates entrenched power, and using common sense to find ways for voting citizens to be represented.
23
The Constitution gives political parties not role to paly in government. There is no reason to design elections to accommodate political parties.
9
I used political parties for convenience of example, but it isn't about parties. It's about avoiding election results that clearly do not represent the will of the people, and making absolutely sure the people ARE represented. That's in the Constitution.
The WFP has never gotten half the Dem votes.
3
The founding fathers envisioned average, everyday citizen-politicians, who would go to Washington to conduct the people’s business for a limited time. This was the noble ideal, but things don’t really work that way. What you’re seeing here is a textbook example of how entrenched interests squeeze out the little guy (or gal), regardless of party. The NY Democratic establishment would rather see a Republican fill the seat than hand it over to new blood and fresh thinking. It’s the same attitude that keeps Schumer and Pelosi in power. After decades as a Democrat, it may be time for people like me to go independent.
12
Why is his name on the ballot? Don't the ballots reflect the results of the primaries?
24
He won the WFP nomination
6
Why isn't the Democratic Party supporting Alexandra Ocalio-Cortez or telling off Mr. Crowley? If this is so, then the Democrats are doomed at the next mid-term elections!
35
She also carried the Michigan, Wyoming, Rhode Island and Montana delegations despite losing the popular vote in each state. She was also in control of the DNC during the entire primary
4
The Democratic party is only allowed to rig Democratic primaries, not general elections, although, they try through voter fraud. Just use the 2016 presidential election as your guide
6
The Democratic Party has no control over who is on the Working Family Party line (just ask Mario Cuomo and Cynthia Nixon)
By bringing attention to the WFP line, Ocasio-Cortez actually may hurt her % of the November vote by causing primary non-voters (who assumed Crowley would win the primary, or who didn't care) to realize that they have another chance to vote for him.
If she hadn't brought it up, voters would have been surprised/confused to see his name when they went to vote for O-C in November--may not have even looked over to the WFP line--- and been unlikely to vote for him
2
Perhaps a great Republican can win this seat as radicals fight over how radical they are?
16
Simplest explanation: The DNC would rather have a Republican than a Socialist. And if they lose seats in 2018, it's better fundraising for 2020. They'll probably find a way to blame Ocasio-Cortez while they're at it.
I hope she wins, though.
29
"The heart of Sanders’s program, like F.D.R.’s, is economic security: like F.D.R., he argues that “true freedom does not occur” without it. In the same way, he sees a strong government as protecting individualism from an economy that bats people around like the gods in Greek dramas. Calling this once mainstream idea socialism is a way of saying how far it feels from where we find ourselves now, how radical a step it would be to get back to it."
(New Yorker, November 20, 2015)
In my opinion, the campaign Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez ran/are running on is an attempt to implement Rossevelt's New Deal, which the Republicans have whittled at since it's inception. The results of a government that subsidizes the wealthy (ie. the recent tax cuts for the 15%) vs a government that ensures economic and social justice for all is the crossroads that we are currently at. These issues should be guiding the leadership of the Democrat party if they truly cared about the welfare of the rest of us in the 99%. Thsi is why they lost in 2016, and why they may unfortunately continue to lose.
Oh, sure. The Republican platform of old white male grievance and racism is a real winner here in NYC.
3
Crowley needs to get with the program. His former district needs a Democratic win. If he really has the good of his former constituents in mind he needs to ask the Working Families Party to take his name off the ballot. Maybe he should consider running for state office. That's likely where he is needed now.
40
Crowley has every right to remain on the ballot. Ms. Cortez won the primary. The election is a whole different thing. If the people still feel she’s the best person for the job, she’ll win. And Mr. Cowley has stated he has no intention to run, which I myself would reason that he doesn’t intend to make any effort to get posters printed and buy commercial time. If Ms. Cortez was in the opposite situation, her drive wouldn’t compel her to just give up. She’d hope for a chance. Mr. Cowley may secretly be doing the same. Hoping that by some chance he’ll pull off an unexpected victory and retain the congressional seat. At the end of the day, neither he nor Ms. Cortez have any say in the matter at all. The people have a choice on who they want to vote for, they will decide. Being upset that Mr. Crowley is an option seems a bit petty.
34
If he is not going to run, why his name is still on the ballot? For what purpose? To divide the Democratic voters? I thought primaries exist specifically to avoid such situation. Is he running as a candidate from third party?
70
So primaries don't matter? What's their point then? Why bother with all that if they don't matter?
He needs to do the right thing. All of the 'old guard' need to do the right thing and bloody well soon. You're all standing in the doorways, you're blocking up the halls. Time for a real change. A sea-change.
Get out, Crowley.
9
Why are you asking questions which are answered in the article/link? For what purpose?
This seems very similar to the Clinton/Sanders issue, except the party railroaded Sanders before the primary, and Ocasio-Cortez afterwards. Both likely result in a Republican win.
37
In some ways you are correct; Clinton won the Democratic primary by a huge margin, and so did Ocasio-Cortez. Nobody railroaded Sanders. The candidate who had been a Senator from NY took the state (and city) handily.
30
Sanders won every county in Washington State yet every superdelegate from the state voted for Clinton. Nothing rigged in the Dems, nothing at all.
1
Doctor, how did the party railroad Bernie whom I respect greatly. No one told me who to vote for. You?
3
My guess is Crowley hasn't ruled out a political comeback, and he needs to get along with O-C, who is basically the most popular person on the planet. So my guess is they work it out.
9
"...who is basically the most popular person on the planet."
Not to mention in her own mind, it appears.
10
Mr. Crowley can ask the WFP to remove his name and the WFP can do so by resolution given the recent election outcome.
It's not like landing a man on the moon.
136
Surprise, look another election that the Democratic establishment feels challenged by, that they may be trying to rig! Looks like that nothing has been learnt from 2016. For all the big talk about unity, the primary goal seems to maintain the primacy of the an insider favored by the donors, even if it risks a solid blue seat. At this point, that is what it appears like.
Many would recall a similar instance, over 10 years ago, when the then Democratic Senator from CT Joseph Lieberman was trounced in the primaries over his support for the Iraq war and George W Bush. Lieberman then ran as an independent and won the seat with republican votes. How did the Democratic party act? They pulled back support from their candidate to enable a Lieberman win (nod nod wink wink) and then accommodated Lieberman as part of their caucus. However, it appears not understood by all that a lot has changed in the past 10 years (Great Recession, Wall Street Bailouts, BLM, Bernie, Trump anyone?)
At the very least, the leadership of the the party (Perez, Pelosi, Schumer) needs to - immediately - disassociate with, and repudiate, Rep Joe Crowley. To not do so right away risks sparking a wide confrontation with the younger, progressive wing that the party may be ill prepared to sustain.
112
It's an exchange.
There is a disagreement.
Heated?
What I read of Joe's replies are respectfull and thoughtful if not a bit off-base on a confusing point not often encountered.
In fact, many would be hardpressed to imagine how a Man could respond in a more genial manner, to a Woman's public Twitter diatribe, WITHOUT being called out by @NYT's pc police.
(fwiw, @NYT editors - I've already purchased my subscription. Can we leave sensationalism for the Trump diatribes?)
85
totally! stop making issues over trivia. Ocasio-Cortez should act like a grown-up and just run her campaign.
12
What I read of Alexandria's comments were hardly a diatribe - she correctly points out that she won and her opponent won't concede defeat. His replies are respectful, thoughtful, and disingenuous. He could get himself off that ballot if he wanted but he just can't accept defeat and gracefully and bow out and sincerely support the candidate his party chose to represent them.
3
His remaining on the ballot could torpedo her candidacy and I certainly find it credible that the Democratic party would torpedo a socialist running as a Democrat, even if it means a Republican being elected. I say this because there is no way the big money men who primarily control the Democratic party could countenance a socialist, even such a capitalist friendly socialist as Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. So, even if he is not inclined to undermine her the DLC might compel him to do so.
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All the more reason for everyone who voted for her in the primary to get out and show the establishment, whether that be Dems or GOP, that they will not stand for the status quo any longer. The fat cats are done!
2
That is not a plausible scenario. The district voted 77-20 for HRC over Trump. Even if Crowley ran (which he isn't) and they split the Democratic/Left-wing vote, they would each comfortably beat a Republican.
This is a very amateurish look for Ocasio-Cortez. Crowley clearly is not running against her and sniping at him makes her look petulant and conspiratorial, rather than unifying and magnanimous. Time to grow up a bit.
10
I thought Republicans were the conspiratorial ones. Guess the Bernie wing has taken a few notes from the administration.
1
Same-side snide Twitter attacks are NOT what Dem voters are looking for. Finger-pointing is immature. How about resolving things in a smoke-filled room like real adults before you tweet back and forth in front of the children?
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Ocasio-Cortez's youth and experience have caused her to stick her foot in her mouth.
She's leapt to a conclusion - that Crowley is running against her - that's just not true.
Sometimes millennials should use their phones for the old-fashioned purpose - talking to someone - before launching Twitter and attacking.
Predictably, adults are going to be turned off by this.
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Apparently both you and the folks at the Times didn't read the story. One of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez chief concerns is that Mr. Crowley “stood me up for all 3 scheduled concession calls." It sounds as though there is some dispute about the reason for this failure to connect but not that repeated efforts were made. It is inaccurate and condescending to dismiss Ms. Ocasio-Cortez as simply a millennial who doesn't use the phone.
This adult is turned off by what appears to be a piling-on by disappointed traditional Democrats who now belittle the winner of the primary for her "youth".
1
Lets's assume she's telling the truth. After all, she has every reason in the world to have a phone conversation with Crowley's people to secure a concession and consolidation against a Republican candidate.
So, if she has tried 3 times to have that phone conversation, what other recourse is there? Sure, she could schedule a news conference, but if you're busy prepping for the election why take the time when you can use Twitter, aka, the preferred modern version of a news conference.
I'm with the underdog here. It smells of the old tired game of power not wanting to let go.
1
My thoughts, exactly.
Know your enemy. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez' enemy isn't Crowley. Move on with grace and rally the supporters from all camps.
20
The fact that Ocasio-Cortez expect Crowley to commit election fraud for absolutely no reason speaks to a level of entitlement that is truly appalling.
Crowley endorsed her strongly. He is NOT campaigning. He will NOT commit election fraud just because Ocasio-Cortez feels entitled to demand it from him.
Shame on anyone who isn't telling her that she should apologize with the same graciousness that Crowley showed her on election night.
30
I was happy for the Ocasio-Cortez win, and congrats again. I've been eager for an injection of youth in the ranks. But, as someone said in the comments, she might be showing her youthful inexperience by taking to Twitter immediately to air out sentiments. In classic NY speak:
she's playing herself.
37
Apparently, our President didn't get your memo about "taking to Twitter immediately to air out sentiments." Twitter isn't just for youth.
I voted for Alexandria, but she needs to tone down the Twitter feuding. It's too Trumpian for my taste.
We get it. You're annoyed. Pick up the phone and call him directly and demand to speak with him.
The election laws in NY are stupid, and her time would be better spent tackling that.
18
She won, he conceded, she should show respect for his years of service and schedule a joint press conference around his schedule (he still has a job). The election laws are not his fault. What is he supposed to do to get off the ballot? Run for Dog Catcher in Great Neck? Die? Get arrested? Move to Canada?
23
I'm disturbed by the ignorance and paranoia of many anti-Crowley commenters. No, he cannot remove his name from the WFP line due to a quirk in NY election law (which needs to be changed). And no, this is not some conspiracy to undermine her candidacy. Until recently she was a barrista, so she ought to know that if you serve up the wrong coffee drink (attacking Crowley for something he isn't doing --running against her), you apologize and make the right one (reaching out to Crowley for his support) and move on.
17
The barrista analogy is a stretch. She is aligned with the working class and no, she doesn't need to service Crowley.
1
I don't live in Ms. Ocasio-Cortez district, but I do have concerns with the primary system in New York State. Few people vote because elections occur at inconvenient times for mostly everyone. New York could have weekend polling, for example. Small numbers of voters can influence election outcomes because the voting pool is so small. Is that democratic? There is little consistency in access to polling. Party leaders have too much control over who is able to run, a big problem. These lapses in democracy create electoral "holes" that can easily be filled by people like Putin. I have no doubt that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez won fairly. There is little doubt that Democratic Party leadership can be out of touch with the reality of ordinary lives, but so are Republicans. Regardless, important questions remain. How easy and secure are primary votes? How secure are "special elections"? How secure are polling places in rural areas? How can a third level or fourth level party place someone's name on a ballot without actually running as a representative of that party? Dems suffered enough from the "Stein and Nader" effect in the past to ask these questions and demand answers. Elections have international implications, as noted today in London. All politics starts locally. Mr. Crowley, the most patriotic way to represent your district is to prevent a Republican victory in the fall.
11
Crowley is hoping all this media attention will fire up his "base" and they'll show up in November. With only 10% voting in the primary, it's still an open question.
Good for Ocasio-Cortez to see through his scheme and come out swinging.
17