Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, joined Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, on his Fighting Oligarchy tour Thursday, making stops in Nevada and Arizona.
Similar to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, who is hosting town halls in red districts where Republicans are hiding from their constituents, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders are rallying in swing state areas, highlighting how the GOP is actively undermining the working class.
“Fox News and the right wing will have you believe that these American values are something out of the Communist Manifesto. That we believe these things because we went to college and read them in a book somewhere… I don't believe in health care, labor, and human dignity because I'm a Marxist. I believe it because I was a waitress,” Ocasio-Cortez said in Las Vegas.
“Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security were promises that we as a people have made to each other about the kind of country we are and the kind of society we want to live in. And I don't know about you, Arizona, but I want to live in an America that guarantees health care to every person,” she said in Tempe, Arizona.
The GOP’s proposed budget cuts instruct the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion to cut from the federal government in order to pay for tax cuts for the rich. A significant portion of that money would come from Medicaid, threatening a purported 600,000 Arizonans.
Sanders kept the focus on growing wealth inequality and the paradoxes of GOP politicians pleading poverty when it comes to social safety net programs.
“We are not a poor country! There is no excuse in God's earth that people have to make a choice between food and the medicine they need to stay alive,” he said in Arizona.
“One thing I love about Arizonans is that you all have shown that if a U.S. Senator isn't fighting hard enough for you, you're not afraid to replace her.” Ocasio-Cortez said, taking a jab at former Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders, and Walz aren’t afraid to face Republican constituents who have been neglected by their own party.
You can help ensure that Daily Kos remains the paywall-free home for our shared fight for democracy and justice. Daily Kos is supported by readers like you. Can you chip in today?
