Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Screenshot from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaign website

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. On June 26 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her bid in the Democratic Primary for the 14th US Congressional District in New York running as a democrat. A former Bernie Sanders campaign staffer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez challenged longstanding incumbent Joseph Crowley in the Democratic Primary, her district covers significant portions of the Bronx and Queens.

Ceasefire Now Resolution

From an article from The Intercept regarding the Hamas-empowering Ceasefire Now Resolution dated October 20, 2023 by Ryan Grim:

Washington, D.C. (October 16, 2023) — Today, Representatives Cori Bush (MO-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Andre Carson (IN-07), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Delia Ramirez (IL-03), alongside Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Nydia Velazquez (NY-07) announced a resolution urging the Biden Administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine, to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza, and to save as many lives as possible.

Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost, and Greg Casar joined a few days later.

Working Families Party

In 2024 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the Working Families Party endorsed candidate for U.S. House, District 14 New York.

Waleed Shahid

For six years, Waleed Shahid was the spokesperson for Justice Democrats, which is known for helping launch the Green New Deal campaign and recruiting and electing working-class progressives like US Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, and Summer Lee.

PSOL Meets with American Members of Congress

Fernanda Melchionna Facebook Post Dated August 14, 2023 (L-R) Taliria Petrone, Nydia Velazquez, Celia Xakriaba, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Samia Bomfim and Fernanda Melchionna

On August 14, 2023, Fernanda Melchionna posted an image with Nydia Velazquez, Celia Xakriaba, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Taliria Petrone on Facebook:

"Very important the support of the US congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in defending our mandates. Preliminary reports of the representations against left-wing MPs begin reading on Wednesday at the Ethics Council. Ocasio-Cortez is in Brazil with a delegation of American congressmen who today participated in a technical meeting at the Commission of the Amazon and Native Peoples. She spoke about the need to defeat the extreme right in the world, including defending feminist, left-wing and fighting mandates."

It was reported at The Nation on August 22, 2023 in an article titled "AOC and Democratic Colleagues Learn Lessons From Latin-America’s Resurgent Left" that the tour included Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. Representatives Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velazquez of New York, Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar of Texas, and Maxwell Frost of Florida, along with Senator Bernie Sanders’s chief of staff, Misty Rebik. The trip was sponsored by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Florida emergency ad hoc hearing

WASHINGTON DC — June 22, 2023, Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10) hosted an emergency ad hoc hearing to uncover the anti-democratic abuses of power happening in Florida as Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have colluded to consolidate power and enact legislation stripping Floridians of their civil rights and liberties.

Frost, who originally called for a full Oversight Committee hearing alongside Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, was joined today by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Dean of the Florida Democratic Delegation Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Katie Porter (CA-47), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), and Dan Goldman (NY-10).

Members heard directly from witnesses, including State Representative Anna Eskamani, former State Attorney Andrew Warren, and former Duval County substitute teacher Brian Covey – who all depicted a picture of state leadership hungry for power and entrenched in modern day fascism and authoritarianism.

“In Florida, the Governor and Republican legislature are banning books, threatening teachers and taking over universities, rewarding political cronies, and illegally punishing enemies. These shocking anti-democratic moves, all aimed to consolidate power, cannot go unchecked,” said Congressman Maxwell Frost. “This is modern day fascism, plain and simple. Today's emergency ad hoc hearing was about fighting back before fascism can fully take hold of our state.”

“What we see in Florida is the type of cancer that we’ve seen growing across America in terms of these anti-democratic efforts to undermine freedom while we’re standing on the side of freedom,” said Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“We know that fascism and anti-semitism are on the rise in this country, especially in Florida. And we also know that one of the chief perpetrators of hateful fascist rhetoric and policies is our governor, Ron DeSantis,” said Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz. “Fascism is the antithesis of democracy. Making sure we take every opportunity to be able to shine a spotlight on the extremism, fascism, and squelching of rights and freedoms in our state perpetrated by our governor is so critical.”

“What is happening in Florida cuts to the core of our democracy,” said Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. “Every day Floridians are exercising their right to a democracy. They have voted overwhelmingly and organized at the ballot box to institute minimum wage. And Ron DeSantis tries to preempt and overturn minimum wage. Floridians tried to come together in order to get housing costs under control. And what does Governor DeSantis and the Republican party of Florida do? Overturn it. What Governor DeSantis is doing is overriding the will of Floridians.”

“When it comes to democracy and freedom, the Sunshine State is now covered in darkness. One-party rule is destroying the right to vote and participate in government, the freedom to read, the freedom to learn about history, and the right to make decisions about your own body and your own life. Even the Disney Corporation is not safe from the autocratic dictates of the Royal Governor,” said Oversight Ranking Member Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-8). “The only silver lining to this state-level nightmare is that a new generation of freedom-fighters has emerged, none of them more passionate or focused than the youngest Member of the U.S. House, my esteemed colleague from Florida, Maxwell Frost. I am grateful to him for calling this important meeting and for our witnesses and attendees for participating in an urgent dialogue.”

Resolution condemning socialism

February 2, 2023 House Republicans moved a Resolution condemning socialism and certain dictators.

The Resolution began:

Whereas socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships;

Whereas socialism has repeatedly led to famine and mass murders, and the killing of over 100,000,000 people worldwide;

Whereas many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, and Nicolás Maduro;

Eighty six Democrats voted no. Fourteen voted "present" and six didn't vote.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez voted "Nay".

"China Initiative" letter

On January 22, 2024, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) led an effort to stop House GOP members from reinstating the China Initiative, a Trump-era program created in 2018 that purported to combat espionage but in effect targeted and profiled those of Chinese descent.

The Department of Justice ended the program in 2022, after several of the alleged espionage and national security cases ended in acquittal, dismissal or were dropped altogether. But Republicans in Congress are now attempting to restart the program using a provision in a key House spending bill—at the same time that they are reviving racially motivated rhetoric against Chinese Americans.

“Republicans are essentially pushing the Chinese Exclusion Act 2.0,” said Rep. Meng, First Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“The Trump-era China Initiative fostered bigotry and discrimination against Asian Americans, particularly those with connections to China, while doing little to actually advance national security interests,” said Senator Hirono, Executive Board Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“The Trump-era China Initiative undermined our nation’s scientific innovation and global partnerships while perpetuating the ‘forever foreigner’ stereotype and ruining the careers and lives of the innocent scholars targeted for investigations solely because of their Chinese ancestry,” said Rep. Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Other signatories included Senators Tammy Duckworth, Peter Welch, and Congressmembers Jake Auchincloss, Ami Bera, Andre Carson, Greg Casar, Kathy Castor, Jasmine Crockett, Lloyd Doggett, Adriano Espaillat, Bill Foster, Valerie Foushee, Chuy Garcia, Robert Garcia, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Pramila Jayapal, Andy Kim, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Ted Lieu, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Kevin Mullin, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sanchez, Adam Schiff, Tom Suozzi, Mark Takano, Jill Tokuda, Lauren Underwood.

No to China committee

Sixty-five Democrats in the House of Representatives voted on Tuesday January 10, 2022, against creating a committee to investigate China and find ways to counter the communist country’s growing international influence.

The House overwhelmingly voted to create the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party on a 365 to 65 margin, in one of the first votes since the Republicans took control of the chamber.

However, even though some members did not vote, all 65 lawmakers who voted against the committee’s creation were Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Okonawa connection

In early March 2023 Denny Tamaki, the recently re-elected Governor of Okinawa, traveled to DC for a weeklong trip to lobby lawmakers and officials to reduce the disproportionate burden of US military bases in Okinawa, which hosts over 70% of US military presence in Japan. The Governor met with leading US officials including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers and aides, as well as government officials, diplomats, and academics, to discuss the critical issues pertaining to the US bases and stress the need for diplomacy to ease tensions with China.

Tamaki told reporters he met with AOC for over 30 minutes to brief the Congresswoman on the local opposition against the construction of a new US base at Henoko. He explained the US and Japanese governments are ignoring the will of Okinawans through this construction, as well as noting that toxic PFAS chemical contamination of soil and water from the bases are worsening and require immediate studies by the US government. During the meeting, AOC indicated concern over these issues and expressed willingness to work together on a solution, including through potential legislation. She told the Okinawa Times that her office will review the contents of the meeting and consider what action is necessary.

During last week’s visit, Governor Tamaki also met with Senator Todd Young (R-IN) and Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI), as well as aides of Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), and the Senate Armed Services Committee. Other meetings including with State Department officials, the Japanese Ambassador, and DC think tank experts, sought to emphasize the need for constructive dialogue. A panel discussion co-hosted by the Quincy Institute, Okinawa Prefectural Government, and George Washington University, with Tamaki, professor Mike Mochizuki, and senior research fellow Michael Swaine, stressed the importance of addressing the issues with the bases and for the US to engage diplomatically in the Asia-Pacific, instead of escalating its already high military presence.

As US tensions with China continue to rise, Governor Tamaki asked lawmakers “to tell the US government to conduct diplomacy peacefully and relieve tensions to not bring war to Okinawa. With increased Japanese military spending, expanded US-Japanese joint military drills, and plans from Tokyo to station surface-to-air missiles in Okinawa, Tamaki instead brought to the US a message of diplomacy, urging dialogue over military buildup on the issue with Taiwan.

The Governor’s visit follows growing opposition to the US bases in Okinawa, including from organizations such as the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), as well as DSA state and local elected officials in the US who signed a recent letter outlining the issues and opposition to the bases.

Latin American tour

An 11-member group of lawmakers and staff plan to leave Aug. 14 2023, to meet with officials and civil society groups in the region’s three largest leftist-ruled democracies: Brazil, Chile and Colombia.

“It’s long past time for a realignment of the United States’ relationship to Latin America,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. “The U.S. needs to publicly acknowledge the harms we’ve committed through interventionist and extractive policies, and chart a new course based on trust and mutual respect.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, the top Democrat on the influential House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, is also scheduled to join the delegation.

“We have much to learn from our counterparts in these countries, including how to confront disinformation and violent threats to our democracies, how to protect our environment from capitalist pressures, and how to engage in productive truth-and-reconciliation efforts that provide true justice to citizens that have been harmed by their governments,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“The United States shares critical challenges with our friends in Latin America, but we have too often prioritized corporate interests or great power competition in our historical engagement with the region,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said in a statement ahead of the trip, which his chief of staff, Misty Rebik, is joining.

Other participants include Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida, Nydia Velazquez of New York and Greg Casar of Texas, according to the sponsorss of the trip, the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The agenda (which has not yet been made public) is expected to include meetings with Presidents Lula da Silva (Brazil), Gabriel Boric (Chile) and Gustavo Petro (Colombia) and parliamentary representatives. The legislators will also meet with civil society organizations that work “on the frontlines of ecological transitions, democratic transformations and peace negotiations in the countries,” the delegation explains in a joint statement. The trip seeks to “promote a U.S.-Latin American relationship based on mutual respect, understanding and a commitment to cooperation.”

Sing Tao connection

Democratic "Squad" member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) funneled campaign money to a Chinese-owned news corporation that is registered as a foreign agent, Fox News reported.

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign paid Sing Tao, a China-based company that consistently expresses pro-Beijing viewpoints, for advertising during the 2022 election cycle. The Democrat’s spending came after the Department of Justice ordered Sing Tao to register as a foreign agent in 2021 to regulate its influence as a company with ties to the Chinese government.

The Hong Kong-based news company publishes Chinese-language newspapers in several American cities, including New York and Los Angeles. Sing Tao claims to be independent from China but mostly publishes content purchased from the Chinese company Star Production (Shenzhen) Limited. Sing Tao has been greatly influenced by "the oversight of pro-Beijing businessman Charles Ho Tsu-Kwok," according to the Epoch Times.

While Ocasio-Cortez paid the Chinese foreign agent $1,500 for advertising, Democratic lawmakers Kevin Mullin (Calif.) and Grace Meng (N.Y.), as well as Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.), also shoveled thousands to the company during the 2022 midterm elections.

Sing Tao’s leadership has consistently expressed pro-Beijing stances, and Charles Ho Tsu-kwok, who has headed Sing Tao News Corporation Ltd for more than 20 years, has also served as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, "Beijing’s top advisory body that also oversees Chinese influence operations worldwide," the Epoch Times reported.

Green New Deal Resolution

Washington (April 19, 2023) – During Earth Week and on the four-year anniversary of the Green New Deal Resolution, Representative Summer Lee (PA-12) and Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) will reintroduce the resolution at a press conference at the Senate Swamp on THURSDAY, April 20th at 12:00 PM. Lee will also join Senator to announce new legislation focused on tackling the intersecting climate and public health crises.

The lawmakers will be joined by Green New Deal members of Congress and labor, health, climate, and justice advocates to celebrate the intersectional coalition’s achievement in getting the Inflation Reduction Act passed—the federal government’s largest-ever investment in climate and clean energy—while outlining the fight ahead to deliver a just, Green New Deal future that upholds the promise of the resolution and the movement that it inspired.

— Senator Ed Markey —Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez —Representative Ro Khanna —Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) —Representative Greg Casar (TX-35) —Representative Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) —Representative Summer Lee (PA-12) —Representative Maxwell Frost (FL-10) —Representative Delia Ramirez (IL-03) —Representative Robert Garcia (CA-42) —Representative Becca Balint (VT) —Kaniela Ing, National Director of the [Green New Deal Network]] —Sara Nelson, President of Association of Flight Attendants-CWA —Dr. Colleen Achong, SEIU Healthcare, Committee of Interns and Residents —Jacqui Patterson, Executive Director of the Chisholm Legacy Project and Climate Justice Alliance member

Representatives Chellie Pingree and Valerie Foushee also showed up. THURSDAY, April 20th at 12:00 PM, Senate Swamp, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

Progressive Change Campaign Committee

Progressive Change Campaign Committee endorsed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2022.

Effort to Stop Development Projects

Rep. Ro Khanna, Tefere Gebre of Greenpeace, Grace Tuttle of Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights and Naadiya Hutchinson, Government Affairs Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice were listed as speakers for a "Special Town Hall" dated September 15, 2022 sponsored by Our Revolution. The meeting is to discuss strategies to stop the public from using strategic litigation to shut down development prjects. Our Revolution, Greenpeace, Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) and WE ACT for Environmental Justice participated. In a mass email, Our Revolution linked to a letter signed by democrats to thwart development projects.

From the event invitation:

"Our Revolution, America’s largest grassroots progressive organization, is partnering with Greenpeace USA to stop a looming threat to our communities and our planet. together, we are hosting a Town Hall to mobilize our networks of millions of members and hundreds of local chapters to stop a deal negotiated between Senator Joe Manchin, The American Petroleum Institute (API), and Democratic leadership to fast track permitting of fossil fuel extraction projects, leading to potential catastrophic climate impacts.

Join frontline communities and our allies in Congress to learn what you can do to help us stop Manchin's Dirty Deal!

From a mass email sent by Our Revolution dated September 12, 2022:

"Our Revolution is leading the charge alongside frontline communities and environmental justice groups like Greenpeace to kill Joe Manchin’s side deal for more dirty oil favors.

"Manchin is willing to shut down the government for more fossil fuel projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline in WV and strip safeguards from impacted communities.

"Dems can’t celebrate “the biggest climate steps in history” while reversing them by caving to a literal coal baron.

"Our coalition of 650 organizations is urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to detach the deal from the must-pass bill to fund the government — we cannot let Manchin hold us hostage!

"Bernie railed against it on the Senate floor this week and says he’ll vote it down, and Our Revolution is calling for a progressive mutiny in Congress.

"A coalition of 72 US House Reps have signed onto a letter led by US Rep. Raul Grijalva - but we need more of our representatives in Congress to stand in opposition.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez signed the letter.

People's Charter endorser

The People's Charter was released by the Working Families Party shortly before the 2020 election.

Endorsers included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Sunsara Taylor with AOC

Sunsara Taylor with AOC

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, Sunsara Taylor of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights, a front group for the Revolutionary Communist Party, led a protest chant with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez which stated in part that the decision was "illegitimate".

Humanitarian Needs in Cuba letter

December 16 2021 , House Rules Committee Chair James McGovern (D-MA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY), House Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Chair Barbara Lee (D-CA), and House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy Chair Bobby Rush (D-IL) led 114 Members of Congress in a letter to President Biden asking him to prioritize the well-being of the Cuban people as they experience the worst economic and humanitarian crisis in recent history...

In the wake of this year’s protests, the members urged the administration to support the Cuban people by suspending U.S. regulations that prevent food, medicine, remittances, and other humanitarian assistance from reaching the Cuban people...

Signatories included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Defense spending cuts letter

May 19, 2020.

Dear Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Thornberry:

We write to request a reduction in defense spending during the coronavirus pandemic. As you draft this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we encourage you to authorize a level of spending below last year’s authorized level. Congress must remain focused on responding to the coronavirus pandemic and distributing needed aid domestically. In order to do so, appropriators must have access to increased levels of non-defense spending which could be constrained by any increase to defense spending.

Initiated by Mark Pocan and Barbara Lee.

Co-signatories included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez .

Muslim Left connections

"Eradicate Anti-Muslim Content On Your Platform"

December 15, 2020;

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) today urged immediate action from Facebook to eradicate anti-Muslim bigotry from the platform and demanded Mark Zuckerberg implement six measures to combat bigoted content. In a letter signed by 29 colleagues, Dingell cited instances of anti-Muslim content on Facebook and recent reports showing the role of the platform in inciting violence against the Muslim community.

“Facebook cannot celebrate the success of its platform, while ignoring its role in elevating the dangerous, deadly content targeting Muslim people,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “In Christchurch, New Zealand, a terrorist attack that stole the lives of fifty-one Muslims worshipping in their mosque was streamed live on Facebook around the world. But in the ensuing weeks and months, Facebook failed to offer a single policy intentionally designed to eradicate hateful, anti-Muslim content. Nearly two years later, it’s time for Facebook to demonstrate that this company recognizes the life and death consequences of their lack of action.”

Dingell’s letter was signed by Debbie Dingell, Rashida Tlaib, André Carson, Carolyn Maloney, Ilhan Omar, Jahana Hayes, Max Rose, Barbara Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Bobby Rush, Dan Kildee, Jared Huffman, Kathy Castor, Gwen Moore, Lauren Underwood, Jan Schakowsky, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, Grace Meng, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Darren Soto, Don Beyer, Jim McGovern, Peter Welch, Jamie Raskin, Pramila Jayapal, Yvette Clarke, Raul Grijalva, Earl Blumenauer, and Nydia Velazquez. Additionally, her letter has received the support of the following organizations: CODEPINK, Common Defense, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Networks Group, Jetpac, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, Justice for Muslims Collective, MomsRising, National Iranian American Council, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, Project South, ReThinking Foreign Policy, and National Network for Arab American Communities.

MPAC intern

In 2019 Aneeb Sheikh was a Muslim Public Affairs Council Congressional Leadership Development Program intern in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 's office.

EMGAGE PAC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was endorsed by EMGAGE PAC during her 2022 Congressional race.

Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children Act

April 2021—U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced the Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, or H.R. 2590, provides that no U.S. funds to the Israeli government may be used to support the military detention or ill-treatment of Palestinian children; the seizure, appropriation, or destruction of Palestinian property and forcible transfer of civilians in the occupied West Bank; or to facilitate further unilateral annexation of Palestinian land by the Israeli government in violation of international humanitarian law.

The bill establishes annual certification and reporting obligations on the Secretary of State to show that no U.S. funds have been used by the Israeli government to support the prohibited activities included in the legislation. The McCollum bill also requires oversight reporting detailing the Israeli government’s human rights violations against Palestinians.

Initial co-sponsors were Reps Bobby Rush, Danny Davis, Andre Carson, Marie Newman, Ilhan Omar, Mark Pocan, Raul Grijalva, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chuy Garcia .

Sponsoring organizations included Adalah Justice Project, Al-Haq, Americans for Peace Now (APN), American Friends Service Committee, American Muslims for Palestine, Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC), Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Center for Constitutional Rights, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine, Churches for Middle East Peace, Church of the Brethren – Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, CODEPINK, Defense for Children International – Palestine, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), Democratic Socialists of America BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group, The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Eyewitness Palestine, Freedom Forward, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, IfNotNow, Institute for Policy Studies – New Internationalism Project, J Street, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Justice Democrats, MADRE, Massachusetts Peace Action, Middle East Children’s Alliance, MPower Action Fund, National Council of Churches USA, New Generation for Palestine, NGP Action, Norwegian Refugee Council, Palestine Legal, Peace Action, Presbyterian Church (USA), Progressive Democrats of America, Reformed Church in America, Sacramento Democrats for Justice in Palestine, Tree of Life Educational Fund, U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, United Church of Christ, United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network, United We Dream Network, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), US Palestinian Council, Veterans for Peace, Win Without War, Working Families Party.

Relief of Iran sanctions letter

According to the NIAC website, in March 2020 a team of prominent members of Congress urged their colleagues to sign a letter to the White House calling for immediate relief of sanctions to help ordinary Iranians combat the Coronavirus pandemic.

This is a critically important effort coming amid the Iranian people's hour of need. We need to make sure that Iranians have all the support they need to get medicine and respirators, food and basic goods and services to weather the pandemic. By supporting AOC's letter, we can send a powerful message to the Trump administration: now is not the time to kick the Iranian people when they are down. The U.S. must ease sanctions and send aid to help combat the spread of Coronavirus.

Take action today: urge your Representative to sign AOC's letter calling for urgent humanitarian relief for Iran.

Original signers of the letter include: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA).

Brand New Congress

In 2020 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a Brand New Congress endorsed candidate for US Congress in New York.

Fracking ban bill

February 12, 2020 Press Release.Today, Reps. Darren Soto (FL-09) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) introduced H.R. 5867, the Ban Fracking Act, a federal bill to phase out fracking nationwide in the United States. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Senators Bernie Sanders (VT-I) and Jeff Merkley (OR-D).

The Ban Fracking Act would institute an immediate federal ban on all new federal permits for fracking-related infrastructure and a ban on fracking within 2,500 feet of homes and schools by 2021. Then, starting in 2025, it would ban fracking nationwide. The legislation also initiates a just transition for the working families in the fracking industry. The bill directs the Department of Labor to partner with other federal agencies and stakeholders, including representatives of organized labor, to develop a plan to prioritize the placement of fossil fuel workers into good-paying jobs in the communities in which they live as the United States moves quickly to an energy system based on sustainable energy and energy efficiency.

The bill highlights the dangers of fracking to public health, workers and communities, and averting climate change, and commissions a nationwide Environmental Protection Agency survey of fracked oil and natural gas wells.

“We cannot deny the overwhelming scientific consensus any longer—fracking is a threat to our health, safety and environment,” said Soto. “If we want to transition from fossil fuel emissions as we work towards building a 100 percent clean economy, pulling back from fracking is a critical first step. Failure to act will only make the crisis at hand even more detrimental for future generations of Americans.”

Debt Collective debt

In June 2019, Bernie Sanders and representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Pramila Jayapal held a press conference outside the Senate and announced the College for All Act of 2019, which, if passed and signed into law, would cancel all student debt and make public college free.

They shared the podium with members of the he Debt Collective, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street Astra Taylor cofounded.

Our group put student debt cancellation on the national radar when we launched a groundbreaking student debt strike. The strike began with 15 former students who had attended for-profit colleges and bravely refused to pay their federal loans. That led to a larger campaign that has helped secure over a billion dollars in debt relief for tens of thousands of people, and has been said to rankle Donald Trump’s billionaire secretary of education, Betsy DeVos.

The Debt Collective has also made progress on the issue of medical debt abolition. In 2012, we launched something called the Rolling Jubilee, which involved buying portfolios of medical debt on the secondary debt market (where it is sold for pennies on the dollar), just like debt collectors do. But instead of collecting on the debts, we erased them. Ultimately, we wiped out over $15 million in predatory medical debt this way. In September, we were overjoyed when Sanders proposed eliminating all $81 billion of medical debt currently in collections using a mechanism similar to the one we devised.

When we first raised the idea of debt resistance and debt cancellation at Occupy, we were mocked. We’ve come a long way: Thousands of people have had their loans erased; our efforts have influenced the 2020 Democratic primary; and we’re planning an even bigger campaign to ensure full student debt relief and free college become not just proposals but realities. Remember this: If the federal government ends up canceling your student loans, you’ll have Occupy to thank for it.

Congressional Progressive Caucus event

An article at In These Times by Rebecca Burns titled "Tax the Hell Out of the Rich, When They’re Alive and When They’re Dead" dated February 8, 2019 references AOC and was also posted at the Congressional Progressive Caucus website:,

"An incredible thing has happened in 2019: We’re actually talking seriously about taxing the rich. And the debate is not over whether to do it, but how.

Within the month of January, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders proposed separate measures that would, respectively, increase top marginal tax rates on income, levy a direct tax on wealth and interrupt intergenerational transfers of fortunes.

It’s important to note that these policies are not in any way mutually exclusive: When it comes to billionaires, we can tax them when they’re alive, and we can tax them when they’re dead!

But given that these proposals are already framing the terms of debate for the 2020 presidential contest, we can still ask which approach goes the furthest in abating inequality and removing the stranglehold of billionaires on our politics.

And, it turns out, there are a few different ways to answer that question. Warren’s wealth tax would raise the most money — around $2.75 trillion over the next decade, according to the calculations of experts backing her proposal. But the amount of money added to public coffers isn’t the only factor in evaluating a progressive taxation plan. Somewhat counter-intuitively, taxes on the super-rich should bring in less revenue over time because they are having a broader effect on reducing inequality and therefore the amount of concentrated wealth or income to be taxed.

That’s where two other sets of political considerations come in: How a plan to tax the rich will promote other beneficial effects, like shoring up worker bargaining power, and how it will send a political message and advance a broader working-class agenda.

There are of course also plenty of important details that go into how well a progressive tax plan actually works — how effectively it closes loopholes, how it identifies and counts assets to be taxed, etc. But those are highly technical in nature, and not as easily understood by the general public. So here, I’m going to consider the political messages that, to date, seem best conveyed through each approach.

Warren’s plan: It’s time for the rich to pay their fair share

Warren’s ​“ultra-millionaire” tax is sweeping in its ambition. It’s also the most radical, in the sense that we haven’t done it before.

Unlike higher income and estate taxes — which were in effect for decades — a wealth tax has primarily been the stuff of progressive economists’ fantasies. What’s more, one of the most popular proposals to date — put forward in a paper by the Institute for Policy Studies — has been a 1 percent tax on the wealthiest 0.1 percent, or those with assets of over $20 million. Warren’s proposal would tax fewer people — those with more than $50 million in assets, an estimated 75,000 families — but she would bump up the rate to 2 percent. Households with more than $1 billion in assets would get a 3 percent rate.

Warren’s proposal is extremely popular. A YouGov poll funded by Data For Progress found 61 percent overall support, including 76 percent support among Democrats and even a plurality of support among Republicans, 44 percent to 37 percent. It’s also earning accolades from center-left economists like Paul Krugman.

That doesn’t mean it’s not shaking up the status quo. At the heart of the policy is a legal argument that it’s not unconstitutional to tax wealth, and a moral and political argument that, in fact, we need to.

Where Warren’s proposal would probably be insufficient on its own is that it wouldn’t offer a particularly aggressive corrective to inequality over time. It would raise trillions for social programs, which is crucially important and would certainly have other beneficial political effects. But, as a result of the tax, the fabulously wealthy would be only slightly less fabulously so.

And while Warren has floated some potential programs that her wealth tax could pay for — universal childcare, student loan relief, millions of units of new affordable housing — campaigning on a wealth tax divorced from a specific political program could make it harder to mobilize people by laying out clear stakes.

Ocasio-Cortez: Tax the Rich or Torch the Planet

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez kicked off this blessed discussion last month, when asked during a ​“60 Minutes” interview how she would pay for a Green New Deal:

“You look at our tax rates back in the ​’60s and when you have a progressive tax rate system. Your tax rate, you know, let’s say, from zero to $75,000 may be ten percent or 15 percent, et cetera. But once you get to, like, the tippy tops — on your 10 millionth dollar — sometimes you see tax rates as high as 60 or 70 percent.”

By even the most optimistic estimates, this would bring in only a quarter of the revenues Warren’s plan would generate.

But at a Wednesday forum hosted by Ocasio-Cortez and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Economic Policy Institute President Thea Lee called hiking marginal rates for top earners the ​“obvious and optimal starting point.”

Among other political benefits, there’s evidence that higher income tax rates would change the behavioral calculus of owners and CEOs by curbing their bargaining for ever-higher earnings. If the last million dollars someone makes is going to go mostly to taxes anyway, there’s less incentive to fight for it by, for example, keeping employee’s pay stagnant.

Along these lines, the Institute for Policy Studies has proposed linking top income tax rates to the minimum wage.

Moreover, while wealth inequality is even greater than income inequality, the latter contributes to the former over time.

The Center for Economic Progress’ Eileen Appelbaum summarized this relationship at Wednesday’s forum. The top earners can’t spend their incomes on themselves, so they use them to buy more assets and continue to get wealthier.

“Unless we do something along the lines of what AOC has suggested, this situation will continue,” said Appelbaum.

Beyond these slightly more technical considerations, AOC’s framing has made the stakes crystal clear: If we want to save the planet, we can’t afford not to tax the rich.

Sanders: Abolish Billionaires

Bernie Sanders’ plan involves restoring top marginal tax rates on inheritances to where they were in the 1970s: 77 percent for estates over $1 billion.

The plan would also decrease the threshold for the inheritance tax from $11.18 million to $3.5 million and impose a 45 percent rate on this lower (but still very rich by any normal standard) tier. Even with this new threshold, just 0.2 percent of Americans would ever pay an estate tax. Thus, in the style of Occupy, the plan is called ​“For the 99.8 Percent Act.”

Again, Sanders’ plan would probably raise less revenue than Warren’s: About $315 billion over a decade. But by taking aim at the ultra-rich as a class, it also singles out the kind of dynastic wealth that allows a few families to wreak havoc on our political system. Just three families with multi-generational wealth — the Waltons, the Kochs, and the Mars — have a combined fortune of $343 billion, more than 3.5 million times the median wealth of U.S. families. And they use that wealth to fund all manner of right-wing policies.

The Right has steadily chipped away at the effectiveness of our existing estate tax for decades, painting it as a ​“death tax” on families who just lost loved ones. Admittedly, this plan would require billionaires to die before it raises significant revenue — an estimated $2.2 trillion.

Does that mean it’s vulnerable to the ​“death tax” rhetoric? Maybe. But in a delightfully petty move, the Sanders plan actually lists out how much money the rest of us would get when specific people like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet depart this Earth — $101 billion, $74 billion and $64 billion, respectively.

Taken alongside Sanders’ broader efforts to target Bezos and the Waltons over worker pay, this plan sends a clear message: Billionaires are bad, and the sooner they and their unearned influence kick the solid-gold bucket, the better for the rest of us. And that message is gaining steam.

To achieve left priorities like a Green New Deal, Medicare for All and universal childcare, we probably need some version of all three of these types of taxes. But it’s important to evaluate not just how much of the price tag new progressive taxes would cover, but how they would transform the balance of power, invigorate our politics and mobilize Americans around achieving bold, transformative policies.

Climate Justice Alliance connection

Climate Justice Alliance January 10 · 2019·

Excited to share our vision for a #JustTransition and the #GreenNewDeal with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Climate Justice Alliance members from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, Indigenous Environmental Network, the New Economy Coalition the Labor Network for Sustainability, and UpRose Bk shared their solutions and brought the frontlines to Capitol Hill. Stay tuned for a video message from Representative Ocasio-Cortez.

1. ClimateJustice #GreenNewDeal #JustTransition #GND — with Cynthia Mellon, Lex Barlowe, Elizabeth Yeampierre, Ananda Lee Tan, Angela Adrar, Tom Goldtooth and Marion Gee.

Cori Bush with Amy Vilela and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Cori Bush with Amy Vilela and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Cori Bush Tweeted from SXSW Conference & Festivals held March 8-17, 2019: March 11 2019: "It was great to have this moment together @sxsw with my lovely sisters @amy4thepeople Amy Vilela and @AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez! But it wasn’t the same without @paulajean2020 Paula Jean Swearengin, we missed you! #KnockDownTheHouse"

Meeting pro-North Korean activists

Christine Ahn Jan 14, 2019:

In Washington DC today meeting with Cong offices to discuss #KoreaPeaceTreaty and women’s inclusion in Korea peace process. So thrilled to meet @AOC in person! The closest we have ever come to electing a Congresd by and for the people! @CatKillough @KCRobinsonWPS @WomenCrossDMZ

Left Women Cross DMZ supporter and Ploughshares Fund staffer Catherine Killough, second from left Women Cross DMZ staff member Hyun Lee, center Christine Ahn, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

End the Korean War=

Ro Khanna, Andy Kim, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jan Schakowsky, Barbara Lee.

Resolution calling for a final settlement of the Korean War

February 26, 2019 Press Release.

Washington, DC – As President Trump arrives to Hanoi, Vietnam, Rep. Ro Khanna, along with eighteen Democratic Members of Congress, have introduced a resolution calling for a final settlement of the Korean War, now officially in its 68th year.

The resolution -- which is backed by former President and Nobel Peace Laureate Jimmy Carter and a range of Korean-American and pro-diplomacy organizations -- urges the Trump Administration to provide a clear roadmap to achieve a final peace settlement while highlighting the importance of reciprocal actions and confidence-building measures between the parties.

“Historic engagement between South and North Korea has created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to formally end this war,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “President Trump must not squander this rare chance for peace. He should work hand in hand with our ally, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, to bring the war to a close and advance toward the denuclearization of the peninsula.”

“I commend this important resolution that will help bring this nearly 70 year conflict to a close,” said President Jimmy Carter. “I have visited North Korea several times to talk with their leadership and study the best path forward for peace. Ending the threat of war is the only way to ensure true security for both the Korean and American people and will create the conditions to alleviate the suffering of the ordinary North Koreans who are most harmed by ongoing tensions.”

Co-led by prominent progressive Reps. Andy Kim, Barbara Lee, Pramila Jayapal, Deb Haaland, and Jan Schakowsky, the resolution calls on the Trump Administration to make greater efforts to include women in the peace process, citing the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 which Trump signed into law. Women’s rights icon Gloria Steinem, founder of the peace group Women Cross DMZ, published an op-ed in the Washington Post on Sunday in support of the resolution.

The resolution clarifies that ending the war does not necessitate a withdrawal of US troops from Korea or an acceptance of North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power. The resolution calls on the Administration to continue the repatriation of servicemember remains, and expand cooperation to achieve reunions of divided Korean and Korean-American families and facilitate people-to-people exchanges and humanitarian cooperation.

Rep. Khanna has been a consistent voice for diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula. Shortly after Trump threatened “fire and fury” against North Korea, Khanna was joined by over 70 Congressmembers on his bipartisan “No Unconstitutional Strike on North Korea Act”, which would reinforce existing law prohibiting an unauthorized and unprovoked strike on North Korea. He has also been critical of those in both parties who have sought to restrict flexibility in negotiations, instead urging support for the diplomatic approach of our South Korean ally and its President, Moon Jae-in.

Rep. Khanna will travel to Atlanta next week to sit down with Pres. Carter to discuss developments on the Korean Peninsula and solicit guidance from the Nobel Laureate about how the next generation of policymakers can best pursue a pro-diplomacy agenda for America.

Current original cosponsors (18): Pramila Jayapal, Mark Pocan, Barbara Lee, Deb Haaland, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jan Schakowsky, Raúl Grijalva, Bobby Rush, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Tulsi Gabbard, Adriano Espaillat, Andy Kim, Rashida Tlaib, Judy Chu, Jose Serrano, Gwen Moore.

The resolution is endorsed by organizations including the National Association of Korean Americans, Ploughshares Fund, Women Cross DMZ, Korean Americans in Action, United Methodist Church – Global Ministries, Win Without War, Peace Action, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Just Foreign Policy, Beyond the Bomb, and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

DSA connections

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Common Defense 2024 endorsement

Common Defense endorsement

Common Defense endorsed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress in 2022.

"End the Forever War"

END THE FOREVER WAR PLEDGE

The United States has been in a state of continuous, global, open-ended military conflict since 2001. Over 2.5 million troops have fought in this “Forever War” in over a dozen countries – including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Niger, Somalia, and Thailand. I pledge to the people of the United States of America, and to our military community in particular, that I will (1) fight to reclaim Congress’s constitutional authority to conduct oversight of U.S. foreign policy and independently debate whether to authorize each new use of military force, and (2) act to bring the Forever War to a responsible and expedient conclusion.

2020 signatories of the Common Defense pledge.

Federal Elected Officials

Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, Jon Tester, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Joaquin Castro, Adriano Espaillat, Ruben Gallego, Barbara Lee, Jim McGovern, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Donald Payne, Jr., Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Susan Wild.

Brand New Congress

The Brand New Congress elected slate for 2022 was Katie Porter, Andy Levin, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman.

Progressive Democrats of America, 2024

Progressive Democrats of America House endorsements 2024 Alma Adams, Becca Balint, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Greg Casar, Judy Chu, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Chuy Garcia, Raul Grijalva, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Jim McGovern, Summer Lee, Joe Neguse, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, Delia Ramirez, Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky, Rashida Tlaib, Mark Takano.

PDA 2020 endorsement

In 2020 Progressive Democrats of America endorsed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's congressional run.

Socialist staffer

Jasmin Sanchez works for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Socialist campaign manager

Vigie Ramos Rios was campaign manager for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018.

DSA member beats Joe Crowley

Joseph Crowley, having fundraised nearly $3 million for the race in New York’s 14th District, fell easily to a first-time candidate with a viral introduction video, a Democratic Socialists of America membership card, and a proudly leftist agenda. She ran on Medicare-for-all, a federal jobs guarantee, and getting tough on Wall Street.

At 28, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez couldn’t be a bigger contrast from the 56-year-old Crowley. She was born in the Bronx to working-class parents. Her mother is Puerto Rican. Her father is from the South Bronx. She’s a former staffer for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.

She’s certainly portrayed herself as a woman of the people, playing up her working-class roots in a viral introduction video, which shows Ocasio-Cortez riding the subway and doing community organizing work. It was created by Means of Production, a media production company run by Democratic Socialists of America activists Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes.

DSA role in campaign

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a campaign machine of her own, an outside group known as the Democratic Socialists of America. In the avalanche of coverage of Ocasio-Cortez’s win, the logistical support and manpower she received from the DSA has drawn relatively little notice. But the group is poised to make its presence felt in the midterms.

More than 100 volunteers from the DSA had flooded the streets of the 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of Queens and the Bronx, for months.

In Ocasio-Cortez’s race, DSA organizers say their cadre of volunteers knocked on over 13,000 doors to drum up enthusiasm for her bid. That level of support is significant in primaries that traditionally see low turnout. Ocasio-Cortez defeated Crowley with a little over 15,000 votes in a district with a total population of more than 700,000. The district is overwhelmingly Democratic, and she will almost certainly win the seat in November’s general election, barring completely unforeseen factors.

Vigie Ramos Rios, manager of Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign, was careful to point out that other organizations also backed her bid, including Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats. Still, Ramos Rios said the impact of the DSA’s work in the field was clear.

“They were strong supporters,” she said of the DSA. “There were areas they canvassed that came out for us in spades.”

And the teams of volunteers in the street wasn’t the only way DSA made its mark on Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign. Ramos Rios is a DSA leader who was recommended to Ocasio-Cortez by another member of the group who previously ran a race with its backing. The campaign’s treasurer was former DSA national director Frank Llewellyn, who came on board after Ramos Rios asked the organization if it knew someone who could help the campaign with its finances. In addition, two DSA members were behind Means of Production, the company that made a video for Ocasio-Cortez that was released last month and, in the words of Business Insider, went “completely viral,” earning over 300,000 views in one day and helping drive nationwide attention to the campaign. According to Naomi Burton, one of the company’s co-founders, they were drawn to Ocasio-Cortez by the organization’s endorsement and because of “her unapologetic socialist platform and articulation of working peoples’ needs that caught our attention.”

In many ways, Ocasio-Cortez’s was the ideal example of a model the DSA is trying to replicate around the country with unabashed socialists from diverse, unconventional backgrounds taking on establishment figures with the logistical support of a robust organization.

Many of the new DSA members, like Ocasio-Cortez herself, cut their political teeth working for the Sanders campaign. As they joined, they drove the organization toward getting more involved in campaigns. In January 2018, the group launched a “national electoral strategy” formally committing it “to develop and run viable openly socialist candidates for office (either in Democratic primaries or as independents.)” It is one of the group’s primary focuses, along with a nationwide push for a Medicare for All health care program and for support of labor movements.

The strategy document made clear the full scope of the DSA’s ultimate ambitions.

“This work will be critical to the development of a genuine alternative to the neoliberal third-way politics of the corporate establishment within the Democratic Party,” the document reads.

And this is all taking place in a group where some members are so far to the left they don’t even agree with the idea of electoral politics.

Federal candidates that seek the organization’s endorsement must go through an extensive process that includes multiple meetings with DSA leaders and a questionnaire where they must clarify their positions on the core components of the group’s platform, including “a single-payer, universal health care plan,” minimum wage increases, protecting “immigrants and their families from deportation,” enacting tax increases for the wealthy, “legislation making public colleges and universities tuition-free,” and marijuana legalization. Support for a candidate only comes at the end of this process, and requires votes at multiple levels of the organization.

Aaron Taube, who coordinated the DSA’s field operation for Ocasio-Cortez, said the group’s volunteers went to work for her the day after she received its endorsement in April.

“A DSA endorsement is not just a rubber stamp. We’re not just saying you should vote for these people,” Taube says News. “When DSA endorses you, it’s like, yeah, we’re going to knock 13,000 doors. … We’re going to mobilize.”

Taube is representative of the supporters who come on board once a candidate has the group’s approval. He’s 29 years old and, like Ocasio-Cortez, who was a bartender before running for office, was a relative political novice, who was a journalist turned freelance marketer (he previously worked with one of the authors of this story in 2014). He’s also a pro wrestling fan who said he discovered the DSA in the more liberal quarters of the sport’s Twitter community after being “radicalized” by Trump.

“That was the only way at the time that was apparent to me to build power,” Taube explained. “It was like, well, you can have a revolution or an election and I’m not ready to learn how to shoot a gun yet.”

Taube officially joined the party the day after Trump’s victory and ended up volunteering for a DSA-backed city council candidate in Brooklyn, Khader El-Yateem. During that campaign, he was schooled in political organizing skills.

While El-Yateem didn’t win, he surprised observers with a close finish. Taube’s political mentor, Tascha Van Auken, said that race and another ultimately unsuccessful Brooklyn City Council bid mounted by Jabari Brisport helped the DSA develop a bench of trained political operatives in New York.

“What those two races were — and I don’t want to suggest that we don’t care about winning, our goal is to win these races 100 percent — but what they also served as last year were amazing laboratories for building independent field operations … comms operations, and data operations. … We had to form a PAC,” said Van Auken.

Along with Ocasio-Cortez, the New York City DSA is backing a state senate candidate, Julia Salazar. Unlike Ocasio-Cortez, who only became a dues-paying DSA member after seeking the group’s endorsement, Salazar was part of the organization prior to launching her bid. Van Auken is managing Salazar’s campaign, which she says includes multiple DSA members in its leadership and has “hundreds” of volunteers, a number that had surged in the aftermath of Ocasio-Cortez’s shocking win.

The phenomenon goes far beyond New York. Overall, the DSA reported explosive membership growth following Ocasio-Cortez’s upset over Crowley. The organization is currently backing dozens of candidates across the country and many of them have operations that similarly draw from the group and its experience mounting campaigns in the past year or so. These efforts began yielding results before Ocasio-Cortez’s race brought national notice.

Along with the DSA ground game and campaign staffers drawn from the group’s ranks, many of these races displayed another hallmark of the organization’s electoral approach — elevating minority voices. In New York City alone, the DSA’s candidates have included two Latinas, Ocasio-Cortez and Salazar, El-Yateem, who is Palestinian, and Brisport, an African-American. It’s part of a deliberate effort with the DSA’s national electoral strategy noting, “only truly multiracial electoral coalitions can build working-class political power.”

Salazar, the Latina state senate candidate in New York said she knows DSA is “perceived as overwhelmingly white young people,” but says the reality is different.

Jon Reinish, a veteran Democratic strategist, is far less worried and thinks the DSA could be good for the party.

“If it’s candidates in certain districts in certain races that are aligned with DSA or any other organization that’s inspiring voters, then that’s great and that’s valuable,” Reinish said. “If that’s where energy and enthusiasm are and if that’s where new voters are jumping in, then that’s only a net positive.”

While the 2016 primary saw Sanders and his supporters regularly clashing with Clinton and ultimately protesting the Democratic convention due to indications she had been favored by the party, Reinish predicted the DSA would be easier to work with because their platform is “about a series of issues rather than devotion to one person.”

“Bernie’s main issue was Bernie. DSA people are about policy,” Reinish said.

Our Revolution endorsement 2022

Our Revolution endorsed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2022.

Our Revolution influence

Our Revolution has over 200,000 members and 600 groups across the country (and a few in Europe). Under David Duhalde’s tenure, Our Revolution won over 70 races in the 2018 general election cycle, including electing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Deb Haaland to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Socialist help

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was recruited to run by the Bernie-inspired Brand New Congress (BNC) after she returned from an encampment at Standing Rock in late 2016, where she was demonstrating to protect Native rights and stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. She had an army of door-knocking and phone calling activists from Democratic Socialists of America, Black Lives Matter and Muslims for Progress as well as BNC and two other Bernie-inspired groups, Justice Democrats and Our Revolution.

Detroit DSA help

According to Dick Olson the "2018 midterm elections were incredibly momentous for DSA nationally, as well as here in the Detroit area. We scored critical wins from coast to coast — getting leftists elected to office and pushing through key ballot measures".

Most critically, two DSA members were elected to Congress — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York’s 14th district and Rashida Tlaib from Michigan’s 13th district. These victories have shaken things up in D.C., and put DSA on the national political map.

Detroit DSA’s marquee endorsement of this election cycle was Rashida Tlaib, who is a card-carrying DSA members. During a hard-fought Democratic primary for the 13th Congressional district, Detroit DSA members knocked on hundreds of doors for Tlaib and helped her win 27,803 to 26,916 over her nearest competitor, a member of Detroit’s city council. Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who has served in the Michigan legislature, then went on to win an overwhelming 85% victory in the general election.

Detroit DSA was also involved in AOC’s win in New York. Indeed, her historic victory was propelled by a viral campaign ad produced by Means of Production, a leftist production cooperative created by three Detroit DSA members: Naomi Burton, Natasha Fernandez-Silber and Nick Hayes.

NYC DSA endorsement

New York City Democratic Socialists of America added an event, May 30 .

Come phonebank for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with the Democratic Socialists of America! Alexandria is a democratic socialist running for Congress on a platform of universal healthcare, a universal jobs guarantee, tuition-free public college, and abolishing ICE.

DSA North Star Online Conference

DSA North Star Online Conference Sunday September 16, 2018:

Part 1. Introduction and National Perspectives 40 minutes Introduction. What is North Star about? What do we wish to accomplish? How do we do it? We’ll begin this meet up by hearing from DSA members active in governing, electoral politics, and organizing. How have DSA members successfully organized around electoral politics?

Speakers:

• Miriam Bensman - NYC DSA involvement in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaign & Cynthia Nixon-Jumaane Williams endorsements
• Natasha Fernandez-Silber and Tony Eggert - Detroit DSA and Rashida Tlaib campaign
• Mike Sylvester - Maine State House Rep since 2016 on being DSA member in office
• Eric Robertson - Atlanta Metro DSA and Stacey Abrams for GA gov campaign & other southern campaigns

National DSA endorsement

Democratic Socialists of America, May 4, 2018;

DSA is proud to announce national endorsements for four more candidates today.

• Julia Salazar (New York State Senate, District 18)
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (US Congress, New York's 14th Congressional District)
• Genevieve Jones-Wright (San Diego County District Attorney)
• Jovanka Beckles (California State Assembly, District 15)

Occupying Pelosi's office

Sunrise Movement November 13 2018:

Moments ago, newly-elected Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest Congresswoman in history, joined us at Speaker Pelosi’s office to help us change the course of the Democratic Party and give our generation a shot at a livable future.

Sign here to tell Nancy Pelosi to support a #GreenNewDeal in line with what the science demands: https://bit.ly/PelosiNeedsAClimatePlan — with Mohamed Deeq Ismail, Jasper Baldwin, Annemarie Manley and Emerson Michael Skufca.

"Green New Deal"

From the Sunrise Movement:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has released a proposal for a Select Committee on a Green New Deal, a plan that would transform our economy and society at the scale needed to stop the climate crisis.

We have the momentum to make a Green New Deal real, but we need a critical mass of Congresspeople to support the proposal.

Take action on Dec. 10 to show Congress the Green New Deal is a top priority.

Congressional supporters by December 1 2018:

• Jared Huffman (CA-02)
• Jackie Speier (CA-14)
• Ro Khanna (CA-17)
• Mike Levin (CA-49)
• Ted Lieu (CA-33)
• John Lewis (GA-05)
• Joe Neguse (CO-02)
• Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02)
• Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
• Jamie Raskin (MD-08)
• Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
• Rashida Tlaib (MI-13)
• Ilhan Omar (MN-05)
• Deb Haaland (NM-01)
• Carolyn Maloney (NY-12)
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14)
• Jose Serrano (NY-15)
• Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)

Sunrise Slate 2018

Sunrise Movement August 2 2018:

We're thrilled to introduce you to our first-ever round of candidate endorsements: the #SunriseSlate2018!

These candidates are some of the earliest adopters of the #NoFossilFuelMoney pledge and, if elected, would lead the fight against oil and gas lobbyists in state capitols and Washington, DC. They’re putting forward big policy solutions to the climate crisis, like championing a Green New Deal and supporting a just and rapid transition to a 100% renewable energy future that leaves no community behind.

Learn more and support our efforts here! https://www.sunrisemovement.org/2018-endorsed-candidates — with Katie Muth for PA Senate, Deb Haaland for Congress, Alessandra Biaggi, Kaniela Ing, Jess King for Congress, Julia Salazar for State Senate, Dana Hamp Gulick for PA 97th, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative Anna Eskamani, Abdul El-Sayed, Danielle Friel Otten for PA District 155, Cynthia Nixon for New York, Benjamin Jealous, Jumaane D. Williams, Ilhan Omar for Congress, Randy Bryce, Zellnor Myrie for New York and Rashida Tlaib For Congress, Penelope Tsernoglou Michigan State House, Michele Wherley Pennsylvania State House. .

National Nurses United endorsement

National Nurses United 2018 endorsements included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez NY 14.

Indivisible

In 2018 Indivisible endorsed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Media Gushes over Alexandria

After Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won the 2018 primary, she was featured on several mainstream news outlets and talk shows.

Call to Abolish ICE

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to abolish ICE

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called to abolish the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency shortly after winning her primary on June 26 2018.

Teachout endorsement

Zephyr Teachout, a candidate for New York attorney general endorsed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in May.

Justice Democrats

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was endorsed by Justice Democrats for 2018.

Justice Democrats board

As of May 2018, the board of Justice Democrats is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Saikat Chakrabarti.

Challenging Joe

After the 2016 election, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez traveled to Standing Rock, North Dakota where she encountered thousands of non-violent protesters. They were there in solidarity with members of the Lakota Sioux who faced off in the frigid cold against police water cannons and attack dogs to try and stop an oil pipeline that threatened the tribe’s water supply.

“Seeing people from across the country and the depth to which they were putting everything on the line was just really inspiring to me,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Upon leaving Standing Rock, Ocasio received a call from Brand New Congress (BNC), a group that was looking to challenge incumbents from both parties in the 2018 midterms with unabashedly progressive candidates who would eschew corporate backing in favor of small-donor support. Ocasio-Cortez was taken aback when BNC urged her to run in New York’s 14th Congressional District against an incumbent who had not faced a primary challenge in 14 years. She decided to take the leap.

“If you were going to do this, it had to come from an organizer,” she said. “It had to come from someone outside the system who would give it a jolt. If you want any kind of political career in New York City, you can’t challenge Joe Crowley.”

“In an 85 percent Democratic district, you won’t get voted out of office for fighting for the working class,” said Virginia Ramos Rios, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign manager.

Victory

NYC Democratic Socialists of America, June 26, 2018;

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has done the impossible, and so have you, NYC-DSA!

The over 13,000 votes cast for her — in what has been the lowest turnout district in the country under Rep. Crowley — proves that working class people are hungry for a voice in politics.

Alexandria’s platform has opened the door to bringing truly socialist demands to the table in mainstream politics, including a universal jobs guarantee tied to investment in infrastructure, free public college education, debt forgiveness, Federal investment in public and affordable housing, “Medicare for All,” and more, marking the beginning of a true political movement serving the needs of the many. DSA and our coalition partners are chipping away at the reign of corporate-controlled “centrism” within the Democratic Party.

It smells like bread and roses tonight in New York!

In Solidarity,

NYC Democratic Socialists of America

Millennials For Revolution

In December 2018 Millennials For Revolution called for "progressives" Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Katie Porter to be appointed to key Congressinioal Committees.

Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez support progressives

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will make campaign swing through Kansas starting July 20 2018, rallying for two congressional candidates who argue that left-wing politics are the key to winning in red states.

“I’ve believed for years that the Democratic Party has committed political malpractice by writing off half the states in this country,” said Sanders in an interview, as he campaigned in Minnesota for Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.). “They’ve got to fight for every state in this country.”

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez will head to Kansas on July 20. They’ll begin in Wichita, where James Thompson, who narrowly lost a special election in 2017, wants another chance to win the 4th Congressional District. They’ll continue with an event in the Kansas City suburbs for Brent Welder, a former Sanders delegate now seeking the Democratic nomination in the 3rd Congressional District.

Both districts are now held by Republicans who’ve voted reliably with their party — Reps. Kevin Yoder and Ron Estes. The 3rd District voted narrowly for Hillary Clinton in 2016; the 4th District, which is strongly Republican outside of Wichita, voted for Trump. In a short interview, Thompson said he would relish it if Estes and Republicans criticized him for campaigning with self-identified Democratic Socialists.

“I’m extremely, extremely excited to have the senator and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in town for an event,” Thompson said. “They can say that, but my opponent here is a corporate socialist who’s been redistributing wealth to people who don’t need it.”

Sanders, who first talked to Ocasio-Cortez the day after she won her upset primary victory in New York, said that the tour came about after both realized they wanted to head to Kansas.

Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez dispatched campaign staff to help Kerri Evelyn Harris, an insurgent challenger to Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). Later this month, Ocasio-Cortez will also campaign in Michigan, where former Detroit health commissioner Abdul El-Sayed is running an underdog campaign for governor.

“Alexandria’s victory was a proof of concept for campaigns like ours,” El-Sayed said in an interview.

"The Tide is Changing"

Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA) July 12.

The Tide is Changing with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Abdul El-Sayed, and Linda Sarsour.

Communist/socialist speakers at birthday event

Julie Salih, left Tony Pecinovsky

Julie Salih & Tony Pecinovsky speaking at a Cori Bush for US Congress campaign event at The Ready Room in St Louis on July 21, 2018.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

July 22 at 7:49 PM · Activists from many organizations and community groups, in particular Coalition for Truth in Independence and St. Louis Workers Education Society, spoke at Cori Bush for U.S. Congress, MO-01's birthday party July 21, 2018. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the guest of honor at the event. Bruce Franks for State Rep 78th District also honored Cori Bush for her outstanding community work and dedicated friendship.

Make The Road

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez July 6 2018:

Excited to work with Make The Road New York on the critical issues facing our community and fighting together for respect and dignity for ALL!

CPC new members

2018 Congressional Progressive Caucus new members included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Deb Haaland, Veronica Escobar, Jesus Garcia, Joe Neguse, Andy Levin, Mike Levin.

Venezuela letter

According to The Mobilizer February 2019 Democratic Socialists of America is behind Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal's Venezuela letter:

DSA is organizing a congressional campaign. California Democrat Ro Khanna and Washington Democrat Pramila Jayapal are circulating a letter "rejected threats of US Military intervention in Venezuela, supporting dialogue to resolve the political crisis there, and opposing broad economic sanctions that hurt ordinary civilians." The letter urges support for a mediation process advocated by the governments of Mexico and Uruguay to promote dialogue. Contact your Congressperson, especially members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, to sign the letter.

Signatories by February 15 deadline included Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Mark Pocan, Raul Grijalva, Ilhan Omar, Hank Johnson, Adriano Espaillat, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Nydia Velazquez.

No to PayGo

Advisor

In 2019 Andres Bernal was advisor to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Medicare for All Act

In February 2019 Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced H.R.1384 - Medicare for All Act of 2019. By May 29 she had 110 co-sponsors including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Corbyn connection

Release Judy Clark

April 2 , 2019 New York State Board of Parole Supervising Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator Bedford Hills Correctional Facility

Dear Commissioners of the Board of Parole:

We, the undersigned Federal, State, and local elected officials and leaders of civil rights organizations, write to urge the New York State Board of Parole (“Parole Board”) to follow the law and parole guidelines and grant parole to Judith Clark.

During her 37 years in prison, Ms. Clark, through her words as well as her deeds, has transformed herself into a symbol of redemption, hope, and the human capacity for change. She has disavowed violence, accepted responsibility for her actions, and issued heartfelt and public apologies dating back to 1994 when parole was not even a remote possibility.

Ms. Clark participated in an unspeakable tragedy. Three people were killed, including two police officers. Although Ms. Clark was the “getaway” driver and did not fire any weapon, she does not minimize her role or in any way try to absolve herself from guilt. Judith Clark is painfully aware of the irrevocable harm she caused, and for more than three decades has done everything a human being could do to repair, repent and express remorse. She again forthrightly acknowledged her role, accepted responsibility, and expressed her contrition to the Parole Board at her initial appearance before the Board in April 2017.

At age 69 and after 37 years in prison, Judith Clark is among the oldest and longest serving women in New York State prison (only one woman among the almost 2,400 currently incarcerated in New York has served longer than Ms. Clark). We ask that you consider who she is today in 2019, not who she was in 1981, and implore you to grant her release.

Respectfully,

Yvette Clarke, Adriano Espaillat, Hakeem Jeffries, Carolyn Maloney, Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Jerrold Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jose Serrano, Nydia Velazquez, Tom Suozzi.

Caban supporters and endorsers

The La Boom Nightclub in Woodside, Queens, was packed wall to wall with hundreds of supporters. People were chanting “Sí se Puede” and “Black and brown lives matter.” That was the scene at approximately 11:15 pm June 25 2019 when Tiffany Caban declared herself the winner in the Democratic primary for district attorney.

Tiffany Caban was a virtually unknown public defender until February 2019. Cabán built a grassroots campaign that brought in community organizations, such as Make The Road, and political groups, including the Working Families Party, Citizen Action, and the Democratic Socialists of America.

Cabán was endorsed by Larry Krasner, the District Attorney from Philadelphia who led the way in the movement for transformative justice. Her national endorsers included Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Local endorsers included: NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer; NYS Senators Jessica Ramos, James Sanders, Julia Salazar, and Michael Gianaris; NYS Assemblymember Ron Kim; and NYC council members Jimmy Van Bramer and Antonio Reynoso.

Actress Susan Sarandon tweeted this morning; “@CabánForQueens victory over the ‘machine’ in Queens makes me proud to be from Jackson Heights and shows once again that a people’s movement can bring real change, real justice.”

AOC on Jimmy Dore June 7, 2017

'Progressive Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Is Primarying Corporate Democrat In New York'

AOC on the Jimmy Dore Show

A mass email from Brand New Congress dated June 8, 2017 promoted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's appearance on Jimmy Dore's show:

"Did you catch BNC candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's interview on the Jimmy Dore Show? She made an incredible case for why we need to kick corporate politicians out of office and return politics to the people. Her opponent, Jim Crowley, is a corporate Democrat with a long history of setting up sweetheart deals for his friends and family. And as a leader in the Democrat party, Crowley is responsible for funneling millions of corporate, special interest dollars to other Democrat politicians.

Here's a preview of what she said: "Frankly, corporate industries have a place of influence, and it's the free market. They have no business in our government because that is for the people."

Jim Crowley is exactly the type of politician we need to repeal and replace. Kicking him out of office will make our entire political system less corrupt. Please share her interview with your friends and family on social media!

The discussion failed to mention that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member of Democratic Socialists of America.