Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a far-left progressive, went after centrist former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) on Thursday for saying Democrats alienated some voters by focusing too much on controversial issues instead of “meat and potatoes issues.”
The attack came as Democrats failed to generate the “blue wave” they were hoping for in the 2020 election. Democrats lost seats in the House and failed to seize a much-hoped-for majority in the Senate.
Many media outlets and political pundits asserted that Democrats’ appeals for socialism and defunding the police — championed by Ocasio-Cortez and her supporters — did not appeal to Americans.
McCaskill, now an MSNBC contributor, said waning support from Democrats “began around cultural issues.” She said:
Whether you’re talking guns or issues surrounding the right to abortion in this country or things like gay marriage and the rights for transsexuals and other people who we as a party have tried to “look after” and make sure that they’re treated fairly, as we circled those issues, we left some voters behind, and Republicans dove in with a vengeance and grabbed those voters. And you’ve seen this shift. You saw it in the South. I’ve seen it in some rural areas of my state.
McCaskill continued, “So we’ve got to get back to the meat and potatoes issues, we’ve got to get back to the issues where we are taking care of their families, and we also need to quit acting like we’re smarter than everybody else because we’re not.”
Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Why do we listen to people who lost elections as if they are experts in winning elections? McCaskill tried her approach. She ran as a caravan-hysteria Dem& lost while grassroots organizers won progressive measures in MO. Her language here shows how she took her base for granted”:
Ocasio-Cortez was referring to McCaskill’s agreement with President Donald Trump that illegal immigration is a problem before her loss to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) in 2018.
McCaskill later apologized for using the word “transsexuals” instead of “transgender” after she came under criticism from the progressives she was criticizing.
She tweeted, “I’m so sorry I used hurtful term last night.I was tired,but never a good excuse.People have misinterpreted what I was trying to say. Our party should never leave behind our fight 4 equality for trans people or anyone else who has been marginalized by hate. My record reflects that”:
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