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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 12 July 2019

Race becomes new flashpoint with Pelosi, Ocasio-Cortez

By LISA MASCARO comparing Blue Dogs and
AP Congressional Corre- New Democrats to 1940s
spondent Southern Democrats,” he
WASHINGTON (AP) — The wrote in another. “South-
debate between Alexan- ern Democrats enabled a
dria Ocasio-Cortez and racist system too. I have no
other House Democrats idea how personally racist
over migrant children in de- they all were. And we’re
tention at the border was seeing the same dynamic
wrenching enough. Then it play out now.”
became about race. That weekend, in trying to
First, the freshman’s chief tamp down the divisions,
of staff compared more Pelosi dismissed the influ-
centrist Democrats to 1940s ence Ocasio-Cortez and
segregationists. Then Oca- the squad — Reps. Ilhan
sio-Cortez, D-NY., accused Omar, D-Minn., Ayanna
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Pressley, D-Mass., and
“singling out” her and fel- Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. —
low newcomers, all women in a Sunday newspaper
of color. By Thursday, the column. But it seems to
rhetoric escalated, over- have only enhanced their
shadowing the agenda stature. Allies of the four-
and pushing House Demo- some swiftly came to their
crats way off message with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., listens as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell defense, suggesting Pe-
the most divisive upheaval testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, losi was marginalizing the
since they took control July 10, 2019. women of color who are
of the chamber this year. Associated Press the new face of the party.
Longtime lawmakers were “ignorant” of racial history. ers to segregationists. “We developing for weeks, Chakrabarti tweeted his
stunned. “It shows the weakness of all must work together, pull mounting as Congress own critique of Pelosi.
“How dare they try to play their argument. It’s damag- together for the country’s struggled to pass a bor- Ocasio-Cortez told The
the race card at this point,” ing to this party and the in- good,” the Georgia Dem- der funding package, but Washington Post on
said Rep. William Lacy ternal workings of the Dem- ocrat said in an interview. now may force a reckon- Wednesday that “the per-
Clay, an African-American ocratic party.” “The great majority of the ing among Democrats sistent singling out ... it got
Democrat from Missouri Rep. John Lewis, the Civil caucus membership tends that spills beyond Capitol to a point where it was
who faces a primary chal- Rights icon, shared his view. to work together and get Hill and into the 2020 cam- just outright disrespectful
lenge backed by allies of Lewis said it was “a little along. We need to go for- paigns. ... the explicit singling out
Ocasio-Cortez. He called too far” for the staff mem- ward, not backward.” Late last month, tensions of newly elected women
those making the claims ber to compare lawmak- The problems have been grew between liberals, in- of color.” In a fundraising
cluding Ocasio-Cortez and email Thursday, Justice
the “squad” of three other Democrats, the progressive
freshmen, and centrists group that recruited Oca-
from the Problem Solvers, sio-Cortez to run for office,
Blue Dog and New Demo- criticized Pelosi for “singling
cratic caucuses over pro- out four new leaders who
tections for migrant chil- are progressive women of
dren and families in deten- color.” The group is back-
tion. With time ticking be- ing a handful of primary
fore funding ran out — and challengers to congres-
lawmakers set to leave sional Democrats, aiming
town for the July 4th holi- for 25. On Capitol Hill, the
day — centrists revolted, centrists got to work. Aides
forcing Pelosi to drop liber- were quick to point out the
al demands and approve co-chairwoman of the Blue
a more modest Senate ver- Dog Coalition, Rep. Steph-
sion of the bill. anie Murphy, is a refugee
And then the fallout be- and the first Vietnamese-
gan. “Didn’t realize this American elected to Con-
needed to be said, but: gress. Two members of the
you can be someone who coalition are African Ameri-
does not personally harbor can lawmakers who lived
ill will towards a race, but through segregation. One
through your actions still en- of the members of the New
able a racist system. And a Democratic Coalition, Rep.
lot of New Democrats and Terri Sewell, who is African-
Blue Dogs did that today,” American, represents her
tweeted Saikat Chakrab- hometown, Selma, Ala., as
arti, the chief of staff for well as Montgomery and
Ocasio-Cortez. It was an Birmingham, Alabama,
extraordinary attack by a and had reached out mul-
staff member on elected tiple times to Ocasio-Cor-
officials. tez after the tweets, to no
“This is in reference to my response.q