(FiveNation.com)- Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been making a lot of noise in national politics, and now she’s being called out by another progressive lawmaker in her home state.
Over the weekend, Jessica Ramos, a progressive state Senator from New York, called out AOC, accusing her of ignoring her home district and not spending enough time there.
Ramos took to Twitter to express her displeasure with AOC, saying the congresswoman was “doing performative resistance art” so that she could gain publicity while at the same time saying her staff ended up blowing off a meeting with academics in the health policy space to discuss ongoing issues.
AOC responded directly on Twitter, writing:
“I’m really sorry to hear that this happened. It’s not representative of me nor my values. If you can connect with details I’d appreciate it. I’ll follow so DMs will be open.”
Not surprisingly, the response from Ramos wasn’t as cordial. She was upset that AOC could be so out of touch with what’s going on in her own district that she wouldn’t even know that this missed meeting happened.
Ramos tweeted back saying if AOC “spent more time” with her staff and in her congressional office, then she’d “know what goes on.” She tweeted about AOC:
“Just saying it would be nice if you breathed our air.”
That wasn’t the end of Ramos’ attack on AOC, though. She tweeted later on Sunday that Ocasio-Cortez never called her even though there were “crises” in her home district that Ramos could’ve helped with. She also rebutted users on Twitter who tried to defend AOC’s actions.
The state Senator said she had “receipts” and even her “own experience” with the congresswoman, reiterating she wants her “congressional representative to be around and do their job in the community.” Ramos tweeted later in the day:
“I gave up texting her a while back, and as petitioning unfolded, I reached out through staff and requested a meeting. I have not spoken to my congressperson in months. Maybe more than a year? What else is it I’m supposed to do?”
A Twitter user tried to call Ramos out by posting a picture of her with AOC during an engagement in March earlier this year. She responded, though:
“That’s not a conversation or a meeting. She moves on to her next scheduled event as do we, if we have one. This is so disingenuous.”
In other words, AOC is there to smile, take pictures and kiss babies — as the saying goes — but she isn’t spending the time that’s necessary in her home district. It’s outrageous that any member of Congress wouldn’t give the time of day to state Senator who represents their home district.
But, apparently, AOC only really cares about the big things on a national scale — which, in the eyes of many, are issues that she can take on to hopefully catapult her political career.
A representative for AOC’s office said the congresswoman recently visited her home district and held outreach meetings in the neighborhood where her office, and that of Ramos, are located — Jackson Heights.
