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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez taunts Republicans for being 'terrified' of her progressive policies

The 28-year-old running for US Congress is a Democratic Socialist

Mythili Sampathkumar
New York
Friday 06 July 2018 14:07 EDT
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the winner of a Democratic Congressional primary in New York, reacts to a passerby
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the winner of a Democratic Congressional primary in New York, reacts to a passerby (AP)

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has taunted Republicans, tweeting about how “terrified” their politicians will be once they learn more about her platform.

The 28-year-old from the Bronx borough of New York City, recently defeated handily the longtime US House Representative and Democratic Party star Joe Crowley, who had been in Congress for 20 years. Her stunning victory received all the more headlines given her avowedly socialist platform.

She tweeted: “If you think the GOP is terrified of my politics now, just wait until they find out about public libraries,” referring to her campaign to provide free trade school and higher education for all.

Ms Ocasio is challenging the old guard GOP which under Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, has taken away federal government grants to low-income students and done nothing to mitigate the crushing debt of student loans Americans experience.

Her plan is for the federal government to buy back which “could boost real GDP by an average of $86bn to $108bn per year”, according to her website.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez represents a wave of progressive Democrats running for office around the country in an effort to take back the US House from Republicans after the 2016 election.

The majority after the midterms will be crucial for the party as the GOP plans on pushing more bills to vote on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, immigration, and taxation.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet, in part, also alluded to the notion that her platform is “radical,” as many pundits on right-leaning Fox News have said.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeats fellow Democrat Joe Crowley in New York primary elections

As one user responded: “If they didn't already exist, public libraries would strike people as the most outlandish left-wing idea”.

Addressing the label, the former educator said the night of her election win: “There is nothing radical about moral clarity in 2018”.

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