Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took another swing at the Electoral College on Friday, referring to it as “affirmative action” for rural Americans.
Ocasio-Cortez began by attacking Fox News, tweeting, “I see Fox News is big mad about abolishing the electoral college. So let’s talk about it. 1) If the GOP were the “silent majority” they claim, they wouldn’t be so scared of a popular vote. They *know* they aren’t the majority. They rely on establishing minority rule for power.”
I see Fox News is big mad about abolishing the electoral college.
So let’s talk about it.
1) If the GOP were the “silent majority” they claim, they wouldn’t be so scared of a popular vote.
They *know* they aren’t the majority. They rely on establishing minority rule for power.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 23, 2019
The freshman congresswoman then argued that the Electoral College is the reason that “a handful of states DO determine elections” rather than the only thing standing in the way of that. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal Is So Urgent That She’s Mad GOP Wants To Vote On It)
2) This common claim about “if we don’t have the Electoral College then a handful of states will determine the presidency” is BS.
a. It’s the *EC itself* that breaks down power by state, pop vote decentralizes itb. The EC makes it so a handful of states DO determine elections
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 23, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez then claimed that because most states have rural areas, the argument that “the Electoral College is provides ‘fairness’ to rural Americans over coastal states doesn’t hold any water whatsoever.”
3) LASTLY, this concept that the Electoral College is provides “fairness” to rural Americans over coastal states doesn’t hold any water whatsoever. First of all, virtually every state has rural communities. NY. California. Much of our states are rural.
But very importantly…
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 23, 2019
She concluded by referring to the Electoral College as “affirmative action” for rural Americans — in spite of the fact that she had just claimed that the EC didn’t actually provide an advantage to rural Americans — and then argued that other groups who had been disenfranchised might be more deserving of such an advantage.
4) We do not give electoral affirmative action to any other group in America. Do Black Americans have their votes count more bc they have been disenfranchised for 100s of years? Do Reservations get an electoral vote? Does Puerto Rico and US territories get them? No. They don’t.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 23, 2019
Fox News host Dana Perino had called out Ocasio-Cortez on the EC on Wednesday.
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