Democratic Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski fired back at Democratic New York Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her Tuesday endorsement of his primary challenger.
Lipinski delivered a critical response after the New York Times went public with Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement of businesswoman Marie Newman, who ran against Lipinski previously and lost. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Endorses Primary Challenger To Moderate Illinois Democrat)
Dan Lipinski responds to @AOC endorsing his primary opponent and it’s a doozy.
“Ms. Newman is an extreme candidate who is completely out of step with the voters of Illinois’ Third District who do not want to be represented by a fifth member of the ‘Squad.'” pic.twitter.com/zewNDe6CfP
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) September 17, 2019
Lipinski’s statement cited Newman’s support of Medicare for All and the termination of all other private health care options, as well as her approval of the Green New Deal, both of which he said were policies too extreme for the voters in his district.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement of Marie Newman makes it crystal clear that Ms. Newman is an extreme candidate who is completely out of step with the voters of Illinois’ Third District who do not want to be represented by a fifth member of the “Squad.” The Democratic Party — and our country — cannot afford an obstructionist “Tea Party of the Left” when we need to focus on winning this next election and passing policies that will truly help working families and all who are struggling in America today.
Lipinski is one of just a few Democratic House members who are pro-life — the others are Henry Cuellar (TX) and Collin Peterson (MN) — he even voted against the final version of the Affordable Care Act because the pro-life protections he had wanted included were no longer there.
Ocasio-Cortez was quick to respond to Lipinski, calling him a “corporate candidate” and claiming that his “aggressive” language was the real division in the party. “This is a real quote from a Democrat representing a safe blue seat. Aggressive statements like these are so casually thrown from corporate candidates towards grassroots ones, yet they never get branded as “divisive,” despite their rhetoric. We should ask ourselves why that is,” she tweeted.
This is a real quote from a Democrat representing a safe blue seat.
Aggressive statements like these are so casually thrown from corporate candidates towards grassroots ones, yet they never get branded as “divisive,” despite their rhetoric.
We should ask ourselves why that is. https://t.co/wb3AOz5285
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 17, 2019
Newman is backed by Justice Democrats, the PAC that supported Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional campaign in New York in 2018.