House Democrat's tweet tackled AOC's best employee and the ongoing quarrel, explained

The Democratic House leaders are on the attack and some party leaders are on their own: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and her staff.

On the night of Friday to Friday, House Democrats' official Twitter account, run by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), launched an inflammatory tweet about Saikat Chakrabarti, Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, accusing him to "distinguish a Native American national". woman of color, "Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS).

A spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined to comment on the speaker's view of the tweet from the official record of House Democrats. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus spokesman Michael Hardway, however, confirmed to Vox that the tweet had been sent intentionally, but did not explain the reason behind it.

The tweet was sent in response to something that Chakrabarti had tweeted two weeks ago about the Senate's acceptance of the $ 4.59 billion emergency funding bill at the Senate border. end of June, a bill advanced by the progressives that did not go far enough to remedy the situation.

At the time, Chakrabarti spoke of moderate Democrats who had pleaded for the creation of a new Senate by the "Southern Democrats," claiming that they were "mad to want to do to blacks." and to blacks today what the old Southern Democrats had done in the 1940s ". In the 1940s, Democrats were generally conservative and opposed efforts for civil rights, including the first attempts at desegregation.) Chakrabarti finally removed the original tweet, clarifying, he did not see these members as racistbut as facilitators of a racist system.

Tensions between Democratic House leaders and progressive lawmakers have increased in recent weeks, with progressives believing that leadership excluded them from their demands and influence within the party. Chakrabarti is at an interesting intersection of this dynamic. He works for Ocasio-Cortez, a Social Democrat Democratic member whose viral presence on the Internet has allowed him to dominate conversations at the national level, in a way that provoked the anger of members of the House. And he founded Justice Democrats, a progressive group that strives to overthrow ideologically moderate Democrats, some of whom are seasoned black legislators who have made their way into the inner circle of House leaders.

Until now, Pelosi had publicly rejected the influence of the progressives and had privately asked the majority of the House to maintain a spirit of unity. But the internal quarrel within his party continues to make its way into the public.

Democrats in the House Are Angry About a Two-Week Tweeting Published by AOC Staff

Paul Morigi / WireImage for the Recording Academy

The House Democrats' tweet arrives a few days after Pelosi firmly urged Democratic Democracy lawmakers and their associates to keep Twitter safe from internal reproaches.

"Do you have a complaint? You come to talk to me about that. But do not tweet about our members and expect that to be considered correct, "Pelosi told legislators at a private meeting on Tuesday, according to several sources in the room.

Pelosi's remarks were interpreted as a direct message to progressive lawmakers and their teams. Lawmakers like representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) were explicit about their frustrations with moderate Democrats after the vote on border funding. Pocan called the bipartisan group of Republicans and Moderate Democrats – nicknamed the "Caucus Problem Solving" – the "Child Abuse Caucus". Chakrabarti also commented, with his tweet comparing the current moderate Democrats to the Southern Democrats who allowed the establishment of segregationist policies in the 1940s.

Despite Pelosi's warnings, the House Democrats' official account tweeted a direct attack on one of his staff. Although his boss was one of the subjects warned by the speaker, Chakrabarti himself responded to the tweet of the House of Democrats.

"All I tweeted two weeks ago was to recall the terrible bill on border funding over 90 Dems opposed," he said. "This gave Trump a blank check to continue putting people in cages in appalling conditions. Our democracy is literally falling apart. I'm not interested in Twitter mouths without substance. "

Pelosi has not yet responded to the escalation.

"It's Hakeem [Jeffries]His account so he can do what he wants. It was a brutal attack on a member here, "said a senior Democrat assistant at Vox. "It's the caucus' Twitter account, it's not the voice of House Democrats in general, go ahead."

The assistant clarified that Chakrabarti was a staff member and not that a congressman could help explain why he had been chosen.

"The segregationist tweet is what the members are overwhelmed with," said the assistant. "The staff must be seen and not heard. This is unprecedented. "

There is an important story here

The tweet of Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, who compared moderate democrats to congressional segregationists, inflamed some moderate black Democrats in the House. But there has been a growing tension between the two camps for a long time because of Justice Democrats' attempt to appoint a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in 2018.

Ocasio-Cortez was elected to Congress last year by the overthrow of former Democratic House caucus chair Joe Crowley (D-NY), a powerful Queens party leader widely regarded as the next Speaker of the House of Commons in the years to come.

The group that supported him, Justice Democrats, did not hesitate to campaign to overthrow the moderate sitting Democrats. The group made it clear that it wanted more congressional progressives to focus on liberal issues – even if it meant getting rid of the Democrats already in power.

In mid-2018, Cori Bush, a black woman defying long-time Republican Lacy Clay of Missouri, supported by the Democratic Justice Party, was herself a member of the CBC. Bush is planning to run against Clay again, and the Democratic judge has also supported a leading opponent of US Congress Hispanic Caucus member Henry Cuellar (D-TX).

"It just seems odd that the Social Democrats seem to be targeting the members of Congress's black caucus, individuals who have fought and fought for African Americans to be included and participate in this process," Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), a prominent member of the CBC, and himself a Queens party leader, told The Hill's Scott Wong.

Meeks also suggested to his moderate colleagues to challenge the progressive members of his room. "The primaries go both ways," Meeks told the New York Daily News. "If someone is fighting with someone else, you riposte."

Beyond the current primary struggle, something else is going on in the ongoing war between the Ocasio-Cortez camp and the rest of the House democratic caucus – a wide disagreement over the seniority structure under- the foundation on which the Pelosi caucus is based. Seniority is extremely important in the House's democratic caucus, particularly within the powerful CBC, whose members are close to Pelosi.

From the beginning of her entry into Congress, Ocasio-Cortez made it clear that she did not want to respect the old rules. Beyond her tendency to tweet unrestrained messages among millions of people, the new recruit raised eyebrows as she tried to join the House's powerful Ways and Means Committee, Politico reported in January. This small action alone has aggravated many long-time members.

"It's totally annoying for everyone," a senior legislator from the Democratic House told Politico. "You are not chosen for committees by your base [supporters] are."

But the young and new progressive members are tired of the leadership structure of the House, both in Congress and in the broader political system. However, it should be noted that these progressives supported Pelosi's presidential candidacy in January, while many moderate Democrats did not.

"I do not want to bring a chair to an old table," Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), first-year representative and ally of Ocasio-Cortez, told the annual Netroots Progressive Conference on Saturday. Nation in Philadelphia. "It's time to shake the table, it's time to redefine the table."

Photo of Bastiaan Slabbers / NurPhoto via Getty Images

This is a progressive movement that is trying to gain power

On Saturday, at the annual Netroots Nation Progressive Conference, the leadership of the House leadership was at the center of the event with Progressive Legislators Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Deb Haaland.

"Every congressman has a role to play – our role is to vote, the role of leadership is to play it out," Omar said. "When everyone understands their role, everyone succeeds. But there is often a constant struggle with people who have the power to share this power. "

The wickedness of the struggle between the progressive "group" (a group of progressive students including Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Tlaib, and Pressley) and the rest of the Democratic caucus of the House could be magnified in the wake of the 2020 elections, because Democrats are very focused on protecting their majority in the House, especially the moderate members.

Some members of the Democratic caucus are worried about Ocasio-Cortez's power star and the megaphone of 4.7 million followers on Twitter, as well as many followers of the rest of the team. The fact that these followings serve to amplify progressive ideas such as the Green New Deal, Medicare-for-all and Medicare-for-all, and Abolish ICE, makes moderate Democrats – many of which are the reason Democrats hold the majority in the House – incredibly nervous.

In reality, Ocasio-Cortez is not just a congressional woman, but a social media star with 4.7 million followers. She sometimes uses this huge platform to challenge her Democratic colleagues in the House about disagreements that would normally be resolved behind them. doors, as they have been for many years. As Democrats in the House adapt to this new reality and as Ocasio-Cortez and other freshmen and Democrats with many online followers seek to convert the power of social media into political capital, disputes such as that between Jeffries and Chakrabarti will likely continue to reach the public. sphere.