Ocasio-Cortez, in SXSW, talks about FDR, Reagan and capitalism, says political moderates are "meh"

US Republican Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the political moderates of the South by Southwest Conference & Austin in Austin, Texas, calling them "misplaced" as she defended her progressive politics in a room full of supporters.

"Moderate is not a position. It is an attitude towards the life of gender "meh", said Saturday the Democrat of New York during an interview with Briahna Gray, editor-in-chief of politics at Intercept. "We have become so cynical that we consider" meh "or" eh "- we see cynicism as an intellectually superior attitude and we see ambition as a childish naivety when … the greatest things we have ever done in as a society. have been ambitious acts of visions, and the "meh" is just worshiped now, for what? "

The self-proclaimed Socialist Democrat also criticized the treatment of minorities throughout American history, from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, which she described as racist, to Ronald Reagan's policy, which would have "Opposing" the white working class to minorities in order to "live on all Americans of the working class," particularly African Americans and Hispanics.

REPRESENTATIVE. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ CLASSIFIED DEMOCRATIC ON "RACIST AND FALSE" IMMIGRATION TROPES

"So, you think about this image of queens welfare and what he was really trying to say, it was … a vision really full of resentment of essentially black women who do not did nothing, which were "zero" for our country, "she said.

"So, you think about this image of the queens of welfare and what [Reagan] I was really trying to talk, it was … like a vision really full of resentment of essentially black women who were doing nothing, who were "void" for our country. "

– Rep. US Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

"And that's all this tragedy of common thinking, where it's like because … this specific group of people, that you're already a little subconsciously ready to feel, you give them a different reason which is not an explicit racism but is still rooted in a racist caricature, "Ocasio-Cortez continued. "It gives people a logical reason, a" logical "reason to say," Oh yes, no, throw away the entire social safety net. "

CAPTOL GRAPPLES WITH COMPLICATED HISTORY ON THE RACE

Ocasio-Cortez also discussed the Green New Deal and capitalism, which she says can not be redeemed because they place profit "foremost".

"The most important thing is the concentration of capital. This means that we prioritize profit and money accumulation, and we seek it at all human and environmental costs … But when we talk about ideas like democratic socialism, it means doing democracy and the company first, instead of the capital of the first; it does not mean that the very concept of capitalist society should be abolished, "she said.

"When we talk about ideas like democratic socialism, that means putting democracy and society before capital, but that does not mean that the very concept of capitalist society should be abolished."

– Rep. US Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

During a question and answer session with the audience, TV host and author Bill Nye, the scientist, approached the microphone.

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"I'm a white guy," said Nye. "I think the problem on both sides is fear. The people of my ancestry are afraid of paying everything at the arrival of immigrants. The people who work at the restaurant in Alabama are afraid to ask what is reasonable. So, do you have a plan to work with congressmen who are scared? This is happening in many Conservatives, particularly with regard to climate change. People are scared of what happens when we try to make these big changes happen. "

"One of the keys to dismantling fear is dismantling a zero-sum mentality," Ocasio-Cortez replied. "It means the categorical rejection of the logic that the gain of someone else requires my loss and that my gain requires the loss of somebody. We can give without taking. We view progress as a loss rather than an investment. When we choose to invest in our system, we choose to create wealth. When we all invest in it, wealth is for us all too.

"When we choose to invest in our system, we choose to create wealth.When we all invest … then wealth is for all of us."

– Rep. US Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

The nine-day music and media festival attracted many political figures this year. Several presidential candidates in 2020 appeared on Saturday, including Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who is also considering running for president, also made the pilgrimage.

Former Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich – a potential challenger of President Trump for the GOP – also spoke at the festival Saturday.