Facing his first real primary challenge in years, Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., is being hit by the liberal base and now the New York Times.
In a scathing editorial published Tuesday night, the Times editorial board criticized Crowley for not attending a Monday night debate with his young progressive challenger, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“When asking New Yorkers for their vote, most candidates would begin by showing up,” the editorial board wrote. “Not Representative Joseph Crowley. No, Mr. Crowley, a 10-term Democratic congressman who reportedly has ambitions of serving as House speaker, chose to skip a debate Monday night with his primary challenger, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”
Crowley, who represents New York’s 14th District and is expected to easily win re-election, sent former New York City Councilwoman Annabel Palma in his place, citing a previously scheduled engagement as the reason for his absence.
“Congressman Crowley wanted to attend Monday night’s forum and that was made clear to the organizers,” said campaign spokesman Vijay Chaudhuri. “Unfortunately, the date and time of this event was scheduled (and announced) without any effort to first coordinate with both parties in the race.”
Chauduri said it was made clear to the paper that hosted the debate that Crowley had a conflicting event but “organizers refused to reschedule” or adjust the time.
And a Crowley aide pointed out that the congressman’s team is responsible for organizing and scheduling the June 15 debate on NY1 between the two candidates.
Though both have voiced similar policy positions, Ocasio-Cortez distinguished herself from Crowley by being in favor of abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and rejecting corporate PAC money. Another of Ocasio-Cortez’s primary lines of attack against Crowley is his continued position atop the Queens County Democratic Party.
Crowley defended his position as the Queens party boss, pointing to multiple Democrats of color he’s help get elected.
“I am very proud of my record of electing progressive Democrats in Queens County, whether it’s in the judiciary or elected office,” Crowley said.
The unexpected primary challenge has drawn some national attention as influential progressive groups like the Bernie Sanders-aligned Our Revolution and MoveOn have backed Ocasio-Cortez.
The 28-year-old Latina has relentlessly attacked Crowley, accusing him of having a “misogyny problem” in his campaign and implying Crowley has ties to “white supremacy.” All of the claims are unfounded. Crowley is popular in the Democratic caucus, and is often named as a potential successor to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
How is that possible? Well, that power once built on supremacy has been handed down for generations.
In fact, our current rep (@repjoecrowley) was *appointed* 20 yrs ago, not elected. He inherited his seat from another family.
It’s a very Game-of-Thrones approach to governance.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) May 7, 2018
The Bronx-native captures the angst permeating through the liberal base, following the contentious 2016 Democratic presidential primary and President Trump’s win. Progressives are frustrated with party establishment for continuing to back candidates they consider “Republican lite” rather than liberals who can motivate the base and take on Trump. Unlike the Tea Party rebuke of establishment Republicans in 2012, liberals have not uniformly confronted incumbent Democrats in 2018.
Ocasio-Cortez has tried to capitalize on the base’s frustration in a May 30 digital ad, which made waves on social media.
“This race is about people versus money,” Ocasio-Cortez said in the ad. “We’ve got people. They’ve got money.”
The primary also made headlines last week when in a bizarre turn of events, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., decided to “co-endorse” Ocasio-Cortez after announcing support for Crowley days earlier.
Khanna came under fire from progressives for backing Crowley and then endured mocking from Democratic lawmakers after attempting to endorse both candidates.
Still, Crowley is expected to handily win the primary on June 26 and maintains a formidable cash advantage.
