Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said Monday no one will “push back” against freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., which he argued is stunting the 29-year-old’s growth as a politician.
“She routinely demonstrates her ignorance,” Limbaugh said on his radio program. “I’m trying to be nice here. I’m not calling it stupidity, although — but I’m not. I’m gonna chalk it up to ignorance. She has nobody that pushes back on her. There’s not a soul anywhere that will push back on her. Therefore, there’s no pressure for this woman to mature. There is no pressure for her to grow up.”
As a consequence, Limbaugh said Ocasio-Cortez has been “ratified and confirmed” as she is, and therefore is “tremendously deficient in terms of, I think, maturity development and intellectual development because she gets these accolades and star status treatment, there’s no reason for her to continue to grow.”
Ocasio-Cortez stormed the political landscape in 2018, defeating Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in June in their primary race. She then beat her Republican opponent, Anthony Pappas, in the general election to represent New York’s 14th Congressional District.
The Democratic Socialist has made a name for herself by not only snapping back at any critics and negative press on Twitter, but also by supporting bold left-wing policies.
She recently authored the New Green Deal resolution with longtime climate advocate Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. It is nonbinding but calls for Congress to take the lead in ridding the nation of fossil fuels in the next few decades, among other dramatic environmental and economic changes. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is fast-tracking the resolution through the Senate, enabling a vote as early as next week, in an effort to force Democrats and several of their presidential candidates to go on record as soon as next week on a plan that has attracted ridicule and split the party.
The plan has seen some resistance from Democrats who view it as being unrealistic. For instance, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was caught on video last week clashing with children urging her to support the Green New Deal, citing her decades of experience and electoral history as reasons for not being so easily swayed.
In an Instagram live stream, Ocasio-Cortez shot back at what she called “climate delayers.”
“The issue has gotten worse. So I don’t think that working on an issue for 30 years alone is what qualifies as — as what makes someone qualified to solve an issue,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a clear swipe at Feinstein.
Limbaugh said no one in the Democratic Party can provide a “counterbalance” to Ocasio-Cortez, who can make headlines by simply addressing her followers while cooking in her kitchen.
“She’s got this cooking video she put out over the weekend. She trashed Dianne Feinstein, called her a coward,” Limbaugh said, before noting the irony behind the electricity the congresswoman relies on.
“Her appliances run on gas or electricity. The produce we assume that she’s eating is brought to her by trucks that are fueled with gasoline or diesel. Her apartment is nice and warm, and there’s not a solar panel anywhere around, and no windmill. She’s got this really nice, warm, cozy life, easy access to food because of the massive infrastructure born of fossil fuels, and she wants to rip it apart,” Limbaugh said.
