Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got a surprise question from Bill Nye the Science Guy at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas on Saturday, who was very impressed with what she had to say.
At the end of a Q&A session, the celebrity scientist asked Ocasio-Cortez about “fear” of socialist ideas, particularly among conservatives, and expressed support for central tenets of the freshman congresswoman’s Green New Deal, which aims to tackle climate change and deal with economic and social inequality.
Ocasio-Cortez said the “keys” to ending the fear include “dismantling a zero-sum mentality,” viewing progress as an investment, and showing other people what courage looks like.
[Opinion: AOC is spreading fear and gloom about America, and the media is in love]
.@AOC answers @BillNye’s questions about climate change and how to counteract fear at #SXSW #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/JKL9l2xulo
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) March 10, 2019
The New York Democrat also called on voters across the country to put pressure on elected representatives to protect the environment, even outside of election season. Ocasio-Cortez said some of her colleagues blame their constituents for supporting measures that weaken protections for the environment while shielding their donors who sway their decisions.
“Everyone blames it on their electorate and when our electorate isn’t speaking up, then they’re aloud to get away with that,” she said, noting too that
Bill Nye later tweeted a selfie with Ocasio-Cortez. “AOC gets it. She sees that fear is dividing us. We can address income inequality. We can address climate change, if we get together and get to work,” he said.
AOC gets it. She sees that fear is dividing us. We can address income inequality. We can address climate change, if we get together and get to work. #SXSW @AOC pic.twitter.com/I8tSbAc97u
— Bill Nye (@BillNye) March 10, 2019
Last month the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, projected the Green New Deal resolution introduced by progressive Democrats Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., would cost up to $93 trillion over 10 years.
