Fred Guttenberg condemned New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for pointing to voter suppression when she explained why Bernie Sanders didn’t beat Joe Biden in Michigan.
During an interview on Fox News on Thursday night, host Bret Baier asked Ocasio-Cortez why young voters weren’t able to carry Sanders to victory. The New York Democrat responded, “I think one thing that isn’t being talked about is the rampant voter suppression in this country.”
“Right there in Ann Arbor, where we had that rally, those kids were waiting three hours in line to vote in Michigan,” she added.
Baier pressed her further, asking, “Just to be clear, you’re saying that you think voters didn’t get to vote that wanted to vote in Michigan?”
“Absolutely,” Ocasio-Cortez responded. “Obviously, there’s also more that we need to do in terms of turning out youth voters. We need to make sure that we are inspiring young people to turn out, but when you do turn out, you should not be waiting three, four, seven hours in order to vote.”
Guttenberg, a gun violence prevention advocate whose daughter Jaime was killed in the shooting in Parkland, Florida, questioned why Ocasio-Cortez listed “rampant voter suppression” as the first reason Sanders did not win.
“This is ridiculous @AOC,” Guttenberg tweeted. “It was not voter suppression that caused voters, including me, to vote for @JoeBiden. It was his position on gun safety. His decency. His civility. It is his leadership. Stop making excuses for voters not choosing Bernie.”
Ocasio-Cortez denied that she blamed Sanders’s loss on voter suppression, responding: “Hey Fred, I deeply appreciate your work and advocacy on gun reform. Biden ran a great campaign and won Michigan strongly. Please keep in mind the strong attempts to divide our party at this time- if you look at actual the [sic] clip, I did not blame Sanders’ loss to voter suppression.”
She continued: “I was discussing youth turnout. Bernie’s campaign tried a strategy of blowing up youth turnout. It worked to an extent, but wasn’t enough to get us past the post. What I *was* discussing were the 3 hour waits at polling locations, which can sometimes deter young people.”
Hey Fred, I deeply appreciate your work and advocacy on gun reform.
Biden ran a great campaign and won Michigan strongly. Please keep in mind the strong attempts to divide our party at this time- if you look at actual the clip, I did not blame Sanders’ loss to voter suppression.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 13, 2020
I am looking forward to uniting behind the eventual nominee and defeating Trump. But in this moment we have to be extra mindful of the attempts and flashy headlines that try to get us to jump to conclusions. My DMs are open to you & if you have a Q again, feel free to reach out.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 13, 2020
Ocasio-Cortez concluded her response by telling Guttenberg, who endorsed Biden, that she would support any Democratic candidate running against President Trump, adding, “But in this moment we have to be extra mindful of the attempts and flashy headlines that try to get us to jump to conclusions.”
The congresswoman has been one of Sanders’s most significant endorsements in his campaign for president. The Vermont senator trails Biden by 153 delegates.
