Yesterday the 116th Congress was sworn in, featuring a historic number of women and people of color. Among them, the youngest congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, representing New York's 14th district. The self-proclaimed 'democratic socialist' unseated a longtime Democratic incumbent with just a fraction of his cash. During her campaign, the Bronx native charmed voters with relatable stories about struggling to make ends meet.
Republicans have criticized Ocasio-Cortez for her progressive policies, such as Medicare For All, tuition-free college and the Green New Deal, which is to be expected. However, they've also attacked her in bizarre, idiotic ways: On Fox News, pundits expressed amusement about her real financial struggles, falsely claimed she owned high-priced outfits, and tried to discredit her by sharing a photo of her modest childhood home. One conservative journalist even posted a creeper photo of Ocasio-Cortez, snarking: "That jacket and coat don't look like a girl who struggles."
So, to summarize: Ocasio-Cortez is guilty of living in a house and wearing a clothes. What a monster! However, yesterday we witnessed the dumbest attack yet, and it backfired spectacularly.
The Twitter account AnonymousQ1776 published a old video of Ocasio-Cortez dancing enthusiastically on a rooftop. The caption read: "Here is America’s favorite commie know-it-all acting like the clueless nitwit she is...High School video of 'Sandy' Ocasio-Cortez." However, the video was actually from 'Sandy's' college days, not her high school days - hence the 'Boston University' shirt. AnonymousQ1776 deleted his or her account, but you can view the thirty second clip in this tweet:
Apparently, the video was supposed to be incriminating, which is baffling. Ocasio-Cortez's dancing is totally innocent, an exuberant ode to Ally Sheedy's iconic dance in the classic 80's movie The Breakfast Club. AnonymousQ1776 stole the clip from the original footage, a four minute dance video created by Boston University students in 2010. The original dance was to Phoenix' Lisztomania, while AnonymousQ1776's dubbed in some 'salacious' burlesque beat.
The internet found Ocasio-Cortez's dancing adorable, and the clip went viral, collecting more than four million views before AnonymousQ1776 deleted his account. He published the clip to smear the youngest congresswoman, but it just made people love her more. (And evidently, Republicans are the out-of-touch old farts from the movie Footloose.)
Ocasio-Cortez' dancing even won approval from actresses Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy, who welcomed her into The Breakfast Club.
And now the clip has become a meme, with people dubbing various songs underneath.
Today freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to the hilarious 'controversy.' According to The Hill reporter Olivia Beavers, she stated, "It is not normal for elected officials to have a reputation for dancing well and I'm happy to be one... It is unsurprising to me that Republicans would think having fun should be disqualifying or illegal."
Also, Ocasio-Cortez posted a new video of her dancing outside her office on Capitol Hill. "I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous," she tweeted. "Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too!"
In the clip, she busts a move to Edwin Starr's War, which is an appropriate choice. What was this smear campaign good for? Absolutely nothing - for the GOP, anyway.
.jpg_wXEJDz?tr=h-184)
.jpg_7okWtP?tr=h-184)
