A-students will recall Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat incumbent Joe Crowley in a definitive upset victory in NY CD-14 June 26. And that Crowley conceded, crooning “Born to Run” to Ocasio in what was lauded as a show of good sportsmanship and party solidarity. End of story, right?
No.
As Gothamist is reporting, Crowley, the Bronx Queens Democratic Party Boss is now on the ballot for the General election as a Working Families Party candidate, potentially leading to confusion and strife between progressives aligned with the WFP or Democratic Socialists of America endorsing Ocasio.
While Crowley insists he is no longer running and his listing on the ballot is a bureaucratic SNAFU due to the fact he is alive and hasn't been convicted of a crime, he refuses to take action requested by WFP leaders, which would be to change his voter registration from New York to Virginia, where he actually resides with his family (his absenteeism was an issue in the Primary).
This has raised questions about his intentions and whether he is playing politics to sow discontent among progressives. Crowley claims innocence, but various exchanges between Crowley, Ocasio and the WFP leaves it as an open issue.
From this morning’ s NYT:
"You’d think that given the moment we’re in that Democratic leaders would want to help progressive forces to unite," Bill Lipton, state director of the Working Families Party, told the newspaper. He added that he reached out to Crowley about conceding the third-party nomination, but the campaign declined.
So now we have a Dem incumbent running as a third-party candidate against a progressive DSA Democrat in a district where Crowley remains the Dem Party Boss. The plot thickens ….
Crowley, citing New York Election Law shot back in a now long and acrimonious Twitter thread I excerpt here for the sake of bandwidth brevity, but it is worth reading the thread to get the picture that Crowley while claiming he as conceded stops short of actually committing to action and seems to be trolling and gaslighting Ocasio, and back to his old tricks.
It goes downhill quickly from there.
One thing is very clear: If Joe Crowley is going, he’s not going quietly, politely or extending his hand and support to Ocasio for the good of the Party, but playing games.
In a year when Dem unity regardless of faction is essential to make a blue wave to take back Congress, it looks like Crowley is out for himself.
If Speaker Pelosi is really dedicated to taking back the House and putting out the welcome mat for young and upcoming leaders to bring fresh blood to the Party, perhaps she should do her job and have a discussion about party unity and party discipline with Crowley.
Let’s see how she handles this. Madam Speaker please note:
- Ocasio won the Dem primary by a wide margin
- The Working Families Party requests Crowley to take action to remove himself
- We need to focus on winning elections, time to move on
Allow me to quote my last diary :
We need a party where voters pick the winners and common cause is a two-way street.
We need a party that holds the door open to millennial/post-millennial activists and progressives to have a future.
It means:
- When Progressives win, Centrists get behind them
- When Centrists win, Progressives get behind them
- SOLIDARITY
That means you, Joe. Time’s up for playing games. If you won’t help, get the fuck out of the way.
Don't just sit there, DO SOMETHING. Hit the links and get involved. WIN.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for NY CD-14 | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @Ocasio2018
Jessica Ramos for NY Senate SD 13 | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @jessicaramos
Julia Salazar for NY Senate SD 18 | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @SalazarSenate18
Zellnor Myrie for NY Senate SD 20 | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @Zellnor4NY | Dkos
Jasmine Robinson for NY Senate SD 23 | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @jasirobinson34
Robert Jackson for NY Senate SD31| Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @RJackson_NYC | Dkos
Alessandra Biaggi for NY Senate SD 34 | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @Biaggi4NY | Dkos
Jovanka Beckles for CA AD-15 | Volunteer | Donate | @JovankaBeckles
Zephyr Teachout for NY Attorney General | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @ZephyrTeachout
Jumaane Williams for NY Lt. Governor | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @JumaaneWilliams
Cynthia Nixon for NY Governor | Volunteer | Donate ActBlue | @CynthiaNixon | Dkos
#bluewave2018
Friday, Jul 13, 2018 · 3:56:48 AM +00:00 · koNko
Quite a lively discussion here. Got my first Tip Jar hidden in 12+ years, so I suppose I hit a few nerves. A few follow-up points:
1. More than one person has pointed out that if Crowley changed his voter reg to VA, as suggested by the WFP, he would have to resign his office. That is an excellent and important point and convinces me it’s really not possible for him to do so. Productive discussion.
2. However, that is not what Crowley argued, he cited (and I linked) NY law. See point 1 above. Case closed?
3. A lot of people want to blame Ocasio for creating this mess but she did not. Crowley registered to stand for the WFP and that is the problem. I’ll agree that Ocasio may have over-reacted when she learned Crowley is still in the race, but it’s an unusual situation and reasonable she would be upset. Maybe Crowley can explain why he is registered for the WFP, I for one would be interested.
4. I understand emotions are high because of Ocasio’s upset win, but she worked her ass-off to get there and now deserves Dem support, as do all Dem primary winners. I repeat SOLIDARITY.
5. It seems Ocasio is a young and inexperienced candidate. Perhaps that is a crime but it is how fresh blood comes into the party and future leaders are groomed. Ocasio brings with her a lot of very smart and hardworking supporters and loads of millennial voters. Unless you want the Dem party to die by attrition, that is good news.
6. About the hidden Tip Jar. No biggie, shit happens. I did not know 15 2 or 3 other diaries were already published and just dashed this off when I came home from work. Publishing a diary is an invitation to comments and criticism. Thanks for your contributions.
VOTE DEM, LOL. DON'T FORGET!