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Outside of Hillary Clinton, there is no bigger trigger for the Republican outrage machine than New York democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She displayed the power she has to send grown men into apoplectic fits of rage over the New Year’s holiday when she made headlines for daring to take a vacation to Miami. While it may seem hypocritical for the party that stayed quiet as Donald Trump played more than 250 rounds of golf during his presidency at taxpayer expense, hypocrisy is exactly the charge the GOP is levying against AOC for the act of taking time off during a congressional recess.
Republicans love to hate AOC. They attack her for things like attending the Met Gala in that “tax the rich” dress. So when she was seen on South Beach without a mask, the knives were quickly sharpened and unsheathed. And it underscored just how hypocritical and disingenuous the Republican Party has become.
She was photographed and video recorded sitting outside at a restaurant, having a coffee without a mask while her partner wore sandals, which was a big topic of controversy. She was also photographed outside hugging someone. And the hypocrisy that was alleged is she wants all these COVID guidelines and yet she escapes liberal New York and liberal DC, the two places where she lives to go to conservative Florida. So it’s a huge double standard.
Except it wasn’t a double standard. AOC was on Miami Beach, not exactly a bastion of conservatism. Also, she was sitting outside, which the CDC and many medical experts have said is perfectly alright for a fully vaccinated person, as Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is. Most conservatives know this. And the House was in recess and is allowed to take a vacation. But conservatives will still go after her on social media because that’s what the Republican Party does now: it stokes the fires.
Interestingly, the GOP stayed largely quiet when Rep. Paul Gosar’s (R-AZ) staff released a ridiculous anime video that showed Gosar attacking AOC. They kept mum when Senator Ted Cruz left Texas in the lurch during a deadly ice storm that crippled the state and flew to sunny Mexico. That’s because the GOP isn’t the party of “family values.” It’s the party of owning the libs at all costs.
And Rep. Ocasio-Cortez just happens to be a favorite target.
