Ocasio-Cortez gets support from surprising source: Matt Gaetz

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is getting support for her criticism of a new House Democratic campaign policy from a surprising source: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of President Trump’s most vocal supporters.

Gaetz backed Ocasio-Cortez’s critique of a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) policy intended to protect incumbents that seeks to prevent consultants from working with Democrats who challenge sitting lawmakers.

{mosads}“General elections determine whether your party gets power,” Gaetz wrote in a tweet on Monday. “Primaries determine what you’ll use it for. #KeepPrimariesGreat.”

Gaetz was quote-tweeting Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee that has sought to unseat incumbents and endorsed Ocasio-Cortez and six other House members in the 2018 midterm elections.

General elections determine whether your party gets power.

Primaries determine what you’ll use it for. #KeepPrimariesGreat https://t.co/MWRl5ccwhE

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) April 8, 2019

Under the DCCC policy, introduced in late March, consultants and strategists wishing to be added to a list of approved vendors eligible to work for the DCCC would have to pledge not to work for any candidate challenging a sitting Democratic member of Congress.

The proposal has attracted scathing criticism from Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), both of whom were elected in the 2018 midterms after defeating a longtime incumbent in the Democratic primary. Other liberal Democrats, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus, have also criticized the policy.

Gaetz, despite his conservative politics, has praised Ocasio-Cortez in the past and sought to leverage his social media presence to similar effect, telling Politico “I aspire to be the conservative AOC” in January.

Last week, in a shot at her signature Green New Deal initiative, Gaetz introduced a “Green Real Deal,” a climate plan he said was more realistic and stood a better chance of passage.