New York Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked the GOP on Thursday for “corny” attacks against Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) that invoked his former band.
The Texas Republican Party took a shot at O’Rourke’s 1990s punk band called Foss on Twitter this week after he refused to debate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whose seat O’Rourke is running for, by tweeting, “Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans.”
“Why is the GOP so corny?” Ocasio-Cortez asked on Thursday.
{mosads}“You can front a band and run for office. You can pierce your nose, be a bartender, a teacher, a stay at home parent; wear a dress or rip your jeans — none of this disqualifies you from advancing the fight for healthcare, education, housing, and justice,” Ocasio-Cortez, who at one point tended bar, added.
The Texas GOP’s Twitter account also took a shot at O’Rourke’s 1998 mugshot for a drunk driving arrest.
“Sorry, Can’t debate. Had a little too much to drink,” read a mocking message in the GOP tweet.
The Texas Democrat’s campaign did not respond earlier this week to a request for comment.
O’Rourke has previously acknowledged and apologized for his past arrest for drunk driving as well as his arrest in 1995 for jumping a fence at the University of Texas at El Paso. He has said he was not convicted in either case. The DWI charge was dismissed after he completed a diversion program the following year.
Ocasio-Cortez blasted the GOP on Thursday for going into “personal nonsense.”
“More imperfect people need to run for office. We need to eliminate the idea of ‘perfect’ candidates — there’s no such thing. What matters are your values and the platform you’re fighting for,” she tweeted.
“When the opposition goes into personal nonsense, it’s because they‘re empty handed,” she added.
The Texas GOP later called out her tweet, saying it was “no surprise that the socialist running in New York is supporting the socialist running in Texas.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, fired back, reminding the GOP that they called the Affordable Care Act “socialist.”
“Well, now 70% of Americans support Medicare for All — including a majority of Republican voters,” Ocasio-Cortez responded. “How’d that work out for you?”
Other Democrats have defended O’Rourke over the attacks this week.
Virginia House Del. Danica Roem (D), the longtime lead singer of a thrash metal band, encouraged O’Rourke earlier this week to “rock on.”
“Hey, @BetoORourke: You know what happens when you get attacked in your campaign for being in a band?” Roem she tweeted Wednesday.
“You get sworn in the following January and then vote in May to expand access to quality, affordable health insurance for hundreds of thousands of people in your state. #RockOn.”