Joe Lieberman Pens Op-Ed Urging Voters To Back Joe Crowley Over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In a bombshell for local politics, former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut is urging voters in the Bronx and Queens to turn their backs on surprise Democratic congressional primary winner Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and send Joe Crowley back to Washington.
Stunned by her election night victor over the long-time congressman, Ocasio-Cortez was stunned once again by the scorching attack from Lieberman. It proves becoming the "it" girl of New York politics has its ups and downs. Lieberman used an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, saying Ocasio-Cortez is "... likely to hurt Congress," "... would make it harder for Congress to stop fighting and start fixing problems," and "... is more Socialist than Democratic. Her dreams of a new federal spending would bankrupt the country or require very large tax increases."
Lieberman, appealing to residents of the 14th congressional district to vote for Crowley in November on the Working Families Party line, is also critical of her foreign policy views. Ocasio-Cortez upset many during an interview last week when she called Israel an "occupation" force over the Palestinian territories.
"I also think that what people are starting to see at least in the occupation of Palestine is just an increasing crisis of humanitarian condition," Ocasio-Cortez said on PBS's Firing Line. "I think what I mean is that the settlements are increasing... Palestinians are experiencing difficulty in access to their housing and homes."
In response to Lieberman, Crowley tweeted that he's "Still not running," but sources in the Working Families Party tell CBS2 that after his defeat in the Democratic primary Crowley refused entreaties to get off their ballot line. They might secretly hope that Ocasio-Cortez falters.
"Joe Crowley loses nothing by listening to Joe Lieberman," political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said. "Frankly if he chose to run, the money would be there and he might even win the race."
A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez says he's taking Crowley at his word that he's not running. "The race is over," according to the spokesperson. The Working Family Party says that even though Crowley is on their ballot line, they will be "going all out to elect Alexandria."
