Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said that her supporters should embrace a different future even if Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the presidency.
“Let this moment radicalize you,” she said after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. “Let this moment really put everything into stark focus because this election has always been about the fight of and for our lives. And if anything, tonight is making that more clear to more people than ever before.” She didn’t elaborate.
“And after we work to command victory in November, I need folks to realize that there’s no going back to brunch,” she added, suggesting that progressives cannot get complacent even if they win.
But she called on her supporters to vote for Biden. Ocasio-Cortez was a surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), another self-described socialist.
“Voting for Joe Biden, it’s not about whether you like him or not, it’s a vote to let democracy live another day,” said the socialist Bronx congresswoman, who has been famously tepid in her backing of Biden. “No president is the answer. You are the answer. Mass movements are the answer,’’ she added.
The congresswoman also told reporters Saturday that if Republicans are successful in confirming a conservative justice to the Supreme Court after Ginsburg’s death, she suggested that Democrats will try to pack the court with more justices.
“We should leave all options on the table, including the numbers of justices that are on the Supreme Court,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
President Donald Trump says he is obligated to act as soon as possible on filling the Supreme Court and had at least two women in mind for the seat. Most Republicans concurred on the need for speed and one named a practical reason: The nine-seat member, argued Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), must be full if called upon to decide the outcome of a disputed presidential election.
