A right-wing journalist hears a socialist speak and accidentally exposes the absurdity of opposing her platform

Virgina Kruta with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez


Support us and go ad-free

After covering a rally headlined by openly socialist Democratic Party politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a right-wing journalist made comments that accidentally exposed the absurdity of opposing her platform. And her words could have come straight from the pages of a left-wing satirical magazine.

Oops…

Virginia Kruta, an associate editor for the right-wing Daily Caller website, had heard Ocasio-Cortez speak at an event celebrating the birthday of another left-leaning Democratic Party candidate, Cori Bush, who is standing for Congress in the midwestern city of St Louis. But her comments about the rally appeared like they were said by someone who was deliberately mocking right-wing opposition to a socialist platform.

She said during an interview on Fox News:

They talk about things that everybody wants, especially, like, if you’re a parent. They talk about education for your kids, healthcare for your kids. The things that you want!

Appearing completely unaware of how her remarks were coming across, she then dialed up the right-wing rhetoric as if she were the alter-ego of a TV satirist like Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert:

And, you know, if you’re not really paying attention to how they’re going to pay for it or, you know, the rest of that, it’s easy to fall into that trap and say, “my kids deserve this,” and, you know, “well maybe the government should be responsible for helping you with that!”

As it happens, Colbert has already satirized the incident on his show:

In her article for the Daily Caller, Kruta said she found the experience “truly terrifying,” because “I saw just how easy it would be, were I less involved and less certain of our nation’s founding and its history, to fall for the populist lines they were shouting from that stage.”

Healthcare and education. “Terrifying” stuff.

Ocasio-Cortez’s platform consists of policies that would generally be uncontroversial for a European centre-left party, and have even been incorporated into the programs of some centrist and centre-right parties. These include publicly-funded universal healthcare for all US residents, tuition-free higher education at public universities, ending foreign military engagements in the Middle East and elsewhere, and reform of the US banking system.

On Twitter, many were quick to comment about the revealing nature of Kruta’s comments. And Ocasio-Cortez herself tweeted:

Others ratcheted up the mockery, with one tweeting:

For her part, Kruta clarified her position:

But unfortunately for her, her words had already spread far and wide. And whether she wanted to or not, she helped to expose the absurdity of opposing a socialist platform focused on human development and dignity.

Get Involved!

– To see information on truly progressive candidates in the US, see Our Revolution and Justice Democrats. If you’re a US resident, you can also join and participate in the activities of the Democratic Socialists of America. And if you want more voters to choose the best candidate over the best-funded candidate, then support anti-corruption groups like Move to Amend, Represent.US, and Wolf-PAC.

– Join or support the Stop the War Coalition. Also show your support for Veterans for Peace, who are fighting for peaceful solutions to the world’s problems. And take action with the Campaign Against Arms Trade.

– Support The Canary if you appreciate the work we do.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot

Support us and go ad-free

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us

Comments are closed

Related articles