Former Democratic vice presidential candidate and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has come forward to urge New York voters to reject Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in November and vote for the man she upset in the Democratic primary, incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley. Lieberman also urged Crowley to stay in the race.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Lieberman writes:
Because the policies Ms. Ocasio-Cortez advocates are so far from the mainstream, her election in November would make it harder for Congress to stop fighting and start fixing problems. … Fortunately, Joe Crowley and the voters in his district can prevent this damage.
Lieberman takes aim at the hard-left wing of the Democratic Party: “Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America, whose platform, like hers, is more Socialist than Democratic. Her dreams of new federal spending would bankrupt the country or require very large tax increases, including on the working class.”
He notes that Ocasio-Cortez spoke from the DSA policy book during the primary, which meant she supported socialist governments, “even if they are dictatorial and corrupt (Venezuela).” Lieberman also cites Ocasio-Cortez’s “opposition to American leadership in the world, even to alleviate humanitarian disasters (Syria), and reflexive criticism of one of America’s great democratic allies (Israel).”
Lieberman attacks Ocasio-Cortez’s calls to “Abolish ICE,” writing, This makes no sense unless you no longer want any rules on immigration or customs to be enforced.”
Lieberman draws on his own experience in running after losing a primary: “Mr. Crowley faces a difficult choice. I know because I faced the same one in 2006 after losing a Democratic primary. I ran as an independent because I wanted all the voters to decide whether I deserved to continue to serve them in the Senate. It was a risk, but I concluded it was worth it to know that I had taken my fight for the kind of government I believed in as far as I possibly could.”
Lieberman concludes, “For the sake of Congress and our country, I hope Joe Crowley will give all the voters of his district the opportunity to re-elect him in November — and I hope they find his name on their ballots.”