Ocasio-Cortez Press Controversy (New Ocasio-Cortez Statement)

[VladimirLinen]

Alright, lets talk about this. I love and support her, but I want to bring up this story, because according  to New York State Media, ever since the initial article was released, this has been the most reviewed story of the year in terms of New York web traffic:

Ever since her upset in the primary, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been attacked again and again by both the left and the right. But this seems to be getting the largest backlash yet, more then her interviews and flubs of the past that the right like to bring up.  

So, she's been off the grid for the last few days, but she still took some time recently to hold a meeting in a town hall setting, with the theme being a discussion about Immigration and Domestic Violence. Town hall meetings are typically open to all. However, in this instance, she ended up forbidding attendance of any press and news media to this event, her defense for doing so being that she wanted to protect the people who were attending the event, and in another statement, saying she did it because the press had to the tendency to mob her.

The right is mocking her because at a time where 350+ newspapers are denouncing Trumps attack on freedom of the press, a progressive lawmaker restricts the press at one of their events, and the left is saying how on earth is she going to be able to handle the actual Congress, where the press wander the halls day and night, and this is what she's doing at the campaign stage?

Ocasio-Cortez says this is a complete non story, but is the backlash justified?

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

AOC is right. This is a non story.

[Zaybay]

Non-story. Hosting an event without media is rather normal, and I dont see why this is getting so much traffic.

[Lognog]

Non-story. Hosting an event without media is rather normal, and I dont see why this is getting so much traffic.

Also, she was attacked more than any other member of congress which is probably a lot to handle, especially for someone that is 26 and doesn't even have the office yet

[BuckeyeNut]

Non-story. Hosting an event without media is rather normal, and I dont see why this is getting so much traffic.

Also, she was attacked more than any other member of congress which is probably a lot to handle, especially for someone that is 26 and doesn't even have the office yet

> member of Congress
> doesn’t even hold the office yet

K

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Not that big of a deal, probably many victims of sexual abuse in that room and she wanted to keep some level of privacy.

[Yank2133]

Dumb move by her.

Stuff like this is what Hillary did and got the press that already hated her even more pissed off with her. The media are already biased against women politicians, it is best not to exacerbate the problem.  

[smoltchanov]

Dumb move by her.

Stuff like this is what Hillary did and got the press that already hated her even more pissed off with her. The media are already biased against women politicians, it is best not to exacerbate the problem.  

[IceSpear]

The media's obsession with her is getting old. Rather than obsessing over Queens electing a leftist, maybe they should focus on all the Nazis getting Republican nominations. Or perhaps the North Carolina/West Virginia Republicans turning their state governments into banana republics.

[Sadader]

The media's obsession with her is getting old. Rather than obsessing over Queens electing a leftist, maybe they should focus on all the Nazis getting Republican nominations. Or perhaps the North Carolina/West Virginia Republicans turning their state governments into banana republics.

I never gave a slither of credence to the talking point that “the lamestream media lives entirely in a major city coastal elite bubble” until this whole AOC clusterf*** (now I believe the theory a tiny bit). I can’t even remember Conor Lamb gracing national press for more than a morning cycle, and even Doug f***ing Jones didn’t appear for even a fraction of the amount of time that AOC has (538 had a great profile on him recently, but that’s about it since the day after his election).

[Antonio the Sixth]

AOC is right. This is a non story.

[JG]

Not that big of a deal, probably many victims of sexual abuse in that room and she wanted to keep some level of privacy.

[MAINEiac4434]

Of course she wouldn’t invite the media, not all victims of sexual assault want their names outed, especially if their abusers are still at large. It could invite retribution. There were probably illegal immigrants there as well.

[Virginiá]

Sounds like a manufactured controversy. She got a lot of press after her win, and now suddenly the media coverage and GOP response to her is to basically on the same level as a presidential campaign (criticize and feign outrage at everything). It's absurd.

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

AOC is right. This is a non story.

It's only a non-story because she's pretty much already elected. 

It's a non-story to some because her position is really hard to defend, given that she's now a public figure.

[VladimirLinen]

Ocasio-Cortez has returned from her break, and has given a new statement on the whole deal, hoping to put it to bed once and for all:

"The biggest critique was that it should've been labeled private, even though we said prior it was closed to press. Genuine Question? How should we label a free campaign event, open to all, that's a sanctuary space? Still private?

Not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, but we are genuinely trying to create environments of where our constituents feel comfortable expressing honestly and exchanging discourse. Usually people have to pay $5,000 a plate for that, but we were trying to make that environment for all.

To be honest, the event was very successful. People were much more comfortable sharing their personal issues with healthcare, housing, and immigration. It was a safe and powerful environment for change. My apologies if the situation upset or alarmed any journalists or constituents."

[Rhenna]

Don't like AOC, but I just want the media to leave her alone. Cover the hundreds of more interesting candidates who deserve the media attention. I agree with AOC on this though, it's hard for many to express their concerns in front of the news media.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

AOC is right. This is a non story.

It's only a non-story because she's pretty much already elected. 

It's a non-story to some because her position is really hard to defend, given that she's now a public figure.

Actually it's perfectly easy to defend, since she's right. Press are kept out of events all of the time for much worse reasons than she had tbh.

[KingSweden]

Rookie mistake not to make the event private, but also not really worth fussing over.