NY-14: Goliath falls to OCASIO!

[Chief Justice Keef]

The Shapiro vs. Ocasio-Cortez debate would've been the former sputtering about Venezuela for an hour and complaining about identity politics. Don't pretend it would've been a constructive dialogue or a synthesis of two worldviews. Shapiro is not entitled to have a debate with Ocasio-Cortez, plain and simple.

Was Ocasio-Cortez's response the most subtle? Maybe not. But I'd be pretty pissed too if some whiny conservative "intellectual" tried to bribe me with $10,000 to talk to him for an hour on his pathetic radio show.

[Chief Justice Keef]

For anyone who still buys into the "conservative intellectual Ben Shapiro" myth:

https://static.currentaffairs.org/2017/12/the-cool-kids-philosopher

For additional reading, don't forget to read Shapiro's magnum opus and novel-length Freudian slip True Allegiance to learn more about his deeply held beliefs about police shootings.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Democrats have long overestimated the importance of debating prowess anyway. Jon Stewart spent decades debunking conservative arguments with impeccable logic, and that didn't stop conservatives from winning almost every political fight during that time. So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

[Landslide Lyndon]

So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

Put Sarah Palin instead of AOC and you have a Republican from 8-9 years ago.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

She was right though. There is no head of the Democratic Party. The US doesn't have a parliamentary with a Leader of the Opposition.

[Antonio the Sixth]

So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

Put Sarah Palin instead of AOC and you have a Republican from 8-9 years ago.

If your main issue with Sarah Palin was that she was a crappy debater, you have a very f**ked up sense of priorities.

[Beet]

Nobody - I mean nobody - has gotten this much hype in this short amount of time, except maybe Sarah Palin. One day AOC is unknown, doesn't even have a wikipedia page (as her supporters bragged). The next day she is literally spending the entire day on talk shows and doing interviews with every news outlet possible. I mean, I talk about the 'Stacey Abrams hype' or the 'Nikki Haley hype' as being a lot but this was just out of this world.

[Landslide Lyndon]

So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

Put Sarah Palin instead of AOC and you have a Republican from 8-9 years ago.

If your main issue with Sarah Palin was that she was a crappy debater, you have a very f**ked up sense of priorities.

Being a crappy debater is in most cases a sign that the candidate is either an incurious ignoramus or has limited bandwidth.

[TheSaint250]

So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

Put Sarah Palin instead of AOC and you have a Republican from 8-9 years ago.

There are too many similarities. Some are:

-Representing rising political movement (Tea Party/"Democratic Socialism")
-Terrible/underdeveloped policy ideas
-Makes missteps whenever confronted
-Bad debater (and supporters, as pointed out above, find every way possible to defend it)

...and more.

[Yellowhammer]

https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1027729430137827328

AOC in response to Ben Shapiro's debate challenge. How can one be this awful? She's shaping up to be one of the worst members of Congress.

[Chief Justice Keef]

https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1027729430137827328

AOC in response to Ben Shapiro's debate challenge. How can one be this awful? She's shaping up to be one of the worst members of Congress.

Why does Ben need to pay women to hang out with him?

[Antonio the Sixth]

So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

Put Sarah Palin instead of AOC and you have a Republican from 8-9 years ago.

If your main issue with Sarah Palin was that she was a crappy debater, you have a very f**ked up sense of priorities.

Being a crappy debater is in most cases a sign that the candidate is either an incurious ignoramus or has limited bandwidth.

80% of this forum is made of people highly knowledgeable and passionate about their topic of interest who would be terrible debaters (myself included).

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1027729430137827328

AOC in response to Ben Shapiro's debate challenge. How can one be this awful? She's shaping up to be one of the worst members of Congress.

Why does Ben need to pay women to hang out with him?

Lol XD. That was pretty good!

[Zaybay]

https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1027729430137827328

AOC in response to Ben Shapiro's debate challenge. How can one be this awful? She's shaping up to be one of the worst members of Congress.

Why does Ben need to pay women to hang out with him?

Lol XD. That was pretty good!

[Calthrina950]

So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

Put Sarah Palin instead of AOC and you have a Republican from 8-9 years ago.

There are too many similarities. Some are:

-Representing rising political movement (Tea Party/"Democratic Socialism")
-Terrible/underdeveloped policy ideas
-Makes missteps whenever confronted
-Bad debater (and supporters, as pointed out above, find every way possible to defend it)

...and more.

This is a good list that summarizes what is wrong about Ocasio-Cortez. As I've stated above, I've come around to the view that Crowley probably should have won the primary. Yes, I know the importance of diversity and of youth, but I also think that it would have been better for someone more experienced and more thoughtful to have arisen and taken this seat.

[136or142]

https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1027729430137827328

AOC in response to Ben Shapiro's debate challenge. How can one be this awful? She's shaping up to be one of the worst members of Congress.

The only people who would regard this as a bad response are Ben Shapiro groupies.

I rest my case:

https://twitter.com/emmajthatcher/status/1027975262070337537

[Kodak]

So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

Put Sarah Palin instead of AOC and you have a Republican from 8-9 years ago.

There are too many similarities. Some are:

-Representing rising political movement (Tea Party/"Democratic Socialism")
-Terrible/underdeveloped policy ideas
-Makes missteps whenever confronted
-Bad debater (and supporters, as pointed out above, find every way possible to defend it)

...and more.

This is a good list that summarizes what is wrong about Ocasio-Cortez. As I've stated above, I've come around to the view that Crowley probably should have won the primary. Yes, I know the importance of diversity and of youth, but I also think that it would have been better for someone more experienced and more thoughtful to have arisen and taken this seat.

Crowley moved to Virginia. Let’s not forget what a representative’s primary job is.

[Calthrina950]

So I really don't give a sh*t if AOC is a mediocre debater. Her heart is in the right place and she's charismatic - that's all that really matters in this age of politics.

Put Sarah Palin instead of AOC and you have a Republican from 8-9 years ago.

There are too many similarities. Some are:

-Representing rising political movement (Tea Party/"Democratic Socialism")
-Terrible/underdeveloped policy ideas
-Makes missteps whenever confronted
-Bad debater (and supporters, as pointed out above, find every way possible to defend it)

...and more.

This is a good list that summarizes what is wrong about Ocasio-Cortez. As I've stated above, I've come around to the view that Crowley probably should have won the primary. Yes, I know the importance of diversity and of youth, but I also think that it would have been better for someone more experienced and more thoughtful to have arisen and taken this seat.

Crowley moved to Virginia. Let’s not forget what a representative’s primary job is.

You missed the point in my post. In the long run, I think Crowley definitely should have been defeated, and I don't think he would be (or has been) the best representative for this district either. What I am saying here is that it probably would have been best for him to win this year, and in 2020 or 2022 to be challenged by someone who is more experienced and more articulate then Ocasio-Cortez, but comes from a similar background and has the deep connections to the district which Crowley does not. I would have had no problems with such a candidate. Ocasio-Cortez is not that candidate, as I've come to reflect.

[7,052,770]

Surely Ben didn't think she would accept? Is any politician expected to just debate any random person who challenges them? Even if he lived in district and wasn't an alt-right rabblerouser, it's an obvious no.

[Vincent]

For anyone who still buys into the "conservative intellectual Ben Shapiro" myth:

https://static.currentaffairs.org/2017/12/the-cool-kids-philosopher

For additional reading, don't forget to read Shapiro's magnum opus and novel-length Freudian slip True Allegiance to learn more about his deeply held beliefs about police shootings.

Shapiro has acknowledged this piece, yet does not respond. Perhaps he will accept Nathan Robinson's debate offer.

[136or142]

I've pointed out that I'm not an economist but I've taken a number of economics courses (including labor economics.)  Even though I'm a bit late to this part, I'd just like to point out how hilarious it is to read all the comments of 'she has a degree in economics and she doesn't even know how the employment figures are counted.'  As if anybody who posted that would have known it was wrong either unless they had read it.

Oh sure, she has the degree and you don't, and she should know better, but, if this is something that she is going to be called 'stupid' over or 'would be no match for Ben Shapiro' you maybe should have known that.

For instance, Peter Navarro, who has A PhD in economics, doesn't even understand the calculation of GDP, and I noticed that when I first read what he said.

Also, I suspect most of Ben Shapiro's devotees used to believe there were '95 million Americans unemployed' under President Obama.  Odd how nobody cites that anymore given that only 2 million jobs were created last year (or even claims there are still 93 million Americans unemployed.)

[Chief Justice Keef]

For anyone who still buys into the "conservative intellectual Ben Shapiro" myth:

https://static.currentaffairs.org/2017/12/the-cool-kids-philosopher

For additional reading, don't forget to read Shapiro's magnum opus and novel-length Freudian slip True Allegiance to learn more about his deeply held beliefs about police shootings.

Shapiro has acknowledged this piece, yet does not respond. Perhaps he will accept Nathan Robinson's debate offer.

I think plans are developing for a debate with Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project.

[Vincent]

For anyone who still buys into the "conservative intellectual Ben Shapiro" myth:

https://static.currentaffairs.org/2017/12/the-cool-kids-philosopher

For additional reading, don't forget to read Shapiro's magnum opus and novel-length Freudian slip True Allegiance to learn more about his deeply held beliefs about police shootings.

Shapiro has acknowledged this piece, yet does not respond. Perhaps he will accept Nathan Robinson's debate offer.

I think plans are developing for a debate with Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project.

Well there is a fresh challenge:

[136or142]

For anyone who still buys into the "conservative intellectual Ben Shapiro" myth:

https://static.currentaffairs.org/2017/12/the-cool-kids-philosopher

For additional reading, don't forget to read Shapiro's magnum opus and novel-length Freudian slip True Allegiance to learn more about his deeply held beliefs about police shootings.

Shapiro has acknowledged this piece, yet does not respond. Perhaps he will accept Nathan Robinson's debate offer.

I think plans are developing for a debate with Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project.

Well there is a fresh challenge:

Lincoln vs Douglas II: The Smackdown

[Progressive Pessimist]

Good on Ocasio-Cortez for that great response and for rejecting a pointless debate with an absolute hack.