There was only one Democrat to vote against the spending package

[JohnSJ]

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3786827-ocasio-cortez-only-democrat-to-vote-no-on-spending-package/amp/

[iemanja]

1. Well, at least it wasn't my congresswoman this time.

[qazplm135]

2. So what?

She knew it was going to pass so she did a protest vote.

Same thing plenty of Dems from left to right do all the time.

As long as they aren't the deciding vote to kill something it doesn't matter.

[JohnSJ]

3. It matters. Making excuses that it doesn't matter, doesn't cut it

[dpibel]

11. A bit more explanation is in order

Just saying "it matters" actually doesn't win the day.

You've been told why it doesn't matter: the bill passed.

You now need to say more than just "Nuuuh-uuuh."

It's clearly important to you, since you needed to start a thread on it.

So surely you can give some articulable explanation for your position.

[Demsrule86]

45. The same can be true for some of Manchin's

Votes. And yet…

[dpibel]

56. Really, now?

Just for starters, I'm not calling to mind any protest votes by Manchin.

The only reason anyone's heard of Manchin is because he is forthrightly obstructionist.

If you can't see the difference, I'm pretty sure I can't help you.

[qazplm135]

62. Manchin has actually shut down

Bills, AOC almost never does so nope not a fair comparison.

I am not an AOC fan but she compromises far more than Manchin and Sinema have.

[Fiendish Thingy]

13. It might matter to you, but it didn't matter to the outcome of the bill. Nt

[Autumn]

33. It never mattered when Sinema and Manchin voted no. They were votes that ended some important

legislation. But go on with how AOC's no vote on a bill that passed easily matters.

[Takket]

40. what do you mean it "never mattered"?

Sinema and Manchin's betrayal of the Democratic party's agenda has been well documented in the media and on DU. You think it "never mattered"?

Also I fail to see how their previous lousy voted have anything to do with AOC. That seems like a "what-about-ism" straw man argument.

[Autumn]

41. One of many excuses was that they had to vote no because of their conservative constituents.

If you aren't aware of those posts then you must have ignored those many posts. Big fucking difference in a no vote knowing an important bill will still pass and no vote knowing one is purposely killing an important bill that helps the whole country. Don't try the "what-about-ism" straw man argument BS on what I said. The difference in their no votes compared to AOC's no vote is very relevant and striking.

If you don't like what I said click the red x. Problem solved.

[Bettie]

53. Voting for liberal constituents is less important, apparently

now, if she were one of the "problem solvers" they'd be 100% on board with it.

As long as it passes. If she had been the one vote to sink it, I'd have an issue with her.

[Demsrule86]

46. That is not true. People bitch about

it all the time.

[Autumn]

47. It certainly is true. Some of the same people "bitching" about this never complained when they did.

"They had to vote what their constituents wanted."

[qazplm135]

61. Matters how?

How exactly did it matter as anything other than a protest vote?

As long as she or anyone is with us when it matters I don't care if they have a meaningless protest vote, whether AOC or Manchin.

[SCantiGOP]

5. I agree

Sometimes a protest vote is a good thing.

[Dorian Gray]

25. Was it a good thing with this bill?

I don't think so. I think she looks obstructionist, as there was a lot in this bill worth voting yes for.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

39. Words mean things. Maybe look up obstructionist.

[Hortensis]

48. :) Oppositionalist? It's key to realize that

oppositionalist politicians and factions have to oppose or lose their reason for political existence.

Oppositional passions come in all strengths, of course -- anything from frequent criticisms, to genuine obstruction, to ...



Which can change depending on circumstances. In 2016, though many idealists were drawn to Sanders, for some of the illiberal, even anti-democratic LW oppositional types, populist, socialist, or whatever, it was



We all saw those people and groups who called for refusing to vote for the "corrupt" Democratic Party, destroying the party, overthrowing the Democratic majority's choice of "evil" HRC, even revolution that considered throwing the nation to the Republicans to destroy as clearing the way to an eventual socialist (or ?!) takeover. Etcetera.

Once elected to congress as a Democrat, to me her actions seem both to feed her national admirers' appetite for opposition AND to remain within what her mostly Democratic mainstream constituents (voters!) can accept.

If so, it would explain a pattern of votes that opositional types can take to heart and constituents blow off.

[betsuni]

59. Being anti-establishment and establishment at the same time always seems to me

like an awkward position to be in. Worrying about not making the national supporters mad at you while trying to do the actual job of getting legislation done for constituents. Like voting for a budget bill in 2021 and national supporters getting mad because it contained DHS funding and Defund ICE was an important issue for them, then voting against the next budget bill and giving the reason as not funding ICE, but that budget bill didn't have any funding for the DHS so no ICE funding. Oops!

[Bettie]

63. Would there have been more in the bill if she had voted Yes?

Or would the PASSED bill be exactly the same as it is now?

Also, why do people always get angry at her, but never at the conservative Dems (who are "voting for their purple district&quot , or even at the dickhead Republicans who won't vote for anything that helps anyone?

Again, how was the bill changed by her vote? Answer: It wasn't.

ob·struc·tion·ism
noun

The practice of deliberately impeding or delaying the course of legal, legislative, or other procedures.

Nothing was impeded or delayed. It passed.

[in2herbs]

42. Maybe she voted because the bill changed the age when participants in 401(k)s can

start drawing their RMD. Under this bill it's now age 73 (unless you were age 72 in 2022).

I know Congressional legislation allowed the formation of a 401(k) but it's a transaction between an employer and employee so I don't understand how Congress has the right to manipulate the age at which to take and RMD.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

68. How so?

[Emile]

28. +1 spot on!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

51. +1

[Deuxcents]

4. It matters in principle to her constituents and that's who she works for

I’m not saying I agree or disagree.. her constituents have the say

[elleng]

6. Right

[H2O Man]

7. +1

[JohnSJ]

8. Not sure about that.

[betsuni]

15. Yes, I'd like more information about this.

[question everything]

9. Get her headlines, doesn't it?

[claudette]

18. That's what

she was going for. Sadly

[SheltieLover]

21. Yup!

[walkingman]

10. AOC is my kind of politician - the defense bill is ridiculious and at some point we have

to cut it. No reason to spend as much as all of the industrialized countries combined.

AND What about DACA? - come own, we can and must do better.

[Fiendish Thingy]

12. I'm OK with that- her opposition wasn't a bill killer. Nt

[Woodswalker]

14. She's right now much more bloated can we make the military industrial complex spending budget

in this country. It cost the taxpayers 110.00 dollars for a 20 dollar Home Depot hammer by the time it reaches an Army motor pool shop. Somebody is getting greased

[betsuni]

16. AOC: "After selecting 15 projects, we brought these projects to D.C. to lobby for the support

our communities deserve. Now funding for these projects has finally passed out of the House and Senate, and will be signed into law by President Biden!" (Instagram)

[claudette]

17. Not too fond

of her

[TreasonousBastard]

19. How many potholes can we fill or snowstorms and forest fires...

can we live through for the 800 million we budgeted for the Pentagon? Add the black ops and overruns and it's well over a trllion.

I know, it's a typical lefty whine, but some day we're gonna have to face it. All the real problems staring us in the face and we spend half the money we don't have on the next war.

[bottomofthehill]

22. How many can we fix with the 770 billion we got

[Autumn]

31. All of them but they won't get 770 billion to fix the potholes. The money will thrown away on the

military and the Pentagon. I would never vote for a spending bill like that.

[bottomofthehill]

35. 770plus was for social programs, 800 plus was for DOD.

Do you think we will do better under the Republicans in January, because I am pretty sure Democratic priorities won’t be as well received in a week.

Option 1 pass the best possible bill we can keeping in mind a minimum of 10 Republican votes are needed

Option 2 pass a short term CR and let the Republican House Majority tale over the process in January (a bad choice)

Option 3, do nothing, let the government shut down over Christmas, give the republicans the chance to further hold the budget hostage in January, come out with a bill that sucks and claim moral victory that at least you did not vote for a bill that had some provisions you did not like but actually helped your constituents and helped millions who needed help

Only one person in the Democratic caucus chose to vote with the republicans and one chose to vote present.

[Autumn]

36. As I said 770 billion is not going to fix potholes. The $858 billion going to the DOD is obscene.

Important agencies get $772.5 billion while the DOD gets to flush more money than they requested down the crapper. No excuse for that shit. It has to stop at some point.

[bottomofthehill]

20. Like many republicans do, AOC will soon be taking credit for

Some of the over 750 Billion dollars in spending important to democratic priorities. Voting protections, increases in Pell grants, food assistance, home energy hearing help, mental health money, veterans money, money for the justice department to continue investigations and prosecutions of the 1/6 insurrectionists, money for Ukraine. There is a lot of defense spending, more than we need, quite possibly but everyone can find a reason to vote against this bill, one democrat did. It matters because in order to get the best deal you can, you have to bring as many votes to the table as possible. Liz Cheney found a way to vote for this bill, Fred Upton, many of the departing republicans. The democrats needed those votes to offset those among them that would not vote for this bill.

[betsuni]

23. Yes.

She should listen to Bernie Sanders' response when criticized for voting for bills containing the Hyde Amendment: "Well look, sometimes in a large bill you have to vote for things you don't like." That's politics! Nothing gets done without compromise.

[JohnSJ]

24. +++

[Hortensis]

50. :) SOP -- claim to OWN Democratic values and achievements

as theirs, while also criticizing everything as less than "real" progressives like them would have achieved if only the inadequate pretenders would get out of their way.

[sheshe2]

60. +1

[demmiblue]

26. I don't care.

[Cha]

43. Thanks for kicking the thread

to tell us that.

[Vinca]

27. I wonder how she thinks the process of admitting people to the country can be accomplished

without funding ICE. Her vote doesn't make much sense to me.

[old as dirt]

29. Footage of Border Patrol Vandalism of Humanitarian Aid, 2010-2017

[onenote]

30. As long as she never tries to claim credit for keeping the government open

she's entitled to stand on principle.

Here's why it matters that she voted no: 200 Republicans voted no. We could attack them for voting to shut down the government. They, pointing to AOC, could argue that they simply were doing the same thing she did -- they voted against the bill because there were things in it that they opposed and that their opposition wasn't going to result in the government shutting down because the bill was guaranteed to pass.

[JohnSJ]

34. She voted against it, then went on instagram bragging about things in the bill for her district

In fact the adults in the room made sure to incorporate things she wanted in the bill

[bottomofthehill]

37. Her requests included in the bill. All very important to her yet voted against

The following 15 projects were submitted:

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) - Clean Energy On-the-Job Training
$5,000,000
17 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) requests $5,000,000 to provide wage subsidies to non-profits in the renewable energy sector to incentivize hiring and prioritize a just transition. To date, NYSERDA, in partnership with the NYS Department of Labor, has supported over 900 new hires. NYSERDA is proposing an enhanced offering for non-profit organizations that hire 16-24 year-olds and transitioning fossil fuel workers for clean energy positions including system design and installation, operation and maintenance related to energy efficiency and building electrification, renewable energy, energy storage, sustainable transportation, and other eligible technologies.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

NYC Health and Hospitals Jacobi Stand Up to Violence - Mental Health Services Expansion
$845,026
1400 Pelham Pkwy S, The Bronx, NY 10461
The Stand up to Violence (SUV) program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi requests $845,026 to expand social and mental health services to victims of violent crime. In 2021 the SUV program saw more patients due to violent trauma than any other year, and they have responded to 181% more gun-shot wound victims over the past two summers when compared to years prior. Left unaddressed, violence and mental health issues can lead to a cycle of emergency room utilization, police encounters, and jail time. Funding will go towards hiring 2 social workers, 2 caseworkers, 2 creative therapists, and 1 full-time psychiatrist, all who are experienced in treating trauma/violence.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

Elmcor Youth and Adult Activities - Supportive Housing Project
$663,250
104-10 Northern Boulevard in Queens, NY 11368
Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc. requests $663,250 towards their supportive housing development for individuals in recovery and senior citizens. Specifically, Elmcor will provide permanent housing and supportive services for 21 chronically homeless single adults with a serious mental illness (SMI), a substance use disorder (SUD) (including those who are actively using or have started their recovery process within the last 12 months), or those who may have a co-occurring SMI and SUD (Population 1). The other 9 units will be affordable independent residences for seniors with project-based Section 8 vouchers provided by HPD through the NCP program.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

Plaza Del Sol (PDS) - Family Health Center Expansion Project
$4,500,000
37-12 108th Street, Corona NY, 11368
Plaza Del Sol is requesting $4,500,000 to expand their Family Health Center to serve an additional 7000 patients and hire 6.5 additional health care providers. The epicenter of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and home to a largely underinsured and undocumented immigrant community, residents of Corona experience poorer health outcomes than most parts of the city. The PDS Expansion Project will increase access to health care for residents of Corona and Elmhurst, providing comprehensive primary and specialty care augmented by complementary services such as health care enrollment, health education, and behavioral health services. The project will add mammography services and dentistry to its list of services.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

New York Hall of Science - Pre-K Program
$300,000
47-01 111 Street Queens, NY 11368
The New York Hall of Science requests $300,000 to develop a pre-K program for preschoolers and identify new pedagogical practices that promote STEM learning from a young age. The pre-school will provide new seats in a crowded district and give families of Corona and Flushing top notch and innovative educational opportunities in their own backyard.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

New York City Department of Transportation - Astoria Boulevard Safety Improvements
$1,000,000
55 Water Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10041
The New York City Department of Transportation requests $1,000,000 to make Astoria Boulevard safer and more accessible for pedestrians by expanding sidewalk space, shortening crossing distances, adding crossings, and adding bus stop improvements, including bus bulbs. Specifically, this project will enhance pedestrian safety and improve pedestrian circulation by constructing curb extensions and median tip extensions along, as well as create left turn bays and crosswalks.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

New York Botanical Gardens - Workers Operation Center
$1,000,000
2900 Southern Boulevard, New York, NY 10458
New York Botanical Gardens requests $1,000,000 for the restoration of the Workers Operation Center, serving the daily work needs of the Garden's core workforce - the building service employees, engineers, carpenters, and administrative staff and will help to maintain an accessible, and safe urban sanctuary for the over 1 million guests and their families that visit. The existing site covers approximately three acres and has 3 buildings where staff are currently assigned. The current structures are very old and not optimal for the broad range of work needed to run a vibrant and accessible cultural institution. A new, highly efficient net zero building would provide a large general work area, smaller work areas for specific trades, a multi-purpose room to be used as a meeting room, lunch room with kitchenette, a workforce training room, locker rooms / bathrooms with showers, offices, a conference room, copy room, and vehicle storage / vehicle repair shop.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

New York City Department of Transportation - Westchester Square Plaza
$1,000,000
55 Water Street, 9th Floor New York, NY 10041
The New York City Department of Transportation requested $1,000,000 towards safety improvements in an area that is in the top 10% of dangerous crashes (severe injuries and fatalities) in the Bronx. The irregular street geometry at the intersection of Westchester Ave and East Tremont Ave significantly contributes to this area seeing a high number of pedestrian and motor-vehicle accidents, injuries, and fatalities. This project seeks to ameliorate these issues by removing a right turn slip lane and building out Westchester Square Plaza. This solution will create approximately 4,000 SF of quality public space in the area, providing public amenities and landscaping.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Queens (NHSQ) - Capacity Building
$2,400,000
60-20 Woodside Ave, Woodside, NY 11377
Neighborhood Housing Services of Queens (NHSQ) requests $2,400,000 towards acquiring a permanent home for their organization. NHSQ provides housing and foreclosure counseling services to low-income communities of color, who were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Queens currently faces the highest number of foreclosures in New York. By acquiring a permanent space NHSQ will be able to continue providing housing services to more than 3,000 individuals and families annually—providing first time homebuyers’ assistance, home repair services, foreclosure prevention and financial education services.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) - Creating Pathways to Safety and Success for Immigrants in the COVID-19 Landscape
$500,000
71-21 Roosevelt Avenue Jackson Heights, NY 11372
New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) requests $500,000 to grow its workforce development program that trains recently-arrived immigrants for safe, living-wage, career-track jobs within the construction industry. This support will enable NICE to serve 1,000 additional immigrant workers over a one-year period. The program will train workers for the construction industry, with particular focus on immigrant women wanting to transition from domestic to construction work, and newly arrived immigrants. This work will be paired with connecting community members to health care resources like the Excluded Workers Fund and NYC Care as well as helping them navigate the process for COVID-19 vaccination.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

Birch Family Services - Fostering Communication Across School and Community for Students with Special Needs and Their Families
$201,096
2885 St Theresa Ave, Bronx, NY 10461
Birch Family Services requests $201,096 to train their education staff in PECS (“Picture Exchange Communication System”), a communication system designed for nonverbal children and adults. Birch Family Services provides education services to preschool and school-age children at its Pelham Bay Early Childhood Center in the Bronx , as well as other schools across the New York metropolitan area. Support for this program would lead to improved outcomes for young people across Birch’s education services, helping young learners achieve their IEP goals.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

AABR - Back to Baseline: Trauma and Mental Health Care for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities post COVID
$382,174
15-08 College Point Ave, College Point, NY 11356
AABR requests $382,174 to create three behavioral health positions to provide services to the 400+ individuals in their congregate care and Day Habilitation settings. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often overlooked and grossly underserved when it comes to receiving mental health services, particularly the treatment of trauma. The Behavioral Health Providers and staff will receive specialized training from experts at the Northwell Health Support Trauma Recovery for Youth with Developmental Disabilities (STRYDD) Center, in the identification and treatment of trauma for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens - Teen Academy & Mental Health Programming
$500,000
21-12 30TH Road, Astoria, NY, 11102
Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens requests $500,000 towards the implementation of a Mental Health program at their Teen Academy, which offers free college and career readiness training to underserved high school students living in Queens. Recognizing the mental health impacts of the pandemic on youth, between the loss of loved ones and extended periods of remote learning, this funding will allow Variety Boys and Girls Club to hire social workers and other mental health counselors/professionals to support young people in achieving their goals.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

Make the Road NY - Adult Literacy Services for Immigrant New Yorkers
$400,000
92-10 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11372
Make the Road New York requests $400,000 to sustain and enhance its Adult Literacy program for low-income immigrant New Yorkers. Through adult literacy instruction, students will access better career opportunities and advance their language, literacy, and digital literacy skills to enable them to participate more fully in civic life. Funding will also enable MRNY to purchase technology to integrate digital literacy skill building into class instruction in FY23 and beyond, in order to address the widening technology gap that left low-income communities even further behind during the nationwide pivot to virtual platforms during the pandemic. Additionally, MRNY will assess program participants' urgent needs and connect them with survival services and other key resources.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

Start Lighthouse Literacy Hub
$205,500
1970 West Farms Road, Bronx, NY 10460
Start Lighthouse requests $205,5000 to create a literacy hub in a Title I school by reviving defunct, deprecated, and unused library spaces. Funds will go towards purchase of books, furniture and decor, authors’ residency honorariums, supplies and other program expenses to promote a love of reading and help students achieve reading proficiency by grade 3.
Member certification of no financial interest can be found here.

[JohnSJ]

38. Thanks. Yes, she voted against her own earmarks in the bill

[Cha]

44. That's the problem.. voting

against the bill and then taking credit for it. Who does that?!

TY for the OP!

[JohnSJ]

49. She who wants attention +++

[Hortensis]

52. Lol, people whose reason for political existence requires OPPOSITION.

It's really a hoot when you think about it. They please those who want opposition by voting against, then please the same people by taking credit for whatever they define as "Progressive," i.e., theirs, in the bill.

A win-win SOP. By definition, both their pols and followers created credit by achieving more than mainstream Democrats would have. Sometimes ALL of it. Really, when you think about it: How often is any credit deserved by the Democratic mainstream they are doomed to spend their lives struggling to overcome to achieve what should be?

Seriously -- Might as well. This is our world and we're all people in it.

[betsuni]

65. +1

[LetMyPeopleVote]

69. How is this different from when GOP congresscritters take credit for their earmarks?

Link to tweet

[JohnSJ]

70. That is exactly right. She also voted against the infrastructure bill

[ProfessorGAC]

32. Not A Fan Of Symbolic Votes, But...

...her reason seems sound. Were I her, I would have voted for it anyway.

[Wanderlust988]

54. "Hey, look at me! I need attention!!"

And more Twitter followers.

[ZonkerHarris]

55. I'm cool with her principles and it passed anyway. R you trying to make this a comparison w/ Manchin

or Sinema in some way regarding obstructionism or something?
If so, you have failed.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

58. They have to make something out of this

It’s an attempt to make themselves feel better that their centrist heroes contribute to harpooning Biden’s agenda.

[betsuni]

64. "They" "centrist heroes"

[jcgoldie]

57. Everything she said about it was right on point

.

[Emile]

66. It was a protest vote! 🙄

[betsuni]

67. Why?