Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) says Donald Trump is reaching into his nearly empty political playbook and trying to use fear as he sees the upcoming midterm elections slipping away from him and the Republican Party that has been protecting him for years.
On Thursday, speaking with MeidasTouch Network, she was asked if there’s any concern among Democrats “that this slippery slope towards socialism inevitably ends up as full-blown communism.” Trump has suggested as much in recent speeches and social media posts.
“No. I’m not concerned about America turning into a communist country in like a year. “I think that’s very silly.”
Then she explained why she felt that way.
“Just think about how impossible it has been to raise the minimum wage in America in 10, 15, 20 years. We can’t even raise the minimum wage. Do Republicans really think that this stuff is going to happen? No, they don’t. They’re trying to scare people because they don’t want us talking about the fact that we all have a right to health care in this country.”
“So they want to call it communist, and they want to call everything they don’t like communist,” she continued. “Because if people actually wake up to the fact that their elected officials are screwing them over when they get here, then they’re going to realize that they deserve better and that health care as a right isn’t crazy, it isn’t pie in the sky.”
“They want to call this stuff communist because they don’t want us to realize that the rest of the developed world has guaranteed health care,” she added. “So they want to call it communist because they don’t want you to know that Germany, Italy, the U.K., Canada, everybody else has it better than us, and we spend the most amount of money for the worst care in the modern developed world.”
It would be tempting to try and explain the difference between democratic socialism — which is found in most of Europe and Scandinavia, where it works incredibly well — to Trump, his GOP allies, and their MAGA compatriots, but you can’t educate anyone who refuses to expand their already limited mind and worldview.
If our democratic republic is to survive, we must eventually realize that the only way forward is by caring for one another and ensuring this country works for everyone, not just the wealthiest and most privileged. If that’s communism, then sign me up for a double dose and three scoops on Sunday.
