Current Events > Alexandra Ocasio Cortez bans press from her townhall

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http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/ocasio-cortez-bans-press-from-town-hall/article_e59fba26-ddd9-559a-af62-e11dd76e1191.html

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Monday that stops on her listening tour throughout the district, like the one held a day earlier in Corona, are intended for lively, compassionate discourse with a diversity of viewpoints.

According to the Democratic nominee in the 14th Congressional District, she and the dozens of area residents who attended the event talked about race, immigration, healthcare, disability rights and housing.

But unless you were in the room on Sunday, you wont know what specific community problems were mentioned or how Ocasio-Cortez planned to address them once she is sworn in.

Thats because her campaign banned members of the media from attending the event, which was otherwise open to the public.
In the seven weeks since she pulled off one of the most remarkable upsets in recent American political history defeating longtime Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, Bronx) by 15 points in Junes Democratic primary Ocasio-Cortez has become a political star.

Soon after her victory came numerous profiles in high-profile publications like The New York Times and Rolling Stone, guest hosting shows on the online progressive news network The Young Turks and appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

She has also traveled the country from Kansas to Hawaii in recent weeks to campaign sometimes with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for fellow progressive candidates running in their own primaries.

But when Ocasio-Cortez returned to the district for a Bronx community meeting with prominent healthcare activist Ady Barkan last Tuesday, her campaign manager, Vigie Ramos Rios, later told the Chronicle, she was mobbed by reporters, even though we said no Q&A and no one-on-one [interviews].

According to Ramos Rios and campaign spokesman Corbin Trent, that unwanted attention led to a press ban both for last Wednesdays listening tour stop in the Bronx and Sundays in Corona.

We wanted to help create a space where community members felt comfortable and open to express themselves without the distraction of cameras and press. These were the first set of events where the press has been excluded, Trent said. This is an outlier and will not be the norm. Were still adjusting our logistics to fit Alexandrias national profile.

The 28-year-old progressive activist will almost certainly win Novembers general election against her nominal Republican opponent in the overwhelmingly Democratic district, which would make her the youngest-ever female member of Congress.

Asked if it was hypocritical for Ocasio-Cortez to ban the press from an in-district community meeting after weeks of interviews with prominent publications and rallying with candidates in other states, Trent said the campaign is committed to maintaining a positive relationship with area media outlets.

After our primary victory, the campaign had what we saw as a unique and limited opportunity for Alexandria to use her elevated platform to speak about issues affecting our district to the national media, and to campaign for other progressive candidates around the country, he said. By working to get other progressive candidates elected, Alexandria will be securing more national voting power for the people of Queens and the Bronx.

The format of Sundays event which was delayed one day while Ocasio-Cortez returned from campaigning in Hawaii for congressional candidate Kaniela Ing saw area residents broaching issues before the Bronx progressive, who was seated in the front row.


pretty lame but it could be worse, hopefully it doesnt become a habit
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socialism

If you're gonna be a public figure you're gonna have to learn to deal with unwanted attention.
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Can people stop pretending she's a serious candidate?
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Yeah this is bad. Redhats should fully support this though.
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s0nicfan posted...

Can people stop pretending she's a serious candidate?

I mean, she's a winning candidate who will be in congress next year
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She is a serious candidate? She's almost definitely going to be in Congress.
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Not a good look, certainly.

But I get the whole "mobbed by reporters" thing.
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s0nicfan posted...

Can people stop pretending she's a serious candidate?

She doesn't need to pretend, she's basically been elected at this point. Well, unless of course the incumbent wins via write in, which isn't unheard of due to the primary voters not being the same voters.
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CyricZ posted...

Not a good look, certainly.

But I get the whole "mobbed by reporters" thing.

Nah.

I mean, I do too, but it isn't an excuse for a press ban

It's really easy to invite specific outlets. If you don't want to get mobbed by Vox and Vice and whoever, just invite your local outlets.

edit: to be clear, that's still not perfect, but it is much better than a blanket ban
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She's becoming bizarro Trump more and more by the day

s0nicfan posted...

Can people stop pretending she's a serious candidate?

Considering that we have a literal joke candidate as the current sitting president of the country, the bar isn't set very high atm
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ClunkerSlim posted...

Balrog0 posted...

We wanted to help create a space where community members felt comfortable and open to express themselves without the distraction of cameras and press

Absolutely fair, next.

Agreed.
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They go low, we go low!
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darkjedilink posted...

ClunkerSlim posted...

Balrog0 posted...

We wanted to help create a space where community members felt comfortable and open to express themselves without the distraction of cameras and press

Absolutely fair, next.

Agreed.

Its not that bad.
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davyheinz posted...

Its not that bad.

It's not good, either.

Omnislasher posted...

darkjedilink posted...

ClunkerSlim posted...

Balrog0 posted...

We wanted to help create a space where community members felt comfortable and open to express themselves without the distraction of cameras and press

Absolutely fair, next.

Agreed.

Why is that fair? Have you ever been to a constituent relations event like this?
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darkjedilink posted...

ClunkerSlim posted...

Balrog0 posted...

We wanted to help create a space where community members felt comfortable and open to express themselves without the distraction of cameras and press

Absolutely fair, next.

Agreed.

Nope.

I disagree with closed door policies in anything political that isn't deliberately confidential.
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mario2000 posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Can people stop pretending she's a serious candidate?

Considering that we have a literal joke candidate as the current sitting president of the country, the bar isn't set very high atm

A president that by your own standards is so grossly unqualified, that they should be removed as soon as possible for the good of the country. So if your defense of her is she's no worse than Trump, you still haven't made a compelling case for why she's a serious candidate, and if you're holding her to your own standards you shouldn't be supporting her.

Now, if your actual standard is "I don't really care how bad she is, she's on my side", then you should just state that and be transparent about it. At least then people will stop arguing with you as if you had a reasonable stance on things.
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Seems fair. Town halls are for meeting with constituents. She certainly has no problem making herself available to the press otherwise.

It's understandable to not want to be harassed during outreach for your constituents. But like I said, that is an issue of logistics that can be handled without something like a blanket ban of press coverage
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Balrog0 posted...

davyheinz posted...

Its not that bad.

It's not good, either.

Okay, yeah. There isnt really anything to respond with.
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ElatedVenusaur posted...

Seems fair. Town halls are for meeting with constituents. She certainly has no problem making herself available to the press otherwise.

Right, that's the problem. You're saying she's allowed to manage how her message penetrates the general public by saying it's okay for her to tell the press not to cover her since she gives them interviews. That's not how news works
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If she called it a fundraiser, it being closed to the press would be par for the course.
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Fake news

Are you guys really going to tell me you would have been okay with Republican members of Congress hosting town halls and banning press from them? For instance during the ACA repeal fiasco of 2017?

I seriously doubt you all would be this charitable, but maybe I am wrong
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I've seen a few people say she's a sure thing.

Anyone have poll numbers by chance? Not saying the people are wrong who said that, I just am having difficulty finding them.
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Intro2Logic posted...

If she called it a fundraiser, it being closed to the press would be par for the course.

That's actually not true. There are those types of fundraisers but its pretty rare, and much more common for higher level politicians (statewide stuff like governor and senator)

or for congressional leadership sometimes
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I hear too much about this woman from new york in California. Can only imagine how annoyed id be in ny

WrkHrdPlayHrdr posted...

Anyone have poll numbers by chance? Not saying the people are wrong who said that, I just am having difficulty finding them.

It's a district that voted like 85% Democrat last election and the GOP candidate seems mainly concerned with getting angry at his family court judge.
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Balrog0 posted...

It's understandable to not want to be harassed during outreach for your constituents. But like I said, that is an issue of logistics that can be handled without something like a blanket ban of press coverage

they've conceded that it's an issue of logistics which they need to work out moving forward. it's one time, so why not give them the chance to prove that? it's not hard to fathom how, given her current celebrity status, the media could easily be a disruptive and harmful presence at an event like this as opposed to serving its intended purpose

How can she even do that? Someone couldn't have recorded the event? Ir's a literal protection given by the Constitution
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CruelBuffalo posted...

I hear too much about this woman from new york in California. Can only imagine how annoyed id be in ny

here in Arkansas I don't think I've heard very much at all about her

much, much less than I hear on this board lol
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wtf we're okay with banning the press now
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What the fuck is wrong with this chick?

I'm beginning to doubt there is much socialism about her.
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Omnislasher posted...

they've conceded that it's an issue of logistics which they need to work out moving forward. it's one time, so why not give them the chance to prove that? it's not hard to fathom how, given her current celebrity status, the media could easily be a disruptive and harmful presence at an event like this as opposed to serving its intended purpose

It's not just one time, but I am giving them the chance to not make a habit out of it. Unlike you guys I guess I feel no need to go easy on her, though I would argue that 'pretty lame but it could be worse, hopefully it doesnt become a habit' isn't very harsh
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KhanJohnny posted...

She's becoming bizarro Trump more and more by the day

This is beautiful
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Balrog0 posted...

Unlike you guys I guess I feel no need to go easy on her, though I would argue that 'pretty lame but it could be worse, hopefully it doesnt become a habit' isn't very harsh

Yeah I don't know why people are just rolling over. If we are going to have someone that represents socialism in government they need to do a damn good job or gtfo
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ClunkerSlim posted...

The fact is that Cortez is getting swamped with media right now, far more than her peers. Its at the point where its become a distraction at certain events. Youd think she was running for President for the amount of media coverage shes getting. Theres nothing wrong with sparing the community some of that heat so that they can ask open questions without being the next meme on ABC News.

Too bad, she needs to learn how to deal with it.
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trumpers dont get the irony

ClunkerSlim posted...

The fact is that Cortez is getting swamped with media right now, far more than her peers. Its at the point where its become a distraction at certain events. Youd think she was running for President for the amount of media coverage shes getting. Theres nothing wrong with sparing the community some of that heat so that they can ask open questions without being the next meme on ABC News.

Given she knows her national profile and has leveraged it willingly (and I don't see why she wouldn't) what is so hard about inviting specific local press outfits to cover your event? that's literally how press conferences, which happen all the time, work
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Snack posted...

trumpers dont get the irony

they never do
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That's not perfect either like I said above but its standard practice for politicians to attempt to game the system by giving preferential treatment to specific newspapers or stations or reporters, whereas a blanket ban is not standard at all
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ClunkerSlim posted...

P4wn4g3 posted...

ClunkerSlim posted...

The fact is that Cortez is getting swamped with media right now, far more than her peers. Its at the point where its become a distraction at certain events. Youd think she was running for President for the amount of media coverage shes getting. Theres nothing wrong with sparing the community some of that heat so that they can ask open questions without being the next meme on ABC News.

Too bad, she needs to learn how to deal with it.

Its not about her. Its about the community there asking questions. Its not like she doesnt do interviews and press conferences all the time.

Any socialist is going to be all for freedom of the press. This woman is displaying the opposite attitude.
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Snack posted...

trumpers dont get the irony

Apparently no one gets the irony, because people who would be freaking out if Trump did this have no problem with her doing it.
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