Ocasio-Cortez raises eyebrows after citing national park as example of Democratic socialism
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Left-wing Democrats have long said that implementing Democratic socialism is easier than conservatives claim. But according to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, it’s a walk in the park.
The overnight Democratic superstar, who rose out of obscurity after beating Rep. Joe Crowley, D-NY, in June’s primary, has been widely mocked for a number of gaffes and misstatements she has made on a subsequent media and campaign tour.
That mockery looked set to continue this week after she took a leisurely stroll through Maine’s Acadia National Park, and declared it -- along with other benign Sunday stops -- an example of democratic socialism.
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She cited not only her visit to the park, but also eating a breakfast sandwich at a cafe co-op, and “supporting worker-owned businesses.” She also added as a “bonus” that she spotted a Planned Parenthood branch “helping people, per usual.”
She posted a number of accompanying pictures -- including her relaxing under a bridge, and another of her smiling outside the aforementioned Planned Parenthood center.
But while worker-owned businesses may have a ring of “Workers of the World, Unite!” to them, Ocasio-Cortez took heat for what critics described as the common mistake of equating some things government-run to socialism.
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“The National Park System is not socialism in action: It is a mix of public goods, like monuments, and government maintenance of park land, which is not an interruption of private economic activity or a usurpation of private property rights,” The Weekly Standard’s Chris Deaton wrote in a column.
Deaton added that "contra Ocasio-Cortez, a fishing trip to Yellowstone is not a celebration of Marx and Engels."
She was similarly knocked on Twitter, including by some users who noted that the billionaire Rockefeller family -- associated more with capitalism than socialism -- has ties to the park.
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“Acadia National Park was created by private philanthropists who made land donations and paid for its design, John D. Rockefeller in particular,” one user tweeted. “Read the signs next time. “
Fact-checkers have been hitting Ocasio-Cortez hard for a number of misstatements on everything from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to healthcare. She has shrugged off the criticism.
OCASIO-CORTEZ CLAIMS HAVE FACT CHECKERS WORKING OVERTIME
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Conservatives have delighted in attacking her both for her gaffes, and her left-wing worldview, which they say represents a new extreme direction for the Democratic Party.
In an email push last week, the Republican National Committee referenced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as it called her “the Mini-Maduro foreboding the future of Democrats.”