Rep. Burgess Owens rips AOC for invoking 'white supremacist' label to make point about health care
Says 'woke' Democrats using term to 'gaslight anyone who doesn't agree with them'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, accused Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, of attempting to "gaslight" the public after she referenced "white supremacist conspiracy theories" while reiterating her call for universal health care.
Ocasio-Cortez is frequently identified among a group of young progressive Democratic lawmakers known as "The Squad." In a Jan. 30 tweet, the New York lawmaker argued that critics have established a false equivalency between progressive policies on the far left and "conspiracy theories" on the far right of the political spectrum.
"Imagine thinking that ‘healthcare is a human right’ vs white supremacist conspiracy theories are two views 'just as extreme' as the other," Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a Jan. 30 tweet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The tweet drew a rebuke from Owens, a Black former NFL player who won a House seat last November.
"Imagine growing up dealing with the horrors of actual white supremacists, only to eventually see that term just become a way for 'woke' Democrats to gaslight anyone who doesn't agree with them," said Owens.
Owens has frequently criticized Ocasio-Cortez and other "Squad" members in recent months. He has touted a group of first-term Republican lawmakers as a "Freedom Force" that would serve as a check against progressive political rivals.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ocasio-Cortez has stepped up her criticism of the Republican Party after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6. In an appearance on MSNBC last month, Ocasio-Cortez said there were "legitimate white supremacist sympathizers" among Republicans in the House.
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The Democrat has also criticized Republican leaders for failing to reprimand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ocasio-Cortez is among several progressives who support the implementation of "Medicare for All," described on her website as a "universal, single-payer health care system." Republican critics have likened "Medicare for All" policies to socialized medicine.
President Biden is pushing an expansion to the Affordable Care Act that would provide a "public option" in addition to private insurance.