AOC, Omar Demand Health Care is ‘Nationalized’ Over Coronavirus
Progressive Reps float socialist ideas to tackle pandemic
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Progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar have demanded a socialist overhaul of the U.S. government due to the coronavirus, COVID-19 outbreak.
The Democratic congresswoman also called for the removal of a “profit motive” from lawmakers’ decisions on the coronavirus.
The socialist Democrats have blasted President Donald Trump’s decision to allow the governors and legislatures of the nation’s 50 states, so they can implement their own strategies for reacting to the virus.
Ocasio-Cortez and Omar posted their video on Twitter, presenting their views on how they would change the federal efforts to combat the virus.
The news comes as Trump’s job-approval rating soared according to a recent Fox News poll.
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The same poll revealed a majority of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the federal coronavirus.
“For some reason, we have an enormous problem with enacting the Defense Production Act for saving lives and guaranteeing health care,” Ocasio-Cortez says in her video.
Ocasio-Cortez claimed the U.S. faces “a much deeper problem with the systemic priorities that we currently have in the United States," despite Trump invoking the act to direct General Motors to begin producing ventilators for the nation’s hospitals.
“But it’s never too late to change it,” she adds.
“We must organize to change those priorities from our budget to our production."
“We have to start demanding and organizing from the bottom up -- from grassroots movements, from nurses to warehouse workers to grocery store employees to the halls of Congress, demanding that we strip profit motive out of our decisions and reprioritize for the public good and the health of everyday people.”
WATCH:
Rep. @AOC: "We have to start demanding... that we strip profit motive out of our decisions and reprioritize the public good and the health of everyday people." pic.twitter.com/tm0HlBTtGM
— The Hill (@thehill) April 9, 2020
Rep. Ilhan Omar: "It is important for us to nationalize the supply chain. It's important for us to take action in nationalizing our healthcare system." pic.twitter.com/MlnSQs3AxU
— The Hill (@thehill) April 10, 2020
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Omar then took a swipe at he Trump administration’s policy of promoting state autonomy.
“The states themselves are being put at a disadvantage when we have the federal government bidding against them” for medical equipment, Omar argues.
But In March, Omar put "politics aside" to praise Trump's "unprecedented leadership" and "incredible" response to the pandemic.
Omar Trump was "incredible and the right response in this critical time."
Omar went on to quote Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) as saying, "unprecedented times require unprecedented leadership."
"We are seeing that in our country right now," Omar declared.
"Finally, we should never let politics get in the way of good policy," Omar added.
It didn't last long though, by April, she was comparing the daily White House coronavirus briefings to a "train wreck."
“It’s not only the lies and spins that are disturbing but the millions of people who watch this and actually believe this insane stuff. It’s like watching a train wreck happen and not knowing what to do,” she tweeted.
