AOC Has Got to Go
Of all the neighborhoods in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's district, one stood out on Election Day as a considerable surprise. The left-wing congresswoman represents a very diverse population ranging from struggling immigrants in Queens and a piece of The Bronx to young professionals gentrifying areas right across the river from Manhattan.
New York's 14th Congressional District just reelected her and went for Kamala Harris, but Donald Trump's share of its vote rose by 50% over 2020. And the heavily Latino enclave of Corona provided Trump's strongest support there.
Why would that be? New York magazine asked questions and found answers.
Like low-income and working-class Americans everywhere, inflation weighed heavily on many of the locals. But what bothered people most in this neighborhood -- where it's hard to get along without some Spanish -- was mass immigration from Central and South America.
Since 2022, some 200,000 migrants have descended on New York City. The people of Corona felt that they had been unfairly burdened by the pressures and problems created by this influx of new arrivals. Like many Latino voters along the Texas border with Mexico, they moved toward Trump in response to the civic disorder unleashed on their doorstep. Relatively affordable and Spanish-speaking, Corona naturally attracted the newcomers. More affluent neighborhoods succeeded in pushing the surge away from them.
Corona residents complained of increased crime, some of it exaggerated, some of it not. It wasn't so much horrible crimes, like murder. The New York Police Department's 110th precinct, which covers Corona, reports a 75% drop in murders from two years ago. Rather it was a perceived rise in the less violent infractions of shoplifting, illegal vending and prostitution.
Unlicensed street vendors lined the commercial thoroughfare of Roosevelt Avenue, selling food or merchandise. That was not only in-the-face lawbreaking; it took business away from the shopkeepers paying rent and taxes. The street vendors would routinely pour their grease into the sewers, which attracted rats to store basements.
Residents were angered by an explosion of sex workers soliciting customers outside makeshift brothels. Prostitutes even beckoned to boys going to school. Many of the women were believed to have been working to pay off the smugglers who got them over the border.
The sense of disorder was said to scare customers away. Similar quality-of-life issues were felt nationwide. California voters, exasperated by the scourge of shoplifting, pushed back on decriminalizing low-level crime.
AOC understood none of this -- or didn't care. Some in Corona recall her appearing at a recent local rally to support the illegal migrant vendors. One annoyed resident told the reporter that their local representatives only showed up for "LGBT mobilization or when the lady prostitutes do a rally."
Interestingly, some of the interviewees themselves had been here illegally at some point in their American venture. They were disappointed that Biden didn't obtain amnesty for the estimated 15 million undocumented people already in this country, including, no doubt, a good number of their neighbors. Most said they voted for Biden in 2020.
Democrats can turn this situation around. The vulgarity and cruelty of Trump and his MAGA movement are bound to wear thin. But the party's woke left has proven itself a turnoff to voters and must be replaced. It's not too early to promote primary challenges for the 2026 midterms. Start with AOC.
Ocasio-Cortez has recently presented herself as a more moderate version of her earlier self, but her earlier self still has quite a way to go. Her most avid supporters seem to be college grads, but even many of them are tiring of her.
Americans want order, at the border and on their streets. That isn't too much for any of us to ask.
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Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.
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