Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has Sarah McBride’s Back Against GOP Pettiness

Imagine being so dedicated to equality and basic human rights that you rise to become press secretary for the largest LGBTQ lobbying organization by age 26. That same year, you make history as the first trans person to speak at the Democratic National Convention. By 31, you’re the first openly trans person in a state senate. At 34, you break yet another barrier as the first openly trans member of Congress.

Now, imagine arriving at the U.S. Capitol to do the work you were elected to do, only to be met with cruelty from small-minded people more interested in demeaning others than serving their constituents. This is the reality Sarah McBride faces as she continues her groundbreaking career in public service.

For House Speaker Mike Johnson — egged on by Nancy Mace — to push a bathroom bill targeting McBride is nothing short of repugnant. Every member of Congress has a private restroom. This isn’t about practicality; it’s about Republicans using their power to belittle a trans woman and perpetuate their petty, authoritarian agendas. But Sarah McBride holds her head high and remains focused on the work she was elected to do — helping Americans.

Thank God for Sarah McBride. And thank God for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who refuses to let these attacks go unanswered. AOC calls out this resolution for what it truly is: a gross, opportunistic ploy designed to fundraise off fear and discrimination.

AOC comes out swinging against Nancy Mace for targeting Sarah McBride.

"They're doing this so that Nancy Mace can … fundraise off an email. They're not doing this to protect people. They're endangering women, they're endangering girls of all kinds. And everybody should reject it. It's gross."

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— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) November 20, 2024 at 9:48 PM

AOC comes out swinging against Nancy Mace for targeting Sarah McBride. Part two.

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— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) November 20, 2024 at 9:49 PM

“What it inevitably results in are women and girls who are primed for assault because people are going to want to check their private parts in suspecting who is trans, and who is cis, and who’s doing what,” AOC declared. “And so the idea that Nancy Mace wants little girls and women to drop trou in front of who? An investigator? Who would that be?”

“Because she wants to suspect and point fingers at who she thinks is trans? It is disgusting.”

We need more leaders like AOC in the Democratic Party: fiery voices who unapologetically champion working-class values*, speak truthfully to their constituents, and fight back against bullies (and who don’t rely on a team of handlers to craft their message).

(*Why is it that when Democrats champion the working class, it’s dismissed as “Marxist, online leftism,” but when Republicans do the same, it’s praised as moderate, salt-of-the-earth politics?)

This is one badass woman standing up for another badass woman. If we’re going to weather the next four years, we need more of this. And no, Elissa Slotkin, this isn’t about identity politics. It’s about ensuring that everyone is afforded the same dignity, especially in a workplace where they were elected to serve alongside everyone else in that room.