Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) accidentally made the case for school choice Saturday.
AOC spoke at a Bernie Sanders rally, where the freshman congressman cited her own lifestory as her motivation for supporting the self-described socialist senator for president.
The future congressman was originally raised in The Bronx, but moved to Westchester so she could receive a better education. She said this is when she first realized America’s inherent inequality.
“My dad looked at the quality of education in The Bronx, and they looked at 50 percent dropout rates,” she said. “They looked at the inequity of education, the inequity of education funding, the fact that teachers weren’t paid, the fact that kids weren’t given the tools to succeed, and that frankly, it not only had to do with their income, but it had to do with their melanin.”
“So they made in my family made a hard decision,” she continued. “And my whole family chipped into buy a house about 40 minutes north of here. And that’s when I got my first taste of a country who allows their kids destiny to be determined by the zip code they are born in. And so much of my life was shuttled between these two worlds, and not just the two worlds between the Bronx and Westchester county, but the continental U.S., New York state, and the realities of Puerto Rico.”
As many online quickly pointed out, AOC was inadvertently making the case for school choice. Former Congressman Trey Radel said of the clip: “AOC making the case for school choice.”
Republican strategist Ellen Carmichael commented: “Welcome to the school choice movement girlfriend.”
ATR’s Paul Blair had the same take: “So she supports empowering parents and kids through school choice now? Great news!”
Republican strategist, Liz Mair, responded: “And yet she still supports teachers unions that help make Bronx County education what it is.”