Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez spoke to Just the News on Capitol Hill on Tuesday and expressed optimism that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden could be pushed toward implementing more progressive policies.
“I think, overall, we can likely push Vice President Biden in a more progressive direction across policy issues,” she said. “I think foreign policy is an enormous area where we can improve; immigration is another one.”
Although the New York congresswoman acknowledged that Biden has some fundamental disagreements with progressives, she suggested that this clash would not prevent the two factions of the Democratic Party from effectively working together.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge that we can have, in some cases, very large disagreements — it doesn’t mean that we’re trying to undermine the party or undermine each other. It means that we’re trying to do what’s best for people in the country.”
According to Ocasio-Cortez, one area she believes Biden can be pushed to the left on is marijuana legalization. Although the Biden campaign supports decriminalization, it has not pledged to pursue legalization. As for health care reform — Ocasio-Cortez supports Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill — she claimed that the former vice president’s campaign as “pretty stubborn” on the issue.
Although Ocasio-Cortez expressed concerns with Biden’s health care plan, which centers around a public option, she nevertheless acknowledged that it’s a significant improvement from the current American system.
“But either way, I do think that a public option is likely a better scenario than we have right now,” she said.
The lawmaker also appeared to believe Biden could be pushed to support a single-payer system in the future but said it would require widespread support from people across the country.
As reported by The Blaze , Biden’s team has openly worked with the progressive left and promised to implement policies aligned with their values. The dialogue is part of a Unity Task Force that seeks to create a platform that draws from Sanders’ agenda. One proposal in the plan is a pledge to transition America to renewable energy by 2035.
The dialogue between the two Democratic factions has been attacked by Donald Trump and his allies as proof that Biden is a placeholder candidate that will make way for radical left policy proposals. A previous Trump campaign accused him of planning to provide amnesty for millions of undocumented immigrants, ban fossil fuels, and raise taxes.
According to Vice President Mike Pence , Biden’s platform will pave the way to socialism.
