Ocasio Cortez Uber News

UPDATE 2:55 P.M.: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's campaign office, not congressional office, has spent nearly $500 on Uber rides in the first quarter of 2019. This story has been corrected.

Freshman congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) has repeatedly castigated ride-sharing giant Uber and blamed its 'unregulated expansion' after a yellow cab driver committed suicide last year, but her campaign office has taken nearly $500 worth of Uber rides during the first quarter of 2019.

A top New York Democrat warned Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against attempting to unseat Sen. Chuck Schumer during the upcoming primary elections, saying she would “absolutely” lose to the. Ocasio-Cortez later explained her opposition to Emanuel, writing on Twitter that his fight with activists in Chicago over the police shooting of Laquan McDonald, a Black teen killed in 2014, disqualified the former mayor and chief of staff for former President Barack Obama. 'The Rubin Report' host Dave Rubin joins 'The Next Revolution' to discuss Big Tech censorship on conservatives.

Ocasio-Cortez, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, criticized Uber several times on Twitter last year and blamed them for causing 'financial ruin' to yellow cab drivers.

'NYC's fourth driver suicide. Yellow cab drivers are in financial ruin due to the unregulated expansion of Uber. What was a living wage job now pays under minimum,' she tweeted.

NYC's fourth driver suicide. Yellow cab drivers are in financial ruin due to the unregulated expansion of Uber. What was a living wage job now pays under minimum.

We need:
– to call Uber drivers what they are: EMPLOYEES, not contractors
– Fed jobs guarantee
– Prep for automation https://t.co/FjfapJV2ni

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 21, 2018

The yellow cab driver, Doug Schifter, killed himself with a shotgun amid financial difficulties in response to multiple cheaper alternatives to the yellow taxi, as addressed in his Facebook status.

Ocasio-Cortez's campaign office recorded spending nearly $500 on 50 Uber rides between January and late March, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. The Uber payments ranged from just $2.05 to $51.69 and were filed under 'car service.'

Her office recorded spending $1,344 on 49 Lyft rides between January and late March, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. The Lyft payments ranged from $3.00 to $70.00 and were filed under 'car service.'

Lyft, which is one of Uber's ride-sharing competitors, saw its revenue soar to $1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017. Micreported last year that Uber and Lyft have both driven New York City cab drivers to depression and debt due to increased competition.

Ocasio-Cortez's campaign staff recorded spending nearly $4,000 on 160 Uber rides between April and late June 2018, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. The Uber payments ranged from just 59 cents to $82.26 and were filed under 'car service,' according to Fox News.

In her home state of New York, Ocasio-Cortez's campaign doesn't use the traditional yellow cabs for getting around either.

The FEC records show that the campaign spent nearly $2,500 for more than 90 rides with the so-called ride-sharing startup company Juno that pitched itself as an alternative to Uber for drivers as it offered slightly better pay and an option to accumulate the company's stock. There's no data yet for any rides taken by the Ocasio-Cortez campaign in July and August.

But the 'driver-friendly' startup is barely any better for drivers than other ride-sharing companies. It was sold in April to Israel-based Gett for $200 million and immediately came under fire for scrapping the stock unit program for its drivers.

This prompted a class action by Juno drivers. 'Plaintiffs were victims of the classic ‘bait and switch' scheme – promised equity and then paid off at pennies on the dollar when all other shareholders/investors made out handsomely,' the suit reads.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will likely retain the House Speaker’s gavel by a very slim margin, and progressives are angry that Democratic Socialists — particularly members of the self-labeled “Squad” — are committed to casting ballots for Pelosi without negotiating for concessions from the current House Speaker.

In particular, progressives want Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to press for a vote on a “Medicare-for-All” plan, which both Pelosi and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden oppose.

Progressive radio host Jimmy Dore is leading the charge, demanding Ocasio-Cortez honor her earlier commitment to forcing a vote on “Medicare for All,” and suggesting that now when Pelosi is noticeably weakened, is a good time to press the issue.

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“Progressives in congress CAN actually force a Med4all vote if they withhold their vote for Pelosi as speaker to do it,” Dore tweeted. “I ask all progressives to pressure ur favorite progressive congressperson to withhold their Vote 4 Pelosi & demand a Med4all vote!”

“The Plan that is BEST for Everyone is MEDICARE FOR ALL. 15 million Americans have lost there (sic) jobs and don’t have money to purchase insurance from your DONORS,” Dore added later, tagging Ocasio-Cortez. “Pressure your progressive representative to WITHHOLD THEIR VOTE UNTIL PELOSI HOLDS MED4ALL VOTE IN HOUSE!”

The radio host later doubled down, demanding to know why Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t engaging in public negotiations over the issue, and asking “what changed” in reference to the New York Democrat’s previous pledge to force a Medicare for All vote at the earliest opportunity.

The tweets started a snowball effect, with everyone from MSNBC anchor Krystal Ball to former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson joining the call to have progressives demand a Medicare for All vote in return for casting ballots to keep Nancy Pelosi in charge.

“I’m enjoying @jimmy_doreputting House progressives on the spot on how they aren’t demanding anything in return for giving Pelosi their vote for Speaker. He’s pointing out they have not organized a coherent political agenda,” activist Matt Stoller added, pointedly.

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“Progressives should either become a coherent independent Dem faction or fully embrace what they effectively are, a loyal supportive faction of Democrats with no independent policy goals,” he added, directing his ire at Ocasio-Cortez, specifically.

Stoller and some others did object to asking for Medicare for All specifically, noting that few Democrats are interested in a plan to transition to a fully state-run health care system without a concrete plan in place. Instead, Stoller suggested a number of more achievable goals: changes to House procedure, committee positions, and freedom to pursue a policy agenda separate from the Democrat bloc.

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Late Sunday night, Ocasio-Cortez finally responded to the campaign, claiming that she was engaged in “negotiations” over her vote for Speaker, but that she was obligated to keep those negotiations quiet.

“‘They aren’t demanding anything’ is an assumption – and a false one,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “These structural negotiations happen, they just aren’t live-tweeted. These negotiations started months ago, & include House rules, PAYGO exemptions, committee makeup, vote commitments, investigations, etc.”

She did not respond to repeated requests, in her mentions, for specifics about the negotiations themselves. Instead, she claimed that progressives are hamstrung by more moderate Democrats.

“Last term progs got the 1st-ever Congressional hearing in history on Medicare for All, allowing for markup,” she said. “That happened despite thrashing opposition from other Dems. But it goes both ways. Progs do withhold, but Conservative Dems also do to block. The numbers matter.”

Pelosi is facing an uphill battle to retain the Speaker’s gavel, as The Daily Wire reported earlier Monday. With a narrower Democrat margin and simmering concerns stemming from the November election — Democrats lost races and suffered in down-ballot elections — Pelosi is facing questions over her leadership. In response, she demanded loyalists return to Washington, D.C., for the in-person Speaker vote on January 3rd.

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