Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference with Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to call for legislation to cancel all student debt, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, June 24, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
There are times when a politician says things that are so mind-numbingly stupid that you don’t really have to add any commentary to it. The words just speak for themselves.
In this case, we’ll add a little bit to the absurd comparison between puppies and newborn children as well as dog breeding and new motherhood Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) bizarrely made Tuesday during a debate on paid family leave, but first some background:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., made a puzzling argument on Tuesday in order to counter a conservative nonprofit’s argument about free markets providing paid family leave.
“Do we know how long puppies are allowed to stay with their mothers after a dog has given birth?” she asked during a House Oversight Committee hearing on paid leave.
“Uh, eight weeks. So, the market has decided that women and people who give birth deserve less time with their children than a dog,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez seemed to be referring to the practice of breeders keeping puppies until they reach 8 weeks of age, at which point they’re sold and likely never see their parents again.
[…]
She made those comments in an apparent attempt to dispute Heritage Foundation scholar Rachel Greszler, who had advocated businesses and workers negotiating their own terms for wages and paid leave.
I gasped when I watched the video of what she said. She was actually proud of herself when she finished. Watch below:
Thinking she's being clever at a House Oversight Committee, AOC makes a bizarre comparison between dog breeding and raising children, appears to suggest that dogs are given rights to raise their puppies for a certain length of time. Uhmm…? pic.twitter.com/tUObnX3xKP
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) December 11, 2019
She posted a tweet with a similar message on Tuesday as well:
Puppies aren’t separated from their moms until ~8 weeks. Less than that is thought of as harmful or abusive.
One of the most common lengths of US paid family leave is ~6 weeks.
So yes, when we “let the market decide”on parental leave, “the market” treats people worse than dogs. https://t.co/Pc14ypHHJF
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 10, 2019
After she got over the shock of listening to what AOC told her during the hearing, Greszler penned a detailed piece explaining why a federal paid family leave program would be a bad idea, while also ripping the freshman congresswoman and explaining why the comparison is both bogus and insulting:
As a woman who gave birth to six children and is raising them, I find being compared to a breeding dog incredibly offensive.
Earlier this week at a hearing held by the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the government should require at least eight weeks of paid maternity leave because puppies get eight weeks with their dog-mothers.
[…]
It’s also a terrible comparison, considering that puppies are taken from their mothers and sold after eight weeks (most states require an eight-week period for vaccination purposes). These puppies also never get to meet their fathers.
As you might expect, AOC’s Twitter mentions were full of people dropping truth bombs and mocking her comparison:
Anything that's free, eh? Puppies aren't human infants, and babies aren't separated from their mothers. Once a mother goes back to work she gets to go home at the end of her work day to spend the next 16 hours with her baby, weekends too.
Where do you come up with this stuff?
— NYer (@ThomB01) December 10, 2019
The party of abortion, standing up for the rights of new mothers? We're officially through the looking glass.
— Blocked@Jen_Royle (@vnachi77) December 10, 2019
Hmmm….I don't think anyone is saying children should be removed from their parents and given up for adoption after 6 weeks. #Idiot.
— Donald J. Trump – is a hot steaming dump (@TheDonnyDump) December 10, 2019
So small business owners have to pay for this???? Between this and minimum wage your going to put 15 million+ Americans out of work!!
— Sean Brown (@BigJellyDonut) December 11, 2019
Not a federal government policy issue. Let the free market solve. No different than wages….government mandates higher minimum wage, hours and workers cut….yet wages increase with growing economy…..not more government mandates…..
— CO Conservative (@fjeich) December 11, 2019
So far in the last week AOC is 0 for 3. On falsely accusing President Trump of anti-Semitism, on her dishonest bragging about a recent Amazon NYC jobs announcement, and now this.
I’m not sure when the Christmas break starts for Congress, but she better hope it does soon. Because at this rate she’s gonna have more losses in one month than the Cincinnati Bengals have for an entire football season (sorry, Bengals fans!).
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— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 16+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –
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