Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) signaled in an interview with Axios on Monday that she would not support New York City Council member Chi Ossé in a primary challenge against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
Why it matters: Ocasio-Cortez is one of several high-profile progressives distancing from Ossé’s potential run, arguing that it is a distraction from New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory.
Ocasio-Cortez told Axios during a brief interview at the U.S. Capitol that she was “not aware” that Ossé was challenging.
“But,” she added, “I certainly don’t think a primary challenge to the leader is a good idea right now.”
Part of me agrees with this, part of me thinks that these people are too far into the weeds to know what’s possible. Change brings chaos. And when you’re at your stressful job with a shitty machine that you are constantly trying to keep running, eventually you reach a point where the thought of turning off the machine is unthinkable.
From an outside perspective, it seems obvious. The machine is bad. We should get rid of it and try something different. But that concept is terrifying to the people who work on the machine. Turn it off? But they’ve spent years learning how to work with the machine! They know how to sometimes get the machine to do what they want! If they replace the machine with something else, what if they can’t figure out how to work the new system? Maybe someday they can replace the machine, but right now? In the middle of everything else? No, no, far too risky. Best to try to keep working with the same old machine.