OPINION:
A lot has changed since Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first championed the Green New Deal in 2019. As a freshman New York Democrat, she introduced a bold plan to cripple fossil fuel production while lavishing billions on windmills and solar panels — to the delight of lobbyists from the upstart firms eager for an infusion of Uncle Sam’s cash.
In the current Congress, she hasn’t bothered reintroducing this signature legislation. She hasn’t even typed the phrase “Green New Deal” on her X account since 2024.
That may not be an accident. The news website Axios noticed Democrats rarely bring up the subject anymore. It cited analysis from the public affairs software company Quorum, which counted a mere six mentions of the proposal in the last 90 days among elected Democrats. That’s a far cry from the blanket coverage it used to get.
Perhaps Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has been preoccupied with formal inquiries into her misconduct at the 2021 Met Gala. Many observers at the time noted the fancy “Tax the Rich”-branded designer dress she wore to the glitzy occasion was a bit extravagant for the bartender-turned-member of Congress from the Bronx.
After an intense, three-year investigation, the House Ethics Committee last month determined the far-left heroine violated House rules. The problem wasn’t the hypocrisy of pretending to fight for ordinary people while draped in bespoke threads, it was that she vastly underpaid for the privilege.
Members of Congress aren’t supposed to accept freebies, but she negotiated a sweetheart “rental” fee of $1,000 for the getup, which the committee more accurately valued at $3,724 per day.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez also didn’t pay the $70,000 price for a pair of tickets to the star-studded get-together. Her campaign staff even stiffed the stylist who billed $478 to comb the “Fight the Oligarchy” tour member’s hair, and the $345 makeup bill went unpaid until the workers who got gypped threatened to complain in public.
Other expenses included a $270 bow tie for Riley Roberts, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s “plus one,” as well as three rooms at the Carlyle Hotel for $4,600 and a $570 ride to the event. Combined, the couple enjoyed an $80,000 evening hanging out with plutocrats while feigning opposition to “the rich.”
The committee concluded this was “inconsistent with House Rules, laws, and other standards of conduct with respect to her acceptance of certain goods and services associated with her attendance at the 2021 Met Gala, and her delay in making appropriate payment for their receipt.”
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez told the investigators, “It just really seems like there was a ball that was dropped.”
The committee also blamed her inadequate oversight of staff who mistakenly informed her the gifts she received were within permissible limits. The bipartisan panel dropped the matter after she agreed to pay $3,000, because this wasn’t a case of influence peddling.
What’s more concerning is the 500 pages of records detailing the near-obsessive back-and-forth between Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s staff members and the designers responsible for ensuring Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and her boyfriend had a great time.
Donors to her political campaign may not realize their hard-earned dollars were being used not to advance socialism, but to underwrite a night out on the town more fitting for the billionaires.
Looking the other way at the ethical indiscretions has an upside. If it means Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is too busy partying to promote her economy-destroying schemes, that’s a win for the nation.
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