U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, like pretty much every other Republican in Congress, is obsessed with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The former Florida governor has taken to trolling the New York representative in tweets, letters, op-eds and TV interviews, seemingly in the hopes of getting any kind of attention.
On Monday, Scott tried to come for Ocasio-Cortez and her Green New Dealagain on Twitter. Scott was initially attacking New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker's plan to combat the nation's rampant gun violence with a national gun licensing program, which is a tad ironic because some of the most high-profile mass shootings have happened under Scott's watch in Florida. Scott then randomly pivoted to slamming Ocasio-Cortez, asking if she would "make us register every time we buy meat as part of her #GreenNewDeal."
🚨BREAKING: the latest terrible idea to come out of the Democrats' 2020 primary is a federal gun registry. If you want to buy a gun, @CoryBooker wants you to register with the federal government.
— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) May 6, 2019
This would be scary if Booker had any chance of becoming President. (1/2) https://t.co/uJRLXo054E
This isn't the first time Scott has made himself look like an ass talking about the plan to address climate change. In a February Orlando Sentinel op-ed, Scott claimed the Green New Deal aimed to completely end air travel, which is false, according to PolitiFact.
"As for me, I love and cherish the environment; it’s what makes Florida so great," wrote Scott, whose administration reportedly banned the words "climate change" and "global warming" in Florida governmental communications. "What I don't love is naive plans that would destroy Florida's economy."
Ocasio-Cortez clearly had time today and proceeded to rip Scott a new one. "That a sitting US Senator can say something lacking so much critical thinking + honesty is embarrassing to the institution," she wrote on Twitter. "If you were a female candidate, maybe you'd be called 'unlikeable,' 'crazy,' or 'uninformed.' But since you’re not, this inadequacy is accepted as normal."
That a sitting US Senator can say something lacking so much critical thinking + honesty is embarrassing to the institution.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 6, 2019
If you were a female candidate, maybe you’d be called “unlikeable,” “crazy,” or “uninformed.”
But since you’re not, this inadequacy is accepted as normal. https://t.co/KLkaYxfT6K
Scott later tried to walk back his initial tweet as sarcasm that Ocasio-Cortez is too stupid to understand, but the damage was done. Scott isn't the first Florida Republican to be weird about Ocasio-Cortez. The Miami New Times has documented the gross behavior of Rep. Matt Gaetz toward the freshman representative, calling her "attractive" and "adorable," while repudiating her ideas as dumb.
As Jezebel puts it:
"In politics, women are often either characterized as hideous harpies like Hillary Clinton or pretty idiots whose 'craziness' is bound up with their sex appeal. (Even now, we can hardly escape being labeled hysterical overall, no matter what adjective is used to render us irrational.) To her critics, Ocasio-Cortez is firmly in the pretty idiot category, with her dedication to climate change, taxation of the rich, and the abolishment of ICE reduced to foolish nonsense from a doe-eyed Latina with a great rack. This is embarrassingly evident among men on the right, who seem twisted by their own sexism; unable to temper their attraction in spite of their contempt for Ocasio-Cortez's policies."Follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter to get the most up-to-date news + views. Subscribe to our newsletter, too.
