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AOC accuses Buttigieg of pushing ‘GOP talking point’ regarding education
By Mike Brest, Examiner, Washington November 29, 2019
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg of espousing Republican philosophy in regards to free education.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has previously endorsed Buttigieg’s competitor in Sen. Bernie Sanders, supports both tuition-free college as well as canceling student debt. Sanders also supports both policies.
In a campaign video tweeted out on Thursday, Buttigieg agreed that college should be “affordable for everybody,” but questioned the feasibility of implementing a tuition-free system for all.
New @PeteButtigieg TV ad promising “big ideas” without “turning off half the country” first aired at 05:28 in Cedar Rapids on KWWL (NBC). pic.twitter.com/KhbKO2cmJA
— John McCormick (@McCormickJohn) November 29, 2019
“There are some voices saying, ‘well that doesn’t count unless you go even further, unless it’s free even for the kids of millionaires,’ but I only want to make promises that we can keep,” the South Bend, Indiana, mayor stated. “We can gather the majority to drive those big ideas through without turning off half the country before we even get into office.”
Ocasio-Cortez argued that Buttigieg’s ad was pushing “a GOP talking point used to dismantle public systems” to the ad in a Twitter thread on Thursday. She also said, “It’s sad to see a Dem candidate adopt it.”
1. Universal public systems are designed to benefit EVERYBODY! Everyone contributes & everyone enjoys. We don’t ban the rich from public schools, firefighters, or libraries bc they are public goods.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 29, 2019
2. Universal systems that benefit everyone are stronger bc everyone’s invested!
“Let’s talk about why Republicans are wrong on this. Just like rich kids can attend public school, they should be able to attend tuition-free public college. Here’s why,” she continued. “Universal public systems are designed to benefit EVERYBODY! Everyone contributes & everyone enjoys. We don’t ban the rich from public schools, firefighters, or libraries bc they are public goods.”
Ocasio-Cortez also argued that leaving people out of a public goods service would lead to “cracks in the system,” because “universal systems that benefit everyone are stronger [because] everyone’s invested!”
5. Lastly, and I can’t believe we have to remind people of this, but it’s GOOD to have classrooms (from pre-k through college!) to be socioeconomically integrated.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 29, 2019
Having students from different incomes & backgrounds in the same classroom is good for society & economic mobility.
“Lastly, and I can’t believe we have to remind people of this, but it’s GOOD to have classrooms (from pre-k through college!) to be socioeconomically integrated,” she added. “Having students from different incomes & backgrounds in the same classroom is good for society & economic mobility.”
Source: Washington Examiner
