2020 roundup: Delaney locks horns with Ocasio-Cortez
WASHINGTON — Struggling at the polls, former Maryland Democratic Rep. John Delaney is sparring with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over comments he made at this weekend's California Democratic Party Convention.
It all started when Delaney criticized the idea of Medicare for All as "not good policy nor it is good politics," a comment that sparked heavy boos from the largely progressive group of convention-goers. After a clip of Delaney being booed started gaining steam on social media, Ocasio-Cortez piled on by tweeting at him to "sashay away" from the presidential race altogether.
Delaney''s campaign responded by accusing the congresswoman of helping Republicans with the attack and calling for "less political grandstanding and more truth-telling form the Bernie wing of the party."
Trying to use the well-known progressive Democrat as a foil makes sense for Delaney, who has not eclipsed 1 percent in any of the polls being used to qualify for the Democratic primary debate. He's sought to frame his candidacy as a pragmatic alternative to some of the other options.
That's not all from the 2020 beat—read more from the campaign trail below.
- Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan came out in support of beginning impeachment proceedings against President Trump this weekend — first during a campaign swing through Iowa and later during a CNN town hall on Sunday. "I do believe we need to move forward with the impeachment process," he said at the town hall. "I don't want to. I know what this is going to do to the country. I take no joy in this at all. But I have a duty and a responsibility and that duty and responsibility has led me to think that we have to do this."
- Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro released a new plan to address "over-aggressive policing." The plan calls for policies including requiring deescalation over deadly force, utilizing technology like body cameras, increasing training for police officers, ending stop-and-frisk, creating a database for to track police officers who have been punished for misconduct, and working to improve police-community relations.
- New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand criticized Fox News' coverage of the abortion debate while appearing on the network's town hall last night. Read more from Politico's Elena Schneider on that town hall.