Ocasio-Cortez Rips Far-Left Green Party As ‘Not Serious’

Far-left self-proclaimed “democratic socialist” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently criticized the Green Party, also on the far-left, for being “not serious” and questioned whether it serves any purpose other than being a “spoiler” for the Democratic Party.

In a viral video from the weekend, Ocasio-Cortez responded to a question on Instagram: “How do I tell my friends who are Jill Stein voters they are wasting their time and effort?”

“Y’all, this is a little spicy, but I have thoughts,” Ocasio-Cortez began, addressing her critique of the recurring third-party presidential candidate. “Trust me, I’ve been vocal about my criticisms of the two-party system, so this is not about that,” she clarified, pointing to her past New York City campaign, where she represented both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party (WFP), as well as her support for candidates from the WFP and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

“My issue is with the fact that when you run for president, you become the de facto leader of your party,” she explained, “and if you’ve been running for years and years and years, but your party hasn’t grown, you haven’t added city council seats, down-ballot candidates, or state-elected officials, that’s a sign of poor leadership. That, to me, is what’s frustrating.”

She continued, “If you only show up every four years to appeal to voters who are rightfully upset, but you’re just there once every four years, you’re not serious. It doesn’t come across as genuine. It feels opportunistic.”

The Green Party, which advocates for environmental causes and opposes war, currently has around 244,000 registered members nationwide, down from a peak of 319,000 in 2004. Despite fielding presidential candidates in every election since 1996, the party has never secured federal office or gained more than 2.7% of the popular vote. Ralph Nader’s 2000 campaign, in which he garnered that percentage, was especially criticized as a “spoiler” in the tight race that ended with Republican George W. Bush’s victory, according to Time.

Jill Stein, the Green Party’s 2024 nominee who also ran in 2012 and 2016, responded to Ocasio-Cortez—whom she dubbed “AOC-Pelosi” to underscore what she sees as Ocasio-Cortez’s shift from an outsider to a mainstream Democrat—in a video posted on social media Tuesday.

In the video, Stein remarked, “Clearly, AOC is today’s attack dog, and the Democrats are afraid. They have reason to be, because who wants to back genocide? Who wants to vote for genocide?” She continued, “If anything here is predatory, it’s claiming your candidate is ‘working tirelessly for a ceasefire’ while actively funding and arming genocide and refusing even to consider an arms embargo that could immediately stop the genocide.”

Stein went on to attribute the Green Party’s limited influence to “the anti-democratic strategies used by the Democratic Party to suppress political opposition.” She also referenced Democratic efforts to restrict ballot access for independent candidates and accused Ocasio-Cortez of “appropriating” the Green Party’s hallmark issue — the Green New Deal.

Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez criticized members of her own party in response to concerns about President Joe Biden, who was still running for reelection at the time. She also suggested that despite public comments, many Democrats were not enthusiastic about a potential presidential bid by Vice President Kamala Harris.

“If you think there’s a consensus among those who want Biden out that they will back Vice President Harris, you’re wrong,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “They won’t admit it, but I’ll tell you the truth.”

“I’m in these rooms. I hear what’s being said,” she added. “A significant portion of the donor class and elites pushing for Biden to step down aren’t interested in seeing Vice President Harris as the nominee either.”