AOC's speech destroying Ted Yoho is political gold.

[yellowcanine]

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/aoc-speech-destroying-ted-yoho-suburban-women-polls.html

On Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed retiring Republican Rep. Ted Yoho’s nonapology for calling her a “fucking bitch” earlier in the week. In 10 devastating minutes, Ocasio-Cortez shamed the Florida congressman as emblematic of a culture of misogyny and workplace harassment, tied the Republican Party to that abuse, and once again demonstrated that she is one of the most impactful voices in the House Democratic Caucus.

Yoho accosted the New York representative on the steps of the Capitol on Monday over comments she had made connecting crime rates to economic marginalization—a theory widely accepted by criminologists. After Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez that she was “disgusting” and “freaking out of her mind,” the New York progressive responded that he was being “rude.” As Yoho walked away with Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, and within earshot of a reporter from the Hill, he then used the slur.

Then on Wednesday, Yoho took to the floor of the House “to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York.” He went on to deny that the thing that Ocasio-Cortez and a reporter witnessed had actually happened. “The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding,” he claimed.

As she said in her own fiery floor speech on Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez had intended to let the incident go, but changed her mind when she heard the fake apology. After explicitly repeating the derogatory words Yoho had pretended were not meant for her on the floor of the House, she explained why they represent more than just a one-off insult:

Click here for more information!
Dehumanizing language is not new, and what we are seeing is that incidents like these are happening in a pattern. This is a pattern of an attitude towards women and dehumanization of others. So while I was not deeply hurt or offended by little comments that are made—when I was reflecting on this, I honestly thought that I was just going to pack it up and go home. It’s just another day, right? But then yesterday Rep. Yoho decided to come to the floor of the House of Representatives and make excuses for his behavior, and that I could not let go. I could not allow my nieces, I could not allow the little girls that I go home to, I could not allow victims of verbal abuse and worse to see that, to see that excuse and to see our Congress accept it as legitimate, and to accept it as an apology, and to accept silence as a form of acceptance. I could not allow that to stand, which is why I’m rising today to raise this point of personal privilege. And I do not need Rep. Yoho to apologize to me. Clearly, he does not want to. Clearly, when given the opportunity, he will not. And I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language towards women. But what I do have issue with is using women, “our wives and daughters,” as shields and excuses for poor behavior. Mr. Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters. I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho’s youngest daughter. I am someone’s daughter too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr. Yoho’s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television. And I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men. Now, what I am here to say is that this harm that Mr. Yoho levied, tried to levy against me, was not just an incident directed at me. But when you do that to any woman, what Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters. In using that language in front of the press, he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community, and I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable.

Note: Yoho doesn't deny saying "fucking bitch," he just denies he said it to AOC. Right Teddy, who doesn't go around saying "fucking bitch" randomly on the street even when there are women and reporters within earshot?

[5X]

1. A remix of parts of that speach layered over women of all ages and types...

in the style of Sarah Cooper, but not a parody, but an amplification.

I got no talent to do it, but someone does.

[MaryMagdaline]

2. Excellent speech. As young and hip as she is she brings a classic style

And old world decency. I like her bringing the word “decency” back.

[sop]

3. The Gainesville Sun, Yoho's hometown newspaper, published a lengthy article on AOC's response.

"‘Having a daughter does not make a man decent’: Ocasio-Cortez criticizes Rep. Yoho for ‘refusing responsibility’ in his apology"

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200723/having-daughter-does-not-make-man-decent-ocasio-cortez-criticizes-rep-yoho-for-refusing-responsibility-in-his-apology

It seems the readers' comments at the end of the piece became a bit heated, so they shut it down:

"Hello reader, our article commenting that you would normally see here is temporarily shut down. We still want to hear from you, so we invite you to go to our Facebook page or submit a letter to the editor."

[crickets]

4. "what Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters"

That's the part that often gets missed and glossed over when a woman stands up to defend herself. It isn't just about how he treated one woman in the moment, it's that claiming the right to treat one woman poorly is claiming the right for any man to treat all women that way, including the women close to them that they ought to respect and love.

Good for AOC - for standing up for herself, and for doing so in a way that defends, respects, and lifts up all women.