The youngest woman ever elected to Congress has responded to producer Aaron Sorkin’s demand that the new intake of Democrats ‘stop acting like young people’ - saying if politicians do not show up and fight for them, they cannot expect their vote.
Speaking on CNN, where he was promoting his Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway, the 57-year said he liked the newly elected young Democrats in Congress, but suggested they needed to act differently.
“It’s time to do that. I think there’s great opportunity here, now more than ever, for Democrats to be the non-stupid party,” he said.
“I really like the new crop of young people who were just elected to Congress. They now need to stop acting like young people.”
He added: “It’s not just about transgender bathrooms, that’s a Republican talking point. They’re trying to distract you. We haven’t forgotten the economic anxiety of the working class, but we’re going to be smart about this. We’re not going to be mean about it.”
Sorkin, perhaps best known as the creator of The West Wing, has long been among the Democrats’ liberal supporters in Hollywood.
But his comments were well received by everyone, including by 29-year Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the most high-profile of the newly elected members of Congress.
“News Flash: Medicare for All & equal rights aren’t trends,” she wrote.
“When people complain about low turnout in some demos, it’s not because communities are apathetic, it’s bc they don’t see you fighting for them,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “If we don’t show up for people, why should you feel entitled to their vote?”
