AOC rips Jill Stein for failing to grow Green Party despite multiple presidential runs

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) attacked Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein on Sunday, September 1, calling her "predatory" for her repeated attempts to win the White House while failing to grow her party at the grassroots level.

The "Squad" member argued that the Green Party, which attained official party registration in 2001, focused solely on the 74-year-old physician's presidential races. Only a small number of Green Party candidates have been elected to state legislatures, and none have ever held federal office.

What did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez say about Jill Stein and the Green Party?

In response to an inquiry regarding Jill Stein's campaign from an Instagram follower, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated, "This is a little spicy, but I have thoughts," in her Instagram Stories. 

The congresswoman added, "If you run for years in a row, and your party has not grown, has not added city council seats, down-ballot seats, and state electives, that's bad leadership. And that to me is what's upsetting," as per Newsweek.

Ocasio-Cortez noted, "If you have been your party's nominee for 12 years in a row, and you cannot grow your movement, pretty much at all, and can't peruse any successful strategy... and all you do is show up every four years to speak to people who are justifiably pissed off, you're not serious. To me, it does not read as authentic, it reads as predatory. I'm sorry, I'm just saying it." 

While it's true Stein was the Green Party's nominee both in 2012 and 2016, Howie Hawkins received the 2020 nomination. 

AOC added that she has endorsed certain third-party candidates in the past and will do so in the future, even those who run against Democrats and that she is generally not against third parties.

"What I have a problem with is, if you're running for president, you are the de facto leader of your party. I've been on record with criticisms of the two-party system. This is not about that," noted the New York. 

Jill Stein will be on the ballot in several states

Jill Stein, who was confirmed as the Green Party's nominee on August 17, will be on the ballot in Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia, according to Ballotpedia's most recent update.

She will also be on the ballot in Montana, Utah, Nevada, Alaska, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Maine, Maryland, and Missouri, as previously told by her campaign manager Jason Call to the outlet.

On the other hand, the Green Party is on the ballot in Mississippi, South Carolina, and Hawaii. Ballot access methods are the cause of Stein's inclusion on some state ballots while the Green Party is on others.

On its website, the Green Party states that "at least 144 [party members] hold elected office in 20 states across the United States as of February 15, 2024." Several city council members and members of the local school, zoning, and tax boards are on the list, along with other members.

Jill Stein responds to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez labeling her 'predatory'

Jill Stein seemingly took to X (formerly Twitter) to respond to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's remarks over her failure to grow the Green Party. 

In one post, the Massachusetts native took shots at Democrats over the Israel-Hamas conflict, writing, "What's seriously predatory is pretending your candidate is 'working tirelessly for a ceasefire' [in Gaza] when in reality they're actively arming and funding genocide."

Her second post read, "Democrats sue to kick us off ballots, hire operatives to infiltrate and sabotage us, lock us out of debates, fight ranked-choice voting, then act concerned that Greens have only won 1400 elections. So which party is authentic, and which is predatory?"

Hillary Clinton once claimed Jill Stein was a 'Russian asset'

Jill Stein acted as kingmaker in a number of crucial battleground states in 2016. Her vote total exceeded Donald Trump's victory margin in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, which incited harsh criticism from Democratic lawmakers and commentators.

In addition, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee in the 2016 election, said the activist was "totally" a "Russian asset" during a 2019 interview. 

In response, the Green Party said that such accusations were nothing but "brazen Orwellian doublespeak." 

Michael O’Neil, who was the party's communications manager at the time, issued a statement, saying, "Clinton has spent her entire career as an asset of Wall Street, the police state and war — the real dangers to everyday people in the United States and around the world." 

Internet sides with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as she attacks Green Party candidate Jill Stein

Netizens slammed the Green Party candidate after the Democrat's rant on her on social media.

One wrote, "You regularly disappear between presidential elections, Jill. That's a fact. We only know you're still alive in presidential election years. She's right - you've done nothing to grow your party. You're nothing not a spoiler candidate. It's so obvious."

Another said, "I used to like you. Years ago. Then I saw you meet with Putin. Disappear after election years only to resurface each election year to raise money and take it for yourself. Thats when I realized you don’t actually care about winning or creating a 3rd party that could win one day, you care for yourself and helping Trump win elections."

"Russian asset @DrJillStein is back in 2024 after raising millions of dollars from Democrats for the recall effort in 2016 and one has to wonder what she did with the names and contact info of millions of Dem voters," claimed a person. 

An individual remarked, "You're not even serious about holding any office." 

"She's right. we can take the green & libertarian parties seriously once they start getting congressional and local seats. for now they're just here to play spoiler," stated one more. 

Another person wrote, "She’s 110% correct, I’ve said it numerous times I don’t understand why 3rd party’s don’t focus on down ballot races and put all this effort into hopeless presidential campaigns that aren’t building their movement at all."

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