Anyone who says politics is boring and predictable is dead wrong, and what happened yesterday only further exemplifies why.
In a political twist that shocked nearly everyone — which rivals the cinematic masterpiece of The Sixth Sense — it seems as if there is a strong possibility that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, an avowed principled conservative, and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a youngblood socialist upstart, will work together on policy.
Yesterday, Representative Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a thread on former congresspeople lobbying as a career, saying she wanted to ban the practice, or at least implement a “long wait period” for former members of Congress wanting to get into the lobbying business.
If you are a member of Congress + leave, you shouldn’t be allowed to turn right around&leverage your service for a lobbyist check.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 30, 2019
I don’t think it should be legal at ALL to become a corporate lobbyist if you’ve served in Congress.
At minimum there should be a long wait period. https://t.co/xMu9Mwmdm6
Normally, Ocasio-Cortez’s tweets don’t resonate with anyone right of Marx. But this time, something unexpected happened— Ted Cruz agreed with her.
What was his reasoning, exactly? Well, congresspeople going into lobbying only exacerbates the problems of ‘The Swamp’.
Here’s something I don’t say often: on this point, I AGREE with @AOC Indeed, I have long called for a LIFETIME BAN on former Members of Congress becoming lobbyists. The Swamp would hate it, but perhaps a chance for some bipartisan cooperation? https://t.co/jPW0xkH2Yy
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 30, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez then replied that so long as Cruz didn't try to add any riders or partisan addendums to the legislation, she’d be happy to co-lead the bill with him. Cruz promptly responded “You’re on.”
.@tedcruz if you’re serious about a clean bill, then I’m down.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 30, 2019
Let’s make a deal.
If we can agree on a bill with no partisan snuck-in clauses, no poison pills, etc - just a straight, clean ban on members of Congress becoming paid lobbyists - then I’ll co-lead the bill with you. https://t.co/AZTbmdSexv
You’re on. https://t.co/S3TBfNeO3Q
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 30, 2019
In an era where political discourse has slowly devolved into disgusting threats, lie-filled rhetoric, and misconceived notions, a little bipartisanship, especially among two polar opposites, is heartening to see.