AOC on Ted Yoho: My parents "did not raise me to accept abuse from men"
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) responded to Rep. Ted Yoho's (R-Fla.) verbal abuse on Thursday, saying on the House floor: "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."
Background: Yoho (R-Fla.) apologized on the House floor Wednesday for "the abrupt manner of the conversation" with Ocasio-Cortez, but denied reports that he called her "disgusting" and a "f--king b-tch" during and after a conversation about the correlation between rising crime and current levels of unemployment.
- "Having been married for 45 years, with two daughters, I’m very cognizant of my language. 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," Yoho said Wednesday.
What she's saying: "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. ... 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."
- "A daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man," she said.
