AOC, Kasich Spar Before Democratic Convention Billed As Night Of ‘Unity’

TOPLINE

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) and other progressives traded jabs with the Republican former governor of Ohio, John Kasich, on Monday hours before he  was slated to speak at the Democratic Convention, an event that party leaders hoped would be a show of unity after the fractured convention of 2016.

KEY FACTS

Big number

38%. The percentage of Democrats who want to hear Kasich speak at the convention, according to a CBS News poll. 

Surprising fact

Kasich declined to vote for Hillary Clinton or Trump in 2016, and instead wrote in the late Sen. John McCain. 

Key background

After a contentious primary between Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) and Clinton, Democrats appeared fractured at the 2016 Democratic convention. This year, after Biden locked up the primary, Democrats made a concerted effort to showcase unity between the two factions. Biden set up unity task forces with the Sanders’ campaign to fold in elements of the Vermont senator’s platform. And the Democratic Party platform unveiled before Monday’s event reflects many of the policy recommendations the task force made in June. 

Chief critic

“The party should be focused on energizing Democratic voters rather than using their convention to reassure billionaires, corporate donors and Republican lobbyists that they won’t actually try to challenge the status quo,” David Sirota, Sanders’ former speechwriter, told the New York Times. 

What to watch for 

Two other Republicans are expected to speak at the convention: former Rep. Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.) and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.

Further reading

Why John Kasich, A Lifelong Republican, Is Helping Launch Joe Biden’s Democratic Party (Buzzfeed News)

John Kasich, a ‘Deeply Worried’ Republican, Steps Up for Biden (New York Times)