1. In the middle of a vote -- Yoho had voted, AOC was going to vote -- the Florida Republican confronted the New York Democrat.
2. Yoho told AOC that her recent comments on poverty and policing were "disgusting" and called her "out of your freaking mind."
3. AOC responded that Yoho was "rude."
4. As he walked away, Yoho called AOC a "f****ing bitch."
Yoho took the House floor on Wednesday morning to explain himself. He insisted that the derogatory words "attributed to me by the press" were "never spoken to my colleagues" and apologized that she (and the reporter!) had heard it that way. (This was not an apology.)
AOC took to the House floor Thursday to affirm the version of events The Hill reported, and to call out Yoho for his behavior and his attempt to use his wife and daughters as a shield for what he had done.
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"I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho's youngest daughter. I am someone's daughter too," she said. "My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter."
To which Yoho felt compelled to reply. "No one was accosted, bullied, or attacked," he said Thursday afternoon. "The fact still remains, I am not going to apologize for something I didn't say."
Let me step in here. This is not simply a disagreement between two people about what was said in a private conversation. The Hill reporter, who first reported on the exchange, said that things happened just as AOC said they did.
So in order to believe Yoho, you have to think that both AOC and the reporter heard the exact same things wrong. Which is unlikely!
Plus, a fight between Yoho and AOC -- even if the contents of their exchange were up for debate (they're not!) -- would be a one-sided affair.
She is a naturally gifted communicator with a massive social media following and a national voice. He is, well, not.
The Point: Sometimes politics is about knowing when to give up. Ted Yoho needs to give up before this gets any worse for him.
The post Analysis: AOC 1, Ted Yoho 0 appeared first on L.A. Focus Newspaper.
