Socialist Congressional Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has a new ally in Congress and it's probably the last person you'd ever expect: Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
The two share almost nothing in common short of one very specific issue: her suggestion to ban lobbying by former members of Congress.
Earlier this week AOC Tweeted:
"If you are a member of Congress + leave, you shouldn’t be allowed to turn right around&leverage your service for a lobbyist check. 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."
And that's when conservative Ted Cruz replied by saying, "Here’s something I don’t say often: on this point, I AGREE with @AOC. The Swamp would hate it, but perhaps a chance for some bipartisan cooperation?"
So Cruz and AOC actually agree on something, but what came next was the last thing anyone expected.
".@tedcruz if you’re serious about a clean bill, then I’m down. 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."
So now it appears as though AOC and Cruz are going to make efforts to stop recently retired lawmakers from taking high paying jobs as lobbyists. The details haven't been sketched out yet, but people are chiming in with their suggestions.
One libertarian approach came from The Federalist's Ben Domenech who said, "In addition to a bill, there is an easy, constitutional way to do this immediately: Ice Bucket Challenge style. Video a pledge to never to meet with, or allow staff to meet with, a former member-turned paid lobbyist, and challenge your fellow members to do so."
Brilliant!