Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for Columbus Day to be scrapped and replaced with an Election Day holiday.
“How is Columbus Day a holiday but Election Day not?” the New York Socialist-Democrat tweeted Saturday.
Daily Mail reporter David Martosko quoted Ocasio-Cortez and claimed she “hasn't even started the job yet and she's already angling for more vacation days.”
“While I would disagree with your complaint that Americans get too much vacation time (we work some of the longest hours of any dev country & have no Fed required paid leave), I am willing to compromise by eliminating Columbus Day to give Election Day off. See? I can be pliant,” the 29-year-old election winner shot back.
“One of the requirements of public service should be a sense of humor,” Martosko replied.
Bernie Sanders Backed Bill to Make Election Day Holiday: After just 36 percent of voters turned out in the 2014 midterms, the Vermont Senator introduced a bill that would have made Election Day a federal holiday.
“Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote. While this would not be a cure-all, it would indicate a national commitment to create a more vibrant democracy,” Sanders wrote on his website. “We should not be satisfied with a 'democracy" in which more than 60 percent of our people don't vote and some 80 percent of young people and low-income Americans fail to vote.”
Americans Back Columbus Day: Despite the fact that Christopher Columbus enslaved Native Americans and The Washington Post writes that genocide “directly resulted” from his actions, a poll found that 60 percent of Americans believed observing Columbus Day was a “good idea” and found that Columbus has a 56 percent approval rating.
Another poll showed that 56 percent of Americans believe that Election Day should be a national holiday.
