Ocasio-Cortez Backs Gay Mass. Democrat Alex Morse, Target of Dubious Sexual Assault Claims

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put her weight behind a Democratic mayor who is running for Congress, but against whom dubious accusations of sexual impropriety were recently lodged, reports the New York Times.

The endorsement of Alex Morse by Ocasio-Cortez's political action committee pits AOC against longtime Democratic incumbent Mass. Rep. Richard E. Neal, a heavyweight in the House of Representatives as he is the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

The Times notes that taking on Neal is in keeping with Ocasio-Cortez's vow to work to defeat fellow Democrats who are deemed insufficiently committed to the causes espoused by the party's more leftward wing.

The endorsement is also the latest twist in a fraught tale in which sexual misconduct allegations have purportedly been weaponized for political purposes.

Allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against Morse - who until last year had been an instructor at UMass Amherst - by a group of student Democrats at that same school claimed that Morse had pursued students on "numerous" occasions via dating apps, and that his use of the apps had made students uncomfortable. The accusations were vetted by attorneys recommended by the state Democratic Party and "leaked" to the UMass Amherst newspaper, the Daily Collegian.

But the allegations were short on detail, and seemingly began to melt away under the glare of investigative stories published by The Intercept, which reported on allegations that the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party had coordinated with the students who made those accusations against Morse.

A previous Intercept article said that the students who made the accusations had "explicitly discussed how they could find Morse's dating profiles and then lead him into saying something incriminating that would then damage his campaign."

One student was quoted musing about how "Neal will give me an internship."

The Neal campaign denied any involvement with the scheme, which the Intercept said had been in the planning stages since last autumn.

Morse categorically denied pursuing any sexual relationship with any student he taught or supervised, though the 31-year-old openly gay politician did say that some of the men he chatted with on dating apps were of student age.

The New York Times explored the accusations in the setting of "cancel culture" and a social climate in which any accusation of sexual impropriety activates a hair-trigger of condemnation and consequences.

Morse briefly considered dropping out of the race, media sources have noted, but the accusations backfired in a way that actually increased interest in, and contributions to, his campaign.

Calling the endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez's PAC "remarkable," the Times noted how AOC was going after a giant in the party:

"As chairman of the Ways and Means panel, which controls tax legislation and social safety net programs, Mr. Neal holds enormous sway over all manner of policy issues.

"He is the most prominent Democrat Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has sought to oust since taking office.

The Times noted that Ocasio-Cortez herself was an underdog who toppled a longtime incumbent, and said that "the race is seen as the next big test of the strength of the Democratic Party's liberal wing and its ability to oust mainstream incumbents."