Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explains what lobbying is like from the inside

Political lobbying isn't quite what it seems.

At least, that's what Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she realized once she became a Washington insider. The freshman congresswoman said that when she was just a "normal voting citizen" she used to think lobbying was a simple transaction in which the lobby firm threatens to withhold donations to politicians if they vote or don't vote for certain bills.

But she soon came to the understanding that it's more of a social interaction. Lobbyists don't necessarily influence members of Congress to vote out of fear of campaign loss. Instead, Ocasio-Cortez says, the two sides essentially "schmooze" each other into becoming friends.

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That was evident in a report from The Intercept which prompted Ocasio-Cortez's Twitter thread. The story shows how a lobby firm called Center Forward invited lawmakers from both parties to a luxury resort for a weekend replete with wine and live music as part of a plan "undermine" Medicare-for-All. Who says people can't get along in the nation's capital?