‘This Is Idiocy!’ Karl Rove Rages Over AOC Demand On Worker Wages In America

Karl Rove made his displeasure with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) demands for better conditions for American workers known on Wednesday.

Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade played Rove two clips during an interview for The Brian Kilmeade Show. In one, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) explicitly called for a 32-hour workweek. “The sad reality now is that Americans now work more hours than the people of any other wealthy nation … a lower work week, 32-hour work week,” Sanders said. “This is not a radical thing.”

Kilmeade then played a clip of Ocasio-Cortez, who told a crowd, “We, the people of the United States of America, demand that one job with no need for overtime should be enough for our most basic needs, which also include rest.” The quote from Ocasio-Cortez ended there.

“Oh, great. I love it. AOC is now going to determine that you must take a nap,” Rove said. “You must take a nap. Now, remember, let’s go to the idea, though, that’s at the heart of this. They want a 32-hour work week with pay for 40 hours.”

He continued:

Now, tell me how a small business firm, you’re running a plumbing company, and you’ve got six employees, and now what you’re going to do is increase the cost of — those people are going to work only 32 hours, but you’re going to continue to pay them at a 40-hour rate. How are you going to come up with 20% more money to pay for people to work the other eight hours?

“You can’t produce the same amount of services in 32 hours that you can do in 40,” Rove added. “You’re going to have to go hire some more people.”

“I mean, this is idiocy,” he also said. “And look, I’ve worked more than 40 hours a week. Don’t tell me how many hours you want me to work. I get to decide if I’m going to work.”

Rove lumped AOC and Sanders’s position together, despite AOC never mentioning a 32-hour workweek.

Sanders and Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) introduced legislation this week to establish a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay or benefits.

“At a time when artificial intelligence and robotics will radically transform our economy, it is imperative that the financial gains from this new technology benefit working families, not just a handful of billionaires and corporate CEOs. One important way to do that is through a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay or benefits,” Sanders said in a statement.

He added, “A 32-hour workweek is not a radical idea. What’s radical is that, despite an explosion in technology and productivity over the last fifty years, millions of workers are working longer hours for lower wages while nearly $80 trillion in wealth has been redistributed from the bottom 90 percent to the top 1 percent. That has got to change. It’s time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow workers and their families to enjoy a better quality of life. It’s time to pass this bill.”

Watch the above via Fox News.

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