I am a conservative but I doubt anyone would believe that if they combed through years of my social media posts. I never voted for President Obama for example, but man, I respected the hell out of him. I am more of Goldwater Republican or a Blue Dog Democrat – sort of a unicorn in today’s politics. I say that because while I am economically conservative, I am unrelenting in my support for more liberal social and cultural positions.
I preface my post about Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez with a little background about myself because I think it’s important to understand who I am so the reader can properly contextualize my opinion about Congress’s youngest member ever.
By all accounts, AOC is going to be a star in Congress. She has the “it” factor and that is why I am so vested in her success. AOC is a true outsider. Not a lawyer, an entrepreneur, finance, or former congressional staffer. AOC is a citizen fed up with her representative’s failure to adequeately represent the District. This happens a lot in Congress [especially the Democrats] because a “national party identity” does not always work for everyone. For example, one I think would rightfully assume that a Silcon Valley Democrat would have more in common with a Silcon Valley Republican than a Rust Belt Democrat. Issues like immigration, taxes, regulations, and climate change are issues where West Coast and Midwest Democrats can differ.
Joe Crowley by all accounts was a “national” Democrat and seeing the District reject an older white male for a younger, Latina female pretty much tells the entire story. National politicians to me is the equivalent of a corporate politican. Another term might be entrenched. Entrenched politicians are those who basically fall in line with leadership because they prioritize their own personal advancement within the party over the needs of their District. This is happening everywhere and is also how someone like Joe Crowley ends up in a leadership position of his own despite doing almost nothing of substance for his District – for a long time.
Enter someone like AOC. Her entry reminds me of the Mark Leibovich book, This Town. In the early chapters, the author basically states that Washington DC receives a new batch of Freshman idealists every two years, ready to take on the establishment and the special interests. These new idealists, according to Leibovich, nearly always end up falling in line with the party which of course, is controlled by the lobbyists. I imagine Marco Rubio might be a prime example of “what could have been,” rather than just another story, old as time.
That’s what made Trump’s victory potentially optimistic. AOC, like Trump is not beholden to a certain dichotomy of thinking – and that’s a great thing. They don’t think in Congressional, binary terms. The kind of thing that turns representatives across the country into lemming robots. Manchurian Representatives. You will not see AOC continually parroting talking points that appear to be coming directly from national Democrats, but rather she’s already provided fresh takes on topics such as Israel, government sweeteners to companies like Amazon and defense spending. We might also see AOC take on under served issues such as gentrification, affordable housing and anti-trust issues and why? Because those are real issues that impact real people in her District.
But so many people have a problem with her because she thinks differently than the national party. Critics from both sides have taken aim at everything from AOC’s general knowledge of civics to the clothes she wears. Why? Because she’s different? Because she doesn’t belong? Because her critics are afraid? Because AOC may disagree with her critics? In my view, it makes no sense that there isn’t more disagreement within the party. There’s no reason whatsoever that Joe Crowley, Hank Johnson and Rick Nolan should be voting lock and step every step of the way. Well, Crowley lost to AOC in the primary and Rick Nolan’s MN#8 was one of only two Republican house flips in 2018.
I also like AOC because she is a true representative of her District and to me, that is a sign that the democratic process still works in some places. Think about it. A regular person running a grassroots, but modern campaign against the over-funded, corporate, establishment democrat – and she won!
Another reason to root for AOC, she is young and youth in either party is a necessity. I enjoyed seeing Josh Hawley take down Claire McCaskill just as much.The thought of Chuck Grassley and Diane Feinstein dictating the rules of the internet or McConnell at al. dictating climate policy for the next fifty years makes me shutter. They’ll be dead! And we’ll be stuck with the consequences. We’re witnessing a generational transformation here and as long as the young Republicans are more Mia Love than Tom Cotton, I think we’ll be all right long term.
Want more? I think diversity of thought is good for the country and while AOC’s ideas are not unique to her or groundbreaking in any way, I welcome her direct approach to advocating for things that the people of her District desperately need and passionately demand.
I know, I know. She’s a [Democratic] Socialist. I’m not worried by any stretch that AOC will turn the US into Venezuela. Our system is strong enough to prevent one or even several far right or far left “insurgents” from radically transforming the government and our country in a short period of time.
I won’t apologize for liking a Democratic Socalist even though I am currently a registered libertarian. I bet you could get Justin Amash in a room with AOC and they could both solve criminal justice reform, end the wars overseas, cut taxes for the right folks and hold the government accountable for corruption. The only question is, will the establishment let that sort of thing happen?
The Reasonable Man Standard 