News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Mar. 15, 2019: She came out of nowhere.
A year ago, you could not have picked her out of a bunch of NYC bartenders which is exactly what she was a year ago now …
United States Congress Member, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is the youngest woman ever and best-known member of Congress today. Wait a minute???
More famous than Her Majesty Nancy Pelosi yes or OK even just as famous makes no difference. Nancy Pelosi has been around Congress forever, is an ultimate member Democratic Status Quo Elite, friend of left side the rich and powerful and twice Speaker of the House. Powerful Nancy!
Pelosi would not have been caught dead in the kind of bar Ocasio-Cortez was tending bar in even less than a year ago but if she wandered in by mistake she would not have even noticed Alexandria except to order a drink.
NOW Congress Member Ocasio-Cortez is Pelosi’s ultimate NIGHTMARE.
As for President Trump and the Republicans it appears, they think correct or not that the new Socialist Queen of America is their SALVATION!
Back to Ocasio-Cortez vs. Pelosi as The Washington Post put it this week …
“A power struggle between a group of vocal newcomers on the left, including Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and veteran lawmakers is likely to be a persistent problem for Pelosi as she seeks to keep the party focused on opposing Trump and his agenda ahead of the 2020 elections.”
Duh. Somebody just say, PROBLEM. Yes The Washington Post just did.
While sister Congress Member and fellow New Comer Rep. Ilhan Omar, (D-Minn.), will remain a “backbencher” except when under attract for some of her comments, AOC – yes we will use short hand as many others are for Ocasio-Cortez – AOC is the Leader of the Pack of this new generation of Democrats in Congress who have no special respect for Madam Pelosi.
What does that spell TROUBLE for the Democratic Establishment? How much trouble remains to be seen. AOC is far from the first Young Fire Brand to enter Congress. There have been many other for over 200 years. The onus is on AOC is she good enough not to be preempted by some very savvy game players like Pelosi, Schumer and the rest of the Old Guard.
Their “strength” is built on the very structure of Congress which richly rewards longevity and those willing to play ball by bowing to power. AOC voted for Pelosi for Speaker rather than join the Turks trying to find a far better choice for Speaker. Was AOC being pragmatic and strategic or did she just FEAR how Pelosi could punish her if she opposed Her Majesty?
Then there is the issue of how smart AOC is politically. She seems held bent on wanting to try and impeach Trump as much as that is a fool’s errand without any hope of success likely to make Trump into a sympathetic victim so that his base and enough undecideds will once again elect him President.
We got a hint of that even if you missed it in AOC’s questions during the Michael Cohen farce at the Judiciary Committee where AOC is a member and was widely praised for her skill in going after President Trump with her line of questioning to convicted liar and fraudster Michael Cohen.
It seemed brilliant to some especially the adoring media like CNN that AOC alone on the Committee asked Cohen about Trump’s real estate deals in New York and how he inflated the value of his assets and took advantage of unfair tax breaks. The idea being impeachable offenses might be found here even if Trump did not conspire with the Russians to get elected President.
Hello AOC. All you were really doing is addressing the fact Donald Trump uses the same real estate play book as every other Big Wig real estate develop especially in New York City and across America. What she was doing is indicting what passes for legitimacy in real estate because real estate barons have so much power. Trump is NO more going to be impeached for those “offenses” than he is for being fat or being a jerk.
My point is the onus is on AOC to prove she is real and more than just the latest passing fad. The problem with being the new Socialist Queen of America – AOC is a self-proclaimed socialist – is that she has certainly motivated Trump and the Republicans to see what they think is a winning campaign strategy in attacking Democrats as Socialists and holding her up or more to the point beating down AOC as their so-called proof of strategy.
The reality is this Trump/Republican strategy should fail if we have Democratic candidates for President who do not fall into this trap while still proclaiming progressive policies America so desperately needs. Candidates retreating to the “middle” with the Democratic Elite live is not the answer.
Back to Queen AOC …
Power real or imagined can disappear so quickly. AOC should appreciate it as much as anyone. She came out of nowhere and won the Democratic Party primary for Congress – which in New York for a Democrat is the same as winning in November – against one of the most powerful Democrats in both Congress and New York Joe Crowley who might well have beaten Nancy Pelosi in the race for Speaker had he simply won yet another primary.
AOC ran a good campaign but she still would have lost and badly except that Joe Crowley got stupid and complacent and did not take her seriously. Crowley is perfect example of the Old Democratic Party led by Pelosi.
What AOC should realize where she can be most effective is in using here media fame and notoriety to CHALLENGE all the many Democratic Party Presidential candidates and more to come to be PROGRESSIVE not socialist but progressive, by AOC articulating a series of positions for 2020, and prompting all of the candidates to respond to them. They will do so.
If AOC releases such a thoughtful list and it does not include stuff that can too easily and effectively labeled as RADICAL by Trump and Republicans AOC can use her energy to generate CHANGE now and for 2020.
AOC has the stage whether or not she truly deserves it. Luck always plays a part in oversized success like hers. Our social media age has made her a political star who came out of nowhere which is story we always love.
AOC can insert herself into the 2020 election in a way the Republicans definitely do not want NOT by being the Socialist Queen of theirs and Trump’s dreams but by being very strategic in using her new influence.
She should begin by agreeing with her nemesis Nancy Pelosi that spending time trying to impeach President Trump is wasted time and worse it helps Trump get reelected. Then she should do what Nancy Pelosi cannot and will not propose a serious agenda for REAL change for Democrats and for 2020 much more real and immediate and specific than her New Green Deal.
My question is Congress Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez good enough?
If AOC is so good, against all odds, she just might be the next Speaker of the House as impossible as that will sound to some. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Speaker in 2021? She’s already as well-known as Speaker Pelosi, if not more so, even though just a year ago all AOC was doing is tending bar.
So time to find out just how good AOC is or is not. Time to find out now.
(This series dedicated in honor of the late Liu Xiaobo & Jamal Khashoggi)
