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In reply to the discussion: Ocasio Cortez is a uniter, not a divider [View all]AtomicKitten
(46,585 posts)192. She won because voters liked what they saw.
You and Nancy Pelosi can keep trying to knock the legs out from underneath her victory but that effort reveals more about you than hurts her.
She won on issues, on policy, as a Berniecrat ... yeah we recognized what really had your knickers in a twist ... but she out-Bernied Bernie when it comes to Democratic socialism on issues, on policy.
Source: https://theintercept.com/2018/06/30/theres-an-easy-answer-to-why-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-won-socialism/
What gave Ocasio-Cortezs platform its power is not just her rhetorical acuity the fact that shes frank where others are euphemistic. Shes able to be frank because her ideology is internally consistent and uncompromised by the influence of money just as others are euphemistic where the truth would upset their donors. Nor can her popularity be boiled down to the fact of her racial identity and the similarly brown demographics of her district despite many attempts to do so. -snip- That implication is so pervasive that Ocasio-Cortez felt the need to push back, tweeting: Some folks are saying I won for demographic reasons. 1st of all, thats false. We won w/voters of all kinds. And shes right. The southwestern part of the district (located in northwest Queens) was where Ocasio-Cortez performed best, with 60 to 100 percent of voters choosing her over Crowley, even though that area is only 15 to 40 percent Hispanic.
-snip-
Ocasio-Cortezs socialist message is not an incidental part of a larger demographic story. And her socialism shouldnt be treated as a virus opportunistically riding the vector of her Latina form. Socialism is inextricable from Ocasio-Cortezs success because its the secret behind her ability to do what the Democratic party has long failed to do articulate a holistic progressive vision for America.
-snip-
A-OC: "When we talk about the word socialism, I think what it really means is just democratic participation in our economic dignity, and our economic, social, and racial dignity It is about direct representation and people actually having power and stake over their economic and social wellness, at the end of the day. To me, what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity.
What should frighten centrists of both parties is how unimpeachable that simple moral claim is. As Ocasio-Cortez said on election night: Theres nothing radical about moral clarity in 2018. Except, it is a radical act to run on it.
-snip-
Ocasio-Cortez put it best: At the end of the day, Im a candidate that doesnt take corporate money, that champions Medicare for all, a federal jobs guarantee, the abolishment of ICE, and a green New Deal. But I approach those issues with the lenses of the community that I live in. And that is not as easy to say as identity politics.'
-snip-
Ocasio-Cortezs socialist message is not an incidental part of a larger demographic story. And her socialism shouldnt be treated as a virus opportunistically riding the vector of her Latina form. Socialism is inextricable from Ocasio-Cortezs success because its the secret behind her ability to do what the Democratic party has long failed to do articulate a holistic progressive vision for America.
-snip-
A-OC: "When we talk about the word socialism, I think what it really means is just democratic participation in our economic dignity, and our economic, social, and racial dignity It is about direct representation and people actually having power and stake over their economic and social wellness, at the end of the day. To me, what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity.
What should frighten centrists of both parties is how unimpeachable that simple moral claim is. As Ocasio-Cortez said on election night: Theres nothing radical about moral clarity in 2018. Except, it is a radical act to run on it.
-snip-
Ocasio-Cortez put it best: At the end of the day, Im a candidate that doesnt take corporate money, that champions Medicare for all, a federal jobs guarantee, the abolishment of ICE, and a green New Deal. But I approach those issues with the lenses of the community that I live in. And that is not as easy to say as identity politics.'
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Alexandria is such a breath of fresh air... she IS the future of the Democratic Party!
InAbLuEsTaTe
Jun 2018
#50
It's just a prediction... Alexandria has a winning POSITIVE progressive message...
InAbLuEsTaTe
Jun 2018
#126
Honestly, I think there is too much hyberbole about her from different ideologies.
NY_20th
Jun 2018
#142
I don't know if it has national appeal, but it certainly had appeal in her district,
NY_20th
Jun 2018
#146
So...if she does, even if small donations don't cut it for her run, then she is to be pilloried?
LiberalLovinLug
Jun 2018
#97
Geeze, give her a few weeks to get up to speed on how the Beltway would like her to behave
BeyondGeography
Jun 2018
#7
You obviously are confused as to the origin of the term "corporate Democrats."
R B Garr
Jun 2018
#48
Agreed, nothing sinister at all...certainly won't make corporations happy...isn't that a good thing?
InAbLuEsTaTe
Jun 2018
#66
This reaction is a surprise?! Alexandria shines a bright light that has shown us the way...
InAbLuEsTaTe
Jun 2018
#63
She seems to have a history of fighting the right fights as an activist and social organizer.
Blue_true
Jun 2018
#76
I think some of the opposition comes from her being associated with Our Revolution.
Blue_true
Jun 2018
#106
"She doesn't seem to have learned from what happened on November 8, 2016, though."
NY_20th
Jun 2018
#57
Her opponent, Joe Crowley, D, is a classy uniter too; he threw his full support behind her. . . . nt
Bernardo de La Paz
Jun 2018
#72
I probably would've voted for Joe Crowley if I was in that district; now I support Ocasio-Cortez.
NBachers
Jun 2018
#79
The 28th and 29th. Four interviews in same dress (for MSNBC she wore a jacket over it).
betsuni
Jun 2018
#143
The word "only" seems to be missing, and that post is not dismissive of the victory.
lapucelle
Jul 2018
#185
It's a locution with dubious associations, but I'm sure Voltaire would defend it,
lapucelle
Jul 2018
#193
That's why it's important not to characterize conjecture concerning possible explanations
lapucelle
Jul 2018
#196