Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) dinged House Democrats for being overwhelmingly comprised of politicians from one generation.
Alluding to the chasm in age between politicians in Congress and the progressive base of voters that back Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez argued that her focus is on elevating down-ballot candidates that she finds exciting.
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“I’m not here to sell people on the idea that the leadership of the Democratic Party, which is overwhelmingly from one generation — almost uniformly from one generation — and overwhelmingly from a lopsided class perspective, is the same as me or you or anything else like that,” Ocasio Cortez declared on the progressive Pod Save America podcast.
Noting that the Republican Party “is worse,” the 33-year-old congresswoman appeared to suggest that down-ballot progressive firebrands are often more nimble on the campaign trail and better equipped to energize younger voters than the party leadership.
“I think party leadership is a distinct conversation, but I think what actually matters more is — are you excited to vote for anybody on your ballot,” she added. “And the more local you get, I actually think the more flexible and exciting your candidates can be.”
Questions about age have loomed over political leadership in Washington, D.C in recent months. President Joe Biden, who will turn 80 in November, is currently the oldest president in United States history. He has been dogged by questions about his age amid a string of blunders such as calling out for a deceased congresswoman at an event last month.
During a recent interview, Biden dubbed questions about his age “totally legitimate.” Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) downplayed qualms about the age of Democratic leadership, underscoring the importance of experience.
“We need generational change, of course we do, but in some cases there’s no substitute for experience,” Pelosi said. “I think that what we had been through with the legislation under the leadership of President Biden, who has done a spectacular job — he has had a better two years than most presidents you can name, certainly in the recent generations.”
Throughout the interview, Ocasio-Cortez also emphasized the importance of Democrats winning in the midterm elections, warning that the U.S. was on the “precipice of fascism.” She also argued that the big tent nature of the Democratic Party has resulted in it being hamstrung from being more forceful in the battle for the middle class.
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“There’s a lot in our big tent — it’s highly segmented and I think that there is a lot of objections from that within our party which prevents us from being as forceful on these issues as we can be,” she said, citing the lack of insulin price caps for uninsured individuals as an example.
“I also think there’s a conversation to be had about men and male identity because when we look into this … we’re shedding men,” she added, without elaborating further on why she believes Democrats are losing the male vote.
