Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be new to Congress, but she already stands out in her own party. Not only has the young, New York liberal proposed untenable policies, such as the Green New Deal, but her frequent social media posts promote her wild, socialist ideas to the masses. As a President Trump-defying member of “the Squad” along with fellow Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ocasio-Cortez is loud, proud, and not content to take a backseat despite lacking seniority among Democrats.
It’s no secret that Democratic presidential candidate Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is captivated by the ferocity of his young colleague. In October, Sanders was clear about his desire that Ocasio-Cortez work in his administration should he become the next president. In turn, the freshman representative said it would “be an honor to be vice president,” though she admits her young age doesn’t qualify her to be anyone’s running mate until 2024. Ocasio-Cortez’s devotion to Sanders, whom she already endorsed, and liberal politics, in general, led her to recently admit, “In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are.”
The congresswoman’s disdain for the Democratic Party’s “big tent,” and its front-runner, is unsurprising from one with such a bold personality. But her enthusiasm for the far-left is only a boon to Trump’s chances. America may grow to widely support leftism over the coming years, but for now, the Democrats’ best chance in 2020 is to seem more moderate by way of nominating Vice President Joe Biden.
According to the latest polls, Biden maintains a comfortable lead among Democratic candidates. A combination of name recognition and appearing more centrist, at least when compared to the likes of Sanders, Warren, and others, is helping his case. This isn’t to say that Biden will be victorious in a head-to-head battle against Trump, though. Currently, the president can boast a strong economy, hundreds of federal judicial appointments, and a seemingly dead-on-arrival impeachment case heading to the Senate among his election-year arsenal, just to name a few. He is a formidable political opponent for Democrats.
Ocasio-Cortez’s desire for a party that aligns more with the socialist policies that she and Sanders espouse is a sign of detachment from a large portion of the voting public. But there has been a disconnect for a while. Among many other things, the congresswoman claimed, “People are going to die if we don’t start addressing climate change ASAP,” treated Democrat election wins as victories that are akin to defeating slavery, and called for the abolishing ICE. Though Biden is certainly not a friend to conservatives, Ocasio-Cortez exists in a political arena that is so fantastical that those in her own party, especially the leadership, have had a difficult time assimilating her into the fold.
Sanders may be comfortable with the extremism of Ocasio-Cortez, but so far, their unity of purpose hasn’t extended to the Democratic Party as a whole. Both are unabashed in their embrace of socialism. Thankfully, as of right now, they remain outliers among their immediate peers. The same voters who gave Trump his first term certainly aren’t going to award Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez anything of significance.
If she remains in office in the coming years, Ocasio-Cortez will probably take the “head socialist” mantle away from Sanders and climb the Democratic ranks. It may well be that the party of Biden transforms into an extreme one that she can eventually see herself in. However, the reality of this election year is that Trump’s established political enemy seems unwilling to fully hand the reins to those who wish to swing it further to the left. While that’s good news for the seemingly inevitable Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, it’s even better news for Republicans — and the rest of the country.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.
