It would be easy to discount the influence of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the newcomer who beat longtime Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in a primary contest last week. But that would be wrong.
Ocasio-Cortez has a lot going for her. She is young, attractive, passionate, and represents a new direction for a party that has seen too many demoralizing losses in recent years. In 2016, Democrats lost the White House to Donald Trump and Republicans kept their majorities in Congress. Since the 45th president took office, Democrats have been defeated by policy victories in the legislative arena. And now, they’re reeling from the news that President Trump will have the chance to appoint a second justice to the Supreme Court.
In short, what they’ve been doing isn’t working.
Now, the country is heading into the midterms with a strong economy and an unapologetic commander-in-chief. While Democratic voters may go to the polls in record numbers this fall, attempting to win back some ground, they still have an arduous uphill battle before them. As of right now, Democrats are acutely aware they exist on the losing side.
Ocasio-Cortez is a self-described democratic socialist who burst onto the scene in a long-shot effort to defeat a seasoned veteran. Crowley’s extensive career— and plans for a leadership position within a party where he’s respected— could not overwhelm his vivacious opponent, whose politics are clearly to the Left of mainstream Democrats.
This isn’t the first time the establishment wing of a party has been bypassed in favor of a flashy alternative. Last time, however, it happened to Republicans during a presidential election.
Trump and Ocasio-Cortez have much more in common than initially meets the eye. Both are newcomers to the political stage. Both are extreme, in either their political positions or personalities. Both have awakened an element within their respective parties that had laid dormant. No, there is nothing similar about their policy stances, but that matters little. What’s remarkable about each of them isn’t what they bring to the table, it’s who they simultaneously win over and push away.
In fact, Ocasio-Cortez should thank the president for at least a portion of her recent, initial successes. Trump’s ascendancy seems to have spurred a reaction among people on the Left, some of whom are starting to believe her radical politics might be the way to go. “Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign is evidence that big solutions aren’t just fantasies,” Luke Darby wrote in GQ. “As long as Democrats are too afraid or just unwilling to take stands on the deepening crises happening on fronts across the country, they have little hope of regaining real political power, and even less hope of actually accomplishing anything.”
Bernie Sanders, that quirky Independent senator from Vermont, made some inroads as an alternative to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 primaries. Ultimately, he was passed over in favor of name recognition and the desire to finally seat a female as president. His policy stances were also a bit too extreme for regular Democrats.
So, too, is the platform of Ocasio-Cortez. But she has some advantages that Sanders did not. First, her youth and personality have a way of making her message more palatable. Second, she doesn’t have to win over an entire country. Party leaders don’t have to worry about how democratic socialism will play out among voters residing in the Bible Belt. Her reach is limited and that reality may be the key to victory.
At present, it’s unclear whether Ocasio-Cortez’s attempt to gain a seat in the House will be successful. She still has a general election to win. And even if she’s victorious, her role will only be as one member of a 435-person legislative body.
But we should not disregard her impact. She is becoming the darling of a party hungry to push back against what they believe to be an ongoing moral dilemma trickling down from the highest office in the land. Her embrace of socialism should be worrisome to conservatives and even mainstream Republicans. We may soothe ourselves by saying an acceptance of her and her policies is only a distant possibility on the national scale.
But whatever your thoughts on Ocasio-Cortez, remember this— more than three years ago, a real estate mogul turned reality star descended escalator steps to announce his campaign for president. And next week? He’ll announce his second nominee for the Supreme Court.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a senior contributor at RedState.com.
