When Barack Obama came out of nowhere to win his Senate seat in 2004, it almost felt preordained. As if he was the person we had been waiting for to breathe fresh air into the Democratic Party.
Flash forward to 2018, and the meteoric rise of a 29-year-old bartender from Queens feels eerily similar. She has been unafraid, unapologetic and unwilling to bend to the will of Washington. She is a force to be reckoned with, and in 2024 Democrats are going to need her force to reckon with Republicans.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is less of a personality and more of a movement. Yes, the smart, photogenic congresswoman is the face of the rising progressive movement, but she is also the future of the Democratic Party. AOC has cultivated a following beyond politics. She’s an influencer in its purest form. Her ability to relate to her supporters and allow them a glimpse into her private life is a blueprint for Democrats trying to act less like mannequins and more like humans.
She’s the voice of a movement that began after the banks were bailed out by the government, while homeowners were left to default. The simplicity with which she talks about everyday struggles hints that she’s not just a persona for consumption. She isn’t beholden to corporations, is a prodigious small-dollar fundraiser, and could out-Trump Trump like no other politician has been able to.
If Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is the Godfather, Ocasio-Cartez is Michael Corleone. As the architect of Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage and numerous other programs that are now mainstream, Bernie’s place in history has already been solidified. While Sanders may disagree with some of the progressives in his caucus, his worth carries major weight. Bernie passing the torch to AOC and recruiting her to run for president would be bold and would strengthen and solidify her base of supporters before she even gets out of the gate.
AOC wields a superpower that is rarely found in Washington: She isn’t afraid to lose. Her 2018 victory wasn’t just historic, it was shocking, and felt predestined — much like when we first saw a brilliant speaker with a funny name and big ears remind us that through hope and change we could put our country on a new course.
AOC has the ability to tell the story of her generation. She’s Barack Obama if Barack Obama was an actual progressive. I love Obama, but he was a moderate who sounded like a progressive.
Ocasio-Cortez represents the possibilities and opportunities that make our country great. Where else could a 29-year-old bartender upset a political heavyweight and become a symbol for her generation? AOC was never supposed to win her race. Few gave her a chance, but a funny thing happened: Voters loved her honesty, youth and humble beginnings. Voters were sick of career politicians who rarely came back to their districts. So they voted Joe Crowley out and AOC in. That wasn’t luck, that was fate. In a Democratic Party that looks more like a Golden Girls spin-off than a reflection of our rich diversity, AOC has become the face of a generation.
It would have been easy for her to walk into Congress and hire nothing but communications staff. It would have been easy for her to sell out and do the cash grab. She could have publicly made Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) lives a living hell just to show off for her supporters.
Instead, she did her homework and tried to fly under the radar while learning the nuances of Congress and the levers of power that run it. She did exactly what you would want your number one draft pick to do: She prepared for the moment. Her tough questioning of corporations and industry leaders has been a viral hit that adds to her credentials. AOC rarely backs down from a fight.
The congresswoman holds no punches when it comes to Sens. Joe Manchin (D- W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Echoing my previous…
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