Conservatives Silly To Discount New Liberal Up-start Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

A sanity check reveals that many conservatives may be guilty of the cardinal sin of being so vain they fail to recognize the potential of  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to become a force to be reckoned with if she grows into her new role within the Democratic party. While Ocasio-Cortes is still a political novice she has seized the hearts and minds of a number of liberals searching for a fresh young face free from the baggage of corruption that plagues so many politicians. To not see this young woman as a political threat screams of the same kind of hubris and haughtiness displayed by those that declared there was no way in hell that Donald Trump would ever be elected President.

Trump Haters Love This New Kid On The Block!

The fact is this young lady, like Barack Obama, is in a cultural sweet spot. To the many voters who "don't see color" this personable energetic progressive latino woman who speaks Spanish as well as English may just be the answer for a society that has cast blame for many of society's woes upon the white men that have monopolized the power structure. Because of this, I'm a bit appalled how rapidly many conservatives have brushed aside the idea she might be an issue or thorn in their side for many years to come. Her potential to gain a motivated and dedicated following should not be underestimated. Using terms like millenniums, moral courage, idealist and fairness she has a way forward and because of her youth plenty of time in which to evolve.

Efforts to diminish her by labeling Ocasio-Cortes as stupid may only galvanize support for her as those drawn to her are forced to defend her from attacks. While those of us a bit more well seasoned may see her as naive because of her youth many of her followers are in the same place or blinded by the failure of current leaders to address their needs. The message and the empathy Ocasio-Cortes projects to these people coupled with the promises she represents of both "free stuff" and a larger voice can be very appealing. As a bonus Ocasio-Cortes paints a picture that what she brings to the table are win-win propositions for the masses in a country of rapidly growing inequality. Adding to her allure is that all this can and will be paid for by simply having the rich and those who have taken advantage of us paying their "fair" share. 

28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989) is an American politician, educator, community organizer, and political activist. [1] On June 26, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic primary in New York's 14th congressional district, defeating the incumbent, Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley, in what has been described as the biggest upset victory in the 2018 midterm-election season.

An article published in the Daily Caller blasted how this "new face" of the Democratic party botched yet another simple question about her political views that sheer spunk and tenacity couldn't overcome. It went on to say that on last night's Daily Show, host Trevor Noah pitched Ocasio-Cortez perhaps the slowest softball he could by simply asking her to explain how she's planning on paying for her "Medicare for All" agenda along with her other ideas on funding Democratic Socialism. "This is an excellent question," she replied then she took off on an answer that did not compute but centered around fairly taxing the rich and slashing military spending.

As a proof of just how polarized the nation has become the Huffington Post ran a rather positive piece about the same Daily Show appearance that took a totally different view of what happened. Here they write that host Trevor Noah "grilled her" and how she spoke about the need for America to re-prioritize what we want to accomplish as a nation. Ocasio-Cortez is then quoted as saying, “Really, what this is about is saying, health care is important enough for us to put first. Education is important enough for us to put first. And that is a decision that requires political and moral courage, from both parts of the aisle. Period.” (The Huffington Post contains the total interview-click here)

Ironically, it is possible that the angst our media stirs up may be what drives America to occasionally choosing a leader promising to bring us together. It will be interesting to see whether Ocasio-Cortez can avoid the trap of demonizing her opponents if so she will gain even more stature. In the same way, many white voters decided to elect Obama and saw the act as regulating racism into a thing of the past many voters might be willing to give Ocasio-Cortez more credence for having the answers than she deserves. One thing we can be sure of and that is when it comes to politics often it is not about facts or even the truth but whether you can sell your vision to the voters.