When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came on the scene by defeating a long-serving New York Democrat, many political observers believed she was just a flash in the pan, a political anomaly who would be quickly absorbed by the party’s establishment and effectively rendered moot.
Other, more astute, observers, however, opined that, no, she represents a new type of Democrat – a socialist/Marxist with verve, vigor, fire, and youth who will drag the party hard-left and forever change its make-up.
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Looks like the more astute observers are more astute for a reason: It’s called being right.
Since AOC won – and won her first reelection last month – her hard-left progressive coalition has only grown exponentially, adding new members every election cycle. At the same time, the old, worn-out establishment wing of the party is shrinking and soon will die off, literally, leaving the Marxist up-and-comers in charge.
And AOC knows that, which is why she felt empowered enough this week to directly challenge Democratic leadership ahead of the party’s leadership elections next month after barely retaining control of the House (the Senate is still up for grabs, unfortunately – or theft).
The progressive firebrand said it’s time for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to go — but warned of a power vacuum that could be filled by “nefarious forces” who are “even more conservative” than the caucuses’ current leaders during a podcast interview on “The Intercept” that aired Thursday.
Pelosi, 80, sailed to reelection as speaker in a virtual caucus vote last month despite a spate of Democratic losses in the 2020 election, a night in which the party expected to see big wins but instead suffered some surprising defeats. While she did not face any challenges, Pelosi will need to secure a simple majority – 218 Democratic votes – by the full House of Representatives in order to maintain her gavel.
With one of the thinnest majorities in decades, Pelosi can only afford to lose a handful of Democratic votes or risk losing the contest.
On the Senate side, Schumer also cruised to reelection without facing any in-party challenges.
“I do think we need new leadership in the Democratic Party,” Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said. “I think one of the things that I have struggled with, I think that a lot of people struggle with, is the internal dynamics of the House has made it such that there [are] very little options for succession.”
As for Pelosi, Ocasio-Cortez said there really aren’t any real solutions to replace her because current Democratic chieftains have concentrated power in leadership “with a lack of real grooming on next generation of leadership.”
Yep. That’s by design.
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“My concern — and I acknowledge this as a failing, as something that we need to sort out — is that there isn’t a plan,” she said. “How do we fill that vacuum? Because if you create that vacuum, there are so many nefarious forces at play to fill that vacuum with something even worse. And so, the actual sad state of affairs is that there are folks more conservative than even they are willing to kind of fill that void.”
All said, the fact that this young-un would even speak publicly about ‘changing party leaders’ – which is sure to rankle those leaders after they hear what she said – is proof enough that she believes she and those like her are the party’s future, which won’t bode well for the future of our republican form of government if they win, and keep, power.
