This is a second old white man who couldn't be more pleased with her. She's great. You go, girl!
2
AOC is impressive on all counts. She is very, very smart; she exudes a seriousness and care for this country that is totally lacking among the corrupt and craven Republicans. We know that she is there because she wants what is best for the country, and not what is best for herself. She is incorruptible, and I feel sure that she is going to go very far, and I support her all the way.
1
" Until quite recently, the protocol for a woman subjected to such attacks was to rise above them, brushing off all the negative attention (and even some of the positive), projecting an air of being occupied in stolid, competent work."
In its relentless and ludicrous daily efforts to paint women in the West--the most privileged demographic in human history--as somehow uniquely beleaguered, the NYTimes creates daily farce.
As if male politicians were no less subject to absurd attacks on their dignity. Let's hope the impressive AOC can rise about the nonsenscial identity politics the Democratic party and the NYTimes hope to substitute for the left-economic populism that is the only hope the great majority of Americans have remaining to them as the middle class finishes sliding into the sea.
Funny, too, that the Democratic party never mentions its Reagan: the great Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who won four straight presidential elections, sweeping the South and the Deep South every single time. May AOC be in that mold.
You might also think a so-called bastion of "liberal media" would find far more occasions to mention universal health care, a living wage, the military-industrial-Congressional complex, the madness of the Trump regime's aim to take Venezuela, the failures of presidents of both parties to exercise their antitrust powers, that the U.S. has over 800 military bases abroad and its increase in military spending last year dwarfed Russia's entire military budget...
I was a skeptic. But after calling out Mike Lee's Climate Change speech on the Senate floor: "if this guy can be a Senator, you can do ANYTHING!" I fell in love.
2
The key to AOC's ability to thrive is her moral compass. She speaks from her heart and acts from her soul.
She does not play to the latest polls or possess the chameleon attitude where some politicians will change their accents depending on who they are speaking to or change policies depending on their audience.
This allows her to tell the truth and not lie and have to remember what lies she told to whom.
It is so refreshing to hear her speak because you know who is speaking.
This may cause her to get facts and figures slightly wrong when speaking extemporaneously, but because she is speaking morally, those wrong statements are easily corrected and don't really impact her true message.
I wish all elected officials would speak from the heart and not their wallet; so we would know who they really are, instead of who they think we want them to be.
I think Diane Feinstein showed a small piece of her soul while dressing down young children for asking her to move faster on climate change and, in her case, I saw the soul of someone I wouldn't want babysitting my children.
1
Let's keep in mind that she won the primary in an Hispanic district running against an older white guy who failed to even show up. Hardly a mandate. I do not believe she is God's gift to the party or the country, or an indication of a progressive wave. But, she is not the devil either. I disagree with her on policy but I like her and wish her well.
2
AOC and her Band-of-Sisters are a breath of fresh air! She is very attractive, intelligent, charming, charismatic, articulate and analytical in taking down special interests and corruption. She advocates for the average citizen, the common man. We are fed up of the same old staid white men and women doling out the same platitudes year in and year out!
God speed and all success to AOC and her Band-of-Sisters!
AOC for POTUS in 2024!
2
So long, Jeannine Pirro, and Hello, AOC! The arc of justice does seem to be bending in the right direction here. Hooray!
1
It's easy to be a social media darling; much more difficult to actually...lead.
Time for AOC to focus on the work to be done, collaboration with fellow leaders who can provide her with the benefit of wisdom and experience, and the big picture.
While progressive ideas are needed, our country is like a rubber band that has been stretched too far to the right. If we now choose to stretch that rubber band too far to the left, we will not only increase the tension...we risk breaking this nation.
The big picture is ensuring a wise, experienced, leader of character and integrity is elected in 2020. Our best ideas may have to wait.
And until then, unity is imperative.
1
She has lacked experience and a sense of how things will be paid for. SWish her well but herfantay world of free education, all green industry, free retirement, free vacations, helath care ofr all -- is just too much for me to swallow. I won't agree to pay income tax at a 70% level, and expect her ideas will we jostled out of support as the plan to pay for these things just isn't there.
1
AOC, with her obsession on the ability to change the climate, dismissed even by the authors of the climate report,
AOC will run the Democratic Party into the ground.
By the time they start to wonder how they let themselves be driven by someone with obviously no understanding of economy and jobs whatsoever, and none of climate either,
by that time it will be way too late. History is full of disasters caused by mindlessly following young charismatic prophets...
Cortez has no real power, she's just a 1st term congressperson. It's an illusion-- a social media & press fantasy.
2
If only she had some actual plans to back up all her performances. Getting attention from profit-seeking media does not equal results.
2
I just watched the video and was very impressed. If she keeps up this level and doesn't fall into a pit of misspeaking, or should i say being taken out of context and accused of saying something she really did not say, I would hope she goes far.
I think she is smart enough to avoid these pitfalls and continue to learn and teach and work for the people in Congress for a long time.
She seems to be some of what America needs right now.
4
If most politicians are more calculating than genuine on a spectrum, then it seems you've made her case for being more genuine than calculating. It's that or she's extremely deft at politics, perhaps both.
1
AOC is a bright, young, charismatic, Latina woman; she is Obama 2.0
3
As an old white guy who's battling cancer, I can tell you that I've been asking for years, "Is he the one? Is he the one who will defeat the oligarchy that has taken over our democracy?" Now, I say, "Is SHE the one?" I think she is. Honest, well informed, courageous, energetic, tireless, and a true believer in a democratic society. I just hope I stay around to celebrate her election to the WH in 2024. Go! Go! Go! Keep learning. And stay true to yourself. To other young people: follow her example. We need more just like her.
7
About time someone pushed back against the 60 years of lies, deceit, and made up conspiracy theories, now being championed anew by Fox. All those old white men are furious that she isn’t barefoot and not pregnant-they don’t want Latinas except as maids.
7
I was fairly skeptical of AOC. I mean, I expected her to be an average, and maybe good representative of her district, and probably a net loss to her district considering the high stature of Crowley. Definitely not someone who would live up to the hype raised by her victory.
The ensuing months have been fascinating. Both her supporters and her enemies have driven the hype to 11. And shockingly, IMO, she has done an amazing job at handling it.
I put myself in her shoes, and I can only see myself crawling into a closet and not leaving it considering her expectations raised by her supporters, and the vitriol by the Republicans who have been disgraceful at best.
She has handled it amazingly, and has pushed the conversation in the right direction in so many areas. She has single handedly shifted the Overton Window leftwards in several areas, something which I haven’t seen any Dem being able to achieve. To be fair a large part of this is a result of the right significantly underestimating her just like I did, and instead of crushing her message amplifying it.
No matter what happens, and she will inevitably screw up, her handling of the situation so far has been praiseworthy.
74
@VP The vast majority of Dems aren't remotely interested in shifting the Overton Window, sadly.
That's why their donors pay their way into office.
Also sad to say, the Democrats are now just the other right-wing party. These days our choices have been reduced to wars of aggression, rampant imperialism, a vigorous surveillance state, and near-total political corruption with, or without, sides of abortion and gay rights.
1
Please stop insulting Elle Woods with these comparisons.
Why have we forgotten she was a liar about her background when she campaigned?? That she doesn’t care to tie her so-called policy ideas to facts or reality? Isn’t honesty important anymore?
3
Going after all the hangers-on who earn a living off the political election system, much like all the adminstrators and middlemen and coders and paper pushers who add cost into the health system but do nothing to cure you, it’s not just health care delivery that is ripe for disruption. AOC is the future and the political system in the US is ripe for disruption: Two whole years is a big waste of time. It will be Faster. Cheaper. Smarter. On line. And no one will not count. So the GOP better get with it and start attracting intelligent young people to their party who can actually solve problems.
2
What is the Times’ fascination with this young, naive legislator? Okay, awesome. You’re counting the days until she’s 35? Have y’all forgotten that there’s no cheering in the press box? Okay, awesome. No, really it’s not. It’s boosterism. And media cheering is inappropriate, in any circumstance. Okay, awesome.
2
it's an opinion piece in a magazine. chill.
1
AOC a flicker of light in an age of darkness! I dips me lid to you ma’am! Please keep going and may you be a lightning rod attracting like minded superheroes. The troglodytes will eventually go away, albeit a bit faster if AOC keeps shining a beacon of truth on your illicit and selfish sojourns.
6
I find it amusing that some are threatened by her; even if they won't or can't admit it to themselves.
She's not my representative, but I support her.
Hopefully we can get more young blood with a commitment to genuine people service. After all, they will likely be here longer than many of us older folks.
8
How lovely. For 30+ years the GOP righties and the loud Fox, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck. Carlson, Jones, etc screamers attacked Hillary and Hill never could stop the attacks. She was too elite. The spitballs stuck. Being divisive an obstructive stuck. Anti-social.
AOC is refreshingly able to fend off the attack sharks and express sharp and fierce honest convictions.
She has integrity you just cannot vanquish and diminish. Fox would be smart to befriend her. She is the real deal. The Outsider. The 5-year-old kid in the story of the Emperor who wore no clothes who pointed out the obvious.
Evangelicals should love her. She is the ideal Christian model following the teachings of their God. The honest and caring God. Every Fox nasty comment about her is tiresome and shows their low-class tabloid mean self.
Go AOC! Keep on pointing out the obvious.
11
I love her style and her attitude. I just wish she’d always get her facts straight before she talks. That way you give your opponent no place to push back.
3
she'll get better, she's not perfect and that's Probaly one of her many Qualities .
Aoc can dance all she wants as she takes credit for killing the Amazon deal and advancing crackpot ideas like the modern monetary theory, free healthcare and free college. What she can’t do is escape the fact that in doing so, she’s nothing more than a socialist progressive loon whose popularity will fade as quickly as it came.
2
She didn’t take credit for the failed Amazon deal, she attributed that to local activism. Also, “socialist progressive loon”? Thoughtful analysis there.
1
Now with the changeover in the House Congressional testimony hearings, it’s so refreshing to hear the questioner not sound like a dope.
8
No one in any party anywhere wants to vote for a politician.
We want fearless anti-politicians. That's why we like AOC, Omar, Trump (many do), Bernie, Buttigieg, and Beto.
Now that we have these new guys to choose from, we'll never again elect another shills from the last millennium.
1
What makes you think the people you've listed--Cortez, O'Rourke, Sanders, etc. aren't politicians? They act & sound like politicos to me. Full of sound, baloney and in some cases slippery statements unworthy of fact checking typical of the species, just a little bit different that's all. I'll give Bernie his due, but forget the rest of them.
1
Young , good looking , dynamic - not your average DC politician . All this helps .
5
This young woman gives me hope. I hope she doesn’t allow power and special interests to ever turn her away from her mission. Right now she’s as true to that mission and her core beliefs as she is ever going to get.
Please stay on track, young lady, and don’t let those old idiots stuck in the last century tell you that the things you are currently advocating for “can’t be done.” Goodness knows those people will be telling you that loud, clear, and repeatedly. Don’t listen. Anything is possible with will, intelligence, education, passion, and a heart in the right place—all of which attributes you possess in abundance.
A slogan from another politician who also possessed those attributes (albeit, with too much caution, sadly) still applies: Yes we can. Yes we can!
2
The writer has great empathy for this representative. That's nice and it's her right to do so, and to write about it, but it amounts to hagiography.
It's also the right and responsibility of others to critique representatives as they see fit. This woman is not an actress nor is she running a popularity contest, yet it seems to be what drives articles like this one.
1
"Harness" the fact that she's the face of Cuba 1959?
Like to see that happen, besides, of course, with Millennials trying to clear student-debt obligations.
1
I like that she has taken on some of the most important issues of our time.
I would like her to put identity politics aside for the time being and help the Democrats come up with a platform that appeals to everyone. Here is my list- which is affordable if we set our priorities straight, but not if we spend $800 billion a year on wasteful defense and national security projects. Like $15 billion for another sitting duck aircraft carrier or paying for a missile defense shield for Europe to thwart possible Iranian missile attacks. How absurd is that?
Here is my aspirational list none of which can be accomplished in one fell swoop. They should be goals accomplished over a reasonable period of time:
Clean air;
Clean water;
High quality healthcare at affordable prices;
Free or low-cost education through graduate school;
Cancel student debt;
Re
Right of privacy on the Internet;
Spam calls blocked by forcing carriers to pay to determine caller ID number is correct;
Clawback the extreme wealth acquired by the 1% from the Bush and Trump tax cuts;
Limit the unfair tax benefits to owners of residential property including not taxing the first $500,000 of gain;
Eliminate the carried interest rule which Schumer protects;
The $ is there; it's all about how it's allocated or squandered.
Prepare for the 2020 election now by creating talking points about what the Democratic Party stands for.
The House should pass 100 short single purpose laws and roast Repubs who vote no& Mitch who'll bury it.
5
We needed a light to show the path for women leaders of the future. She may be it.
2
Wow. I admire her. She's my new role model.
3
All good points, but it's important to remember that AOC completely broke the spell, so to speak, at the end by asking, "Is it possible that any part of the story apply to our current government or current public servants right now?" The witnesses said, "Yes," which allowed AOC to drive it home by asserting, "... We have this system that is fundamentally broken... which means that these influences are here in this committee, shaping the questions that are being asked of you all right now. Would you say that's correct...?" The witness said, "Yes." Finally, she was able to get the witnesses to say that there were "almost all no laws at all that apply to the President. It was a remarkable exchange.
3
I watched the video of the hearing, and thought she did a great job. It is too bad she damages her own credibility so much with some of her media antics. She is playing into the hands of her opponents.
If she did less of the celebrity act and more of what she did in that hearing, she might be more effective in the long run. And the long run is what matters.
Amazing to see the adulation for someone who is doing her job well.
Why do so many of her Colleagues simply mail it in?
2
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represents everything I loathe about the faction formerly known as the Democratic Party. She strikes me as a sanctimonious, grandstanding attention seeker and not particularly bright. The 24/7 media fawning over her and her buddy, Ilhan Omar, is absolutely nauseating.
Meanwhile, Ms Ocasio-Cortez was responsible for the loss to her constituents of 25,000+ jobs and millions in future tax revenues. She actually celebrated the loss as a victory over the corporate baddies. She brilliant, or what? Not!
2
Hmmm. Amazon was going to get credits worth $3.4 billion for those ‘jobs’! Plus ‘infrastructure jobs! An inconvenient truth...
1
Remember the Democratic Convention when the Muslim father held up his copy of the US Constitution, telling Trump to read it?
Well, that inspired me to buy a copy for myself just for the convenience, even though you can read it online for free. That is kind of what Ms.Cortez reminds me of. These are the laws, and if you study them, AND how we got them ratified, you may better understand the challenges we face today. She obviously took some classes at BU in government as well as practice in getting up and making a presentation. She prepares and studies issues and prepares some more. She's a legislator, but she's also a teacher. When you sign up at school for a class that EVERYONE wants to take, because the professor has a reputation for making you think and uses powerful words and images that inspire, it makes a formal education worth every penny and then some. I see in her a desire to serve but also to get your attention and then help you to see what is going on. Yeah, she's only 29, and not "distinguished" or "mature", but as long as she's polite and well mannered, she can and should do all she can. Not for fame and fortune, but because that's who she is. We need a working government- maybe she can help take some steps to get one.
7
As a constituent, the only thing of note she has done for us so far is help throw away 25k jobs and 27B in revenue by chasing away the Amazon deal, then having the huzpah to dance on that "victory" along with that johny come lately accolyte Sen. Gianaris. She showed that she had no idea what she was talking about when she said we can now spend the 3B in incentives on something else. Of course there is no 3B because that was a discount on future tax revenues, which btw any company could apply for. This constituent looks forward to voting her out in 2020.
3
Hmm. ‘Throw away’ those jobs for $3.4 billion worth of Govt credits plus Infrastructure investments saving! BTW she wasn’t the only one who recognised the fallacy of Amazon’s ‘investment’ in NY...
1
I love her! I hope she runs for NY senate, she will win a landslide.
6
She overcomes much of the negativity by mocking it. They want her to get outraged but she doesn't play their game and it's just killing them. Am so so glad that she's my representative in congress.
3
Like the remarkable Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm before her, AOC’s greatest asset is her mouth, out of which springs truth.
Very refreshing, not to mention fun. Some of those fossils in Congress have forgotten what plain unadulterated truth looks and sounds like.
Keep on keeping on.
7
After watching the Kavanaugh and Cohen hearing I was amazed at how many senators couldn’t put a sentence together or ask a thought provoking question. She is young articulate and smart and she makes the old folks look dumb and out of touch
9
My dream team: AOC, Harris and Obama campaigning for Warren.
4
What the article ignores, and what her polling shows is ignored by people who've been swamped by negative media representations of her, is that she's brilliant. When you watch this video, or any video of her where she's allowed to speak for herself, you see a very serious, very thoughtful, very deliberate young woman who is doing everything she can to expose what she sees as what is rotten about out political process and policies and to come up with programs and policies that actually benefit - horrors - ordinary people in this country. Hopefully, the more she continues to just do her job in this way, more people will judge her by that and not by the media hatchet jobs. As to her voice, she's worlds more listenable than, say, Nancy Pelosi, and she's had a bit of success in Congress.
5
AOC is tomorrow's USA, today. A lot of folks just don't know it yet.
AOC! That's for me!
5
AOC for vice pres! Just not in 2020......
1
That video clip is so brilliant. We have a truly broken system.
2
All the Republicans need to do is run against her in every race or make the Dems come out and disparage her widening the ever present rift in the party.
What makes AOC, AOC? She doesn't take corporate cash so she gets to say things that were to remain unspoken previously.
7
She got my attention when she immediately shot down Ben Shapiro's dishonest "debate" proposition as tantamount to catcalling.
3
I,for one, have never dismissed her for being “young, inexperienced or female’” I dismissed her for lying about her background and being reckless and wrong with facts. She is also stunningly arrogant (that makes me the boss!”)
1
Elizabeth Warren for President and AOC for VP.
3
15000 primary voters are the reason AOC is in Congress. AOC will be a big part of the reason why many of those who are in Congress today, won't be in 2020. She is a pied piper of doom for the Democrats and she has a very large crowd following her right off a cliff.
I built my career on early social media, and learned early on what AOC also clearly grasps: agree with the your detractors, turn the trolls' invective into a reason to very publicly, very graciously laugh at yourself.
In my experience, nearly everyone will respect you for it, even the trolls. Their respect comes not in the form of verbal adulation, but rather in leaving you alone and moving on to the next target, because you have robbed them of all of their power. If they cannot alter your tone or affect in the least, if their words are used by you as a basis to make everyone laugh, if it's clear you are emotionally untouchable, trolls get very bored very fast.
I have faith that the current mess of "social media overtaking politics" is merely a transitional phase for our culture, as the old guard with zero aptitude for complete transparency gets nudged aside by the next generation of leaders who by definition got where they are by having a thick skin, incredible social and communication skills, and an authenticity that directly connects them to the people who entrust them with the power of governance. I think it's all going somewhere amazing, it's just going to take 20-30 years.
34
She’s honest, forthright, and real. When that’s where you’re coming from, there’s no need to contrive a persona or worry about how you “come-off”; it just is. It’s fascinating what an utterly foreign concept this is in today’s media-saturated, focus-grouped world. Maybe she’s post-media. I hope so.
44
I’m as liberal as they come, but even I recognize that progressives seriously overestimate the appeal of their ideas. They have established platform of policy changes and programs that in their eyes are inevitable; that the march of progress is unstoppable and these things - mostly the advancement and growth of government in peoples lives - are a foregone conclusion because they know what people really want. And for some, AOC is part of the the vanguard of this great forward stride. The problem is that most Americans aren’t buying it, which makes AOC’s enthusiasm look naive; as if she doesn’t realize what she’s up against. It’s because she doesn’t - her opposition isn’t just a bunch of aging white men who are unfairly dismissive of a young woman and her anti-capitalism notions. Not so simple as that. Her opposition includes a lot of voters who disagree with the substance of her ideas, on the merits, and without regard to her identity. The apparent fact that she doesn’t care about the opposition and dismisses it as motivated by racism, misogyny or corporate greed is a sizable blind spot - if that’s what it is, charitably speaking - and it will be a weakness in her ability to build support beyond her enthusiastic base.
19
@MWR
"The apparent fact that she doesn’t care about the opposition and dismisses it as motivated by racism, misogyny or corporate greed is a sizable blind spot - " No. It is, in fact, 20/20 vision in seeing the obvious - especially when it comes to the "corporate greed"
8
@MWR "The problem is that most Americans aren’t buying it."
The problem - for Republicans - is that most Americans ARE buying it. They want Obamacare. They want to tackle global warming. They want to tax the rich, tax the corporations, and redistribute the obscene wealth of the uber-billionares.
That's why she terrifies the GOP.
17
@MWR I can only encourage you to consult one of hundreds of polls taken during the past decade showing
Americans overwhelmingly want universal health care, a living wage, a reduction in U.S. imperialism, strict limits on the killing of civilians overseas, rapproachment with Russia, China, and North Korea, private money out of politics...
7
She is a great example of what democratic socialism is all about. I feel sure that George Orwell - who was also a democratic socialist - would be proud. And if you’re one of those so-called ‘libertarians’ who thinks Orwell was one of you, no, Orwell expressly stated in his essay ‘why I write’, that he was a democratic socialist from 1936 onwards. So, just to repeat, the author of two of the greatest books in western literature about freedom - 1984, and Animal Farm - was a democratic Socialist. That is what Democratic Socialists are about - freedom from oppression from powerful people.
42
@Dave
George Orwell would have been appalled. You’re missing Orwell’s position on manipulation through media at which AOC is almost as good as Trump/Fox. A lot of noise and thin on substance.
2
This is Social Media Self-Branding 101. Nobody under 40 should be terribly surprised at what she is doing and how well she is doing it -- this is what her generation does. It's just that she does it so very well, and for genuinely serious purposes, and (most of all) at least in part for an audience to whom it's still new and surprising.
81
@herzliebster
Social media is only a tool you have to do your homework and have a concrete message.
We have been starved for ideas since corruption took over the White House and make this a third rate country a banana republic.
These new members are smart. Caring and unlike the old men want to get busy right away and they are doing it. Democracy is coming back.
13
I've been incredibly impressed by the questioning skills of Representative Ocasio-Cortez. Her questioning of Michael Cohen bordered on brilliant. She's very effective... and unfortunately it's rare in legislators. Congressional Democrats would be wise to watch her and learn.
117
The Representative is a bright rising star in the Congress and yet she already has people within the Democratic Party plotting to sabotage her chances of a future.
I would admonish those trying to inhibit her rise, as she has a national base of support and we have her back. Pundits and political bosses underestimate her at their political peril.
A Democratic Party that has no room for Representative Ocasio-Cortez has no room for me and will not get my money, effort or vote. America needs her voice in our Congress. The views she represents are shared far beyond her district and have long been ignored by the DNC, the DCCC, and DSCC.
Go ahead and fund somone to primary her in 2020. Act Blue will fill with donations to match you Dollar for Dollar.
164
I disagree with the notion that AOC acts like a typical legislator in televised committee hearings, or that she asks long rhetorical questions. Most legislators seem to just make speeches instead of asking questions, and don't elicit any information. They often come across as ill-informed. She seemed to be direct, relatively succinct, well-prepared, and focused on getting real information into the record. To me, she resembled a good prosecutor or debater, rather than the many windbags in both houses of Congress.
208
This old white man is very glad to see the life, vitality and intelligence AOC demonstrates every day.
I sure hope millions more join her.
I am!
203
AOC gives me hope. She is showing the rest of us how it's done. Take note folks. Let's all learn something, even if we don't always agree with her ideas.
My teenagers are enthralled with her, even if they are sometimes unsure of whether to trust someone so young and inexperienced.
181
@Cousy
I pity your teenagers who wonder if they can trust someone who is demonstrating daily how trustworthy she is but would (I assume) have no trouble trusting an older person who might have been complicit in public corruption for the past 20 years. Sigh.
38
@Mary Kovis Watson
i only see her "outspoken" part.
4
@Cousy. You have to admit that the old and experienced crowd in Congress doesn't seem to be doing much of anything for the country. So, why not encourage and extol this outspoken, hard-working, and bright young woman?
152
You can be sure AOC is a force to be reckoned with when Fox News can't stop talking about her. From what I've seen so far, they're right to be scared. She seems to have a team with plenty of smarts and insight around her and defies the age-old expectation that a pretty, young woman should shut up and be decorative. Rock on AOC. Keep learning how to do your job well and deploy your power as a representative of the people in your district.
245
@A Good observations; I share your hope. Keep the faith.
27
@LB
I am very curious to see if any other progressives or Democrats can follow AOC's playbook and come across as authentic while balancing just the right amount between ignoring slights against her and responding tongue in cheek, or rarely with some genuine ire.
It is obvious many people in this nation do not respond to the truth or even acknowledge the truth matters. Satire and sarcasm can work wonderfully for cathartic comedic relief but progressives have lacked a good media strategy that refutes the shrillness, loud anger, and dire warnings of doom seen constantly on Fox News.
I hope AOC can continue this balancing act and we see a rise in younger more self-aware congresspeople winning office.
90
@LB, I think you are a bit confused. Fox News is talking about her to rally its base. And this is happening at a time when the Democrats need to win back people who voted for Trump.
2
Anyone - regardless of age, gender or experience - who is brave enough to analyze and challenge the status quo, with cogent rationale in tow, is fine in my book, and especially given the character of the person in the White House now. The problem I have with AOC is that I know too much about how spinning special interest groups co-opt someone as vain and naive as AOC - talking points, publicity tours, op-Ed's, etc. One example that other commenters noted here is AOC's questioning of Michael Cohen was "brilliant" - which is what I initially thought, especially in contrast to the pontification and posturing of those who came before her - Democrats and Republicans alike. It took me a minute to conclude that AOC's question to Cohen was one that she was fed by handlers with agendas she espouses, people who spent that day monitoring and analyzing the proceedings, and concluding that all the bloviating from the morning interrogation had not turned up a true line of questioning most favorable to their cause. AOC then rose to the occasion to shine. It was a terrific pivot in the proceedings but one that *handlers* - not AOC - orchestrated. Child actor indeed.
1
I was very impressed by her questioning of Wilbur Ross. She came across as a reasonable and determined prosecutor, zeroing in on contradictions in Ross's testimony. Her approach was not in the least ideological, and that raised my estimation of her by several notches.
8
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a good heart and wants to help people – that aura can be felt – her sincerity can be seen, heard, and felt. Like the many others that have been sharing in their appreciation for AOC, she has become a darling in the USA Congress outside of her district, throughout the nation. She represents more to the nation than in her role now as the representative to the House for her district, and she will be supported by many more in the future than just from New York's 14th district. Thanks So Much Alexandria, for all the hard work and the passion for governing, to benefit your direct constituents and all Americans.
10
Ocasio-Cortez is very smart and exceptionally creative in her public strategies. But what really stands out is her fearlessness. Patriarchal disapproval runs off her back like water off a duck. She is utterly secure and unapologetic in her public role.
One hopes that AOC's example can make other Congressional Democrats more courageous as well. For the younger members that shouldn't present too much of challenge. But for her older colleagues it will be an uphill battle.
Most senior Democrats were elected back when Reaganism ruled the land. They managed to survive by rendering convenient obeisance to the principles of moderate conservatism. They knew when to back down and adapt. Because moral courage was more often punished than rewarded, the rashly brave quickly disappeared. The dominant strategy became one of offering a more humane approach to conservative programs -- in the aftermath Reagan they were truly the original "compassionate conservatives."
Further, the essence of Clintonism was to provide lip service to the working class while quietly competing with Republicans for the financial blessings of Wall Street. Congressional Democrats grew fat and comfortable as reliable handmaidens to corporate power. Much like the bears at Yellowstone who learn to enjoy the pleasures of dumpster cuisine, that habit will prove hard to break.
12
Perfect critique of HRC and Dems. I’m looking forward to the election of those inspired by AOC who will unapologetically defend and promote the interests of the vast majority of Americans rather than the very few who are currently hoarding this country’s wealth and power. AOC (and Tlaib, and Omar) give me hope for the future of America.
1
Well said...brilliant...what you wrote should be published. Oh, it was.
1
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is rising to national prominence and "stardom" because she's breaking the mold of what the system expects of its participants: "go along to get along". But if anything, she's employing the tactics of the guy who defied all the rules to become President. This is the new model. If you're going to be attacked and vilified anyway, use it to your advantage. As the old show business adage said: "There is no such thing as BAD publicity".
I hope that she can remain as nimble on her feet as she has shown thus far, and her ability to turn away the slings and arrows deftly indicates that she'll have no trouble on that score. Of course, as she grows in notoriety, the attacks will increase and become even more vicious because she is striking fear in people who are powerful and wedded to the Status Quo. The "system" has broken many a reformer along the way.
All that said, AOC is not infallible, nor are all her positions without problems. I hope that in the rush to embrace her, that this "tidal wave" of support doesn't wash away alternative solutions that may be even better or more achievable in the short term. She has certainly been a key part of what has pushed the Democrats back towards the left, but she and her supporters shouldn't overlook the fact that most Americans are conservative by nature. That doesn't mean they can't be convinced to adopt new ideas, but if their innate resistance isn't taken into account, consensus, and therefore change, can't be achieved.
13
@Kingfish52
"most Americans are conservative by nature."
Uh? There's some kind of conservative gene?
1
I’m in favor of AOC’s methods and her desire to bring fresh ideas to government. But those ideas have to be evidence-based. My expertise is in medicine and population health management. AOC has demonstrated a poor understanding of the facts about the health care policy we have in the US today and what’s possible for the future. I’m concerned that her ability to whip up political excitement will outstrip her knowledge of the facts. And then what we’ll get will be even worse than what we have now.
9
@No labels We have an increasing number of american retirees coming to receive medical care in France. Seen from Europe, population health management experts in the US are well not doing a great job. Insulin prices, opioid crises, where does the money actually go ? Towards paying experts ? How do you explain US nationals in France pay less than they would in the States even though they pay full price and not subsidized prices as EU nationals would. What evidence do you have against healthcare for all that we in Europe may understand ?
12
I’m not worried. She’s obviously a quick study and, according to Paul Krugman anyway, the economists she consults are first-rate. She’s maturing before our eyes and it’s thrilling to watch.
3
@No labels
If you are an "expert" then your responsibility is to get the correct information to her.
No Congressperson can have expert knowledge on everything that is put before them as a public official. Your demand that she have an expert's knowledge...means that you and other "experts" need to provide that knowledge effectively to our elected officials.
Your critical comments...need to be turned into the collective good instead of just dissing her.
2
Driven by honesty and fearlessness, her forthright style is incredibly refreshing and energizing. People who seek the shadows to hide their distortions and schemes fear the light. What makes her style even more effective is how she creatively engages. AOC and Katie Porter are an incredible addition.
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As AOC keeps pointing out that she does this stuff with the help of her TEAM. And it works.
By reminding us of the way she supports and is supported by a team, a) she takes her ego out of the equation and nurtures a much needed notion of political humility. b) reminds us that the team achievements are those of ordinary people working together. And that we, too, as ordinary people, can make our own contribution and make a difference.
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What she described is democracy. She was elected in the same manner; people working for her and contributing to her election. She is going to help those people, to the extent they need help. She is going to help the businesses in her district. They employee the people she represents. There is not anything sinister about all of this. It is democracy. Should the federal govt tell people what they can and cannot do in supporting candidates for office? We assume the people we elect, like AOC, are honest. If they are not, there is a remedy. Vote them out.
20
AOC is definitely my hero. Along w/ Elizabeth Warren who is not playing the game as well.
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@APS
Absolutely! Well said. I am thrilled to have two such women as legislators.
4
I had given up on politics but now when I see AOC, I hum "you light up my life."
4
So the people elected someone, a rarity, truly willing to shake things up. Someone willing to confront, in the public arena, the uncomfortable truths that most politicians avoid like a third rail in favor of platitudes on their way to the next fundraiser.
But enough media glare on AOC's image. She seeks real change on the most pressing issues of our time: tax policy that promotes gaping inequality; climate change on pace to doom the planet; and corruption in the Trump era that threatens the very legitimacy of American government.
By all indications so far, AOC is not just a flash in the pan. Let's follow her seriously for what she says and does - with less obsessing, please, on how she says it or what others are saying about her.
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Furthermore, none of what she’s highlighted in open committees bears any indication of or predilection for “revolution” or “Socialism” (apparently we’re capitalizing it now, like “Obstructionism” from eight mind-numbing years of Boehner, McConnell, Ryan, and more), but that’s what we’ve come to expect from a voting public that’s attuned to horns, tea cups, and Che.
14
Alexandria shows us the difference between a boxer and a jiu jitsu fighter, a quasi brute puncher versus a smart one defeating her adversary by using the latter's strength instead. Can't we see she is having fun, and making fun, of all those 'stiffs' out there, too arrogant to grasp her ability to confuse them, make fun of them? To say the least, she is showing the virtue of being able to laugh at ourselves, all the while revealing the dirty tricks too many politicians, especially the republican variety, try to sell as 'snake oil'. Ms AOC is, however flawed and inexperienced, a breath of fresh air in this contaminated environment of graft, classic Trumpian, and always McConnellian, a despicability that would make Machiavello shriek.
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She shows an increasing awareness of whom she represents ahead of and hopefully well beyond the disappointments accruing from an ambitious and vastly overrated field of Democratic candidates. She’s gaining my trust.
28
if she starts a people's revolution i'll be there. viva fidel ,viva che, viva ocasio-cortez.
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@shelton ivany, Your comment will be taken down and replayed by Republicans as the voice of the Democrats. It's people like you who will assure the re-election of Trump. Thank you for your service.
2
Thank you
Gloria steinham for carrying the heavy load and putting down the path.
17
@Healhcare in America Do you mean Gloria Steinem?
She’s young, she’s smart, she’s unabashedly clever, that’s why they are trying to undermine her! From the minute she, literally, danced into the House, she has been a threat to the status quo, and the old white guys can’t stand it. If AOC and Nancy Pelosi can work together, this legislative session could be a great one!
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The Times treats her the way People covers the Kardashians. Meanwhile, the new members of Congress who, unlike AOC, defeated Republicans, are ignored. Why is she so much more deserving of attention than Mikie Sherrill of a nearby NJ district, a woman Navy helicopter pilot who won a district held by Republicans for many years?
Did the Times forget that Max Rose defeated a Republican incumbent on Staten Island, where Democrats have not won for many years?
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@DSM14
She beat a powerful Democrat whose new career is “ lobbyist”. That is almost as good as beating a Republican.
1
@DSM14
I think the last election proved beyond doubt that the US media has serious problems. I suspect that it has something to do with the TV media getting viewers and the print media getting views. Social media has played a big role in the print media going toward more emotionally charged articles because they are linked to on social media and are most likely to go viral. Print journalists can follow the number of views of their articles in real time and headlines are sometimes changed if the number of views is lagging. If you want views or viewers then why not go with AOC. I am not familiar with Mikie Sherrill but she doesn't sound promising for going viral, unlike AOC and Trump. I think our democracy was better off when we just had print newspapers and three major networks providing the news. In fact, there are now serious questions about democracy even surviving in this media environment which clearly played a big role in the US electing for president someone who sounds very much like a fascist.
It’s because the extreme right fears her so much.
1
A sign of AOC's power is that Trump is afraid to take her on. He instinctively knows she's smart enough to deflect and turn it against him. We are lucky to have you.
50
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is for now a refreshing personality; she certainly isn't boring and seems to say "Look at me! This is what I am and what I believe in;no falsehoods, no lies; that's all folks!!!"
We will see how long her bravado lasts but I for one hope she polishes it just a bit and continues her campaign to help return us to a democracy which enforces its morals and laws, particularly the anti-trust laws.
And while she is about improving morality in our political world she should turn her attention to the highly prejudiced woman from Minnesota to have her expelled from any committees and possibly from the House .
Good luck to her!! She will need it.
3
Yes, sure, AOC out-zens the old-guard.
She flies above the mighty & powerful wall.
I can only call to AOC, reminding her of Icarius, beckoning,
"Don't fly too near the sun...
...and burnout!
'Tis a long, long, hard battle to be won."
10
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Katie Porter, are rocking and rattling the House. And that is a good thing. Wish it had happened sooner. We have their back! And just as important, they have ours. That's change. Hope.
45
@Z.M. You forgot Connecticut's Jahana Hayes.
Ocasio-Cortez- you are supported by me,and applauded by many.Keep telling the truth and educating those who listen.
All the epithets used for women who speak out,are impotent ,because any woman who speaks about our current political status and our corrupt institutions and the old white men who keep them that way ,is a threat to their everyday dishonesty.
I stand with you and any others who see the cleansing needed
From the White House through the whole government,to wipe out Facist,racist, white supremacy, neo nazi, and all other
Non democratic forms of government.
22
i hope that AOC and her group can pass legisltion requiring FULL DISCLOSURE of all gifts from corporations, individuals, groups, foreign countries -- everything -- that our legislators receive, including the value of free trips, etc., so that we the people can see who is trying to influence them.
i also happen to think that we deserve to know the details about the special fund used by congress to "settle" with accusers of sexual harassment and misconduct against members of congress.
they all need to be held accountable for what they do with the public trust. is this too much to ask of our elected officials -- that they be honest, ethical, and trustworthy?
27
There is also another, troubling factor in play here. Someone who does not come across well enough to "go viral" is not going to be electable.
7
@Paul Plummer
No one else can be her. But they can be themselves. There is more to getting elected than "going viral." AOC walked her district. THAT's how she got elected.
Just be real. I cannot be her either, but I can engage in wonderful conversations that are meaningful ...with others. I am happy to have such a great spokesperson for so many ideas, and I also appreciate others' ways of being in the world.
Having said that, her questioning is impeccable. Kamala Harris also does a great job and is not AOC. The senator from Minnesota also did a wonderful job in the Kauffman hearings. And she is not AOC either.
The only thing one can be in the world...is oneself, ultimately. And variety is the spice of life.
4
I love her. I feel like she’s my congresswoman - even though I live in Pennsylvania.
25
Love her or hate her, one thing is for sure: she turns off most moderates and nearly all conservatives. (Just look at the polling) Her - and the other far out left wing of the Democratic Party - will help get Trump re-elected. And that, for me at least, is unpardonable.
18
@Aaron Klein,
That 'far-out' left wing of the Democratic party, less than a generation ago, was the center. And that's where it should be...Much was accomplished by that wing and it has been decimated and demolished by the right and by the so-called center of the Democratic Party, which is largely why we are where we are .... in a frighteningly undemocratic/unjust society with greater economic disparity than is sustainable.
8
Moderates and Conservatives brought us the Iraq War, the Health Care System, Crumbling Infrastructure, Third World Transport, the 2008 Economic Disaster, Low Wages, Gerrymandered Voting, Student Debt, and the upcoming Climate Disaster. It is life in the US as they know it for everyone under 40.
Moderates and Conservatives got all the credit, now it’s fix it time.
3
@Aaron Klein
Unfortunately what Americans refer to as moderates is misleading. As an Englishman who has followed AOC career as a congressman she comes across as moderate: one who sees her job as an elected official to be first and foremost serve her constituents.
105
She is so fabulous. Let's hope she can remain fabulous after all the pummeling she is going to receive. And let's hope she gains more valuable experience and 'inside knowledge' to run for President in, say, 2028.
VP in 2020 you say?
16
She cannot run for Vice President for the same reason that she cannot be President as she would be constitutionally too young to assume office if necessary. If she continues to grow and mature as a legislator (and I am still around) I would be delighted to support her in 2028.
4
@AP917
She can't run for VP till she's eligible to be President, i.e. 35 years old. What's your hurry?
1
She impresses me as someone finally bringing voice to the values many Americans have toward fulfilling our Democracy. She is articulating the reality of many of today’s situations.
27
How far we’ve fallen as a nation that free stuff paid for by others is defined as an “American value.”
1
Finally, someone speaking truth to power. I do not agree with all of her positions, but we need many more like her.
81
@Debby Yes its not agreeing with all things its bringing up meaningful things for a discussion, debate and a consensus. Mitch and the boys would like us to stay out.
18
@Debby
which positions of her do you agree?
1
@Doug All of them, and why not? The Democrats have hitherto been pulled so far to the right they make Reagan look like a liberal.
1
What a fresh of fresh air is this very together young congresswoman! Her emergence on the national scene is a gift to us all. You go girl, indeed! My thanks to Carina Chocano for highlighting this for New York Times readers. May AOC's example spread far and wide and with alacrity.
136
Ms Ocasio-Cortez has a knack for taking complex issues and making the corruption really clear to everyone. Stay strong Alex from the Block and show those fake conservatives for the phonies they really are!
You go girl!
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@Deirdre
Phonies on both sides you mean! In addition they can trade stocks on inside info.
5
@Deirdre
Yea, how to pay for all her grand ideas (and I quote her): Print more money.
Brilliant.
1
AOC is definitely playing a masterful game as evidenced by her meteoric political rise: contrary to the hateful bigotry game that the white supremacist biggest loser president plays.
44
She is a masterful self-promoter who will (very unfortunately) help re-elect Trump.
25
@Aaron Klein
I often think i feel the unseen hand of the GOP behind this woman's tweets. She is doing more to help Trump than all the conservative political action in the country.
13
The idea that this woman is somehow thought of as smart or insightful is what is most frightening about her popularity. She is like a 5 year old on her first trip to the toy store. She just wants what she wants. There is very little thought or intellect that's gone into the cost or practicality of what she is suggesting.
60
@Stephen I have that same sense of her. Too soon to be sure. Her unfiltered Tweets, remind me of Trump at times. Her willingness to hold primary candidates that are not as progressive as she hostage, suggest a TeaParty mentality. She may just need time to get over being in the spot light, and thinking so highly of herself.
22
@Stephen
Would you agree she's better qualified to be a first term Congressman than Donald Trump is to be President?
46
@Stephen Mozart was 5 when he wrote his first concert. She reminds me of mozart but in politics.
15
She’s clever. Outwits dopes.
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@MadMex
It does not take a clever person to outwit dopes. It take a very clever person to outwit other clever persons. She may not be a clever as she thinks she is.
2
That was a waste of time.
She proved nothing.
It wasn't even speculation based on any known facts about Trump.
We have no evidence he owns energy stock and what we do know is that those stocks have not moved up and the idea he gained financially is a lie.
13
@lucky I don't think the point of that meeting was to "prove" anything, but to demonstrate how the finance laws as they stand pave the way for political corruption. There is no denying that corruption exists, and it also exists for Trump.
43
@lucky What makes you think she was talking about Trump. And how would we ever know if he owns energy stocks-- which of course she was using solely as an example -- since he refuses to reveal his tax returns or to put his holdings in a blind trust.
14
@luckyThis wasn't about Trump!!!! Open your brain and eyes!!
10
Ocasio-Cortez is the left’s Sarah Palin. She has the same uninterest in doing the hard work of developing a knowledge base on which to base her policies and the same blithe disregard for facts and analysis. Like Palin, her political career has been largely local (and Ocasio-Palin has the additional advantage of a small almost entirely Democratic constituency), which means she doesn’t understand the much higher demands of a national stage. Like Palin, her supporters forgive her almost anything. (One difference is that Palin’s ignorance and vapidity was almost immediately called out by the left-leaning press, but Ocasio-Palin has been given a pass by the same news groups.) Like Palin, she relies on her looks to overcome her glaring intellectual weaknesses and lack of experience. I look forward to seeing her on a reality TV show (perhaps Dancing With The Stars, given her penchant for shaking a leg) when she inevitably flames out.
46
@Shiv
Examples? Every televised appearance Ive seen of AOC, and everything Ive read, so far surpasses every single thing Palin ever said that I fail to grasp your comparison? She was clearly the most methodical, intelligent member to question Cohen (practically the only one to interrogate him, rather then pontificate or speechify). Her proposals, while dramatic, are no more dramatic than policies that are already in place in other countries (where happiness ranks far higher than in the US). Many of us are tired of hearing rationalizations and anxiety about changing anything in US policy because, for example, "how!? [could we do it]", gasps David Brooks. Universal health care is a no-brainer, a green economy too. The how should be an inspiration to a "great" nation. Instead we are an anxious, increasingly stagnant and insular nation stoked by a toddler throwing tantrums in the white house making excuse after excuse for why we cant change anything, or try anything new. So, please cite examples of her ignorance, because many of us see her as one the few thinking people serving the public
89
@Shiv One other difference: AOC got to the national stage on her own. If Palin hadn't been plucked out of Alaska by McCain, she would have remained a brief sidenote in history, a one-time governor of Alaska. No more. AOC will be around a lot longer. Sorry.
50
@Shiv
Turns out many Republican congressmen have a small almost entirely Republican constituency. And they know much less than Rep. Ocasio-Cortes.
Read on wikipedia:
"Ocasio-Cortez attended Yorktown High School, graduating in 2007.She came in second in the Microbiology category of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with a microbiology research project on the effect of antioxidants on the lifespan of the nematode C. elegans. In a show of appreciation for her efforts, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory named a small asteroid after her: 23238 Ocasio-Cortez. In high school, she took part in the National Hispanic Institute's Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Session. She later became the LDZ Secretary of State while she attended Boston University. Ocasio-Cortez had a John F. Lopez Fellowship. "
Shiv, may I ask you: what does Sarah Palin (and what, for that matter, do you) know about the effect of antioxidants on the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans, or what the implications of that research are for human aging?
Who is, and has been, putting in the hard work of developing a knowledge base?
85
I'd buy her playbook every day of the week.
42
We are just so lucky to have someone like her speaking truth to power. Thank you AOC.
102
Ocasio-Cortez is intelligent, brave and strong. Keep up the good work as a true representative of the people she serves!
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