What is the significance of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?

This is the 28-year-old socialist who beat the heir to the throne for Democratic Congressional
leader in New York.

Are the Democrats experiencing a 'tea-party of the left' moment where the establishment is shaken up by radicals? Could it be even more significant in that American politics is set to experience real structural changes years down the line? Certainly, there will be replacement Bernies, if nothing else.

For those who don't know, I'm a British political activist and very much involved in the movement around Jeremy Corbyn, Britain's Labour Party leader. I see the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) as a US version of Momentum, so I kind of feel a kinship here.

It strikes me that the Democrats are united in opposition to Trump but in little else. There seems to be a division between party elites who accept corporate donations and have classical liberal policies and a more progressive radical base. I don't think most American Democrat voters are socialist in the classical sense but nonetheless, I think there is a political message here which will resonate.

I also think that Ocasio-Cortez is extremely impressive as a candiate. She has excellent politics, as well as charisma, authenticity and self-confidence. If I was an activist in this room, then I would walk through walls for that person:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAb2QMw9h_w]

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Heartlander · 80-89, M

Apparently Ms. Ocasio-Cortez represents the values of the district that voted for her overwhelmingly.

God help us.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azmFNB6nidY]

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTLQkEwbkwM]

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTBvwezFAsw]

CopperCicada · M

@Heartlander i don't know. i'm like 1200 miles away in north florida/south georgia and that shit happens here too. can't say these thugs are her constituents.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Heartlander Where do you live?

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@CopperCicada The New York 14th congressional district includes some pretty tough neighborhoods. She was elected for probably the same reasons why Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez were elected. She apparently appealed to both the thugs and their victims.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@Burnley123

[quote]Where do you live?[/quote]

Why would you ask such a question?

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Heartlander To see if it's a place which has more or less crime than NY.

CopperCicada · M

@Heartlander I've spent a good deal of time in that district. Like any community it's mostly hard working people.

I don't think it's reasonable to connect her support to the criminal base in her district.

That's like me attempting to connect Florida Governor Rick Scott's support to criminal industries in Florida like pill mills, meth, illegal farm labor ..

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@Burnley123

Much less crime. I'm in fly-over country. My community routinely makes those "Best places to live in America" lists.

Our violent crime rate 2.0 per 1,000 residents
Bronx violent crime rate 10.7 per 1,000 residents

And interestingly our per capita income is about 15% lower than the Bronx.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@CopperCicada

[quote]I've spent a good deal of time in that district[/quote]

Actually, me too. It's been a while, but I lived in Flushing for a spell And their are both great neighborhoods and pretty rough neighborhoods. I can't imagine my old neighbors voting for her, so that means she must have swept those other neighborhoods, as well as the Bronx.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Heartlander It must be a really rural area an quite affluent.

CopperCicada · M

@Heartlander I guess I don't understand how any of this explains how Ocasio-Cortez must be supported by the criminals (and their victims) in her district.

My time in Queens tells me that her support is probably because people can relate to her. More so than any political position. It's as rare as two suns in the sky to actually find a candidate that one can relate to at a person level. To actually meet. Somebody who lives where you do. Who has the same background.

I've never had that.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@CopperCicada

I can see some of that. My queens neighborhood was pretty secure. We subleased a house for a few months and we awoke on our first morning to the sound of eggs splattering against the house. What followed were a few phone calls of kids laughing and hanging up. Apparently they didn't want us there :)

We then made a courtesy visit to all the neighbors to introduce ourselves and "oh ... what's with the kids throwing eggs?". By noon we were all friends and by mid-afternoon some kids came to give us blitzes. I think they were the same kids that had thrown the eggs :)

The people who liked her were probably those caught in the cross-fire and considering some of the immigrant and Latino neighborhoods, her anti-ICE rhetoric probably went over there. As I recall, Charlie Rangel and Adam Clayton Powell held power for years and years because they constantly stared the pot on racial inequality and never missed referring to their constituents as disenfranchised. Cortez followed that winning formula for NYC :)

CopperCicada · M

@Heartlander Your arrival in Queens was like my family's arrival in the South. We got the eggs. The car tires slashed. Screen doors kicked in with us at home. The garbage emptied on the lawn and driveway.

Except without it ending in happy neighbors.

There are many reasons to like Ocasio-Cortez other than her particular political vantage points... which I'm indifferent to.

It comes down to political candidates living in their district, like their constituents, and interacting with them. That is rare. It is something I thought was long in the past.

She is also somebody I can recognize. She looks like people I came up with. Not necessarily Hispanic, but ethnic. That is something I can relate to.