The infamous mouthpiece from the Bronx, former bartender Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), is, to put it mildly, a real piece of work.
A member of the equally infamous Squad, that group of far-left ideologues, her personal politics are somewhere to the left of Rosa Luxemburg. She is loud, she is strident, and the most dangerous place in the District of Columbia is any ground between her and a camera. She won her primary election in 2018 mostly through a willingness to burn shoe leather and a knack for self-promotion.
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Now some Democrats are warning us not to rule AOC out for a 2028 presidential run.
A former Trump Treasury official warned the Republican party Friday not to “underestimate” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), citing her accessibility to voters through social media and the congresswoman’s “grassroots support.”
“She was an early adopter of social media… so she’s connecting directly to voters,” Monica Crowley, a former public affairs official in the Treasury Department during the first Trump administration, told Lisa Boothe on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” on Friday.
“However, just a word of warning to the Republicans, to my party: Do not underestimate AOC. She’s young, she’s vibrant, she’s attractive,” Crowley added.
Look, no one ever went broke betting against the fecklessness of the American electorate. I mean, only four years ago the American people supposedly elected a befuddled old man who had been hiding in his basement throughout the campaign and whose mental and physical deterioration has, in the last year of his term, become truly alarming.
But AOC as a presidential candidate? I don’t think so.
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Report: ‘Lost and Rudderless’ Democrats See AOC As 2028 Presidential Contender
Here’s why.
First, her politics. AOC is very vocal, her rhetoric is best compared to the distinctive sound made by the creature that serves as a symbol for her political party. So she has a long, documented record of political position statements, and far-left candidates have never fared well in presidential elections. From Fritz Mondale to Kamala Harris, whenever the Dems have nominated from the far left, they lose.
Second, her demeanor. She is not a reasonable person by any stretch of the imagination. Her public appearances are driven largely by anger. She trades in envy and outrage, and that’s likewise seldom a winning message.
Third, her likely opponent. Smart money at this (very early) juncture would indicate that should AOC somehow get the nomination, she would be facing JD Vance, a polished, smooth speaker, a man with genuinely broad appeal – and genuinely strong convictions. Should JD Vance for some reason decide not to run, the next likely candidate would be Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, about whom the same things may be said.
“I think she’s wrong on everything, but she does have real grassroots support. And all of the energy and activism in the Democrat party remains with the revolutionary left, of which she is a part,” she said.
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With all due respect to Monica Crowley, I think she seriously overestimates the breadth of AOC’s appeal. Yes, she has grassroots support – in the Bronx, in a district that would elect a coconut to the House of Representatives if someone painted a “D” on it. The energy and activism in the Democratic Party may be with the revolutionary left, but the Democratic Party just suffered a serious electoral drubbing because of that.
If the Democrats fell into the trap of nominating AOC, the most likely scenario they would face would be another electoral beating. So, perhaps, we should encourage them to do precisely that!