What are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Flaws?

plus it's self-perpetuating, lots of these programs give frequent fliers 1.5 or double miles earned per mile it's easier to get the next year

The only times I've flown first class has been for work, except the one time I left myself get bumped from a full flight for a $500 voucher.

Slurping scotch in first class before COVID era was fun. I made lubricious eye contact with several hot guys who like me couldn't believe their good luck at sharing space with me.

Think it says a lot about the conservative mindset that they think anyone who doesn't make a vow of poverty yet champions causes to help the poor are some sort of hypocrites. You see it play out with black athletes as well: how dare they show concern about those less fortunate!! They benefitted from society yet now criticize it!

I think we should shame conservatives who don’t go out of their way to urinate on the poors

It's not just the conservative mindset, liberals have been known to pull that card on the progressive wing when it suits their purpose.

The only time I ever flew first class was between SLC and Denver that was and upgrade based on some leftover voucher. As soon as I was seated I asked for and received two glasses of bourbon and enjoyed the hell out of that 45 minute flight.

Conservatives think it’s hypocritical because they themselves cannot understand why anyone would champion causes that do not directly benefit them

I've never flown first class, but I can imagine if you are a public figure that flying first class might afford you a modicum of privacy and protection from some run of the mill jagoff in the back.

Frogbs exactly, that's what I was driving at

Maddens me when they pull that shit on black athletes because hello, they're the only ones with a platform. When it's some "average" citizen making the complaints the dismissal is just as quick but the rationale changes to "pfft they just want free shit"

According to sources, AOC plans to abstain on the Bandera Protection Act, a proposed addition to the US Constitution that would allow Congress to prohibit by statute and provide punishment for the physical desecration of the flag of Ukraine.

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) May 20, 2022

This is what the dum dum left thinks is a joke

the classic dumb guy move of "but we live in a society where it's believable!"

The fact that this is believable is what's scary

— Jessica (@JES_BH) May 21, 2022

Smart move there, Max, boosting your tweet by borrowing the name of someone people are actually interested in, because otherwise no one cares what you think.

What divides AOC and her allies from others in the party is above all a theory of power: How to gain it, how to use it, how to keep it.

Sounds good, but will it get her power? Does she have power? How can she get more?

on eBay and Amazon

power matters when you feel threatened; otherwise you try to ignore that it exists in human relations

Unless you’re a politician - then it has to be at least one of the primary things you’re thinking about, even if you’re the rare politician with a beating heart

If your power is not at stake, you might have empathy based on your life experiences.

and when is power not at stake? i assume we're defining our terms differently, especially because i never define my terms

power is always at stake, whether you think it's there or not. people who do not know it's there are just fine, i want to be like them, and they do not belong near politics. AOC's particular power comes from her empathy for others - or at least the perception of it - based on her life experiences. she is a genuine person (or was - once you cross the line into the house of representatives it's like that one scene in field of dream where moonlight graham decides to cross the line one more time to save the little girl from choking, even though he knows what it means for his corporeality) and the rare person who also understands how political power works.

i meant, at the end, that she's the rare person who is both seemingly "genuine" and thinks of humans on empathetic levels divorced from "political power", while also understanding how political power very much affects all of us and puts all of our lives at stake

i will take my tweet about how AOC fucked up on something last week off the air, please, i love this show, thank you

I think my point was: an article stated that she, unlike others, has a theory of power. But as a leftist in the US, she has rather little power, and her enemies have more. Is her theory doing her, and the causes she represents, any good?

she has more power than just about any leftist in the united states. it's not getting her anywhere right now, but AOC not being able to figure out how to get power is not the problem

AOC being called a Leftist is laughable

Lots of jokes

she has more power than just about any leftist in the united states.

I'd say she's a Leftist, tabes. A leftist seeks to ameliorate social problems through more equitable policies that rebalance power toward the powerless. I think what you're looking for is a radical, someone who insists that solving social ills requires striking at the root cause of those problems.

this thread is not going to go well.

i have stopped drinking and i'm going to go draw now

(stopped a couple weeks ago, i mean. i'm invested in it enough that i don't want people to think i meant "stopped drinking [this morning]", and it sucks that that reading is entirely plausible with me)

This thread hasn’t been going well since it started, fwiw.

I feel partially responsible for the derailment because I posted an immediate reaction to a preceding comment without reading enough of the previous posts to get a sense of the discussion.

[...] she seems adept at forming a posse of like-minded legislators. she's good at sharing her political fame and recognition and using it to boost others.

From what I've read about her, the quote above seems apt. I also think Aimless was right about her approach to power. I guess I was trying to add that in her interaction with establishment Democrats, her motivations regarding power may have to do with the sense of having in the past been disenfranchised within her own supposed base. I don't know enough about her legislative record to say whether or not her social media positions have been in line with her voting record and whether she has ever been put to the test on voting for something that might cause her to lose votes or power within the House.

I think she's trying to empower the left within her party by appealing to voters who might not be aware of or attuned to political issues and by getting voters to apply pressure to their representatives and, as others have commented, by strengthening the self-identification and camaraderie of progressives.

I read the Politico review and most of the New Yorker article but started skimming toward the end.

From Politico, I wonder if this is true:

Yes, it is true that AOC and others on the Democratic left want to spend more money — in some cases a lot more — to empower activist government than more conservative Democrats. But programmatic differences of this sort almost never have existential implications for a party or the broader society.

In the New Yorker article, AOC criticizes Obama's deliberative approach to executive power; Biden has also mentioned endless meetings. I wonder if this criticism rings true in terms of long-term societal benefit as well as short-term effect. (Survive as long as what you believe is right and reasonable rings true?)

I think she has good intentions and well-grounded and considered perspectives and with time might engage in outreach with voters and colleagues differently without giving up her fundamental beliefs and values when she realizes what could be a distraction or doesn't ring true. This is why I admire Sonia Sotomayor

How far do your sympathies extend and can you understand limitations in your peers? I forwarded a NYT article on Biden's trade policy in the Pacific to my dad and I think there was mention that Biden have been reacting to progressives who might oppose free trade on account of labor standards. This may be wrong, but I wonder if globally the same labor standards can be applied if one's standard of living is lower in the first place. Also for environmental standards and what is available for mitigation.

the true cost of globalization and free trade may be unknown, and it may be better overall (for environmental, economic, or humanistic reasons, or survival as a species = all previous combined) to retain locality, but could one maintain tolerance and curiosity and interest without dependence or other motives?

may have been reacting (sorry for typo in post above)

The ethical and pragmatic questions around redistricting in New York are interesting. It seems worthy of philosophy and some part of psychology that explores ethical questions.

I will explain this to you slowly: exercising our right to protest is not obstruction of Congress nor an attempt to overturn democracy.

If one were a heinous enough person to do that, they’d likely seek a pardon for it too.

But only one of us here has done that. And it ain’t me pic.twitter.com/o4889FBFyF

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 24, 2022

Feel like she and Omar are the only Democrats on Twitter who don't just post SOMEONE SHOULD DO SOMETHING over and over. Bernie is as bad as Biden and Harris.

interview with ny rep maloney:

There is a debate in New York right now about the New York Democratic Party, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and some on the left are arguing its leadership is part of the problem here. Is that a conversation you are a part of?

The last time I ran into A.O.C., we were beating her endorsed candidate two to one in a primary, and I didn’t see her one minute of these midterms helping our House majority. So, I’m not sure what kind of advice she has, but I’m sure she’ll be generous with it.

But let’s be clear, she had almost nothing to do with what turned out to be an historic defense of our majority. Didn’t pay a dollar of dues. Didn’t do anything for our frontline candidates except give them money when they didn’t want it from her.

There are other voices who should be heard, especially when suburban voters have clearly rejected the ideas that she’s most associated with, from defunding the police on down. She’s an important voice in our politics. But when it comes to passing our agenda through the Congress, or standing our ground on the political battlefield, she was nowhere to be found.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/nyregion/sean-patrick-maloney.html

up yours dickhead

to be fair, amidst all the celebration about how we didn't lose the house as bad as expected, we did lose it. probably. in large part due to ny. in this era when holding the majority is more important than anything, even dickheads can be helpful. if they win.

Didn’t do anything for our frontline candidates except give them money when they didn’t want it from her.

Damn, terrible

to be fair, amidst all the celebration about how we didn't lose the house as bad as expected, we did lose it. probably. in large part due to ny.

Weren't there seven brand-new seats created just this year in NY? Hardly something one can lay at AOC's feet. Anyway, she has a job and he doesn't, at least not until next week when he'll pop up as a lobbyist and CNN commentator.

maybe should include her response as well

Let’s make something crystal clear:
- SPM courted me for donations to swing races & it was the 1st thing I did this term. Over a quarter million for Dems this cycle, DCCC facilitated some & now he denies it.
- If he isn’t aware of my visit to CA & efforts we put in, that’s on him https://t.co/eACfScbB3T

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 11, 2022

"Didn’t pay a dollar of dues"

How many dollars of dues was Rep. AOC supposed to pay this person or organization?

AOC hasn't paid her DNC dues since she was elected iirc

which *nods agreeably*

so do people still agree with this guy on defunding the police