Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have had just 60 seconds to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, but she used that time gamely to make a bold call for systemic change.
“At a time when millions of people in the United States are searching for profound systemic solutions to our crisis of mass eviction, unemployment and lack of health care – and out of a love for all people, I hereby second the nomination of Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont for President of the United States of America, ‘she said.
Her speech was not a distinction from Sanders in any ongoing award contest with former Vice President Joe Biden, but rather part of the standard practice at the DNC, where any candidate who secures enough delegates is eligible to be “nominated. “to become for the ticket of the party. Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks Tuesday night were a symbolic nomination by Sanders aimed at recognizing his run and his contributions. She did not mention Biden in her speech, but her support of Sanders was not a statement of opposition to the former VP, something she made clear on Twitter.
If you were confused, do not worry!
Convention rules require roll call & nominations for each candidate who exceeds the delegate threshold.
I was asked the 2nd for nom. For sen. Sanders for roll call.
I extend my deepest congratulations @JoeBiden – let’s win in November. https://t.co/uI92P3UfLn
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 19, 2020
Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks were important for several reasons.
Ocasio-Cortez was first elected to Congress in 2018 after winning a rebellious victory over resident Joe Crowley. He is not only a star in the Democratic Party, but a critical envoy for younger and progressive voters. Her speech on Tuesday honored the ‘mass people’s movement’ that fueled Sanders’ campaign, which called for a revolution aimed at tackling economic inequality:
Hello, bienvenidos, and thank you to everyone here today for striving for a better, more just future for our country and our world, in loyalty and gratitude to a massive popular movement working to establish 21st century social, economic and human rights , including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages, and labor rights for all people in the United States.
A movement that strives to recognize and repair the wounds of rational injustice, colonization, misogyny, and homophobia. And to propose and rebuild imaginary systems of foreign policy that deviate from the violence and xenophobia of our past. A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequality of wealth for the few, at the expense of long-term stability for many.
Ocasio-Cortez’s presence at the convention, along with Sanders the night before, could help Democrats connect with a segment of voters they will surely need this fall – and in the long run.
According to redemption polls from Super Tuesday earlier this year, just 17 percent of Democratic primary voters from 18 to 29 voted for Biden at the moment, while 63 percent supported Sanders. A poll by NBC also finds that younger Democratic voters identify much more often as “very liberal,” compared to their older opponents.
Both the comments of Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders help add another dimension to the event. As Vox’s Aaron Ross Coleman wrote, the DNC on Monday was broadly focused on moderating and maintaining a large tent environment that united Democrats ‘(and some Republicans’) front against President Trump. “Better back” – the name of Biden’s policy platform – has become a universal refrain throughout, a catchphrase that seems less likely to speak of overwhelming structural change than more modest reform.
That slogan could also underscore a tension in Biden’s presidency: Although Biden has supported one of the most progressive policy platforms in the party’s history, his career record as vice president and senator is focused on modern efforts, reports Vox’s Dylan Matthews.
Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks, briefly as they were, were an opportunity for the left wing of the party to assess themselves amid that tension.
“The next generation of Democrats like and think a lot more about AOC than Joe Biden,” said Waleed Shahid, communications director for Justice Democrats. “The AOC’s leadership over the Biden-Sanders task force also demonstrates the growing power of the progressive movement as a key constituency within the party.”
Ocasio-Cortez has attracted younger voters in the party
Ocasio-Cortez is among the legislators who could be vital to keeping younger voters enthusiastic about the Democratic Party.
Since her 2018 election, she has pushed forward with her policy priorities – including the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-all – and her willingness to press Democratic leadership on these issues. She is also gifted with using social media as a way to reach constituencies and explain everything from movements until the police disappear to misogyny in Congress.
“It reflects the future of the Democratic Party,” said Sarah Audelo, executive director of the Alliance for Youth Action. “If you look at the Democratic Party in general, there is a short-term problem, as it relates to November, but there is a long-term problem, because it relates to the future of the party. “
Younger voters are more liberal and diverse; according to multiple questioners, many are worried about embracing policies that would guarantee health insurance through government, address racial disparities, and reintroduce student loan programs. Audelo notes that they were looking for the party to include them in policy discussions, and to treat them as key players in these efforts.
Ocasio-Cortez, like reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley of “the Squad,” are among those who could help Democrats continue to grow and join younger voters as the party struggles with its identity. A number of Democratic rising stars, including rep. Colin Allred and state of Nevada, sen. Yvanna Cancela were also part of an opening segment on Tuesday.
By building on the energy of Sanders and sen’s presidential campaigns. Elizabeth Warren, and the years-long work of legislators such as Rep. Barbara Lee, progressives are increasingly seeing her message resonating. They win at the ballot box – Jamaal Bowman in New York and Cori Bush in Missouri grabbed big victories this summer against Democratic founders in the primary – and in the back room: As Vla’s Ella Nilsen reported, they successfully helped a Democratic task to push force left on the timeline for non-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
However, their influence is far from certain. This week, as HuffPost reported, the DNC decided to remove a provision in the party’s platform demanding the elimination of subsidies for fossil fuels and tax credits, activating destruction.
Progressives are asking for more votes
Ultimately, progressives want to see more votes cast in the DNC – something they see as entirely for the party to connect with a wider range of voters.
“There were pretty big low lights on Monday, including everything from giving [Republican former governor] John Kasich a platform when he is literally against abortion rights, and [former Austin police chief Art] Acevedo, who was not someone I wanted to represent on the stage from my community in Austin, ”says Audelo. (Before appearing, Kasich criticized Ocasio-Cortez, who commented on Twitter.)
It’s great that Kasich is awake & realized the importance of supporting a Biden-Harris ticket. I hope he gets through to GOP voters.
Yet it also tells me that a Republican who fights for women’s rights is not allowed to say who is representative of the Dem Party. https://t.co/38h6JGpbMj
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 17, 2020
The length of Ocasio-Cortez’s speech, just one minute, also called for pushback. (According to a DNC aide, the average length of speeches was two minutes, and because Ocasio-Cortez served as a nominee for Sanders, she received 60 seconds like the other nominees.) For context, Minister Geth Gretchen Whitmer spoke about four minutes on Monday, and former President Bill Clinton spoke for nearly five on Tuesday.
The DNC is a platform that should be used to amplify more people, former Bernie Sanders campaign adviser Chuck Rocha said in a radio interview earlier this week. For a party that can significantly benefit from the support of younger voters in many upcoming elections, it is now establishing stronger ties with them.
“We need to change the way we do this to welcome more people and give them a bigger platform,” he said. “I’m just saying AOC and people like them – not their policy positions, but just this next mixed demographic of great leaders – are the future of our party, and we need to embrace it if we live beyond the next couple of cycles.”
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