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It’s a ruthless interview Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave to the New York Times over the weekend. The Democrat is the most famous leftist representative of her party and she is crazy. Angry that moderate Democrats blame the left for failing to win a majority in the Senate and losing seats in the House of Representatives; which means something like “withdraw funds from the police”.
Ocasio-Cortez says some of the party’s leaders are so blinded by “anti-activist sentiment” that they are blind to the gains activists are making. She begged the group to help her. He offered his help to all candidates in constituencies that were on the brink, except that five had refused. These five were chosen, the rest lost. “And now they blame us for it,” he said.
The castle truce is over
Before the elections there was a truce among the Democrats. Not even a week later it clears. America is a divided country and the Democrats are a divided party. They were united in the fight against Donald Trump. Now that you’ve won, there seems to be little to hold the party together.
The Democrats are a popular party in the classical sense. There are conservative members who feel connected to the classic working class and middle class. There is a moderate budget wing. And: There are left-wing MPs like Ocasio-Cortez who are in favor of tuition-free universities, universal health insurance, a wealth tax, and ambitious climate protection.
Because the United States has a two-party system, Democrats and Republicans have always had to cover a wide range. But the polarization of the population also carries over to elected representatives. Ocasio-Cortez told the New York Times: “My colleagues must understand that we are not the enemy. That their base is not the enemy. That the black life movement is not the enemy. That health insurance is for everyone.” He is not the enemy. “
Four Democrats as a horror image
Ocasio-Cortez and three other left-wing Democrats, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, are called “The Squad” by Donald Trump, among others. You represent a new generation in the Democratic Party, all but Pressley describe themselves as Democratic Socialists and supported the left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders during the primaries.
The Democratic political establishment and the four MPs are in a kind of ongoing dispute. In the summer of 2019, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the four had an audience and the world of Twitter. But: “They are four people and they have four voices.” The fear of Democratic leaders is that Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Tlaib and Pressley will shape the image of the Democrats. Also because Fox News and other conservative media use them as a horror image to show their viewers how radical the Democrats are.
A day after the election, according to CNN and the Washington Post, there was a column in which moderate Democrats harshly criticized left-wing representatives. “We should never use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ again, said House Abigail Spencer, who narrowly regained her constituency in Virginia,” he said. Similarly, according to the Washington Post, “Conor Lamb, a Pennsylvania Democrat who was also re-elected by a narrow margin.” We pay the price for unprofessional and unrealistic comments in many areas, whether it be police or fracking, “he said.
Ocasio-Cortez believes that the party’s digital presence is missing
Ocasio-Cortez sees it differently. “Progressive politics don’t hurt candidates,” he told the New York Times. Example of health insurance for all: candidates who had voted in favor would have kept their seat. For Ocasio-Cortez, the reasons for her party’s poor performance are not purely ideological.
Lamb, for example, did not have a good campaign. He only spent $ 2,000 on Facebook advertising in the week leading up to the election. You have to spend around $ 200,000 on Facebook advertising. “If I lost my election and said it was the moderates’ fault for not letting everyone vote on health insurance, and then the party looked at my campaign and found out that I only paid $ 5,000 on television advertising, what would happen? They would laugh.” Ocasio-Cortez said there had been “hostile feelings” within the party in recent years toward anything that smelled a bit progressive.
“I can’t even describe how dangerous it is”
For Biden, it’s not a good sign that the party is already arguing in public. He is willing to compromise and has also worked with Republicans throughout his career. When the party elected him, they opted for a centrist electoral campaign. Still, Biden made progressive campaign promises. Many will not be able to redeem without a majority in the Senate. This should cause even more anger among left-wing Democrats.
There are rumors that Biden may have moderate Republicans like John Kasich, who made an election recommendation for Biden, in the cabinet. Ocasio-Cortez warned against this. “After 94 percent of Detroiters voted for Biden, after black activists doubled and tripled turnout in Georgia after so many people got involved in Philadelphia, when the party sends the signal that the John Kasich won the election for us. I can’t even describe how dangerous that is, “he said. So, he believes, Democrats would lose in the 2022 midterm elections.
The conflict between left and moderate Democrats could turn into a fundamental dispute over the party’s leadership. Joe Biden wants the country to be one. But at the moment it seems questionable whether he will be able to keep his party together.
