Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) posits herself as a working-class woman challenging the status quo. She boasts over 13.5 million followers on Twitter, with her bio claiming she is “100 percent People-Funded, no lobbyist [money].”
AOC is taking on the system and fighting the power—or so she would have you believe. She continues to parrot regime-approved narratives on social issues, COVID, and foreign policy. The democratic-socialist star was heckled at her own town hall for voting to send $40 billion to Ukraine.
Nothing says you’re “raging against the machine” like voting to enrich defense contractors and foreign oligarchs. Even CNN admitted the “US has few ways to track the substantial supply of … weaponry it has sent across the border into Ukraine…”
When confronted about her vote, AOC complained the anti-war protesters were being “rude.” She was not alone in her vote to send billions of taxpayer dollars to a foreign country—the entire “Squad” voted in unison.
Glenn Greenwald noted that none of the Squad members except for Representative Cori Bush explained their “YES” vote. Meanwhile, twenty-two Republicans demanded answers in a letter to the Biden administration. Additionally, Republicans were the only members of Congress to vote against the aid package—every single Democrat voted in favor.
AOC may try to frame herself as a radical challenging her party, but she is yet another cog in the political machine that deflects valid criticism with identity politics. She is the poster child for the establishment, distracting her followers with frivolous drama while she votes in lockstep with the military-industrial complex.
There was a spark of dissent within the Congressional Progressive Caucus when they released a letter to the Biden Administration advocating for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The entire “Squad” including AOC signed the letter which stated:
“Given the destruction created by this war for Ukraine and the world, as well as the risk of catastrophic escalation, we also believe it is in the interests of Ukraine, the United States, and the world to avoid a prolonged conflict.”
That letter was quickly rescinded once the Progressive Caucus realized they had offended the neoliberal overlords at the helm of the Democratic Party. Chair of the caucus, Pramila Jayapal, blamed the publication of the letter on Capitol Hill staffers. Jayapal groveled to the warmongers in D.C., assuring them the progressives were not on board with Republicans who wanted to stop the flow of military aid.
As Tim Meads in The Daily Wire observed, “In other words, progressives believe that it’s better to support the war than to ‘align’ with Republicans.”
The last remnants of the anti-war left have decayed, leaving their party a hollowed-out husk of Sabbathian “war pigs” eager to impose their will at home and abroad. There is no real force for change within the Democratic Party.
That is why former Hawaii Representative and Democratic Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard abandoned the ranks of the Democrats and declared herself an Independent. In a viral Twitter thread, Gabbard stated her former party is “under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers…” and urged “common sense independent-minded Democrats” to join her in leaving.
The only major party with a genuine populist movement is the Republican Party. Across the country, Republican candidates are running on an “America First” platform, with onshoring manufacturing, ending regime change wars, and securing the southern border as its main tenants. Tulsi Gabbard has evidently witnessed this political realignment, and she recently endorsed America First candidates Joe Kent in Washington State and Kari Lake in Arizona.
The Republican Party is far from perfect, but at least there is room for debate and competing ideas. The Democratic Party, however, is a monolith with zero tolerance for dissent. Unless its members can find the courage to stand up to Democratic leadership, the party will continue to be ruled by the establishment forces the left once railed against.
Erin Van Natta
Erin is a college junior pursuing journalism and writing. She enjoys reading, art, and listening to podcasts about politics. She can be found walking her golden retriever, Gus.
The views expressed in this article are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Lone Conservative staff.
@ErinV1776
