OPINION:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives makeup tips, dances in congressional halls, counts among her skillset the fact she does “her homework” — i.e., the bare minimum of what it takes to be a tax-paid public servant — and, in between strolling along the ocean with fawning media faces, sends out videos containing such heavyweight messages as, “I am an aspiring morning person.”
On surface, she’s a goon. A goof. A Dopey McDope Face with eyes so vacant she makes porcelain dolls on shelves seem intelligent.
But she’s a socialist who holds a congressional seat, duly elected not just once, but twice. And that makes her a danger to America.
Face it: If brainpower were the sole test, half of the members of Congress wouldn’t be in Congress. So it’s not the fact that Ocasio-Cortez is lacking in that category that makes her a problem, per se. It’s the fact that she allows the void in her head to be filled with far left, socialist, Marxist, anti-American rot — combined with the platform she has to push that rot — that’s the problem.
No socialist belongs in any office of the United States where the basic job description is to support and defend the Constitution.
Socialists cannot support or defend the Constitution. They stand in direct opposition to all its principles. Appointing a socialist to defend American values is akin to hiring a pedophile to head up a day care center. The temptation to destroy is just oh too overwhelming.
Among Ocasio-Cortez’s platforms: Medicare for all and housing as a human right — meaningless phrases that conveniently leave out the all-so-important “tax payer funded” phrase; “real public safety” and “honor in immigration” — meaning, of course, George Soros-style non-prosecutions of criminals and open borders — and a smorgasbord of leftist campaigns that come with soft-sounding, lovey-dovey labels but are all truly devastating redistribution of wealth schemes.
Her views are in line with what all Democrats believe these days — which is why she was so easily able to endorse Joe Biden for president for 2024. Let’s face it; today’s Democrats are socialist in all but name.
But what makes Ocasio-Cortez more dangerous than her colleagues in the Democrat Party, or in the Democratic-Socialists of America organization, or in the ranks of the Marxists marching around the world — is that she has a massive social media following; she has a cult of personality cabal of wanna-be’s; she has a youthful fan base filled with celebrity hopefuls who’ve grown up during a time when a snappy YouTube and smartly shot TikTok mean more for the advancement of self than real accomplishment.
Ocasio-Cortex is the epitome of a ‘look at me’ culture that has found stardom and love and admiration in one 280-character tweet after another. Accomplishment, to them, is measured in ‘likes.’ And her followers love her for it, and are jealous of her because of it. Her messages of being down with the people make them think she is truly fighting for them and that one day, possibly, with the right 280-character tweet, they, too, can become just as famous, just as influential, just as powerful.
It’s all about image.
It’s zero about facts.
On July 7, the Teamsters posted a video of Ocasio-Cortez that perfectly captures her essence.
Surrounded by a mass of sign-waving union members and supporters, she first rallied with, “We just want you to know that we have your back,” then with, “When we say we, we mean the city has your back, this country has your back, everyday people have your back,” and then finally with, “You are fighting to raise the standard for all working people in this country — that’s what this fight is about.”
She’s down with the people.
Then comes the no facts needed.
“UPS, we are talking about a strike authorization of over, of well over, 300 million workers,” she said.
“Ah, sorry, sorry,” she then said, waving her arm and shaking her head. “300 — sorry I got that wrong. Don’t quote me on that. Don’t quote me.”
Too late.
“It’s too early in the morning. I haven’t had my coffee, yet,” she said. “No. No. But you have — we’re talking about three — we’re talking about so many — this is one of the largest strike authorizations in American history.”
About then, someone shouted in from the crowd “340,000,” after which Ocasio-Cortez repeated, “340,000.”
Three-hundred million; 340,000.
Easily confused. Right?
This is why Ocasio-Cortez is dangerous.
She’s a socialist. She has a platform to sell her socialist messages. The people who support her don’t care about her socialism so long as they get theirs before the money runs out — as always occurs in socialist societies. And she’s busily helping the Democrat Party move farther and farther left, down the path of socialism toward communism toward globalism toward No Longer America.
She’s the tool Democrats can point to and say see, I’m not socialist — even while pushing socialist policies and agendas.
The only way to deal with socialists is to argue consistently and relentlessly: they don’t belong in public service.
They don’t represent what America represents. They can’t uphold a Constitution because their entire beings are focused on advancing agendas that counter the Constitution. They have no business being in U.S. politics.
They’re the enemy of free society.
Ocasio-Cortez is silly and vacuous. But that makes her even more dangerous because she’s working it for a crowd that’s equally vacuous, and enamored with silliness and utterly concerned about saving American liberty.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
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