DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus The stunning political power of AOC

The stunning political power of AOC

(CNN)- Last Thursday, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) announced her plan to raise money to help victims of the extreme weather -- and power grid failure -- in Texas.

On Sunday night, her office confirmed that she had raised almost $5 million for that effort in less than 96 hours.

Obviously, the most important thing here is that millions more dollars will go to Texans still struggling to find potable water and deal with the damage from last week's deep freeze. (Ocasio-Cortez also traveled to the state over the weekend to see the situation firsthand.)

But it's also extremely important -- in terms of AOC's political future -- to note how incredible it is for a second-term House member to be able to raise so much money so quickly for a cause she chose to advocate for.

Many politicians -- especially in the House -- don't (and can't) raise $5 million in the course of a two-year election cycle. That AOC can do so by simply saying she wanted to help Texans who were hurting speaks to not only her immense national donor base but also the level of allegiance those people feel for her.

Remember this: For all the bad press money in politics gets, it remains one of the best ways to gauge loyalty and passion for a candidate. If you can get lots of people to open their wallets for you, it means they truly believe in you and what you are doing in the public space.

When you can raise $5 million for a cause -- and not even one in your state or having anything to do with you -- in the space of four days, well, that's real power.

It's that power that has even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (New York) bending over backward to make nice with AOC -- and court the liberal left -- in hopes of keeping her from primarying him in 2022. (She hasn't ruled out a bid yet.)

It's that power that makes every Democrat ambitious for national office -- whether in 2024 or beyond -- acknowledge that AOC is a prime mover in any presidential primary race she decides to compete in. (AOC will turn 35 just before the 2024 election, which makes her technically eligible to serve as president.)

And it's that power that, in the near term, makes AOC her own power center within the House. Because when you can raise money in the millions over a few days, every single member of the Democratic-controlled House wants to be on your good side.

To be clear: Of course AOC didn't raise this money to show her fundraising and political might. But that's what it showed anyway.

The Point: No one seems to have a good grasp on what AOC wants to do next. But her ability to raise lots of money very quickly means there is very little that is out of her reach, politically speaking.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/22/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-texas-fundraising-future/index.html


If she ever runs for POTUS, I'll vote for her 10 times in every state.

Having a loud mouth isn't that stunning.

This is the same lying muppet who took pictures of a chain link fence outside a parking lot and claimed it was pictures of kids in cages.

You're just a hater. You can't be her so run her down... very unbecoming look for you. She just went out of her way to raise 5 million for a red state after being stalked in the capitol insurrection... She's a better person than both of us.

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"

Kind of hard for a public figure to raise 5 million online in a few days and nobody know... I have no idea why you would post a partial bible verse in this thread unless it was meant to somehow degrade her for doing a good deed. smh, I hope that wasn't what you meant.

Stalked at the Capital?

That's laughable. You're showing the same brainwashing you showed for Bernie. It's scary how much the left is a bunch of brainless lemmings. You'll believe anything. If she said she washes her butt with brillo pads because it saves water, you'd go out and buy some lol.

Says the "Poster Girl Of Loud Mouths"...



Don't take it wrong... loud ladies have never been a problem for me. Ever.
I actually married one, and still dig our backs&forths, after 38 years.


I can enjoy me some AOC and some Eve.


Know what I could really enjoy?
-A mic-to-mic cage match between the two of you.


Old-time Jazz players used to have 'open mic night.' Young studs would come onstage, take their best solos... and try to take down the old Masters. They were called; "Cutting Contests." Rap battles are the most recent version of this.

This would be the first (and probably only) pay-per-view I'd pony up cash for.


Yeah, boy-

Eve v. AOC.
With mics.
Or mud.

Where do I send my cash?

I already wash my butt with Brillo. It's made in my hometown and we all know it's beauty secrets. But don't ever try to use it as a bowl filter, words of wisdom.

I've seen angry fighting women of almost every race. I would not bet against an angry latina or black woman in this sort of contest. Ever.

Just pointing that out is all...

Pretty sure I can take her. Book her for UFC 260 Girl Fight Main Card.

My money is on Eve to kick the ass of the phony!

I want mud.
Lots of mud.

Or JELL-O.
Or Wesson.

I'm not picky.

Olive oil is healthier, and easier to see through

Sounds sexist and racist.

Nice going. You triggered all the women and children hating trump supporters once again.

I could see how 99% of our politicians would be confused about how she did what she did. For human beings, though... it's not hard to understand.

As much as I despise her politics, I have no doubt that she believes what she says, and thinks it's the best thing for this country. People can tell if you believe what you're saying, and same for the opposite. Explaining that to the likes of Ted Cruz, McConnell, Pelosi in Schumer would be... difficult. They would think I'm speaking a different language when trying to explain authenticity and doing things to support others in need.

I've thought that, too, and it's led me to a lot of internal conflict. I think my core views differ from people like AOC, but I also believe her to be one of the more altruistic, genuine politicians.

Do I feel like she is at times misguided or does not fully think things through? Of course. But when you juxtapose her against other representatives (Jordan, Pelosi, Gaetz, etc.) there seems - at least to me - to be a glaring difference in conviction.

I feel the exact same way about Bernie. Even though my politics are pretty much polar opposite of him, I respect his authenticity and care and, regardless of your political leanings, I think there will always be room in government for people that have that.

Motor oil and visqueen!

You did it before it was cool!

.

Isn't that the way it used to be? Many people disagreed on political issues but for the most part we didn't question the sincerity of those disagreeing with us. We may have had different visions for our country or had different ideas of how to go about accomplishing our untended goals, but by and large we knew those on the other side had the best of intentions for our nation whether we found it misguided or not.

When people start electing people who spew hate, labels and lies, willing to spread division as best they possibly can. When those are the very things people start to rally behind as the message for our nation at the highest level, we have turned a corner we may never return from.

As for "the stunning political power of AOC"?

Hell, that old stoner Willie Nelson raises more money than that at Farm Aid.

Except nobody questions Willie’s sincerity, wonder why?

All true, but the publics distrust in those making the decisions, goes back long before Trump, yet we don't seem to be able to turn those seats over to new blood nearly quick enough.

From reading the responses to this thread I don't actually see that many people questioning her sincerity. Sure there are some and there always will be.

I attribute it to the political climate that has been carefully orchestrated and nurtured. It's been fed and even been given steroids. What we may see differently is that I think you can apply that to both sides.

It's certainly a terrible thing to watch and it's an infection that seems to be trending towards Sepsis. The only thing I can think of is that it helps us to see "who they are". Once again, I'm saying this about both sides.

As we can see by the responses a lot of people disagree with her political views but do not question her sincerity. Then there are those that have tried to stoop to the level of questioning her honesty and sincerity.

I actually like to see that. What it actually shows me is that we still have a lot of people who simply disagree on political ideology. What we seem to be spoon fed is that everyone who votes differently than us hates and attacks everyone on the other side of politics.

What the responses in general to this topic shows us is that this is not as wide spread as some politicians and the media make it out to be. The squeaky wheel gets greased first. What we base a lot of our opinions on seem to be the squeaky wheel. Those who scream the loudest and have the news coverage to be heard.

When you can actually get a conversation started between just a bunch of voters, which is what we do here, come to find out many of us do not seem to follow what we are being told is the status quo.

For sure, and I wish I could identify the root causes more easily, but respect has completely gone out the window. It's like a cyclical fight where the anger and spite of one just ramps up the anger and fight in the other.

There's no doubt this all started out long before Trump. Adding the HGH only sped up the process.

And I certainly don't disagree with you about the trust issue. Which makes your last point even more confusing. It seems as though most voters will tell you they distrust congress. They distrust our government. Until it comes to "their guys" who they elect. Then suddenly it isn't a problem. I have to try and look at that from a comical standpoint or it would be terribly upsetting.

I can't really blame anyone of having mistrust in our government. Even if it's only from an efficiency standpoint. I certainly feel a vast majority of people would agree with that coming from both parties.

Sadly that doesn't change the options we've been left with. And yes, it's mainly our own damned fault. We have two very different political parties with what seem to be starkly different ideologies. One claims they want smaller government. Yet while making such claims spend as much or more than their opponents. Then we have the other side which seems to be trying to put the federal government in charge of everything. That's where we are.

I'll use the stimulus as an example. One side wishes to put a band aid on a bullet wound while the other side wants to make it rain. In the end it turns out to be a political football rather than actually addressing the pressing need.

And it's also created a system where votes pass or fail based on the "who" and not on the "what"?

Sometimes it feels like if Congress had a bill to save 100 people from a burning building, it would still pass or fail on party lines based on who proposed it.

I don't think the two sides are really all that different, to be honest.

Other than that minor point, I completely agree with you. I think one of the main reason this sepsis is allowed to continue is because the vast majority of the voting population succumbs to whatever fear their side is spreading. I think that's a (or the) main root cause of why you can have such wildly unpopular people lock down their elected positions (sometimes for decades). I could be wrong, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find CA Dems that would go to bat for Nancy Pelosi based on her record and just her as a candidate. Same thing for McConnell, Graham, Cruz, Schumer. I think those people rake in the votes because they weaponize fear and people vote for them because they are afraid of the candidate from the other main party and third parties don't get any airtime whatsoever.

IMO, the only way we can actually drain the swamp is churn. As a rule, every voter should NOT vote for the incumbent, ever. It sounds nuts, but we start doing that as voters, politicians will take notice... and I think people are so fed up with this group of clowns, as a whole, I wouldn't be shocked to see something like this happen (basically, give Congress a sortof WallStreetBets treatment).

I wish I could share your optimism on the future churn rate. I do agree with you that both sides try and use the fear factor to generate support.

Where we may disagree is that when you elect a man who wields more power than anyone in our nation who claims anyone who disagrees with him is the enemy of the United States and and will end America as you know it, the heat was turned up to a level the likes of which we have never seen before.

We do not disagree. I understand/understood the painful decision many had to make. I've voted 3rd party in every pres election I've participated in until this one.

Really? Was it that painful? Really?

.-- .... .- -

But willie couldn't put a 1000 pink hat wearing angry women on your yard in half an hour with a single tweet, AOC could. Truth told, maybe 10,000.

I think the level of pain, disgust and repulsion varies from person to person. I know the vast majority of the time when I vote I certainly don't get a warm, fuzzy feeling.

My vote really doesn't matter. Trump won Tennessee with 66% of the vote in 2016 and by 61.9% of the vote in 2020.

Which accomplishes nothing except to promote ugly looking hats.

She is successful in getting elected in an extremely liberal part of the country.

I don't think you have a clue how powerful she really is. She could tweet at 5 pm that she will be live streaming at 8pm to address an issue and have a million viewers watching the stream at 8, and NOT just in her district. She is truly loved on the left. If and when she runs for a higher office, you will see. That's why Schumer is crapping his pants over the thinly veiled primary threat. She would destroy him in a primary.

Oh yeah I will. Just like with Bernie.

Your days are numbered boomer. Centrist are a dying breed.

Voting for Biden was painful, yes. Voting against Trump was not (I assume that's what you're getting at).