AOC played the insider game — and insiders rejected it (for now)

PThe opulent progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez let her play. Although his political positions never changed, some noted that she appeared to move toward the political center during campaign season. It appeared to be an attempt to ingratiate himself with some of the party’s rulers.

When she tried to use that trump card for an influential position on a House committee on Tuesday, it showed that her progressive reputation is still causing unrest in Washington. Even in her own party.

On Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez lost her bid to lead the Oversight Committee to Gerry Connolly after Democratic leadership expressed their preference for the 74-year-old from Virginia. The vote wasn’t even close: Connolly won 181 votes to Ocasio-Cortez’s 84 votes. The panel has broad powers and will help maintain oversight of President-elect Donald Trump

“I think the caucus went through that process and made their decision,” she said The Independent after the vote. “I support senior member-elect Connolly and look forward to doing our best.”

Tim Burchett, the conservative Republican from Tennessee who struck up an unlikely friendship with Ocasio-Cortez, said Democrats made a mistake.

“I’m happy for us because Democrats don’t realize that she’s a rock star in her youth circle,” he said.

Ocasio-Cortez was running not against an incumbent, but against a fellow representative who carried the weight of Democratic pillar Nancy Pelosi. It was a setback for Ocasio-Cortez and showed that even as the New York progressive plays the “inside game” in the halls of Congress, she is fighting an uphill battle for recognition among her more moderate fellow Democrats.

Open image in gallery

Ocasio-Cortez came to Washington in 2019 when she defeated Joe Crowley, the House Democratic leader who was considered a potential future speaker and classic retail politician. In her first days as an elected congresswoman, she took part in a demonstration outside Nancy Pelosi’s office.

She also supported her political mentor Bernie Sanders as a presidential candidate, helping to revitalize his 2020 campaign, and spoke on his behalf at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. She and her Squad colleagues were the only six Democrats to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill and led a protest against an eviction moratorium on the steps of the Capitol in 2021. She voted against providing further aid to Israel and boycotted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

At the same time, Ocasio-Cortez demonstrated a willingness to work within the system. Shortly after her first day demonstration, she quickly voted to make Nancy Pelosi speaker. She proved to be one of the most prepared questioners, figuring out how to make the most of her time on the Oversight Committee.

When Harris became the Democratic nominee, Ocasio-Cortez recounted The Independent that other Democrats had to protect them from racist and misogynistic attacks. She gave a groundbreaking speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, in which she also said that Harris was “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bring hostages home.”

That line angered some progressives, as they would probably have hoped that she would have tried to influence the Harris campaign to support tougher measures against Israel, but it also showed that Ocasio-Cortez wanted to be someone who could be with a possible Harris government could work together. Ocasio-Cortez also campaigned for Harris in Pennsylvania and Nevada, states with large Latino populations.

All of this served to show how she could push for more progressive policies as a loyal Democrat. She has never changed her political positions. Just last month she said The Independent that she wanted Biden to commute more sentences, particularly for those on federal death row.

But that Ocasio-Cortez came up short shows the limits of her attempts to play an insider game.

Open image in gallery

Senior Democrats were quick to downplay Ocasio-Cortez’s defeat. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the former House majority leader who helped make Biden president, called the race between Ocasio-Cortez and Connolly “just a regular intramural contest,” adding that these battles are based on “personalities “ were based. Debbie Dingell of Michigan said she has a “long future” ahead of her.

Progressives were sharper in their criticism: Vermont’s Becca Balint told reporters that Americans want members of Congress “to fight to focus solely on their constituencies and not on relationships inside the building.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ocasio-Cortez’s longtime friend and supporter, said: “She ran a great race and I know she can work really well with Gerry Connolly.”

Even as progressives play the insider game, they still face an uphill battle to earn the respect of their colleagues and gain real influence, just as fringe conservatives have taken over the Republican Party.