If Trump has taught us anything, it’s that Americans have a growing appetite for “unconventional” candidates. A 40-year-old waitress from the Bronx is about as far from conventional as Trump (albeit in the opposite direction), but the more time she spends chasing Senate seats and climbing the political ladder, the more dulled that “political outsider” edge gets.
I think she should take a shot at 2028 — or at the very least, run for DNC chair next year. Someone like her directing political strategy would help younger and more progressive Democrats gain ground in local and congressional elections which could finally help shift the party back out of its corporate-sponsored neo-liberal rut and towards actual progressivism.
but the more time she spends chasing Senate seats and climbing the political ladder, the more dulled that “political outsider” edge gets.
I think it’s possible to serve in Congress and still be considered a political outsider. It’s not easy, the secret seems to be a strong commitment to principles outside of the mainstream but at least a couple of people have done it.
Bernie has been in the legislative branch since 91 and was in state government for a decade before that. Being a political outsider is still part of his appeal. On the other end of the spectrum Ron Paul was first elected to the House in 76 and retired from politics in 2013 without ever having become a political insider.
You’re right, it doesn’t. But if we can transform the party into one that’s focused on running younger and more progressive candidates, then the DNC at large will start to look less like a crusty party of “good old boys” and more like an actual grassroots movement of “outsiders”. That’s what I’d like to see for the future of the DNC and I think AOC would be a good face for that movement.
If Trump has taught us anything, it’s that Americans have a growing appetite for “unconventional” candidates. A 40-year-old waitress from the Bronx is about as far from conventional as Trump (albeit in the opposite direction), but the more time she spends chasing Senate seats and climbing the political ladder, the more dulled that “political outsider” edge gets.
I think she should take a shot at 2028 — or at the very least, run for DNC chair next year. Someone like her directing political strategy would help younger and more progressive Democrats gain ground in local and congressional elections which could finally help shift the party back out of its corporate-sponsored neo-liberal rut and towards actual progressivism.
I think it’s possible to serve in Congress and still be considered a political outsider. It’s not easy, the secret seems to be a strong commitment to principles outside of the mainstream but at least a couple of people have done it.
Bernie has been in the legislative branch since 91 and was in state government for a decade before that. Being a political outsider is still part of his appeal. On the other end of the spectrum Ron Paul was first elected to the House in 76 and retired from politics in 2013 without ever having become a political insider.
You have a point, although I don’t exactly think the position of DNC chair screams “I’m an outsider”…
You’re right, it doesn’t. But if we can transform the party into one that’s focused on running younger and more progressive candidates, then the DNC at large will start to look less like a crusty party of “good old boys” and more like an actual grassroots movement of “outsiders”. That’s what I’d like to see for the future of the DNC and I think AOC would be a good face for that movement.
Trump was a celebrity with name recognition. I think there’s more to it than unconventional.