Explaining Away Ocasio-Cortez’s Political Earthquake
Liberal pundits are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain away Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory.
A sign for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at her June 26 victory party in New York City. Scott Heins / Getty
Since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s shock victory over high-ranking Democrat Joe Crowley, the socialist challenger has been the subject of a number of absurd attacks from the Right, from the fact that she, among other things, “supports seniors” in her platform to the fact that she once lived in a house.
It’s easy to forget, however, that Ocasio-Cortez’s victory was also a shock to the system for liberals and the center. While this group largely embraced Ocasio-Cortez’s win, they too have found their own, more subtle ways to play down its significance to the future ideological tilt of both the Democratic Party and the country. Here are four of the most common rationalizations.
1. It was just “demographics.”
It’s perhaps little surprise that many pundits chose to view the Ocasio-Cortez win purely through the prism of her identity as a young woman of color.
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