AOC Is Getting the Hillary Clinton Experience and It Is Frustrating

[TomCADem]

Hillary Clinton was a trailblazer in being an outspoken, intelligent professional woman from back in the 1990s. While a lot of attacks on her early on where directed toward Bill Clinton, a lot of the heat was because of what she represented as a strong, outspoken woman. Of course, over the decades, Republicans and the right wing media created this caricature of Hillary Clinton that ultimately weighed her down over the years.

AOC is now 31 and like Hillary Clinton has been caricatured by the right wing media and turned into the latest progressive bogeyman. Like Hillary Clinton, AOC is trail blazer in terms of capturing a Congressional seat at such a young age and articulating the interests and aspirations of her constituents. As she noted, not many Democrats supported defund the police, yet it had somehow become cudgel to attack progressive Democrats, particularly her.

I can imagine how frustrating this might be for AOC to have deal with this left wing caricature that is not even based on your own words or actions. Now, there will be temptation to respond to the attacks by doubling down, attacking even would be allies, and thereby becoming the caricature of the right. Hillary Clinton became very guarded over the years and was, therefore, attacked for being secretive and untrustworthy. Now, its been refreshing to hear her comments post-2016 now that she really does not give a f*&k.

For AOC, will she play the role of left wing gadfly and fire brand sort of like Ted Cruz among Republicans who has carved a following among purists even though he is largely ineffective as a Senator? It is easy for us to see it on the right with folks like Matt Gaetz who repeatedly draw attention to themselves by catering to the most extreme elements of his party. Does Matt draw a lot of attention (and donations) to himself by embracing the caricature that he is? Yes. Does anyone seriously think that Matt is on track to securing any type of significant legislative accomplishments?

AOC is a gifted individual and would like to see her become the next Barack Obama, who elevates themselves beyond being a rising start to someone who can mobilize voters and achieve results that benefit all Americans. Of course, in doing so, like Barack Obama, this could lead to attacks that AOC has sold out.

[spooky3]

1. She is 31, not approaching 40. Nt

[TomCADem]

2. Thanks.

I thought she was about 35. Wow.

[Loki Liesmith]

4. Well she's approaching 40 in the same sense that I'm not.

[LostinRed]

3. AOC represents her district well

But it will take a lot to sell her ideas to the rest of the country and the media does her and the rest of the progressive no favors. They allow lies about the green new deal to go unchecked. The media will always be lazy so AOC has a huge hill to climb if she wants to make traction on the national stage.

[qazplm135]

5. she's not Obama

Obama understood how to play the game. That progressives are important for sure, but that half the party is not progressive, they are moderate Dems.

AOC will have a cap on how far she can go as long as she is as far left as she is. And as long as she characterizes moderates the way that she does. She certainly has a future role as leader of the progressives, but it's not going to be bigger than that unless either progressives become the majority of the party, or she moderates her approach to other segments of the party.

[brush]

7. Agreed. Bernie Sanders has been a socialist for forever and has...

gotten nowhere in the Senate or presidential politics. That might be her destiny too in the House.

IMO she has to get smarter. Prominent Dems calling themselves democratic socialists is not smart as it's so off-putting to millions of Americans. And I know, many will say repugs are going to call us socialist anyway, but it wasn't always that way. We can't afford to give them such easy and effective messaging material. All they have to do is mention Bernie Sanders and AOC in their attack ads and it works. It works.

It works because three generations of voters, the Greatest generation, Boomers and GenXers were schooled on the toxicity of socialism all during their formative years—the iron curtain, failed communist collectives, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, the Cuban missile crisis, fallout shelters, etc. Many of those voters outgrew that knee jerk anti-socialism reaction (mostly us Dems) but millions haven't and any candidate who doesn't understand that has the depth of knowledge about their own country as that of a sidewalk puddle.

We've got to get smarter. We have to present a center left to center unified image to win—the absolute point or we're just wasting our time—and once we win, we install our progressive policies.

It's not rocket science. Outsmart the MFers.

[BainsBane]

20. It's also a focus on slogan or label over substance

Dems calling themselves socialists achieves nothing, and it isn't even accurate.
I think it's better to focus on reforms they want to achieve, which they do to a certain extend, but the slogans tend to get in the way.

[brush]

21. Agreed. Slogans like "Defund the police" can be killers too.

[lapucelle]

6. A0C is 31 years old, not approaching 40.

By the time she was 31, HRC had graduated Yale Law School, worked as an attorney for the Children's Defense Fund, was a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, D.C, advised the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate mess, was a law school professor, did pro bono work in child advocacy, helped found Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, (an alliance with the Children's Defense Fund), was serving as first lady of Arkansas, was appointed chair of the Arkansas Rural Health Advisory Committee, and was made the first female full partner in her law firm.

[AmericanCanuck]

10. This

Waters that run deep don't make much sound. Hillary's vast accomplishments remained silent.

The comparison is laughable.

[Greybnk48]

8. I love her! Keep pushing girl.

Edited to add: She's doing EXACTLY what the radical right wing has done for 30 years and that's why we're now to the right of center. We need a correction in this country and being loud like she is, and Bernie, are what precipitates a change or correction. NOT pragmatism.

We need to get on board with Climate change (like the Dems were in the 70's/like Al Gore wants), we need to re-establish the voting rights act to it's original power or better, we need to pass an Equal Rights Amendment FFS--a real one.

AND we need to de-militarize and retrain the police. Not allow bad cops to transfer with a clean slate, and add mental health workers and people who respond to cases that are volatile in that way, instead of the dopey "shoot first, ask questions later" policy in some areas.

And we need thorough background checks on cops to see if they have ties to white domestic terrorist groups like the Klan and other copycats.

Just my two-cents.

[Codeine]

9. Please don't compare AOC to Hillary Clinton.

She hasn’t demonstrated anything that would justify such a comparison.

[melman]

12. Agreed

[BainsBane]

11. They are nothing alike

AOC has talent, to be sure. She's bright, and I don't have a problem with her convictions or progressive beliefs. What bothers me, and what is her ultimate undoing, is her propensity to attack the Democratic party, as the recent Guardian article shows. That is what you call playing the role of the "left wing gadfly." Hillary never did that. When she was elected to the senate, she put her nose down and got to work. Hillary chose to be a workhorse rather than a show horse. AOC has chosen a different approach. Now is she treated with sexism? Certainly, as is every other woman in government.

She's says--and repeats just now on CNN--that the party treats her as the enemy. The sad thing is that she treats us as the enemy. She doesn't seem to understand that when the party, or the people who constitute the party, face attack after attack from her, she isn't going to be their favorite congresswoman. We just won. Rather than celebrating, she spent yesterday on Twitter attacking Democrats both individually and collectively. That's not cool.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. Nailed It, BB!

Exactly correct.
I can't see HRC putting out a tweet about universal health care that was totally devoid of context. AOC did just that! Yesterday!
I agree with the vast bulk of her philosophy, but her grasp of governance does not compare to that of HRC.

[In It to Win It]

13. With regard to the Party infighting

I think she’s getting the “Clinton experience” within the party.

Both sides, the progressive and moderate wings, have to realize that they are anchored to each other whether they like it or not.

Politics has become national at every level:8 of government. If the Democratic President calls for Medicare for All, people will assume ALL Democrats up and down the ballot will hold the same position even when they explicitly don’t.

Moderate Democrats have to realize that people in AOC’s district support her because she holds these progressive positions. At some point, her constituents will grow tired that she is not accomplishing that vision that they also want. Moderate Democrats inability to move could cause the party as a whole to lose support (which I think is one of the reasons we lost in 2016).

On the flip side, Progressive Democrats have to realize that moderate Democrats come from districts and states where the Party can lose the seat altogether, and possibly lose power. The moderate districts, GOP attacks can work. The GOP attacks can mobilize their base enough for Democrats to lose their seat.

The ultimate question is where exactly is the balance?

The answer is not to attack each other and bitch that one Democrat is making it harder for another Democrat.

[Happy Hoosier]

15. IMO...

She needs to build some expertise before slagging off others. She’s smart, progressive, and charismatic. But she’s a little raw and needs some experience.

[George II]

16. No. No. There is absolutely no comparison or similarity in any way between her and Clinton....

....except perhaps that they're both women.

[NurseJackie]

17. Ridiculous!

It's absurd to compare her to Hillary Clinton.

AOC is a gifted individual and would like to see her become the next Barack Obama,

I do not see this happening at all.

Hillary Clinton became very guarded over the years and was, therefore, attacked for being secretive and untrustworthy.

She did? Says who? Define "guarded". She has always been attacked from the very beginning... I think it's short sighted to suggest 1) that the first thing is true and 2) that the personal smears and attacks on here were the result and justification for it.

Besides, I can think of no instances where Obama thought it would be prudent or beneficial to smear and denigrate his own party... or to insult its leadership, or the millions of patriotic Americans and loyal Democrats who support and claim this party as their own.

[lapucelle]

18. Hillary was famous for saying, "I'm a work horse, not a show horse".

We need more like her in government.

[ismnotwasm]

19. Look. She is a Democratic rock star in a safe seat.

She stepped up knowing she was a lightning rod for all kinds of crap. A lot of shit taken out of context. A lot of zealous defenders that don’t always help. No one should question her intelligence or bravery, but she does make political missteps from time to time. She’s new.

That said she is no Hillary Clinton. She’s had a what, 4 years of this crap? Hillary had most a lifetime. I like to think however, AOC might look at Hillary in a different light in a few years time and wonder, how the fuck did she do it? How did she tolerate that level of misogyny and bullshitery for all those years?

AOC stands on the backs of giants.