Several years ago, the election of new progressive representatives in Congress — particularly of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — injected new hope into an American left mobilized by the first Sanders campaign but demoralized by the Trump years. During her time in office, AOC has supported major progressive policies, from Medicare for All to a Green New Deal, and stepped forward to endorse Sanders in 2020. At the same time, she has drawn criticism for her endorsement of Biden in 2024, despite his strength as an incumbent and his embrace of austerity politics, as well as for a perceived failure to adequately fight for progressive policies in Congress.
The part about her Biden endorsement is the entry point of a recent piece by Freddie deBoer tracking the decline of AOC’s credibility as a proper leftist politician. “She has deferred to party leadership again and again on the issues that matter,” deBoer writes, “even as she has made token gestures of resistance to solidify the illusion that she is a gadfly.” What Freddie identifies and takes issue with here is a totally performative but insubstantial politics, the dressings of leftist insurgency without any of the strategy or commitment to back them up. Among his examples is the support AOC showed for railway workers in the aftermath of the East Palestine train derailment, alongside her subsequent vote to prevent those workers from striking.
Is AOC really just a regular old Democrat? And do we have to think about it in these terms? In other words, what mechanisms might exist to keep leftist politicians accountable to their mission, and how should we relate to these politicians when they make decisions that are troubling or antithetical to our goals? We’re bringing Freddie himself on the show this week to discuss the article and take on these big questions. Paying subscribers will get access to our conversation when it’s released over Substack on Friday. Everybody else, see you Saturday when the audio is released through Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and more.
No, and the article was poorly argued. Freddie offered no alternative to what we need to do as a left wing to move forward as opposed to building power in electoral politics. He also didn't address many of the major accomplishments people like AOC had in bringing material resources to her district. If he would pay attention, he would note those factors that AOC herself publishes in a video every year. It's fine to have criticisms of our elected officials, but his lack of presenting a way to build power effectively hurts his credibility, and makes the piece come off as some attention-grabbing attack.
Yes.