Quote of the Day

It is fitting that the earthquake victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over one of the most powerful Democrats in the country came sandwiched between two catastrophic US supreme court decisions. The court, shifting rightward with Donald Trump’s Neil Gorsuch, defended a travel ban on people from Muslim-majority nations and chose to devastate labor unions with its decision on Wednesday.

Many voters, particularly young people, understand the time for incrementalism and moderation is long over, and ended for good when a race-baiter who empowers white supremacists and oligarchs stormed into the White House.

It ended with the kids in cages, the attacks on immigrants and all people of color.

Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old former Bernie Sanders organizer, crushed Joe Crowley, the number four-ranked Democrat in the House, on Tuesday night. Crowley was widely viewed as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader.

Not only was Crowley a Washington power broker, but he was one of the most influential Democrats in New York state, controlling the Democratic party in his home borough of Queens and directing much of the internal Democratic politics of New York City. Other than Ocasio-Cortez, almost no Democrat would dare rebuke Crowley publicly.

In retrospect, Crowley as a future speaker was a laughable proposition. Ocasio-Cortez represents the future of the Democratic party. When she breezes to victory over token Republican opposition in November, she will be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She is a Latina in a majority minority district that Crowley, who is white and raises his family in Virginia, never truly represented.

Just as important, Ocasio-Cortez is an unabashed leftist, supported by the Democratic Socialists of America and numerous progressive organizations. She ran on a platform of Medicare for All, abolishing ICE and a federal jobs guarantee. She was unafraid of calling out corporatism and capitalism.

– Ross Barkan
Excerpted from "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Represents the Future of the Democratic Party"
The Guardian
June 27, 2018

Related Off-site Links:
Democrats See Major Upset as Socialist Beats Top-ranking U.S. Congressman – Ben Jacobs and Lauren Gambino (The Guardian, June 27, 2018).
A Top House Democrat Lost His Primary — to a Socialist – Kay Steiger (Vox, June 27, 2018).
A 28-year-old Democratic Socialist Just Ousted a Powerful, 10-term Congressman in New York – Gregory Krieg (CNN, June 27, 2018).
"Seismic Political Upset": Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a Landslide Over Wall Street Favorite Joe Crowley – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, June 27, 2018).
How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pulled Off the Year’s Biggest Political Upset – Tim Murphy (Mother Jones, June 27, 2018).
Lobbyists and Business-Friendly Pundits Mourn Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Victory – Lee Fang (The Intercept, June 27, 2018).
What Ocasio-Cortez Wants for America After Beating Joe Crowley – Jeff Stein (The Washington Post, June 27, 2018).

UPDATES: "It's Not Just One District": Ocasio-Cortez Pushes Back Against Nancy Pelosi's Dismissal of Progressive Wave – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, June 28, 2018).
Why Young Democrats Are So Open to Socialism – Isaac Chotiner (Slate, June 28, 2018).
After Joe Crowley Defeat, Anti-War Progressive Barbara Lee Considers Bid for House Democratic Chair – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, June 28, 2018).
Here's the Difference Between a "Socialist" and a "Democratic Socialist" – John Haltiwanger (Business Insider, June 28, 2018).
Ocasio-Cortez Responds to Dem Senator Who Said Policies "Too Far to the Left" Don't Win in Midwest – Morgan Gstalter (The Hill, July 1, 2018).
Progressive Insurgents are Propelling Democrats Into the Future – Katrina vanden Heuvel (The Washington Post, July 10, 2018).
Majority of Democrats Want Candidates to Be More Like Bernie Sanders, Poll Finds – Tim Marcin (Newsweek, July 11, 2018).
Is Bernie Sanders' Revolution Finally Taking Hold in America? – Chris Riotta (The Independent, July 11, 2018).
Democratic Socialism's Time Has Come Around – E.J. Dionne Jr. (The Washington Post, July 18, 2018).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Progressive Perspectives on Jeremy Corbyn's Achievement in the UK Election
• Quote of the Day – June 8, 2017
• Hope, History and Bernie Sanders
• Carrying It On
• Quote of the Day – August 17, 2011
• A Socialist Response to the Financial Crisis
• Capitalism on Trial
• R.I.P. Neoclassical Economics