Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Could Be The New Ted Cruz

Supporters of newly minted Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are furious with an article in Politico which highlights how her fellow House Democrats aren't reacting to her favorably.


Amy Siskind: Oh look, here’s Politico writing another hit piece on a woman in politics. That hasn’t happened since...Warren announced. Keep going @AOC and freshman class women. Thank you for fighting for us - we got your back!


It should be the noted the co-authors of the article are women. But why let facts get in the way of an argument? Let's play the sexism card.


Lily Herman: Big thanks to Politico for publishing a story that inadvertently showcases why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more women like her are needed. Best of luck to all the Dems who went on the record with their condescending remarks in this piece.


Michael Whitney: Very helpful for Politico to get a primary shortlist going for us These comments are astounding. The country is collapsing and the world is on fire and Democratic members say on the record that @AOC "doesn’t understand how the place works yet.”


It seems to me that Siskind, Herman and Whitney are shooting the messenger. Some of her Democratic colleagues are trying to work with her:


So far, most of them have kept their criticism of Ocasio-Cortez private, fearful she’ll sic her massive following on them by firing off a tweet. But a few are engaging with her in the hopes she’ll opt for a different M.O., especially when it comes to trying to take out Democrats in primaries.


Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) is playing a key role. Like Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez knocked off a longtime Democratic incumbent to win her seat, and they share Puerto Rican roots.


In private conversations with Ocasio-Cortez over the past few months, Velázquez counseled Ocasio-Cortez against targeting her Democratic colleagues in future elections. The two had a “long, long conversation” about the dynamics of Congress and Washington, and how there shouldn’t be a “litmus test” for every district, Velázquez said in a recent interview.


After she defeated Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley in shocking fashion last year, Ocasio-Cortez supported primary challengers to Democratic Reps. Stephanie Murphy of Florida, William Lacy Clay of Missouri and Mike Capuano of Massachusetts.


Only Capuano lost. But Velázquez told Ocasio-Cortez she should think twice in the future before backing primaries against her colleagues. Murphy, the first Vietnamese woman elected to Congress, represents a swing district and could lose her seat if she’s forced to move left in a primary, Velázquez said during the talk.


“Washington is a political animal where a lot of the work that you want to accomplish depends on relationships within the Democratic Caucus,” said Velázquez, who described herself as a “bridge” between Ocasio-Cortez and the caucus. “The honeymoon between the voters that you represent and yourself could be a short one. People want to see results.”


From where I sit, it seems like Velázquez is trying to prevent Ocasio-Cortez from turning into another Ted Cruz. The man who repeatedly referred to Senate colleagues in his own party as part of the "Washington cartel" and engineered a fruitless government shutdown over Obamacare which only served his presidential ambitions. Lindsey Graham infamously joked, "If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you." Consider this passage from a February 2014 Christian Science Monitor article on Cruz after the shutdown failed:


Cruz's Senate future may be uncomfortable. That said, Cruz is still going to be a backbencher in a caucus whose leaders may feel he has attacked them personally. That could mean few favors, chilly meetings, and less desirable committee assignments, among other things.


Of course Cruz didn't care about those things. From the same article:


Cruz will be more popular than ever on the right. If Cruz wants to run for president as leader of the tea party right, he’s done a good job solidifying his credentials.


All was going to according to plan.....and then along came Donald Trump.


It seems to me that Ocasio-Cortez is more concerned with endearing herself to the Women's March crowd than she is to her fellow House Democrats in the same way Cruz endeared himself Tea Party rather than to his fellow Senate Republicans. Assuming she wants to become President, this might be the right way for her to go. In which case, all she has to fear is a left-wing version of Donald Trump who is even more Twitter savvy than she is.


With that said, if Ocasio-Cortez makes enemies in Congress then her supporters can expect the media to report it just like they did when Cruz made enemies in the Senate.