(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- The 2024 presidential election is already panning out to be a very contentious one. While there is one obvious candidate from each major party — President Joe Biden for Democrats and former President Donald Trump for Republicans — many others are currently on the fringes and could surprise.
Because of this, many political pundits have been advocating for who they think would make great candidates, and alternatives to the two elder politicians.
Earlier this week, Michael Starr Hopkins, a political strategist, wrote an op-ed for media outlet The Hill, in which he suggested that New York progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should run. In the piece, Hopkins compared AOC to former President Barack Obama, calling her the “fresh air” that liberals need.
He wrote:
“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is less of a personality and more of a movement. Yes, the smart, photogenic congresswoman is the face of the rising progressive movement, but she is also the future of the Democratic Party. AOC has cultivated a following beyond politics. She’s an influencer in its purest form. Her ability to relate to her supporters and allow them a glimpse into her private life is a blueprint for Democrats trying to act less like mannequins and more like humans.
“She’s the voice of a movement that began after the banks were bailed out by the government, while homeowners were left to default. The simplicity with which she talks about everyday struggles hints that she’s not just a persona for consumption. She isn’t beholden to corporations, is a prodigious small-dollar fundraiser, and could out-Trump Trump like no other politician has been able to.”
Hopkins does raise a few good points about AOC in general, but what he fails to realize is that most Americans are not in favor of her progressive policies. Sure, there is an increasing group of U.S. voters who want to see major change in the country, but they are not in favor of the sweeping reforms that AOC is likely to push for if she were ever in a position of great power like that of the presidency.
People who don’t like Biden because they feel he is too progressive would be downright disgusted by some of the things that AOC would likely push for if she were to win the White House ever.
Hopkins supported Biden during his run for president in 2020, but he said that the president now “deserves a primary challenger” in his prospective re-election bid in 2024 so that there is a “fighter” for Democrats.
He then made a reference to a famous mafia movie when he wrote that if Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is considered the “Godfather” of the progressive movement, then “Ocasio-Cortez is Michael Corleone.” In other words, Sanders is the founder, and AOC is the next in line to take over.
The comparison to Sanders actually doesn’t make Hopkins’ point too well to most Democrats, who have soundly rejected his progressive policies when they voted against him as their party’s nominee in two straight presidential primaries.