GordonGekko
Footballguy
AOC is "financially independent" from the establishment Democrats. She's also funding the freshman members of The Squad and lending her platform to get other Progressives into the daily media cycle. At her age and given she's fighting a two front war (establishment Democrats want her crushed and compliant since they can't control her, the GOP wants her crushed because her policies don't align with their core policies) , that's actually pretty impressive.
The majority of her fundraising is done through small level donations. She has to generate them in volume. A disproportionate amount of her budget goes to social media advertisements/engagement. While this gives her quite a big of cover from Big Social Media ( terrifying that her platform and Prager U's platform get basic immunity since they spend more than anyone else, think about how dangerous that becomes for our future with the First Amendment), it requires the rinse/repeat cycle used by any basic social media star/influencer/YouTuber.
In effect, she needs to engage in almost consistent shock marketing to keep her fundraising up and to effectively finance her campaign and office and support the Progressives. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren will not live forever to cover AOC's flanks. Only Ilhan Omar can say she's generating enough fundraising to be independent on her own ( The word is "cartel", Omar runs her district like an open cartel), the rest are basically dependent on "AOC's Social Assistance" )
You can't build a CONSISTENT political platform on shock marketing. You are forced to sway with the tide of social media driven outrage.
When AOC got into office, she immediately went on the attack against Big Pharma. Which was the smart decision by her media staff. Going after Big Pharma and Big Medicine at that point was a political softball. But that's her wheelhouse - Political softballs and things so far into the theoretical spectrum ( i.e. Green New Deal) that they don't pose much of a real threat at true policy change. But now? She won't go 5 million feet near Big Pharma and Big Medicine.
Here's the problem AOC has for the long haul. If she wants to run for POTUS, she needs money from big donors but moreso she needs their leverage to get true delegate support. She might be inherit most of the delegates that were loyal to Bernie Sanders but that's not enough. She needs establishment Democrat level money to push forward. Except the Progressives and especially Omar are linked with Anti-Semetic leanings. You can't get big money donors if you piss off the Jewish establishment in and around Big Finance in America. It also cuts off Hollywood to her as well as major elements of Big Education.
AOC goes to the Met Gala to court big money donors but they won't really do more than give her lip service because you don't go to war with the Jewish establishment in Big Finance in America and walk away whole.
Looking at her ethnic background, and given the struggles her mother had with Big Medicine after her father died, what did AOC really do about the Border Crisis? She has the clout in the daily media cycle to permanently threaten the Hispanic/Latino vote for establishment Democrats but she did nothing.
There's nothing "Progressive" about playing it safe. AOC plays it very very very safe but wants to make it appear that she's somehow dynamic against the establishment. Playing it safe politically doesn't actually serve the American people. AOC could have made a big difference in the Border Crisis, but it was not the "smart" political decision. However was it the "right" decision, i.e. doing what is morally right for her own people rooting from her own background.
What does Shepard Book say? If you can't do something smart, at least do something right.
Bill Parcells said it best about situations like this - If I'm so worried all the time about saving my job, I'm not actually doing my job.
If AOC actually cared about the average American, she'd choose to be more than a softball hitter.
