electoralism

AOC was elected 2 years into trump 1, by beating out a grotesque, establishment dem in a safe seat by sniping them in their primary with a sudden, highly effective and populist ground game.

while the correct ideological take is to doubt her commitment to sparkle motion and the NYC mayor primary is different from a us house of representative dem primary, there's a logic to the pattern:

trump wins, the dark blue safe seat dem leadership goes to sleep, believing the backlash to trump will be something they can easily hop on for a win without having to do anything, forgetting that an energized base might just go with someone who articulates an alternative to milquetoast opposition instead of seeking the endorsement of the usual cast of assholes.