Has AOC Worn Out Her Welcome Among Democratic Leadership?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is now walking on a tight rope as she announces Courage to Change – here’s what you need to know. 

AOC and Political Courage 

AOC’s new Courage to Change PAC has already kicked off, with the first to receive support being seven progressive female candidates, who share AOC’s liberal left vision. That’s not all, Ocasio-Cortez has taken it further merely due to the fact that two of those receiving endorsement are challenging incumbents, as well as her general aim being not only at Republicans but problematic Democrats too. 

In a way, it could be described as AOC attempting to use her influence and name as leverage in order to reshape the Democratic Party. 

“One of our primary goals is to reward political courage in Congress and also to help elect a progressive majority in the House of Representatives. There’s kind of a dual nature to this: One is opening the door to newcomers, and the other is to reward members of Congress that are exhibiting very large amounts of political courage,” 

-AOC said in an interview. 

The Courage to Change political action committee began in January and Ocasio-Cortez is hoping to get the people’s backing by pledging to elect “working-class champions,” instead of “discouraging them” as the DCCC does now. AOC is also still refusing to pay her party dues, instead opting to raise the money on her own, which has seen quite a bit of success. 

Other Democratic representatives are not aligned with AOC’s views, most being more moderate than progressive, and due to her past actions and novel threats to fellow Democrats, she might become the target of many. This, along with her campaigning for Bernie Sanders, might see her seat in danger after the 2020 Census. 

Ocasio-Cortez said that while she doesn’t know what she’s gonna do next in the world of politics, her goal is to get more people like her elected to serve in the House and Senate.