A Star Is Shorn
This week, social media darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez learned that being an influencer is not the same thing as having tangible influence in Congress.
This might come as a surprise to people who know of AOC only through the constant, flattering media coverage she receives from the mainstream press. Indeed, for the past several weeks, reporters have given space to AOC so that she could air her unsolicited recommendations for President-elect Biden’s staff and cabinet picks (“Rejecting [Bruce] Reed will be a major test for the soul of the Biden presidency”), and her belief that “we need new leadership in the Democratic Party,” a direct attack on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Charles Schumer.