# Why is conservative media obsessed with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 21, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906 "2018-11-21T17:44:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/221 "2018-11-28T13:53:53Z")
> [@Dacien](#): > > Here’s a couple more. > > Ocasio-Cortez is going to help [“flip this seat red”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjeRnyj-2sI) in Kansas City. > > [This clip from 1:28 to 2:00.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT8icjgy3AM) > > “You use the term ‘the occupation of Palestine.’ What do you mean by that?” > > Cortez - “Um… I think what I meant is … like … the settlements that are increasing in some of these areas and places where Palestinians are experiencing difficulty in access to their housing and homes.” > > “Do you think you can expand on that?” > > Cortez - “Yeah… I mean, I think … I’d … also just— I am not the expert on geo-politics on this issue.” > > That whole interview is a goldmine, by the way, but now we’re up to five. Where did this requirement of 10 ill-informed comments come from, I have to ask? Seems lke an arbitrary number. Seems like five in her short career is pretty strong. Again, we’re discussing why she’s continually in the spotlight from the right, not whether these foibles are severe or just mild, only that they’re noteworthy foibles. To be fair, that could just be a dog whistle for the Soviet-style leftists. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/222 "2018-11-28T14:01:29Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You are being ridiculous. I stated a preference for a candidate that has held some position of responsibility in the past. I am not calling for the banning of janitors from running, I would just prefer at least a Maintenance Supervisor. Are you arguing that it is unfair to nitpick statements and that in so doing, gaffes get blown out of proportion? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/223 "2018-11-28T14:22:52Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Are you arguing that it is unfair to nitpick statements and that in so doing, gaffes get blown out of proportion? Is that what you’re trying to do? If you look over my posts you’ll see I mostly defend AOC’s “gaffes” so if you’re playing some turnabout then you picked the wrong target. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/224 "2018-11-28T14:40:09Z")
Most of her gaffes are the result of the American electorate. We tend to demand black-and-white answers rather than nuanced thought. A single person is quite simply incapable of spending the amount of time necessary to study every single problem in the world and come up with a viable solution. The electorate demands it though, so they’re forced to improvise. Experienced politicians prep their talking points and have canned answers for the five hundred most common questions. They don’t really know the ins and outs of each issue, nor should we expect them to. Anyone who has a ‘real’ answer to Israel and Palestine is blowing smoke up your butt because there is no ‘real’ answer. It’s incredibly complicated and simply saying ‘two-state solution’ or ‘Israel’s capital is Jerusalem’ while they make great soundbites is ignoring the reality of two different groups with competing priorities and no clear path towards consensus. Anyway, I digress. To get back to AOC, she’s not an experienced politician and she doesn’t yet have her army of staffers with prepared position papers, so she wings it. The electorate does not actually want honesty of ‘Hey, these things are complicated and nuanced. They require a ton of study and consultation and even then there are disagreements about a path forward and honestly, it would take at least a few months of intense studying and reading just to get enough up to speed on the issue for me to speak about it intelligently, let alone come up with some sort of viable solution.’ They prefer ‘I agree with talking head number 1 and will definitely use their jargon and fight to achieve talking point 2.’ The electorate just wants answers and since, let’s face it, we’re also pretty ignorant on the situation and are lucky if we’ve read two pages on a given issue total in our lives, we don’t even care it they’re right answers, we just want the answers to use the same words as whichever TV host we like or editorial page we enjoy uses. AOC knows that and uses the jargon, but hasn’t studied enough to use the jargon correctly. Not her fault, she’s young. It’s also not a judgement though on her actual stance or knowledge really since there aren’t too many other Representatives who actually have an intelligent view on the issue either, they just ‘test-prepped’ better. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/225 "2018-11-28T15:24:15Z")
I see that (Zionist?) anti-Alexandrians are still frothing at the bit about her choice of phrase “occupation of Palestine.” We disposed of this in an earlier thread: > [@Sanderista primaries out 10-term Dem Congressman](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanderista-primaries-out-10-term-dem-congressman/816850/151): > > I don’t see how the behavior of the occupied population changes the fact that they’re being occupied by an outside power. > [@Sanderista primaries out 10-term Dem Congressman](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanderista-primaries-out-10-term-dem-congressman/816850/139): > > … she used the unfortunate term “occupation of Palestine” but then corrected herself. (Anyway, if the illegal settlements aren’t a form of “occupation” please send me whatever dictionary you’re smoking!) … > … So I searched “Alexandria Firing Line” at YouTube to see what all the fuss was. > Wow! :eek: The wingnuts must be worried about Alexandria because they are crawling out of the woodwork at YouTube. The top two hits were > > - [Captain KIRK Mocks Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’ Embarassing Interview on PBS’ Firing Line](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjpXAJ3hEBo), and > - Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Wrecks HERSELF in Gary Johnson Style Interview Fail! > The first link spent 2½ minutes apparently reacting just to the phrase “occupation of Palestine.” I had my fill; apologies to the wingnuts if the 2nd link was slightly less nutty. Please keep up, folks. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/226 "2018-11-28T15:50:35Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > If only Trump could manage to keep his mistakes so benign. > > As Snowboarder Bo informed you, it is actually a sign of intelligence to recognize one’s limitations. She is a neophyte, and can’t be expected to be an instant expert in all things political, but she actually understands that she isn’t an expert in all things, unlike the President. Well, it’s not an either/or situation here- both the president and Ocasio-Cortez can both spout dumb stuff at the same time, which seems to be the case. I’m still not sold on why she’s so popular; other than being young, pretty and checking all the PC boxes, she’s something of an inexperienced, ill-informed loudmouth with more or less extreme policies. I mean, I’m not a right-winger or a conservative, but I get where they’re coming from with her. My first inclination is to be deeply skeptical of anyone so young and inexperienced in her position. Those are huge negatives to me; she doesn’t have the experience for anything but entry level jobs in the working world; and now she’s both a legislator and interviewed as if she’s an authority on political stuff? It bothers me a lot that people view this as a positive thing that she’s so young and inexperienced and got elected. To me, that shows what idiots the people in her district are, and makes me worried that other idiots will get the same idea elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/227 "2018-11-28T15:55:16Z")
> [@bump](#): > > makes me worried that other idiots will get the same idea elsewhere. …I think we have a pretty good idea of what would happen if idiots got the idea to elect an idiot. In fact, I think we might have a political party that specializes in that. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/228 "2018-11-28T16:19:25Z")
It’s pretty annoying how so many people think Trump’s idiocy is some kind of get out of jail free card for anything silly AOC says. I’ve argued in this thread and others that her gaffes are mostly ridiculously overblown but this “Trump is worse!” is a lazy stupid rejoinder in most cases. If you paid attention at all in threads on her here, you would notice that not all of her criticism comes from Trumpists. That’s because, newsflash, not all Dems think under 30 Sanderista bartenders are the future of the party. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/229 "2018-11-28T16:35:24Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > It’s pretty annoying how so many people think Trump’s idiocy is some kind of get out of jail free card for anything silly AOC says. I’ve argued in this thread and others that her gaffes are mostly ridiculously overblown but this “Trump is worse!” is a lazy stupid rejoinder in most cases. If you paid attention at all in threads on her here, you would notice that not all of her criticism comes from Trumpists. That’s because, newsflash, not all Dems think under 30 Sanderista bartenders are the future of the party. It’s possible you’ve missed the point, which is: Trump supporters who complain about AOC’s gaffes are hypocrites. In the context of “Trump supporters complaining about AOC’s gaffes,” Trump’s idiocy is directly on point. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/230 "2018-11-28T16:36:21Z")
Why are you so threatened by her, **CarnalK** , that you think it’s productive to continually denigrate how she made her living? It isn’t making anyone here think less of _her_. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/231 "2018-11-28T16:40:19Z")
I am not threatened by her and have no interest in convincing you to think less of her. She seems like a fairly intelligent young woman but with a few fringy and untested convictions. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/232 "2018-11-28T16:42:19Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > It’s possible you’ve missed the point, which is: Trump supporters who complain about AOC’s gaffes are hypocrites. In the context of “Trump supporters complaining about AOC’s gaffes,” Trump’s idiocy is directly on point. But you were responding to bump, whom I don’t believe is a Trump supporter. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/233 "2018-11-28T16:47:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’m still not sold on why she’s so popular; other than being young, pretty and checking all the PC boxes, she’s something of an inexperienced, ill-informed loudmouth with more or less extreme policies. > > I mean, I’m not a right-winger or a conservative, but I get where they’re coming from with her. My first inclination is to be deeply skeptical of anyone so young and inexperienced in her position. Those are huge negatives to me; she doesn’t have the experience for anything but entry level jobs in the working world; and now she’s both a legislator and interviewed as if she’s an authority on political stuff? It bothers me a lot that people view this as a positive thing that she’s so young and inexperienced and got elected. To me, that shows what idiots the people in her district are, and makes me worried that other idiots will get the same idea elsewhere. Why won’t all these young millennials vote for people more like _me_? Why do they vote for people who have more first-hand experience in the challenges facing them versus challenges facing old white men? As a more serious answer, yes, some people view her youth as a positive thing. I don’t think anyone views her inexperience as a positive. Rather, they understand that it is a temporary condition. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/234 "2018-11-28T16:50:35Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > But you were responding to bump, whom I don’t believe is a Trump supporter. I didn’t mention AOC at all in my response to bump. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/235 "2018-11-28T16:51:07Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > … That’s because, newsflash, not all Dems think under 30 Sanderista bartenders are the future of the party. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez graduated _cum laude_ with a degree in economics and international relations. She founded a publishing firm at age 22, and has been active in non-profit organizations. Why did you need to dismiss her as a “bartender”? If she’d inherited a few million dollars from her father, she wouldn’t have needed to work as a bartender — is that your point? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/236 "2018-11-28T16:53:34Z")
She founded a publishing firm? Was she on full scholarship or something, btw? Tuition at Boston University is like $60-70k. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/237 "2018-11-28T16:54:41Z")
> [@bump](#): > > she doesn’t have the experience for anything but entry level jobs in the working world [She graduated cum laude from Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez) While one could argue that a college degree is not ‘experience’, it would certainly be considered as a qualification for a position that is not entry-level, yes? ETA: Ninja’ed by **septimus**! ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/238 "2018-11-28T16:59:51Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > She founded a publishing firm? > > Was she on full scholarship or something, btw? Tuition at Boston University is like $60-70k. From Wiki: “With financial backing from Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator, she established a publishing firm, Brook Avenue Press, which specializes in children’s literature that portrays the Bronx in a positive light.” Also apparently she has an asteroid named after her from a high school science competition. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/239 "2018-11-28T17:06:16Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Also apparently she has an asteroid named after her from a high school science competition. Oh, and to answer your earlier question: in the science competition in which she got an asteroid named after her, she was also awarded a scholarship to BU from Intel. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/240 "2018-11-28T17:24:00Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > I didn’t mention AOC at all in my response to bump. And he didn’t mention Trump. Also, in case you didn’t notice, you’re hardly the only one who’s introduced Trump as a defense of AOC in this thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906.md?page=13)