# 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:** 17
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/321 "2018-11-30T00:37:37Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > FWIW they also use [browser fingerprinting](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/06/gdpr-and-browser-fingerprinting-how-it-changes-game-sneakiest-web-trackers) which is very hard for users to block. Missed edit: Not “hard” to block since I showed a simple addin could do it (supposedly) but rather incognito does not protect you from it. ---
**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 30, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/322 "2018-11-30T00:43:22Z")
The yahoo front page bore zero resemblance to my browser history. Just saying. Btw, since Snowboarder brought up that post earlier, I decided to look into AOC’s publishing firm. It would probably be better to drop that from her list of accomplishments. ---
**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 30, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/323 "2018-11-30T00:52:29Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I decided to look into AOC’s publishing firm. It would probably be better to drop that from her list of accomplishments. Care to share with the group? I found precious little about that business venture. ---
**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 30, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/324 "2018-11-30T02:01:00Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Care to share with the group? I found precious little about that business venture. Exactly. As far as I can tell it didn’t publish anything and was dropped within a year. I don’t want to mock, as it sounds like a nice little social project to develop children’s books that are in urban settings but it sure seems like a bad business idea. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/325 "2018-11-30T02:24:12Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Exactly. As far as I can tell it didn’t publish anything and was dropped within a year. I don’t want to mock, as it sounds like a nice little social project to develop children’s books that are in urban settings but it sure seems like a bad business idea. It is hard to tell what will be a bad business idea. Stephen Hillenburg (who [passed away a few days ago](https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/spongebob-squarepants-creator-dead-dies-stephen-hillenburg-1203037362/)), creator of “SpongeBob SquarePants”, was a marine biology teacher who thought he could use his artistic skills to educate kids. He designed a comic book called _“The Intertidal Zone”_ to introduce kids to that part of the ocean and one of his characters was Bob the Sponge. I ask you, would you expect that to become a huge success and global phenomenon? Just saying…you never know. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/326 "2018-11-30T02:29:38Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Exactly. As far as I can tell it didn’t publish anything and was dropped within a year. I don’t want to mock, as it sounds like a nice little social project to develop children’s books that are in urban settings but it sure seems like a bad business idea. Do you think it wasn’t successful because the founder was a simple bartender? ---
**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 30, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/327 "2018-11-30T02:52:28Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Do you think it wasn’t successful because the founder was a simple bartender? I think she took up bartending after this. Do you think running a publishing firm requires any knowledge and experience or is it like a Congressman job that anyone can do? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/328 "2018-11-30T02:57:41Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I think she took up bartending after this. Do you think running a publishing firm requires any knowledge and experience or is it like a Congressman job that anyone can do? How many businesses do you think are started in the US every year by people who are new to running a business? What about Apple? Texas Instruments? Microsoft? Amazon? All started by people with not much money, working out of garages. We have a president who has gone bankrupt what…seven times? And his adherents tell us that just shows how amazing he is? Personally I will give credit for trying. Most successful people who built their own empire will tell you they did so by learning from failing. I guess I am saying failing at something, by itself, is indicative of nothing. There is more to it than that and you should admire the gumption it took to try. If you can show she made ridiculous decisions that is different. Got any of 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 30, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/329 "2018-11-30T03:07:15Z")
Starting a highly specialized children’s book publisher in 2011 is itself a rather ridiculous decision. Most people who start businesses have some sort of experience in the industry. What she did seems a lot like those people who open a restaurant but have never flipped a burger or waited a table. Like I said, it seems to me like it was more of a social project than a real business idea. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/330 "2018-11-30T03:26:08Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I think she took up bartending after this. Do you think running a publishing firm requires any knowledge and experience or is it like a Congressman job that anyone can do? I’m pretty sure that a Congresswomen’s job only requires that person to get enough votes to be elected. The fact that “She was only a bartender” can be countered with “She’s a Congresswoman and you are guy on a message board” should tell you everything. ---
**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 30, 2018, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/331 "2018-11-30T04:08:42Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > i’m pretty sure that a Congresswomen’s job only requires that person to get enough votes to be elected. > > The fact that “she was only a bartender” can be countered with “she’s a Congresswoman and you are guy on a message board” should tell you everything. Nice burn! ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/332 "2018-11-30T04:21:11Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Where, in the article you cited, does it say she wants to lead? She wants there to be a small progressive caucus, certainly, and it’s not out of the question she might want to lead it (although Congress doesn’t tend to work that way) but that’s not “what she exactly said”. A fair cop. I read that as implied that she wants to come in and lead the change to create such a bloc, which would wield power to make strong demands, but it is true that she did not _exactly_ say that she wanted to be its leader. The idea of using the power of a small bloc to make demands though … that was more exact. ---
**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 30, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/333 "2018-11-30T05:09:52Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I’m pretty sure that a Congresswomen’s job only requires that person to get enough votes to be elected. No, that’s how you get the job. She was pretty impressive at that. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/334 "2018-11-30T05:38:26Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > A fair cop. I read that as implied that she wants to come in and lead the change to create such a bloc, which would wield power to make strong demands, but it is true that she did not _exactly_ say that she wanted to be its leader. The idea of using the power of a small bloc to make demands though … that was more exact. Based on your comments, it seems like we were listening to different [interviews](https://www.blubrry.com/jacobin/35415005/the-dig-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-on-winning-power/). AOC was asked about the freedom caucas on the right and whether there should be something like that for progressives. She answered that there already was an existing progressive caucas that had something like 70-90 members. But the members of the progressive caucas voted differently on almost all the issues. The success of the freedom caucas is that they vote in tandem. She said that if there were a progressive caucas in the range of 10 or 30 people that voted in tandem on the progressive issues, they’d have more power to make a difference. She didn’t say anything about leading the group. She mentioned that there may not be enough interest, so she’d have to see in January. I didn’t get the sense that she would try to use the smaller group to hold the others “hostage”, but I guess it’s possible. I’m also not seeing the same sense I’m getting from your posts about her that she wants things to be about her and is not willing to play well with others. In the first half of that podcast, she talks about how she spent the first half of her campaign coalition building with her backers like justice democrats, our revolution, DSA, etc. When she was asked by Joe Crowley in a live debate whether she would back him if he won the primary, she said that she’d have to go back to her constituency to ask them before she could answer. She said that she sees herself as a movement candidate and doesn’t see herself as running on her own policies. She added a few issues to the standard progressive issues, but watching an interview of Bernie Sanders in 2015 highlighted all the same issues she campaigned on. That makes sense since our revolution is Bernie Sanders’ group. She spoke about how she keeps in touch via social media with her constituents through both her volunteer squad and her backer groups. She mentioned how it was a tough week after elections because she didn’t have time to check back in with her groups. > [@DSeid](#): > > The question will be answered when items are to be brought forward and possibly voted on. Does she in the future, for example, argue for a sub-caucus to demand, say Medicare for all rather than a phase-in of freedom to opt in from 55 years old plus (that being the more incremental approach that, say, a president Sherrod Brown would push for) with a promise to vote against anything less, dooming the bill? Since the incremental approach is Bernie Sanders’ approach at the moment, I don’t see AOC going against it since she’s backed by our revolution, Bernie Sanders’ group. Then again, I’m wondering if the progressives might not try to speed up the timetable with the focus on healthcare and the majority of the country behind it. Medicare-for-all is polling at somewhere around 60-70% of the country in favor, depending on which poll you look at. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/335 "2018-11-30T08:20:18Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Starting a highly specialized children’s book publisher in 2011 is itself a rather ridiculous decision. Most people who start businesses have some sort of experience in the industry. …I started my highly specialised photography business barely a year after I posted this [thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=517652) where I got the spelling of “Cannon” wrong. The business is still going. > [@](#): > > Like I said, it seems to me like it was more of a social project than a real business idea. And this is a problem because? Social projects aren’t a bad thing. They won’t make you rich. But they can provide valuable experience. ---
**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 30, 2018, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/336 "2018-11-30T09:04:05Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > I tried this too. Here’s my first seven. I checked the first 70 headlines at [news.yahoo.com](http://news.yahoo.com) and the first 25 at [www.yahoo.com](http://www.yahoo.com) (there was modest overlap between the two.) No AOC. Interestingly(?) it was very difficult to copy-paste the headline-links at the News page, but not at Www. > [@CarnalK](#): > > Like I said, it seems to me like it was more of a social project than a real business idea. Correct. She also worked at non-profit organizations, presumably for low pay; and interned under Ted Kennedy during college, probably unpaid altogether. In the olden days, this was called love for public service. What’s your point? Instead of Alexandria, we need politicians like Trumpo whose greed motivates them to prove their Americanism by defrauding gullible people as fast as they can? ---
**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 30, 2018, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/337 "2018-11-30T13:38:00Z")
My only point was when you drop the factoid “she founded a publishing firm at age 22” some might jump to the conclusion that it was a real company that published something. Anyways, I’m sure at a minimum she’ll be a decent Congresswoman. We’ll have to see how well she runs her office and builds relationships before we know she is a rising star. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/338 "2018-11-30T16:57:43Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I checked the first 70 headlines at [news.yahoo.com](http://news.yahoo.com) and the first 25 at [www.yahoo.com](http://www.yahoo.com) (there was modest overlap between the two.) No AOC. Interestingly(?) it was very difficult to copy-paste the headline-links at the News page, but not at Www. > > Correct. She also worked at non-profit organizations, presumably for low pay; and interned under Ted Kennedy during college, probably unpaid altogether. In the olden days, this was called love for public service. > > What’s your point? Instead of Alexandria, we need politicians like Trumpo whose greed motivates them to prove their Americanism by defrauding gullible people as fast as they can? I think the point is that as admirable as that stuff is, it’s still a pretty sparse resume for being a Representative. And my beef isn’t with her per-se, although I disagree with a lot of her policies, it’s more with the voters in her district for electing her, despite her drastic lack of experience or qualification (relative to the vast majority of other Representatives), and the news media for trumpeting her like she’s actually anything significant. I kind of think she’s kind of a Democrat counterpart to Trump, in that both are clear indications that the electorate, Democrat and Republican want change, and are willing to vote in inexperienced and outspoken people who aren’t part of the system, but who seem to embody what they value (Trump - rich, white, racist, obnoxious, AOC- female, ethnic, socialist, young, radical, not quite obnoxious). She’s a symptom of something bigger going on, and it worries me that she’s being held up as more than she probably is. ---
**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 30, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/339 "2018-11-30T17:18:19Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > My only point was when you drop the factoid “she founded a publishing firm at age 22” some might jump to the conclusion that it was a real company that published something. :rolleyes: Wow, that sounds almost exactly like what you wrote when you decided that bartending wasn’t a “real” job. Nearly every post you’ve written in this thread is either dismissive or simply denigrative of Miss O-C. ---
**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 30, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906/340 "2018-11-30T17:19:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > She’s a symptom of something bigger going on, **and it worries me that she’s being held up as more than she probably is**. (bolding mine) Only by the GOP and it’s ilk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-conservative-media-obsessed-with-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/824906.md?page=18)