Hill.TV host Krystal Ball praised Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) first year in Congress, saying the progressive lawmaker has distinguished herself in the Democratic Party.
Ball said Ocasio-Cortez, who is often referred to as AOC, has honed a kind of political acumen that puts her above many other Democratic lawmakers.
“AOC’s understanding of the long-game, of how pushing previously radical ideas into the conversation, can dramatically shift what’s possible,” Ball said Tuesday. “That understanding has handed her power and influence that exceeds nearly anyone, to include the Speaker of the House.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning 2018 primary upset over then-House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley marked one of the biggest political upsets of the decade.
Since then, the House freshman has emerged as a rising star in the party, and is part of a group of prominent progressive lawmakers known as “the squad.” That group includes Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.).
Members of the “the squad” have often clashed with more moderate Democratic leaders and other long-time Democrats.
Ocasio-Cortez recently told New York Magazine that she and former Vice President Joe Biden would not be members of the same political party if they were in any other country.
“In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are,” Ocasio-Cortez told the publication in a profile piece published Monday.
Biden, meanwhile, has said Ocasio-Cortez is not an accurate measure of the direction of the Democratic Party.
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