Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is determined to help find average, everyday progressives who can make a difference in college. The Justice Democrats, an organization who encouraged Ocasio-Cortez to run, just released a new video featuring the Democratic Socialist and why average people, like her, should run for public office.
And her biggest piece of advice is to be fearless:
"There's a lot of people in the Democratic Caucus. When we are courageous enough to just puncture the silence on an issue, they will start to move. Don't people realize that the most powerful position you can be in when you are not materially attached to a position of power? If you're a one-term Congress member, so what? You can make 10 years worth of change in one term if you're not afraid," the Congresswoman said. "You can run for yourself or you can run as a service to others. By the end of your campaign, no matter what, if you're focused on the right things and running as a service, your community will be more organized, educated and engaged."
According to Ocasio-Cortez, running for public office is a sacrifice but it's one that is extremely important, especially with the Trump administration.
"It is a huge sacrifice but that is what this parallelist time in our democracy demands of us. With this administration, with the role of money in politics, with how our policy is being hijacked by the industries that profit from the despair of working people, it's all hands on deck for our democracy right now. This country has only ever changed for the better by groups of people that were willing to put everything on the line for a better future," Ocasio-Cortez explained. "That's how we got the Civil Rights movement, the women's rights movement, that's how we got the labor movement, queer rights and marriage equality. It didn't happen by people playing it safe. It happened by people putting their whole lives on the line because they understand that this isn't just about us. This is about the generations to come. We have to give it all we got."
Conservatives need to take note of what progressives, like AOC, are doing. You know why? Because they're gaining popularity. Democrats are far better at digital than the GOP. Democrats are way better at organizing and professionalizing grassroots movements. And the number one thing they succeed in? Registering and motivating young voters.
Republicans need to take mental note of everything Ocasio-Cortez's campaign was great at. She knew how to make her constituents feel like they were the most important thing to her. She has the charisma people like. And she's not afraid to speak her mind. It's what has made her a rising star in the Democratic Party.
We need to realize that more pragmatic, progressive, tech savvy millennials are on the horizon and the same old campaign strategies won't work.
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