So, 2028 is a while away, but some people are already asking about it. I kind of feel a bit of dread over it, given how frustrated I am with the democratic party and how the establishment is probably gonna push another centrist on us no one actually wants. I also don't know if there is an actual left progressive type I actually want. But then someone asked about AOC and I want to analyze that subject.
For the most part, the question was received negatively with a lot of people calling her a sell out due to not being progressive enough in congress, but I think she's tried the best she can, she can only do so much as one woman in congress. And even with the rest of the squad, she can only do so much. Still, I do want to analyze her stated positions and try to develop a profile on her to consider her as a possibility. It's possible by 2028 my metric will change. I have been considering reweighing certain metrics, possibly removing the democratic party 10 point advantages, etc. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Still, based on my existing 2024 metric how does she do?
Most political positions drawn from here.
Basic income- 3/10
While she has supported some bills like trials and the like, and presumably supports the child tax credit, she does not seem to be an overt UBI supporter. She did support it during the pandemic, but that was different, we were in a situation where we overtly had to cut down on how much we worked. She doesn't seem as on board with the idea in normal times.
Medicare for all- 10/10
She is 100% a supporter of medicare for all.
Economic policy- 10/10
She's a full on progressive. She basically supports higher minimum wage, free college, student debt forgiveness, a green new deal, and even mild forms of economic socialism im sympathetic with such as worker coops. She's a little bit to my left and in the green new dealer camp. While this isn't my thing, I don't generally take points off for being too progressive, she loses enough for not allocating resources to UBI above instead. Her support for GND might also come back to bite her later when I discuss her policy expertise and how pragmatic her proposals are later.
Social policy- 8/10
Eh, she gets a bit too progressive on some issues like immigration or defund the police for me. I am a little more moderate on these issues. Still not a huge deal, but yeah, I am taking a couple points off. Still, she's right about far more than she's wrong about in my opinion.
Foreign policy- 8/10
Eh, most positions stated seem to be the progressive positions on issues that I can kinda support progressivism on, but dont care about either way. Get out of syria, more humanitarianism on israel, etc. Nothing in her profile indicates she's TOO far left, but she's probably more progressive than I am. It's a respectable position for congress, but I'm not sure if she should be the one to be commander in chief. Nothing she really says crosses any lines i would disagree with though, so I'll still give her a good score. She can come under more scrutiny if she runs.
Ideology/worldview- 16/20
She's basically a full on leftist and democratic socialist. Nothing she proposes crosses any red lines I have of being "too far left" (i've been open minded to mild forms of those ideas in the past and still ain't opposed to them, i just dont emphasize them). Still, she is fixated on the green new deal, and the whole jobs program thing, and that is a major divergence. She's also a bit too my left overall on foreign policy and social issues, but again, nothing that strikes me as a particular deal breaker.
If we have any decent successor to Bernie, she's it.
Commitment to progressive causes- 9/10
Unpopular opinion, but I think she's still as progressive as she's ever been, she's just one woman in congress who can't change things on her own. But she's tried the best with the hand she was dealt and I still believe she has the capability to push for progressive policy. She's just trying to be effective in an institution hostile to her, you know? Only reason i took a point off is she's not dedicated to UBI.
Experience/competence- 6/10
This is arguably her weakest aspect. Her version of the green new deal she proposed was cringe. It cost an insane amount of money, and it would be a poor waste of resources IMO. Biden had it right with build back better. To be fair I'm biased as a UBI guy, but yeah. And then she has ideas like defunding the police, and abolishing ICE, and I'm just not sure on her foreign policy.
I cant score her too low since at least she knows how to write bills and attempt to fund things, but I do think she's not the most polished person in the world. She's good enough, but I don't see her as the epitome of experience and competence. She's just..."okay."
Running as a democrat- 10/10
Well yeah we're talking the democratic primary here.
Overall- 80/100
Overall, she gets a phenomenal score. An 80 is about as high as I can expect from anyone. I think the highest anyone got was an 86 and I was more lenient on Bernie at the time. She basically is like a slightly less polished Bernie. Still, at least she aint just some activist off the streets, who are most of the candidates who run like this. She's actually a pretty solid congresswoman. I admit, she's a bit to my left at times, she's not a UBI supporter, but again almost no one is and those who are are often deficient in other areas. What's important here is in the areas where she is to my left, she doesn't really cross any blunt red lines where I'm like, yeah, I have to take off more than a point or two for this. It's an ideological disagreement on the basis of me being slightly more moderate, nothing more.
All in all, she would probably get my endorsement. I know the political field, and I know that an 80 is an incredibly high score to get from me. Most top tier candidates in any election cycle post bernie get in the 70s. Biden is in the 60s. Stein is in the 50s. So 80 is REALLY good. I REALLY like her, and while I wish she was a UBI girl instead of a green new dealer, that's just the zeitgeist of the left. They think the answer to problems is more jobs, even though it never is. But still, that's not an uncommon position. my position is the uncommon one and this is unfortunately a compromise im gonna have to make unless we get a pro UBI candidate again.
Also, if Yang ran again? I doubt he would get an 80. He got in the 70s in 2020, and more recently he's tracked with about a 73. By the way, Bernie got an 83, so yeah, AOC is tracking with Bernie fairly closely. That's why I ended up going with Bernie in 2020. In some ways he was just a stronger candidate at the time. Having political experience and being ideologically consistent get you a lot in my book. yang has the policies and the ideas at times, but the dude is inexperienced and doesn't stick by him. it would be interesting to see a Yang vs AOC matchup, but I might end up going AOC. It depends on Yang's actual platform though and whether the dude follows through though.
Still, I kind of expect AOC to be the best we can hope for and consider her a solid choice. Her only major flaw is not being pro UBI, with minor flaws include her being slightly too far left for me (but not too far where I wouldnt consider voting for her), and some questions about how practical some of her policy positions are. Still, nothing is really a dealbreaker here, and they're minor critiques at best. I actually could see her as president some day, and maybe she is that Bernie successor we're all hoping for.
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