She called for Eric Adams to stand down — but she doesn’t want his job. Meanwhile, seasoned New York politicians fear a primary challenge from her. That’s exactly why she isn’t launching one
I also assume that's why she's pretending to play ball with Harris. If she continued being an actual progressive the Democrats would never let her get nominated.
Yup, they were treating her as the reincarnation of Che Guevara since year one. They've been rigging the game specifically against her since before she even got a seat at the table.
Likely not. She'd have been of age by the time she took office. It's very slightly nebulous, but it's more in line with precedent that she is already eligible. For further details, see Joe Biden's initial term in Congress. He was 29 when he campaigned and was elected in the November 7th, 1972 election. He turned 30 on November 20th, making him of age when he took office in January of 1973.
AOC will turn 35 before the election even takes place, which suggests that she has even more of a claim to eligibility than Biden would have in '72. It's all moot now, as the DNC (probably wisely, from the look of things now) chose to make the easier transition to the sitting VP as their candidate. There were several advantages to this strategy, but that's a different discussion.
She's obviously Bernie's heir apparent and will replace him as The Left Wing Democrat to come in 2nd in the primaries now that he's too old and she's old enough.
On a more optimistic note, a true heir to Bernie will know how to negotiate with the center left to accomplish some of their goals in exchange for the support of progressives to win elections.
It's too soon. She's young; we want her to help the progressive cause for years and decades to come. If she were to become president in 2028, she would be retiring after she served, like every other president does, and we would lose her voice.
she would be retiring after she served, like every other president does, and we would lose her voice.
That's not a rule, you know. John Quincy Adams served in the House after being President, Andrew Johnson became a Senator, and Taft got appointed to the SCOTUS.
Let's imagine a best case scenario for Democrats. Let's imagine Trump is defeated in a landslide in November. And instead of reforming their ways, the national Republican party instead takes the path of the Republican party in states like California - continuing to double-down on losing policies. In other words, barring election losses, here is a path I could see for Democratic candidates:
2024: Harris/Walz
2028: Harris/Walz
2032: Walz/AOC
2036: Walz/AOC
2040: AOC/?
Walz is currently 60. If he won in 2032 and 2036, he would be 76 when his second term ended in 2040. That's a perfectly viable age to be president. And a seasoned Walz would balance nicely with a younger AOC. Meanwhile, AOC will be 50 in 2040, still quite young by presidential standards. And by then, she would have 8 years as VP to shake off the sense that she is too young and inexperienced.
This assumes Dems manage to win in 2024, 2028, 2032, and 2036. And that would be quite unusual by historical standards. However, considering the Republicans' unprecedented efforts to destroy democracy, it's not impossible. As long as they continue to champion destroying democracy, sane people, regardless of political beliefs, will recognize that they simply cannot be allowed into power until they reform their ways.
However, If there is a loss prior to 2040, I would just move AOC to the forefront. Does Harris/Walz win in 2024 and then lose in 2028? Assuming we still have real elections at that point, I would put AOC at the top of the ticket in 2032.
To quote a mayor of NYC: "I have my own army in the NYPD, which is the seventh biggest army in the world. I have my own State Department, much to Foggy Bottom's annoyance. We have the United Nations in New York, and so we have an entree into the diplomatic world that Washington does not have."
Mayor is generally a demotion. Mayor of NYC is like being an authoritarian over a small but major nation with large, critical economy and the 7th largest army in the world. So arguably that would actually be a large step up for AOC, if we're just talking about pure power and authority.
NYC is 7.4% of the US economy. I'm saying that to agree with you, that's bigger than Florida, bigger than every state other than CA, TX, and (obviously) NY.
If she wanted to be President, mayor of NYC isn't a path that's out of the question. It's one of the only places where the office of the mayor gets a lot of national attention. It can be more prestigious in practice than NY governor.
That said, former NYC mayors haven't exactly done well in runs for the President, either. Rudy ran in the Republican primary in 2008, and his performance was summed up as "noun verb 9/11". Bloomberg tried in the Democratic primary in 2020, but nobody wanted to vote for a stodgy billionaire. I conclude that this would not be a good fit for her if she wanted to be President. This conclusion comes to you from two datapoints, which is the typical level of data to produce strong conclusions in the media.
Mayor of New York seems like a pit trap. I admire the city from afar but any meaningful way of making it better will be met with red tape, corruption, and mob like fuckery.
Outside of Trump, Presidents typically win a state office before going on to President. While AOC could go for governor, I don't see her really going for that role.