For some time the "progressive" wing of the Democratic has made the running on policy, leading to serious consideration of lunatic propositions like "defund the police", a notion so preposterous that major figures now feel they must distance themselves from it. Yet in this interview AOC bats on with it.
She calls on Biden to make more use of executive action to bypass opposition from the likes of Senators Manchin and Sinema. Her top priorities, among the plethora of issues now facing the nation? Cancellation of all student debt.
Then there are the real profundities, like "If Republicans are mad they can’t date me they can just say that instead of projecting their frustrations onto my boyfriend’s feet. Ya creepy weirdos", or this "Honestly, it is a shit show. It’s scandalizing, every single day. What is surprising to me is how it never stops being scandalizing." Amazing she was so keen to be part of this shit-show.
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Is it that the representatives don’t have the stones, or do you want a different public opinion, as it were? In other words, for example, take “defund the police” as a policy demand. Certainly, in New York City, no one is talking about that now. As a matter of protest? Yes. As activism? Yes. But we have a new mayor, Eric Adams, who is anything but “defund the police.” Who are you disappointed in?
I still am disappointed in leadership and in my colleagues, because, ultimately, these conversations about “defund,” or this, that, and the other, are what is happening in public and popular conversations. Our job is to be able to engage in that conversation, to read what is happening, and to be able to develop a vision and translate it into a course of action. All too often, I believe that a lot of our decisions are reactive to public discourse instead of responsive to public discourse. And so, just because there was this large conversation about “defund the police” coming from the streets, the response was to immediately respond to it with fear, with pooh-poohing, with “this isn’t us,” with arm’s distance. So, then, what is the vision? That’s where I think the Party struggles.
Aren’t you seeing the response in City Hall now in the shape of Eric Adams?
Well, I think you also see it in the shape of the City Council that was elected. You have a record number of progressives. People often bring up the Mayor as evidence of some sort of decision around policing. I disagree with that assessment. I represent a community that is very victimized by a rise in violence. (And I represent Rikers Island!) What oftentimes people overlook is that the same communities that supported Mayor Adams also elected Tiffany Cabán. What the public wants is a strong sense of direction. I don’t think that in electing Mayor Adams everyone in the city supports bringing back torture to Rikers Island in the form of solitary confinement. What people want is a strong vision about how we establish public safety in our communities.