Democrats: We won't go back. Also Democrats: Forget AOC, let's go back immediately. | Opinion
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi actively working against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is peak old guard keeping the Democratic Party down.
It seems that Vice President Kamala Harris’ “We Will Not Go Back” was just another political slogan. Within their own party, Democrats seem pretty committed to doing exactly what they’ve always done – even though it just cost them an election.
On Tuesday, centrist Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia defeated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York for the ranking member position on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in a closed caucus meeting. It’s a disappointing choice that shows Democrats are more committed to maintaining the status quo than they are to moving the party forward.
This could have been the chance for the party to promote someone new, someone bold, someone who has the perfect platform to be a messenger for the party's future. Instead, it will be the same old playbook: the past.
AOC snub just another example of Democrats staying stuck
Connolly’s win has been framed as though he deserved it. He waited his turn for 15 years on the committee, has run for ranking member twice and now, at 74 years old, he’s ready to lead.
Despite this framing, it wasn't always a guaranteed win. Politico reported earlier this month that the majority of Democrats on the Oversight panel supported Ocasio-Cortez, 35.
Connolly, on the other hand, received the support of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who reportedly made calls on his behalf to party members.
I’m sure Connolly will be fine; I just don’t think it’s an inspired choice, nor does it help define the party's future.
By rejecting Ocasio-Cortez for the top spot on the Oversight Committee, Democrats are signaling that they will continue hiding behind centrist values instead of passing the baton to younger, more progressive party leaders.
Remember when they hid behind President Joe Biden to start the presidential campaign and then tried to flip to focus on the party's future just a little more than 100 days before the election?
How did that work out?
Democrats seem committed to rejecting progressives
Given the way some Democrats have thrown progressives under the bus post-election, it’s not entirely surprising that Ocasio-Cortez lost her bid to lead the committee. Several Democratic politicians prefer blaming progressive values instead of reckoning with the party’s failure to win over voters and the failure to win the message on the economy.
“The Democrats have to stop pandering to the far left,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., told The New York Times after Harris’ loss. “I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports.”
I don’t know what presidential campaign Suozzi witnessed, but I saw no pandering.
Harris ran a fairly conservative campaign. She rarely spoke about trans issues, save for the moment Fox News host Bret Baier asked her about them in an interview. She refused to criticize Biden, a deeply unpopular president, and did not stray too far from his positions.
That isn't pandering to the far left. That's business as usual.
Will Democrats be ready when Trump fails?
Ocasio-Cortez took to Bluesky on Monday to express her desire to keep fighting despite the loss.
“WE ARE STILL IN THIS,” she wrote. “Wipe your tears. This is the difficult business of hope and defying expectation. We do not give up.”
I appreciate the sentiment and agree it isn't the time to admit defeat. However, her loss is still disappointing.
We are heading into a second Trump presidency – now is not the time for the Democratic Party to shy away from progressive values or its progressive members. In fact, they should be elevating Ocasio-Cortez, the remaining members of "the Squad," and other younger members of Congress who are willing to take the party in a bold new direction.
When Trump and the Republicans fail at delivering all of their promises that were founded on lies, Democrats need to be ready with a fresh alternative. They can't, instead, be a different side to the same old coin. Did Republicans change when Trump lost in 2020, or did they go full MAGA?
You’d think the Democratic Party would realize that Ocasio-Cortez is a perfect messenger for the values that will win back working-class voters and young people after Trump fails them in favor of billionaires. She has a platform that the party is underutilizing. Instead, they choose to do things as they’ve always been.
We will not go back? Looks like we won’t go forward, either.
Follow Paste BN elections columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno