"A bartender is a Congresswoman!"

By Scott Tibbs, March 27, 2019

We need to be careful in our criticisms of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because we risk alienating the very Trump voters who gave Republicans the White House.

"Oh, a bartender is a Congresswoman! Ha ha ha!"

No. Just no. I do not care that she used to be a bartender and had little political experience. I care about her policy proposals, and her understanding of the issues. That is what we should focus on, not her past blue-collar employment. That makes us look petty and childish.

Fifteen years ago, I was thrilled to have truck driver elected to Congress. He still had his CDL when he was elected. He was also extremely well-read, had a firm grasp of the issues and could explain his policy positions very well. That truck driver was also a small-government, pro-life constitutional conservative. He voted consistently conservative every time. He was a man of deep personal integrity and commitment to his family and friends. I wish he was still in Congress.

One of the reasons Donald Trump won is because of the coastal elites' disdain for blue-collar whites in "flyover country." Those blue-collar whites felt left behind in a changing America, especially economically. They felt abandoned and saw Trump as someone who cared about them. (Before you start, It does not matter whether that is justified or not. That is the political reality.)

When those same people see conservatives mocking AOC, do they have the same annoyance they had for the coastal elites in 2016? This is a very dangerous game, politically speaking. There are lots of reasons to criticize AOC. The fact that she was a bartender as recently as last year is not one of them.



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