It is true that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC, as she is so often called) resembles Trump in certain ways:
- She is a newcomer who doesn't understand how government and policy work
- As a result, she doesn't understand how complex politics and policy are and offers oversimplified politiphobic suggestions
- She is a publicity hound
- She understands social media and knows how to drive debate and dominate on Twitter
- She really triggers opponents
- The base loves her for it
However, she differs from Trump in other ways:
- She is 28 and he is in his 70's
- She actually cares about policy and its real-world consequences
- She appears appears willing and able to learn
- She (presumably) has normal impulse control and attention span
- She is capable of being a team player
- She understands the concepts of rule of law and public good
- She doesn't have his massive potential for conflict of interest
- Etc.
In short, AOC has media and publicity skills that are useful in politics today. They will doubtless be useful and maybe even necessary in a future President. But being good on Twitter, even if necessary in a present-day President, is emphatically not sufficient. AOC and her supporters may dismiss criticism of her unwillingness to respect Washington custom as hidebound relics and obstacles to progress. And doubtless Washington has some customs and traditions that are obsolete and we could do without. But the fact remains that policy making is hard, that it means complex tradeoffs, winning over multiple stake holders and competing interests, and distasteful compromises.
AOC is currently useful as a backbencher who can stir up trouble, change the terms of the debate, and fight Republicans in general and Trump in particular on their own turf. But until she has experience in the painful realities of policy making and learns to navigate them, she is not ready to be entrusted with real power.
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