Ocasio-Cortez - Essay Sample

Introduction

The United States Congress is a significant breeding ground for some of America's most powerful politicians and businesspersons. Business leaders and political aspirations have always been the envy of many, but few have managed to get into the coveted House of Representatives. One such leader is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She is the Representative from New York's 14th Congressional District (Porter and Sarah 48). Ocasio-Cortez is an American Democrat born in 1989, and aside from being relatively young, has managed many achievements. In 2018, she was a surprise winner in the Democratic Nominations for the 14th District of New York, beating long-term incumbent and the then Democrat Party caucus chair, Joe Crowley. This, notwithstanding that it was her first attempt at the United States Congress elections. Ocasio-Cortez has since continued to raise her profile among Americans and is seen as a vocal politician. Since then, not only has she gained fair political clout in the Democratic Party, she also seeks presidential election in 2022 (Porter and Sarah 24). This essay describes the leadership potential in Ocasio-Cortez and calls on her to run for Congress in 2020.

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Ocasio-Cortez the Leader

Congressional Achievements

Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest politician to have represented the 14th Congressional District in New York. The 14th District consists the Bronx Borough of New York, which rarely presents immigrant candidates in any elections. She is the daughter of immigrant parents and is also a first-time congressperson. Ocasio-Cortez is known for her critical viewpoints on social media and has openly attacked President Trump's policies, offering a different approach to American top leadership. Her approach to leadership has often been termed as neo-socialism (Bettache and ChiYue 17). Her plan, the New Green Deal, which mostly outlines her leadership manifesto, seeks to radically abolish the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She is also popular for her advocacy for Medicare for All and significant government reforms to offer federal jobs for all. In the short period, she has been in Congress, she has managed to form the Democratic Socialists of America, and continues to champion for socialism in the Democratic Party, which is slowly becoming a popular ideology among many Americans.

Presidential Ambitions

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez seeks the Democratic Presidential Nomination in 2020. She is a young politician who already boasts of being the youngest woman to be elected in the United States House of Representatives. Regardless, Ocasio-Cortez is already aiming higher. She seeks to become the youngest President in the United States history, as well as the first woman to hold that office if she wins the 2020 Presidential elections (Russo 30). Only a few months after being sworn into Congress, she announced her intention to run for president. While at first, it seemed like a publicity stunt thanks to the dozens of Democrats running for the seat, she managed to please many thanks to her well laid out manifesto and plan. She has a comprehensive plan to address Capitalism, seeking socialism instead, deal with the environmental pollution using the Green New Deal and even overhaul Trump's Tax Policy. Her manifesto has been deemed to be ambitious at best my many Americans, but she is the darling of many for being ambitious and confident of her presidential intentions.

Views on 2020

Although Ocasio-Cortez is a front-runner in the Democratic Party, she should consider limiting her ambitions for now. Ocasio-Cortez should first secure political leadership in New York and build on such political clout to become the president. If she is to run for any office in 2020, it should be a re-run for her Congressional Seat, which she won less than two years ago. Many American politicians neglect their constituents thanks to ambitious plans once they get a seat in the political domain (Hockett and Rhiana 23). The 14th Congressional District of New York is a historical District in American politics thanks to the organization of the American Revolution in the region. New York is also a significant commercial hub in America that can really propel a politician's image and demonstrate her leadership profile. Ocasio-Cortez has not fully explored the potential that is New York and needs to significantly take advantage of her current seat to prepare herself politically.

Conclusion

Politics is a significantly unpredictable realm of leadership. Past experiences with young presidents such as Barrack Obama and John Kennedy have demonstrated the power of political ambition in the United States. Congress has unfortunately never been the political springboard for presidential candidates. As a woman in America, Ocasio-Cortez may feel ready for a political revolution, but it may include other leaders such as Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren, who are better experienced. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has a budding political career and may even be president one day. She should however not be over-ambitious. A congressional seat in 2020 is good enough for her.

Works Cited

Bettache, Karim, and ChiYue Chiu. "The invisible hand is an ideology: Toward a social psychology of neoliberalism." Journal of Social Issues 1-23, 2019, https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/josi.12308. Accessed April 5, 2019.

Hockett, Robert C., and Rhiana Gunn-Wright. "The Green New Deal." Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper 19-29, 2019, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3342494. Accessed April 5, 2019.

Porter, Rachel A., and Sarah Treul. "The Increasing Value of Inexperience in Congressional Primaries." meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association 1-53, 2019, https://apw.polisci.wisc.edu/APW_Papers/Treul_WI.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2019.

Russo, Thomas N. "New Green Deal's Effects on the US Energy Transition." Natural Gas & Electricity 35.8, 28-32, 2018, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/gas.22112. Accessed April 5, 2019.