LOS ANGELES.–Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 83 and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) AKA AOC, 35, draw big crowds on their revenge tour, spewing the same leftist talking points, sounding more like Bolsheviks than American politicians. But as much as some angry Democrats like listening to their rants about “oligarchy,” the vast majority of the party are worried that they’re pushing the party so far to the left that they’ll scare off voters in the 2026 Midterm election. Bernie and AOC now represent the angry, corrupt media that pushed for Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s election only to find out on Election Day they handed 78-year-old President Donald Trump as stunning victory. Independent voters, about 35% of the electorate, flocked to Trump realizing that Kamala had gone so far to the left she no longer represented mainstream Democrats. Now Bernie and AOC take over where Kamala left off.
Bernie and AOC give a message as old as the hills or at least dating back to the 1917 Russia Bolshevik Revolution, more a workers’ movement based on the Russian Romanov monarchy at the time, leading to communism. All the ranting about “oligarchs” and workers’ rights mirrors the Bolsheviks that resulted eventually in fascism sweeping across Europe, eventually leading to Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. “Some of the most effective, strategic and response leadership happened in this moment is coming from Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and she’d doing it better than many Democrats that we see nationally,” said Abbas Alawieh, a Michigan Muslim who once served as Chief of Staff for Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mich.). Alawieh, with other Michigan politicians, helped turned the Muslim vote against Kamala in the 2024 election. Alawieh backs the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel vote.
When it comes to progressive politics, Alawieh is much closer to the epicenter of progressive Democrats politics than Bernie, who’s stuck in a time warp, focusing his message on workers’ rights. AOC, without emphasizing it too much, minimizes her pro-Palestine, anti-Israel position while campaigning with Bernie, who happens to be a Brooklyn-born Jew. “She is reminding the party what real leadership that is responsive to the energy of movements actually look like,” Alawieh. When Alaweih talks of movements, he’s not talking about climate change, he’s referring to the pro-Palestine, anti-Israel movement among the Michigan Muslim community that sunk Kamala’s campaign, a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election. Whoever attends Bernie and AOC’s rallies, they’re not going to help Democrats win back a House majority in 2006.
Bernie and AOC railed against 74-year-old Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who helped 53-year-old Mike Johnson (R-La.) get the Democrat votes March 14 in the Senate needed to pass the continuing budget resolution. So, instead of turning their ire on Trump, they now blame Schumer for not shutting down the government to fight with the White House. A recent CNN poll shows AOC with 52% of Democrats aligning with her progressive views especially on climate change and role the government plays in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. Bernie and AOC think the Democrat Party was ready to fight with Trump over the continuing budget resolution, something Schumer prevented. So instead of talking about how they disagree with Trump’s polices, they’ve focused on how Schumer betrayed the Democrat Party.
Democrats have no clarity over future party leadership with the CNN poll showing that 10% supported AOC, nine percent former VP Kamala Harris and six percent House Minority Speaker Hakim Jeffries (D-N.Y.). “The clarity of her messaging precisely because she’s willing to name who it is that’s hurting people and who’s helping them is really resonating with people who want leaders who are fight for them, who are not telling them there’s nothing we can do but who are naming the culprits and what they’re doing to go against them,” Alawieh said. Alawieh worked feverishly in the 2024 campaign to turn Muslim Democrats in Michigan against Kamala for her views on backing Israel. When it comes to other causes, progressive have turned their ire on Trump for his trade wars, government cutbacks and opposition to civil, gender and women’s reproductive rights.
Bernie and AOC gets the backing of the fake news that’s trying desperately to make a comeback after putting all their eggs into the Kamala campaign. Listening to Bernie and AOC rail against Trump reminds voters why Trump got elected with a 2.5 million popular vote margin, winning all seven battleground states. Democrats are trying to figure out what issue resonates with voters the most to help salvage the House Democrat majority in 2026. But the more the party lets pro-Palestine, anti-Israel strategists like Alawieh set the progressive agenda, the more House seats Democrats can expect to lose in 2026. Bernie and AOC make an odd couple on the campaign stump, creating circus like atmosphere. But if you ask independent voters that win elections, they’re not too impressed with what they see. Bernie and AOC could get tired quickly with the same old message.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
