Dem
49
GOP
51
With Robert Kennedy Jr. on the ballot in a number of swing states, some Republican voters may be siphoned off from Donald Trump. What about the other side? In 2016, perennial Green Party candidate Jill Stein got enough votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania to cost Hillary Clinton the election. She is on the ballot again this year. Will she do it again? Democrats are worried.
One Democrat is trying to do something to take Stein down a peg or two: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). AOC has tons of credibility with the kinds of voters who might pull the lever for Stein. If she were to diss Stein, that might actually cause some of Stein's voters to refrain from voting for her. So that is exactly what AOC did. She called Stein "predatory" and "not authentic." Watch:
Unlike Kennedy, Stein is trying to get on the ballot everywhere, not off the ballot. She used to be a professor of medicine at Harvard, so she is probably not stupid. She understands that she is running as a spoiler and could tip the election to Donald Trump, whom she despises. So why is she running again and again and again? As a former college teacher, she wants to teach the Democrats a lesson. The lesson: If they don't support everything she wants, she has the power to make them lose. A true educator! They better learn this quickly and do her bidding or she will sink them (again, like in 2016).
This is why it is important that AOC is attacking her. For many of Stein's supporters, AOC is probably their favorite Democrat. If she calls Stein "predatory," it could well cut into Stein's vote and thus her power. This also shows that AOC is a very smart politician. Her move will surely be noticed by the Democratic leadership, just as her speech at the DNC was. She understands that to move up in the Party, you need to be a team player. By dissing Stein, AOC is demonstrating her support for the team when it is needed. It will be noticed and not forgotten.
She is clearly destined to be more than just another backbencher. She just needs some more experience, although if the Democrats capture the House, she could be made the chair of some subcommittee. She is currently on the House Oversight Committee and the House Committee on Natural Resources. If the Democrats regain the majority, she could well become chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. From that post, she could introduce and push legislation to implement the Green New Deal that she favors. After only two terms in the House, she clearly already understands how the game is played. This is something soon-to-be-former Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO) never got. (V)