'Debate me, AOC!' is becoming the catcall of the 2020 elections

What the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Junior Debate League doesn’t appreciate is that AOC and the new left aren’t looking for permission to engage. That includes you, John Hickenlooper and John Delaney

She doesn't need your 'expertise', and she doesn't need your permission (Getty Images)

If establishment Democrats need any more evidence New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is connecting with voters outside the Bronx, last week’s raucous California Democratic Party Convention provided an object lesson.

Fourteen Democratic presidential hopefuls descended on the Golden State to make their pitch for a share of its 495 primary delegates, yet no figure loomed larger than one who wasn’t even there: Ocasio-Cortez. It made little difference.

In her absence, 2020 contenders grappled with the ambitious policy agenda so closely connected to Ocasio-Cortez’s meteoric political ascent: Medicare for All, LGBTI protections, racial and economic representation, and, most famously, the Green New Deal.

California Democrats are, it’s safe to say, a liberal bunch. Few were surprised when Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Maryland Rep. John Delaney caught sustained cascades of jeers for claiming the Democratic Party was marching toward “socialism.” Delaney slammed Medicare for All directly, calling it “not good policy nor…good politics.”

Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Delaney, firing off a single tweet that in one day amassed more social shares than all of Delaney’s Twitter content for the entire month of May:

Delaney, like a growing list of marginally relevant political and media figures before him, responded the only way he could: he challenged Ocasio-Cortez to a televised debate.

The “Debate me, AOC!” sub-genre of social media grift is by now well-worn and beyond parody. It began a year ago, with right-wing goon and Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro offering $10,000 to debate Ocasio-Cortez one-on-one. Ocasio-Cortez, at this point a member of Congress and obviously a little busier than Shapiro, declined.

Then things got out of control. Over three weeks in August 2018, Shapiro repeatedly took to cable news outlets to whine about Ocasio-Cortez’s unwillingness to engage in bad-faith debate. As Shapiro fumed, a slew of fellow hucksters piled on, challenging Ocasio-Cortez to debate with varying levels of seriousness.

Town hall editor Katie Pavlich, conservative podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey, one-time Turning Point USA flack Candace Owens, Turning Point USA head Charlie Kirk, and (really) former Pussycat Dolls performer Kaya Jones all bombarded Ocasio-Cortez with debate challenges.

John Delaney, welcome to an unenviable group.

Part of the appeal in swinging at Ocasio-Cortez is her undeniable media and political megaphone. Whether Democrats in Congress are ready to admit it or not, the path to climate change legislation, Medicare for All, renewable energy policy, and criminal justice reform runs directly through the Office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Ocasio-Cortez became the policy center of the Democratic Party through made-for-television congressional hearings amplified by an army of faithful supporters. One viewing of her April 2019 grilling of Wall Street executives makes it clear why those supporters are so unshakeable. Unlike generations of elected officials, Ocasio-Cortez is boldly saying what her generation thinks.

What’s more, Ocasio-Cortez is building alliances across the partisan divide. Last week, hardline Republican Sen. Ted Cruz offered to join her in ending the practice of former government officials lobbying their old bosses. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a leading Donald Trump booster in Congress, praised Ocasio-Cortez for her ability to focus Democrats on their core issues.

Delaney (and Shapiro) framed their debate requests as a way to hash out the details of Ocasio-Cortez’s policies. Unspoken is the assumption that Ocasio-Cortez, a member of Congress with a research staff and access to the full resources of the legislative branch, needs their help.

Ocasio-Cortez has proven open to criticism and feedback, and conducts a lively dialogue on Twitter in near real-time. That isn’t what these aspiring Ocasio-Cortez slayers want. They want – expect – additional access, additional input, additional control over policy even after voters soundly rejected their reactionary politics. No, thank you.

What the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Junior Debate League doesn’t appreciate is that Ocasio-Cortez and the new left aren’t looking for permission to engage in bold thinking about our environment and our future. That permission came on 6 November 2018, when American voters sent to Washington the most progressive and diverse Congress in our nation’s history.

The only people uninterested in debating Ocasio-Cortez are her colleagues. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to stonewall plans for Green New Deal hearings in her chamber. With polls showing a growing share of Republican voters support the Green New Deal, it’s time we challenged Ocasio-Cortez to debate in the one venue where change can happen: a congressional hearing.

Update (26.09.2019): This article previously referred to Candace Owens as a ‘Hitler apologist’. Owens says she has never offered any apology for the actions of Hitler, but has argued that he was not a nationalist. She has publicly stated her view that he was “a homicidal, psychopathic, maniac”. We are happy to make the position clear.