The new year starts with a new US House of Representatives—with some progressives

By SJ Otto

It is the new year, Congress begins anew and the US House of Representatives is now run by the Democratic Party. One of my favourite Democrats this year is Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who is not only one of the youngest people to ever serve in the House, she is also a member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). She and Bernie Sanders are among the new progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Until the candidacy  of Bernie Sanders in the last presidential primary and general election, there really was no left-wing or progressive wing of the Democrats. The Democratic Party was solidly centrists. That is now changing and it is no surprise that conservatives are looking for anything they can use to try and stop Cortez and other leftists. One of their first and extremely lame attempts to embarrass her was in posting that old video of her dancing.

How lame can they get?

By now she has laughed that off.

'Congresswomen dance too': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hits back with new video

Another complaint is that she is wearing clothes that seem to be more for that of a wealthy person. This is the time-old-attempt conservatives make against any socialist. They try to insinuate that a socialist should dress and look like they are poor—

destitute if possible. But they should never dress-up and look wealthy. An example of this is from The Atlantic:

"The next day, Eddie Scarry, formerly a blogger for the gossip site FishbowlDCand currently a writer for the conservative Washington Examiner, posted a picture of Ocasio-Cortez, taken from behind, seemingly without her knowledge, as she walked through a hallway wearing a tailored black jacket and carrying a coat. He accompanied it with a note that doubled as a caption: “Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles.” This tweet went viral, too—not because of the insight it offered, but because of the opposite. People mocked it and memed it and objected to it, some indignant at the creep shot Scarry shared, many others referencing the obvious fact that it is possible to advocate for the working class and wear clothing at the same time."

It's about time that the common reader/audience learn what socialist have known all along—we don't need to look poor to advocate for the poor. For one thing, a socialist does not have to wear poor clothing and look poor. It just  doesn't matter. A socialist can be wealthy and still be a socialist. To insist that a socialist should wear poor clothing and be poor is just a myth. It is a myth perpetuated by conservatives. They want people to believe that we socialist should look and dress like the people we advocate for. They wanted people to be outraged when Daniel Ortega, during his first term as president of Nicaragua, in the 1980s, bought a pair of stylish and expensive glasses. The glasses were more than $3,500. If any other world leader had bought those it would not be news. But he was the Marxist president of a poor nation and conservatives pounced on him for buying the glasses.

Such complaints are nothing more than conservative hypocrisy. 

Another target of conservative wrath was the new Freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a woman and Moslem, who declared that the newly installed Democratic majority in the House will "go in there and impeach the motherfucker," breaking with party leaders and stirring controversy just hours after officially taking office.

As reported from Politico: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top Democrats have been largely hesitant to promise President Donald Trump's impeachment, preferring instead to wait for the results of the ongoing Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. But Tlaib (D-Mich.) and others in the newly installed House have expressed an eagerness to begin impeachment proceedings even before Mueller issues a final report."

Despite discussing whether such us of profanity is actually helpful or hurtful, there is already those writers suggesting that Tlaib apologise for what she said. MATTHEW DOWD, from ABC News said:

"We moved to Southfield, Michigan, in my youth, and I completely understand and relate to the “chip-on-your-shoulder” grittiness and saltiness of the area. I have retained much of that sentiment, but Congresswoman Tlaib should apologize for her recent comments to a cheering crowd about President Trump: “When your son looks at you and says, ‘Mamma, look you won, bullies don't win,' and I said, 'Baby, they don't,' because we’re gonna go in there and we're gonna impeach the m-----------."

We really don't need to apologize for every statement we make—right or wrong. Tlaib just doesn't need to apologise. It makes us look wishy-washy. It was an off the cuff remark. It was said and now it needs to be forgotten. There is too much apologising to an audience of people who are being clobbered by political correctness. It is time to say what we mean. It is time to be bold. There is a change coming and it doesn't need any apologising.