Don't agree with EVERYTHING that Ocasio-Cortez says or does, but I strongly support her
The country needs a strong left in order to counter the ugly trend that we've been on since the beginning of this century. Think back to the 2nd Clinton administration. We were running a big surplus. There was talk of a peace dividend now that the Cold War was over. The internet promised new industries and opportunities.
Now, at almost 20 years into this new century, we've had two wars, three major tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, a financial collapse, gigantic Wall Street bailout, and a complete, asshole as the current president. This was not the century that we were promised. Things are not going well at all. Whatever political strategies that we've been pursuing as Democrats and Progressive is simply not working.
Yes, we've made social progress on citizenship rights for the LGBTQ community, but that came from a divided SCOTUS. A SCOTUS that is now drifting harder to the right. But on the economy, climate, health care, and education, we've actually lost some ground. The ACA was primarily a health insurance re-regulation. It's opened access to health insurance for more people which is good, but it does not do enough to establish that healthcare is a human right, not a job perk.
The ACA did give us one significant Progressive victory. It expanded Medicaid for some, not all Americans, and not so ironically, it's been that expansion that has politically protected the ACA. That expansion showed that there's an appetite for real Progressive change in America that crosses the politically marketed red/blue state divide.
Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, Our Revolution, Justice Democrats, et al. are going to be major pains in the asses to us at times. They may piss us off, but we need them. Progressives need them to challenge the status quo. Something has to be done to turn things around because what we've been doing for the past 18 years simply is not working.