=========
=========
Promoted from the diaries by streiff. Promotion does not imply endorsement.
=========
=========

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez loves racism. In fact, she also loves other forms of bigotry as well. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying that she is favorable towards the idea of discriminating against individuals because of the color of their skin. But like a disturbing number of other progressives, she loves exploiting the notion of race-based animus as a rhetorical cudgel that can be used to club those who dare to criticize her.

Using false accusations of bigotry — also known as race baiting — has been the go to tactic of choice for decades, and in many ways, it has been instrumental to their success. Winning a debate on the merits of your arguments is much more difficult than simply discrediting your political opponent by pretending that they are guilty of bigotry. When it comes to silencing those with whom you disagree, it is second only to violence

Ocasio-Cortez is no different from her colleagues. Ever since she became the Democratic Party’s latest sensation, the social media-savvy lawmaker has embraced race-baiting as her primary weapon against the right. This is understandable considering the fact that she falls apart whenever her ideas are given the slightest challenge during her appearances in the media.

Indeed, she has become the quintessential personification of the clueless leftist who hurls accusations of bigotry to cover up for their inability to defend their ideas. Her existence is proof positive that this caricature is more than a meaningless trope — it is reality. Here are a couple of her more recent displays of race-baiting:

None of this is “whataboutism.” Racism and bigotry of all forms is inextricably linked.

When you don’t address them as a system and attempt to pick them apart as though they are distinct and separable issues, eventually the thing that gets advanced is white supremacy + classism.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 6, 2019

None of this is “whataboutism.” Racism and bigotry of all forms is inextricably linked.

When you don’t address them as a system and attempt to pick them apart as though they are distinct and separable issues, eventually the thing that gets advanced is white supremacy + classism.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 6, 2019

We have Black staff. We don’t parade them around to show the world how diverse our team is, and use that as some kind of evidence of the absence of racism. That’s what tokenism is. https://t.co/5qWMqy9522

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 2, 2019

As you can see, her race-baiting game is at a level that rivals the Sharptons and Farrakhans of the world. But oddly enough, it doesn’t seem to be working for her as well as she might have hoped. A recent poll revealed that AOC’s popularity is on the decline. Indeed, her disapproval rating is even lower than that of President Trump, who is the subject of a daily barrage of vitriolic propaganda churned out by the progressive media machine.

So what does she blame for her plummeting approval ratings? You guessed it: Racism! She tweeted:

When “centrists” care more about the GOP base than the Dem base, bigotry gets legitimized.

This is *the* playbook. GOP does it w/ virtually every Dem figure who isn’t a white male: otherize, demonize + splinter.

It’s vital that we adapt & dismantle this approach, not cow to it. https://t.co/dKlzflqZVn

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 18, 2019

That’s right folks. If you’re a centrist or — God forbid — a conservative who does not subscribe to her views, you are legitimizing bigotry. Shame on you.

But what’s the real reason for her declining popularity? Why isn’t the magic race card performing for her as it has for so many others? Well, there are likely several reasons.

For starters, race baiting just isn’t as effective as it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a potent political tool. But the progressive left has been crying racism for so long that conservatives and centrists are not falling for it anymore. They have essentially diluted the meaning of the word “bigotry” to the point that many remain unfazed when it is used. When AOC brings up racism, or other types of bigotry, it is likely that most people who aren’t on the hard left simply roll their eyes and move on.

Another reason why the race card isn’t working is because AOC just isn’t that great at her job. Sure, she is a prodigy when it comes to social media. As much as we may not want to admit it, she is an expert at trolling conservatives in the media and using their peculiar fixation on her to her advantage. Some right-leaning sites believe they are harming her when they publish piece after piece about every little thing they can, but in reality, she uses this obsession to appeal to her base. But apparently, this isn’t enough.

The simple truth is that Ocasio-Cortez rarely has any idea what she is talking about when she is expressing her views. She does not possess even a slight grasp on how to implement her policy proposals, and she does quite poorly when her ideas are scrutinized. Remember the rollout of the Green New Deal or her comments on the unemployment rates? It is also important to note the reaction to Amazon’s change of heart when it came to building their new headquarters in New York City. New Yorkers were none too happy about the part she played in that decision.

If Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s decreasing poll numbers are any indication, the rest of the Democratic Party will need to step up their efforts in 2020 if they want to win. Simply labeling Republicans as bigots is not going to cut it and their ill-advised focus on intersectionality and victimhood will likely do them more harm than good. Will they learn from their mistakes? Probably not, but I won’t be complaining.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!

This article was originally published on The Culture Beat.

If you want to connect, reach out to me on Twitter: @JeffOnTheRight