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“Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is, at 16 syllables, a mouthful,” writes Kevin Williams in NRO.
The day before yesterday, she was “Sandy,” a pleasant-seeming young woman who liked to dance, worked in a bar, worried about her family, and chafed that her advantages and elite education left her struggling, obscure, and unsatisfied.
(Boston University shares Case Western’s academic ranking and is significantly more expensive than Princeton: Is there a more appropriate preparation for life in Washington?)
And so she set after glory and personal significance in politics, to which she is relatively new — the hatreds and grievances she dotes on are obvious enough and familiar enough that one assumes she has been in possession of those for some time. They are not newly acquired.
In a few months, “Sandy” has gone from an unknown NYC bartender to AOC, the Left’s socialist’s darling, reports Kimberley A. Strassel in the WSJ.
Unwilling to Work? No Problem
Republicans don’t know whether to applaud or laugh. Most do both.
For them, what’s not to love? She’s set off a fratricidal war on the left, with her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, this week slamming the “radical conservatives” among the Democrats holding the party “hostage.”
- She’s made friends with Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain’s Labour Party, who has been accused of anti-Semitism.
- She’s called the American system of wealth creation “immoral” and believes government has a duty to provide “economic security” to people who are “unwilling to work.”
- As a representative of New York, she’s making California look sensible.
AOC Makes Clear: Government, Not Private Sector Will Build This
Take the central plank, its diktat of producing 100% of U.S. electricity “through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources” by 2030.
As Ron Bailey at Reason has noted, a 2015 plan from Stanford envisioning the goal called for the installation of 154,000 offshore wind turbines, 335,000 onshore wind turbines, 75 million residential photovoltaic (solar) systems, 2.75 million commercial solar systems, and 46,000 utility-scale solar facilities.
Get Rid of Combustion Engines and Upgrade Every Building in US?
And that might be the easy part. According to an accompanying fact sheet, the Green New Deal would also get rid of combustion engines, “build charging stations everywhere,” “upgrade or replace every building in U.S.,” do the same with all “infrastructure,” and crisscross the nation with “high-speed rail.”
Government Control of Private Life – Buried
Buried in the details, the Green New Deal also promises government control of the most fundamental aspects of private life. The fact sheet explains why the resolution doesn’t call for “banning fossil fuels” or for “zero” emissions across the entire economy—at least at first.
Democratic Math at Its Best – No Price Tag
It (Green New Deal) leaves out a price tag, and is equally vague on what kind of taxes would be needed to cover the cost. But it would run to tens of trillions of dollars.
- The fact sheet asserts the cost shouldn’t worry anyone, since the Federal Reserve can just “extend credit” to these projects!
- And “new public banks can be created to extend credit,” too!
- And Americans will get lots of “shared prosperity” from their “investments.” À la Solyndra.
Why the Need for Cost Vagaries?
“We aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast,” AOC admits (emphasis from KAS).
Read more here.
