Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez outdrew every presidential candidate at SXSW
Austin's South by Southwest festival has been a popular destination for several 2020 presidential candidates this weekend, but a freshman congresswoman proved to be the biggest draw of any of the event's political speakers.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) reportedly sparked enough interest that her audience filled a massive ballroom "to the brim" on Saturday, far outdrawing presidential candidates like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Per Slate, the space could not accommodate everyone who wanted to see her remarks.
Ocasio-Cortez, who considers herself a democratic socialist, used the opportunity to try to dispel the idea that political moderation is a viable way of getting things done in Washington in this day and age. "Moderation is not a stance," she told interviewer Briahna Joy Gray of The Intercept. "It's just an attitude of, like, 'meh'."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
She also said that capitalism "cannot be redeemed" and dismissed fear mongering about democratic socialism.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Singin’ in the Rain: fun Christmas show is ‘pure bottled sunshine’The Week Recommends Raz Shaw’s take on the classic musical is ‘gloriously cheering’
-
Holbein: ‘a superb and groundbreaking biography’The Week Recommends Elizabeth Goldring’s ‘definitive account’ brings the German artist ‘vividly to life’
-
The Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treatThe Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treat Nikolai Foster’s captivating and beautifully designed revival ‘ripples with feeling’
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
