Editor’s note: When it comes to political comedy, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is the gift that keeps on giving. Each week, Liberty Nation uncovers the blunders that keep us wondering: How did she ever get elected?
The Capitol Hill freshman – or freshperson – from New York certainly does understand the potential power of what one might describe as "virtual campaigning," that's for sure. Most recently, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took it to a new level by virtually visiting players' islands in the game Animal Crossing. Once again, though, the nation's favorite socialist bartender – who currently plays a congresswoman on T.V. – has blissfully allowed the irony of the situation to go over her head.
To begin with, Animal Crossing is a game for the Nintendo platform, and it isn't free – nor is it provided by the government. Reportedly, Ocasio-Cortez recently purchased the Nintendo Switch gaming device. The Switch is available in two versions. The handheld device will set you back a little over $200, with sales tax, and the full console costs more than $300 with tax. Unless they are wildly irresponsible with their money, none of the poor, struggling, working people whom AOC claims as her core supporters can afford to buy one.
Then there's the game itself: $60. If you want to frolic online with your reality-challenged followers – assuming you have followers – then you'll need to subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, which is either $19.99 a year or $3.99 a month.
Animal Crossing: A Capitalist Utopia
The minimum amount of start-up capital one needs, then, to indulge in this utterly pointless pastime is about $290. Without even getting into the optional in-game purchases, this is the kind of dough that could feed a family of four for at least a week if one was smart and creative. This is capitalism on full display: people with time and disposable income enough to choose to while away the hours in a fantasy world, created by a corporation. In this virtual environment, gamers can upgrade their experience through online purchases or work at their own pace to complete specific tasks. Each user creates his or her idea of utopia – and nothing is equal.
AOC continues to embrace the very economic system she pretends to oppose. Perhaps she doesn't even realize she's doing it. Then again, maybe the exasperating 30-year-old exactly understands what she's doing, but – like all aspiring socialist leaders – Ocasio-Cortez believes that she is entitled to enjoy the fruits of a system from which she intends to exclude everyone else.
I Don't Know
The most astounding thing about AOC's political aspirations is that she clearly has no interest in achieving anything worthwhile. For her, the 14th N.Y. Congressional District seat she occupies is nothing more than a stepping-stone to bigger things – read that as "more political power." There are rumors in the media that she has considered, at one point or another, running for mayor of New York City or challenging one of the two New York senators from her own party: Chuck Schumer or Kirsten Gillibrand.
"I don't know," Ocasio-Cortez responded during an April 2020 interview with Politico, when asked about a possible primary challenge of Schumer. If only she got those three words tattooed on her forehead, life would be so much less complicated for both her and political pundits everywhere.
Meanwhile, her primary challengers are stacking up and, within another nine months, the closest AOC may get to appearing on CNN is seeing her own reflection in the television screen of a New York bar.
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Read more from Graham J. Noble.
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