Summary and Key Points: After being elected to New York's 14th congressional district in 2018, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, commonly known as "AOC," quickly became a prominent figure in the progressive movement and a frequent target for conservatives.

-Her unexpected victory against 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley and subsequent win in the general election marked the beginning of her influence in Congress.

-AOC advocates for progressive policies like the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and tuition-free public college.

-Her adept use of social media has amplified her voice, garnering a substantial following and making her a notable political figure.

-Although she has faced criticism for her views, AOC continues to be a significant force in the Democratic Party.

The AOC Show Is Just Getting Started 

After being elected to New York's 14th congressional district in 2018, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – who is often known by her initials "AOC" – quickly became a darling of the progressive moment, and an easy target for conservatives who warned that the Democratic Party was really looking to push socialist policies on the unsuspecting Americans. AOC's political story is straight out of fiction – she infamously rose to fame when she won the Democratic Party's primary election, defeating 10-term incumbent Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley. She went on to cruise to an easy victory in the general election, and soon became a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump and a supporter of socialist policies, notably the controversial "Green New Deal."

In many ways, the millennial congresswoman arrived on the scene at just the right moment.

She rode a blue wave to victory and was among those Democrats who vowed to be the polar opposite of everything Trump stood for. But like Trump, she employed similar tactics in reaching the masses. The former activist, who has a political science degree yet was working as a bartender when she launched her congressional campaign, understood the power of social media – growing her followers on Twitter (as it was then known) from fewer than 50,000 followers to nearly four million in her first year in office.

Fighting for Socialist Causes

Among her earliest fights wasn't with the establishment in D.C., but rather against online retail giant Amazon, over its plans to locate its second headquarters (HQ2) in Queens, New York. In the end, the company backed out, and while she angered some New Yorkers and Amazon employees, the complex in Virginia that replaced HQ2 never saw the promised expansion. The retailer was also forced lay off nearly 20,000 workers last year – suggesting she may have been right to push back on Amazon.

However, she has continued to push an agenda that her critics maintain is far too extreme.

Even as the nation recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, AOC pushed for an extension to federal aid. She further called for tuition-free public college, Medicare for all, and even an abolishment of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Recently, she blamed the Trump-era Abraham Accords for leading to the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza.

Easy-Peasy-AOCsy

AOC isn't quite in the headlines as much, but she is also no longer the up-and-comer that she once was. That's really unusual and is often the course for many in Washington. As a founding member of "the Squad" – the most progressive and left-leaning members of Congress – her policies often did stand out as extreme. So much so, in fact, that former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was often forced to keep her and the other Squad members in check.

Yet, since she was elected, the Democratic Party has veered further to the left, while the Republican Party, led by former President Donald Trump, has shifted towards the right. AOC is looking far less extreme than she did six years ago when she first entered the spotlight.

Several factors are at play.

First, the Republicans control the House of Representatives, albeit by the narrowest of margins, which limits her abilities to introduce legislation. Moreover, with President Joe Biden in the White House, it makes it harder – not easier – to push any extreme progressive polices while other Democrats have entered the scene and sucked some of the oxygen out of the room, notably hoodie-wearing Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

At the same time, high-profile Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had hogged the spotlight – and not always on purpose. MTG was initially seen as the conservative counterpart to AOC, but she has become even more vocal for her causes, to the point that she's proving to be an even bigger head for current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

AOC's Shine is Gone, Not Her Spirit

The media is also quite fickle and quickly moves to the new thing – and certainly former President Donald Trump has sucked much of the energy out of the room, while AOC has also settled into a role as a down-to-business member of Congress.

In other words, it isn't that AOC's star has actually fallen, but rather that she has found her place as just another seat filler in the Capitol Building.

On the one hand, perhaps other lawmakers should follow her example, and realize it isn't about being in the headlines, it isn't about constant feuds on social media, and picking fights with those on the other side of the aisle. It is about listening to voters, introducing legislation that those voters may need and want, and getting the country on track again. On the other hand, we would be better served if the media didn't pay so much attention to the next loud voice to be elected and storms onto the scene.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was arguably green – and not just in socialist policies – when she arrived in Washington. Like the fictional Mr. Smith played by Jimmy Stewart, she may have believed she could fix a broken system. Instead, she has likely realized you have to play the game, and that includes not always being a disrupter.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

All images are Creative Commons/Shutterstock.