The Lure of Political Outsiders
How have outsider legislators changed American history? On this episode of Now & Then, “The Lure of Political Outsiders,” Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman discuss the history of the eccentric and anti-establishment members of Congress, from the frontier politics of Jackson-era Tennessee Representative Davy Crockett, to the conspiratorial works of post-Civil War Illinois Representative Ignatius Donnelly, to the headstrong socialism of World War I-era Wisconsin Representative Victor Berger, to the autocratic impulses of 1930s Louisiana Senator Huey Long. How do insurgent politicians help to shore up American democracy? When can their disruptions begin to negatively impact the rule of law? And how should we view iconoclastic lawmakers in Washington today?
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Love your podcast and newsletter and have learned an incredible amount from both. Thank you! I need to reach out while I am thinking of it. In the "Lure of Political Outsiders" episode you present AOC as a balance to Lauren Boebert with the explanation that AOC was a bartender before becoming Congressional Representative. I'd like to push back on that equivalency.
From AOC website:
"After high school, Alexandria attended Boston University, and graduated with degrees in Economics and International Relations ... During this period she also had the opportunity to intern in the office of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Her role in Senator Kennedy’s office provided a firsthand view of the heartbreak families endured after being separated by ICE. These experiences led the Congresswoman to organize Latinx youth in The Bronx and across the United States, eventually, she began work as an Educational Director with the National Hispanic Institute, a role in which she helped Americans, DREAMers and undocumented youth in community leadership and college readiness.
"Following the financial crisis of 2008, tragedy struck when her father passed away suddenly from cancer. The medical bills and other growing expenses placed their home at risk of foreclosure. Alexandria pulled extra shifts to work as a waitress and bartender to support her family, deepening her commitment to issues impacting working-class people."
Thank you for considering this information. There is more to AOC than "she was a bartender."