Odd Couple: The Bernie and AOC Road Show

Can you say ‘oligarchy’? Sure, you can.

Ever since their repudiation at the polls on Nov. 5, 2024, Democrats have been in search of a message that will capture the attention of the American people. Their hunt for a favorable touchstone that will speak to the heart and soul of the Democratic Party has turned into a desperate quest for relevance. They’ve tried singing “We Shall Overcome” on the House floor, held up little round paddles with pithy, pathetic sayings, and told us that the people are behind them in a video devoid of anyone other than the speaker making that claim. One could say Democrats are in frantic pursuit of meaning.  Enter stage left Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and AOC, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), with an odd message: “Fight Oligarchy.”

One wonders what percent of Americans even know the meaning of “oligarchy.” Even if they are aware that it is the rule of a small cabal of elites, would they understand that leadership by the wealthy is known as a plutocracy? All this to say, this slogan does not illustrate the ignorance of the average citizen but rather just how tone-deaf the Democratic Party has become in 2025.

AOC — This One’s Not Too Bright

Heretofore, the congresswoman from New York is best known for making laughable remarks in public and wearing a $35,000 dress emblazoned with the message “Tax the Rich.” This member of the Squad is an avowed socialist who feigns growing up in poverty even though she spent the better part of her youth living in tony Westchester County, NY, with a father who was an architect. Inquiring minds might want to know whether she was tutored by Hilaria Baldwin, wife of actor Alec Baldwin, who pretended to be of Spanish origin when she actually grew up in Boston, MA.

When AOC crashed the DC scene, she was well-known for speaking Biden lingo, uttering such inanities as, “If we work our butts off to make sure that we take back all three chambers of Congress.” She quickly self-corrected by following up with, “Uh, rather, all three chambers of government: the presidency, the Senate, and the House.” As El Salvador’s leader Nayib Bukele recently wrote on X, “Oopsie … Too late.”

Britian’s Daily Mail couldn’t stop itself from reminding its readers of what Tucker Carlson once opined on his Fox News show. Not one to mince words, Carlson told us what he really thought of AOC: “There she is again. Defender of the common man, yammering on about the only subject she really cares about — herself. Wallowing around in Lake Me like it’s interesting to anybody but her. Narcissism on parade.”

Bernie at Bat

Odd that the senator from Vermont, who is no longer a Democrat but plays one on TV, should choose to partner with Ocasio-Cortez. But then again, Bernie once fired up the Democrats, and perhaps he believes that, at 83, fresh blood from someone of a younger generation who is not bad on the eyes is a good choice for his socialist message.

In an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Sanders remarked:

“KARL: So we’re about 60 days into the Trump era, the second Trump era. How would you grade the Democratic Party’s response?

“SANDERS: Well, I would take us back even two years before that, before Trump was elected, in saying that it saddens me that when the Democrats had control of the Senate, they did virtually nothing for working people. I have to say that. I’m a member of the Democratic Caucus as an Independent, so I’m not going to lie to you and tell you otherwise.

“KARL: Yeah.

“SANDERS: And since then, do I think the Democrats have been effective in rallying the American people, in stopping Trump’s movement toward oligarchy and authoritarianism? No, I don’t.”

Thus, the questions remain: Will “Fight Oligarchy” as a rallying cry become just what the doctor ordered for the Democratic Party? Further, will Sanders and AOC turn out to be effective leaders of a party that is wallowing in self-pity, unable to reach that last, elusive stage of grief – acceptance? Can the Democrats, seemingly lost and without a coherent message, find a way forward with such an odd couple at the helm? Or could this unusual road show be nothing more than a cry of desperation from the backside of the political wilderness?