[Griff]

At UT:

Sure it's all about perception. AOC exists in part because Paul Ryan's work cutting taxes and ballooning deficits threatens all Federal spending including Social Security and Medicaid, but also because the Democrats took working people for granted. For years the political center in the US would have looked middle right from a European perspective. Center right (Third Way) Democrats became a force pushing solid middle right market liberalism raising the poor in much of the world but leaving American trade unionists and the working poor unrepresented. The GOP finds itself in a bind for voters and finds discontented rust belt workers, farmers, social conservatives, and pro-lifers an easy target. They turn up the nationalism, blame environmentalism to get farm votes, blame public education, and act like they're reconsidering their commitment to free trade. It's less deceptive than it all looks. The GOP won the market liberalism argument a long time ago but when the Democrats adopted their position they had no where to go. It's kind of a mad scramble. The elite in the Democratic Party seem to have the economic center right and social left covered. AOC and company don't have the same economic agenda and and the fear triggered by Ryan etc... feeds a lot of the Democrat electorate so she is carving out a space within the party.

That's quite a word salad. I'm not sure it makes any sense or if my thinking makes any sense.