If you’re on Twitter, whether a conservative, like me, or a liberal/progressive, you’ve probably noticed an enormous amount of coverage of a young woman from the Bronx, New York, recently elected to the House of Representatives. Yes, I’m referring to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. A very young voice in the Democratic caucus who, defeated a 10 term Democrat in the primary to become the candidate, and being in a very blue district, presumptive representative of that disctrict in Washington, D.C.

According to everything I have read about her, she won her primary based on going door-to-door and asking for people’s votes. Impressive. I’m not sure what she told her new consituents, but it impressed enough people to elect this young woman to Congress. She’s certainly been memed quite a buit as she’s made a number of gaffes in media interviews that if those would have been out there before the primary, she may not have won.

Or would she? Is it possible that people are tired of the same old thing? The same elites we always seem to elect to Federal office that are there for decades that do nothing, have no new ideas, and that the esablishment, whichever party, support because change is something they don’t  necesarily want to see happen.

Sure, Ms. Ocasio-Corte has said some things that are just, well, dumb. But then I think about how after she won her primary against a very experienced politician she was suddenly flung into the media. She’s young, and like a lot of us at that age, were probably more idealisitic than practical. She’s going to discover, rapidly, in January that there’s no New Democratic Party. In order to get anything done, she’ll have to do what every other new Representative will have to do, and has always done: go along.

It doesn’t mean that she cannot affect any change, but being a new, untested legislator,  she’s going to have to go along, to get along. Like everything else in life, it’s a learning experience and this young woman is going to be tested unlike no other new representative in my lifetime. She’ll either learn to trick the system, as most do, or she’ll be a one-term representative. 

I think though, that she is the face of the Democratic party going forward. Not her socialist ideals, but her youth and vigor for some sort of change. We need more younger people, from both parties, that have new ideas, new energy, to make changes many of us have been asking for, for decades.

New faces, new ideas. It’s something we should all celebrate no matter the party. Youth participating in the political process is what we need rather than the apathy we’ve seen from ther same for so many years.

As a conservative, I wish Representative-elect Ocasio-Cortez, well. I hope she learns to navigate the impossible establishment she’s become a part of and in some way, be able to change the way things work in Washington. I have my doubts she will have any effect as a first term Representative, but if we had more, in both parties, just imagine.