Independent Senator Bernie Sanders floated Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a potential presidential candidate in the 2028 elections, saying that even though it’s “her decision to make,” she is a “very, very good politician.”
Speaking to Axios, Sanders said that he has been “out on the streets with her” and noticed how she responds when people come up to her. “It’s so incredibly genuine and open.”
Ocasio-Cortez is seemingly positioning herself to run for higher office, whether it is challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for his seat or to make a run for president.
As inappropriate and watered down as it sounds, I honestly don’t think this country is going to vote in a female president this decade. Race plays a part too, but I honestly think that this country is more sexist than it is racist when it comes to presidential voting. It’s partially a gut feelings, but I think gender played a bigger role than many people think in the 2016 and 2024 elections. As messed up as it sounds, I think Bernie POTUS with AOC VP would stand a better chance of winning right now as opposed to the other way around. Even with all of the socialist/communist boogie-man bullshit that Bernie gets thrown at him.
I kinda agree, but crucially I think it’s less that the country isn’t ready to vote for a female president, it’s that after Kamala and Hillary, the Dems think the issue is with them being women.
Also the republicans would have no issue voting in a woman if it was one of their own.
And also, Bernie is way too old to be president. I think the most realistic thing would be to put a “”“moderate”“” dem on the ticket to help ease the pearl clutching from corporate Dems you would get by running AOC so someone like Waltz or Newsom.
Everyone demanded Biden step down for someone better and younger. So he did.
and all that accomplished was that the left started shutting on her instead of Biden. as a non American watching it all unfold, race and especially gender was noticeably what turned people even on the left off of Kamala. And were talking before the gaza shit show turned into an election issue.
Again im not American, but your last election definitely felt racist and well, here we are. That there are still people on the left shitting on her as if they’re not living under the alternative is crazy. How can anyone in 2025 say she wouldn’t be better than this? Can’t explain it but with sexism
You’re not wrong, but I shit on Kamala because she was a shitty centrist candidate, not because she was a woman. I would back AOC in a heartbeat.
They asked for a better and younger but she was younger but worse. Harris is one of the dumbedt politicians ever
Trump is better?
If you didn’t vote Harris or stayed home you’re straight up stupid. You’re asking for the Democratic Party to change but you don’t take part so why would they care. Everyone on Lemmy complains about the democrats but when was the last time you guys registered as official democratic voters and voted in the primaries and local elections to get your people in? When did you join the newsletters and reply to the questioneers? Did anyone here go volunteer to work for the local politician that fits their view? If you show up at the end, at the federal election, how are you mad at the decisions that got them to this candidate when you took no part in the process?
It’s not hard, the last election i helped my local candidate hand out information and cards throughout dozen condo buildings within 5 minutes of my home. My wife helped them with some online work for their website and Facebook. Take part, from top to bottom, make sure the party knows you’re a member and you demand change.
Harris had a honeymoon and then inexplicably decided to say she’d be exactly like Biden. He wasn’t doing well in the polls before his brain started erroring on live TV. The swap was the opportunity to disavow the unpopular things, but for some reason they decided the number one priority was making sure Joe got a respectful send off.
When Kamala first started, I had hope there would be change. How foolish that turned out to be…
Even with everything you said the choice was clear. And not voting for Harris was as bad as voting trump
I voted for Harris. Not that it mattered because my state is solidly blue.
But voters aren’t big calculators. The people you lose in turnout are just running on vibes and competing with the couch. “My life sucks and you say you’re not going to change anything” is a bad vibe. Even if a rational person would say “but the other guy is going to make it worse”.
We’ve essentially had 4 of the last 5 elections be won by the candidate who campaigns on “change” and she rolled up as an incumbent saying it’s going to keep on exactly like it is. Unless things are fucking amazing that’s a really bad message.
Most people eho don’t vote lost trust in the system. Your rhetoric is the same as those who blame people being poor on laziness and playing video gsmes all days
One of the few sitting Dems I’d vote for.
I’d love it, but we need a sure win this time. Not getting a 50 year old white dude will make it harder. We’ve tried a shitty blonde, an old guy, and a black woman. We need someone who will take votes from the red.
The problem isn’t their skin. The problem is their policies and corruption
We tried a corrupt neoliberal, a feeble neoliberal, and a sleazy neoliberal. I suspect they all had something in common that was very offputting to the entire populace. If only we could figure out what that was and not repeat it.
I think running a candidate who actually offers real solutions to the problems people are facing is more important than fitting a particular demographic.
Each of the last three Dem noms were also centrist neolibs.
Yes but centrist neolib would be a massive improvement right now. You have idiotic fascist, the few smart ones sleep with Julius evola under their pillow. Somehow they also have “christians”.
They can unite all kinds of weirdos and the left is divided over too many things.
The point is that they’ll keep losing because you don’t excite people by saying “we’ll make sure things don’t get much worse.”
She’s a brilliant person, but the US has repeatedly shown it’s still too misogynistic to elect a woman president.
I don’t think so. Clinton was dislikably arrogant and put very little policy forward. Kamala didn’t have the arrogant of Clinton but still in classic Democratic fashion did very little in the way of policy put forward to earn people’s votes.
The problem isn’t women. It’s shire campaigns and I think people let the DNC off the hook too much. They’re only effective when taking out decent people like Sanders.
Elizabeth Warren was good, had plenty of policy, but people said she was too shrill.
Newsom has a weird voice, but nobody cares.
And failed to drop out when Bernie was still in with a chance to ensure there was a progressive candidate. She had no real chance in the primaries.
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What? Really? Your country is insane.
Bernie, I get. Clinton was anything but likeable.
It might be the case. But look at the candidates we’ve had that are women. They’re fucking awful. Hillary has politics that are probably to the right of Nixon, Jill Stein is clearly a Russian operative, and Kamala is a fucking disingenuous cop. So yeah, this country has a shit electorate, but the candidates have done nothing to show me that we absolutely wouldn’t vote for a woman candidate.
Exactly. A woman has 0% chance of winning in the next few cycles. That’s just reality. I love AOC, and I would vote for her in the general, but she would lose.
Because it worked out so well the last two times the democrats tried to elect a female president.
Clinton lost to Trump.
Harris lost to Trump.
So what chance would AOC have against a more qualified republican candidate? And I say that with the assumption than anyone who isn’t a Trump is by default, a more qualified candidate.
Hilary was a terrible person yet she still won the popular vote. Harris is such a dumb politicians who can’t answer a single question correctly
Do you really think trumps successor will be on any way qualified?
Lmao.
That said please don’t run a minority female. The USA ain’t ready for that shit.
No one cares about qualifications. They care about vibes and what their friends think.
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They absolutely are. A women has 0 chance of winning the next few election cycles. It’s bullshit, but it’s reality.
Newsom or Pritzker are our best bets.
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Harris and Clinton have a lot in common and I don’t think the fact that they both have vaginas is the most prominent shared reason that they lost their respective elections. I have no doubt that there is a subset of voters who would never vote for a woman but I’m pretty confident most of them are Trump voters anyway.
If a progressive woman similar to AOC loses then I’ll concede the point. Until then I believe it’s mostly the unpopular status quo platform causing the problem.
I would like to say: clinton didn’t lose because she’s a woman, she lost because she’s a sleazeball. harris didn’t lose because she’s a woman, she lost because she was courting the right wing for some reason. AOC can win because she’s not a sleazy right winging neolib. I’d vote for her for president.
Both Harris and Clinton position themselves as more of the status quo. Trump both time always positions himself as an outsider who taps into to racism and white rage. The only time you can win off a status quo type deal if the Dem admin was doing amazing during when they had power.
Yea, republicans piss on you and say it’s that guy, Dems piss on you and say it’s raining.
Atleast piss in my mouth and we’ll all be happy
Republicans eat asparaguses before pissing on you, Dems eat pineapple.
What you said is true. But any woman, even a great one, is going to have a tougher time than a man would. Sexism is still a problem in this country.
Sexism and racism. It’s absolutely foolish for anyone to think that Americans won’t abstain from voting, or worse vote against a woman or a non-white person. It’s abysmal to think about, but it’s true.
If a woman or a non-white person runs, there will be a subset of the population who refuse to vote for them specifically because of their race or gender.
It’s why the republicans always run an old white male asshole, because no one refuses to vote for old white male assholes specifically out of principle, but a large amount of people (larger than you or I would likely think) will absolutely vote against a woman or a non-white person specifically due to their race or gender.
It’s like you guys forget that Barrack Hussein Obama lead us to the largest victory in recent memory. The black guy with the Muslim name less than a decade from 9/11. He just never happened because if you tried to account for him, your whole theory would look like a steaming load.
I didn’t say that they couldn’t win, just that it was an additional hurdle a white man wouldn’t have. But I appreciate your strawman all the same, it is almost halloween.
AOC can win because she voted against the rail unions. This pleases the donors
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but don’t underestimate the role of misogyny. A commentator on a podcast i listen to was in the US in the run-up to the last election and they said that something they heard over and over again in the people they talked to was variations on “i hate Trump and everything he stands for, but i couldn’t trust the country to a woman”
He needs to fuck off like Clinton, Pelosi, and the rest of them.
Bernie isn’t perfect but he’s 100x the human being you’ll ever be. Sit down.
He continues to actively defend a man with a 20 year old nazi tattoo on his chest
E’rybody would benefit from Sanders shutting the fuck up and passing the torch.
Ahh, another Democrat establishment Bot here to smear the first real progressive candidate Maine has ever seen! Chuck Shumer thanks you for your service.
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Just about 20 years too late.
Bernie is a class traitor.
And what exactly have you ever done for the working class!?
Like the other guy said, sit down. I’ll add, shut up.
For starters protesting for several years to ensure those living with HIV/AIDS had access to medication, demanding government research while people like Reagan and Fauci did nothing as we died. Then went on to protest for the Ryan White Act which proved free HIV medication, counseling, housing, etc for people living with HIV/AIDS. Protested for gay rights in Texas which resulted in Lawrence v Texas. Protesting oil and energy companies for environmental damage, protesting for the rights of Palestinians against US oligarchs that caused their slaughter.
You know real protest stuff and not these echo chamber parades liberals have.
For starters protesting
https://sandersinstitute.org/event/bernie-sanders-arrest-at-chicago-civil-rights-protest
ensure those living with HIV/AIDS had access to medication
https://www.politico.com/story/2012/05/sanders-floats-plan-to-make-hiv-drugs-less-costly-076300
Protested for gay rights
https://youtu.be/MAFlQ6fU4GM?t=155
https://www.vox.com/2015/7/7/8905905/sanders-drugs-gay-rights
Protesting oil and energy companies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifxBt2Tnh5E
protesting for the rights of Palestinians
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/17/bernie-sanders-israel-gaza-genocide
…
Your ire is so misplaced!
He then goes on to support a system that created those problems.
And the status quo liberals will coalesce like Voltron to stop her just like they did with Bernie.
Yeah they aren’t powerful enough to stop candidates any more.
Things have changed.
Taking the L a bit early no?
Pointing out your most strident opponents tired strategy is hardly acquiescing to it.
Oh, are we gearing up for another round of “Let’s smear one party over an issue that neiher cares about”? I love that! Worked so well last time. Sabotaging the dems in the name of progress and human rights in order to get Trump to tear down both of them.
The things that matter for an election are the things that the election can change. Support for Zionist atrocities is not one of those things. Focus on the things where they actually are different, because there are a lot of other important problems at stake.
You won’t help Palestine by propping up Republicans.
I know my audience don’t worry. Many people don’t want anything to do with zionism and they deserve to know these basic information. You don’t like the truth? talk to AOC and his zio friends Bernie.
Do you mind giving an alternative for the record?
Afaik Bernie has been the most outspoken advocate for Palestine in US Congress.
Im asking you seriously because otherwise you are just noise. The domestic issues are far more important to the average US voter than the atrocities being committed in Gaza by Israel.
AOC supports Israel. We cannot have pro-Israel candidates. If AOC is the candidate, I’m not voting for her.
There’s exactly 0 politicians opposing Israel in all of USA. Which one do you think should run for president?
Grow the fuck up, you’re not a child anymore
Artificial dichotomies are unfortunately a consequence of the voting system. Would you consider voting for her if the Republican rival was just as pro-Israel or more? Or slightly more pro-Palestine but very much against you in many other issues?
I have had this discussion many times. They do not seem to understand that not voting for Dems because of Israel just enables Bibi’s buddy who is currently tearing down the White House.
Look what not voting has done you stupid fucking ingrain.
Go throw yourself in the line of fire, it will literally do less damage to all the people that the Nazi pigstate is doing to America right now.
Holy fucking shit you people are so pathetically useless.
There’s so many of them on Lemmy it’s wild. These little fucks better get out and vote for the Democrat whether it’s a centrist or not. The alternative is GOP. I seriously don’t get what they don’t get.
Yes let’s split the left some more 👍
That’s what leftists want. There is zero unity on the left. I get mobbed on here for saying I’ll vote as far left as I can before I’m forced to vote centrist. It’s a reality. We’ve faced that reality three cycles in a row now. The right has nothing but unity. I’ll vote for a leftist female as far as I can. Will the rest of the left?
I think she’s amazing, but we’ve already seen that Americans don’t want a female president yet.
They don’t want a female CENTER RIGHT president, with absolutely nothing behind them to rally the cause.
Zionist endorses zionist.
Oh shit the ML are back to destroy the left because they love MAGA. It’s been a while since I saw an ML account. Yall ramping back up for the midterm manipulation?
I don’t see anyone better for the job.
Certainly not that transphobic piece of shit from California, that’s for damn sure.
Newsome is fine. He’s not transphobic, he is big time supporter of LGBTQ+. He’s trying to find a moderate message to win because he saw how Republicans destroyed Kamala on the trans issue.
Personally, I think he should go hard left, but I’m not an incredibly successful governor of the best state in the country.
Lol the DNC has chosen Newsom as the new golden boy.
The DNC would run the corpse of Hillary Clinton again before letting a progressive have power.
I would love for AOC to actually be allowed to be voted on, because she would probably win the popular vote like progressives almost always do.
