AOC Endorses Joe Biden: 'Absolutely' Must 'Rally Behind Our Democratic Nominee'

[fishwax]

47. she's said all along that she would support the nominee, and said so specifically about Biden even

before today. This isn't really a change in her position at all. It's just a change in a specific manner of reporting on her position.

Here's the thing: there are certain people who want to sow disunity among democrats.

One tactic they use is to target people on the left with the idea (and they aren't wrong about this) that there is a non-negligible number of misguided (feel free to substitute stronger adjectives if you wish) voters who can be dissuaded from voting for the democratic nominee.

Another tactic that they use is to attack various politicians who are generally seen as leaders of the left (people like Sanders, AOC, Omar, etc.). The goal with this form of attack is not to actually discredit those leaders among the left, but rather to invite/encourage people closer to the center to attack those leaders. Why would someone who wants to spread disunity among democrats do that? Well, because they know full well that when people in the mainstream attack people like AOC, it increases the chances that a few more of that non-negligible number of misguided voters that they're hoping will stay home will actually stay home.

So how does this work in action? Well, yesterday an interview comes out with AOC in the New York Times. The interviewer starts out by asking if she and Biden have spoken, and AOC says no. Other press reports this as a "demand" that Biden reach out to her specifically or as a "complaint" that Biden hasn't called her. Even though it isn't any such thing. But since most people these days don't actually get their news about interviews from the original interview, the distorted perception finds its way to places like DU and has exactly the desired effect: well-meaning and deeply-caring committed democrats outraged at AOC and lobbing accusations and recriminations and what have you. In the same interview, she says unequivocally that she will support the nominee in November and that victory over Trump is a matter of life or death for minority and underprivileged communities. All the same as this interview. But it's framed differently, and the frame matters a great deal.