PPI - Radically Pragmatic
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Locations
    • Careers
  • People
  • Projects
  • Our Work
  • Events
  • Donate

Our Work

Kim for Medium: How “Moderates” are bolder than the left

  • March 21, 2019
  • Anne Kim

Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently drew big cheers at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, earlier this month when she dissed the views of political moderates as “misplaced.” “Moderate is not a stance. It’s just an attitude towards life of, like, ‘meh,’” she told a standing-room only crowd. “The ‘meh’ is worshipped now — for what?”

Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks reflect an old line of attack from the progressive left: that moderates are “mushy” — timid, if not cowardly; that they value incrementalism over true progress; and, worst of all, that they are guilty of “triangulation” — the unprincipled pandering to swing voters by pushing off both left and right.

 

Read the full piece on Medium by clicking here.

Related Work

Feature  |  May 20, 2025

Ainsley for Re:State: The Case for Remaking the State

  • Claire Ainsley
In the News  |  May 4, 2025

Ainsley in The New York Times: After 100 Years, Britain’s Two-Party Political System May Be Crumbling

  • Claire Ainsley
Op-Ed  |  April 25, 2025

Marshall for The Hill: Flailing Democrats Need to Build Coalitions, Not Primary Their Own Members

  • Will Marshall
Feature  |  April 24, 2025

Marshall in The New York Times: How Four Democrats Who Saved the Party Before Would Do It Again

  • Will Marshall
In the News  |  April 23, 2025

Ainsley for The Spectator’s Coffee House Shots Podcast: St George’s Day: Who is the Most Patriotic Leader?

  • Claire Ainsley
Op-Ed  |  April 18, 2025

Marshall for The Hill: Trump 2.0 is a Runaway Dump Truck Only Voters Can Stop

  • Will Marshall
  • Never miss an update:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
PPI Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Donate
  • Careers
  • © 2025 Progressive Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved.
  • |
  • Privacy Policy
  • |
  • Privacy Settings