Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the 2024 Democratic National Convention

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

“Six years ago,” said Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in her August 19, 2024 speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, “I was taking omelet orders as a waitress in New York City.” She built her entire speech around her story as a blue-collar worker. That is a powerful rhetorical technique. Speakers should tell more stories. Stories are persuasive. Let’s look at how she used a simple story from her own life to persuade the public that ordinary working Americans deserve our politicians’ attention and support. Her story emphasized the basic value that our nation must support working Americans just as it supports the rich.

A Democratic Party firebrand, Ocasio-Cortez (casually known as AOC), told her story to represent the worth of working people – their hardships, needs, and accomplishments. Now, not all speakers tell stories. We’ve all heard liberal speakers drone away with facts, figures, statistics, and quotations from expert college professors. Those speeches often make everyone yawn. It’s not that proving things is bad. Proving things is good. But if you want to touch people’s hearts, it’s hard to outdo a narrative. 

As she told her story, Ocasio-Cortez’ wanted to show that the Democratic Party’s candidates stand for working Americans, while Donald Trump and the Republicans only care about the rich. “Donald Trump would sell this country for a dollar,” she said, “if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends.” To establish the Democrats’ contrast from Trump, she told her own story about how she scraped out a bare living by waiting on tables and serving drinks:

“Six years ago, I was taking omelet orders as a waitress in New York City. I didn’t have health insurance. My family was fighting off foreclosure and we were struggling with bills after my dad passed away unexpectedly from cancer.”

She then tied her story to her first main point: conservative politicians ignore the needs of working Americans:

“Like millions of Americans, we were just looking for an honest shake and we were tired of a cynical politics that seem blind to the realities of working people.” 

This led Ocasio-Cortez to a broader theme: her family’s problems were due, at least in part, she said, to the structural problems in American politics – “cynical politics” –  that make it too difficult for hard-working Americans to make a go of things. Conservative politics reinforce the needs of people who already have what they need. Rejecting that value, she said that to love America does not mean simply loving the rich: but also “to fight” for blue-collar workers who work hard for a living:

“To love this country is to fight for its people, all people, working people, everyday Americans like bartenders and factory workers, and fast-food cashiers who punch a clock and are on their feet all day in some of the toughest jobs out there.”

Earlier Post: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' 2020 Convention Debut Speech 

Anyone who browses social media knows that Republicans incessantly drum Ocasio-Cortez over her blue-collar background. Her life was specifically threatened during the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Pundits repeatedly advise her to return to bartending, as if physical jobs deserve no respect. Turning the tables on those critics, Ocasio-Cortez expressed pride for her blue-collar work:

“Ever since I got elected, Republicans have attacked me by saying that I should go back to bartending. But let me tell you, I’m happy to, any day of the week because there is nothing wrong with working for a living.”

The room thundered with applause and cheers.

At that point, the audience grasped the full meaning of why Ocasio-Cortez told the story of her own life and family. The crowd cheered because her story told a basic truth. The crowd cheered because she brought out a value that American politics too often ignores. The crowd cheered because her argument came from a story about a working American’s life. Voters don’t often vote for issues: they vote for values. Ocasio-Cortez’ story voiced a political value – the value of ordinary working Americans – and therein lay its power.

Earlier Post: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' First Congressional Speech Told a Story

Ocasio-Cortez did not tell her story to entertain people. Her story was neither a distraction nor a shallow icebreaker. Instead, her story proved her point. Her story proved her point more forcefully than any technical or economic argument that she could have presented. Her story stated value-laden economic issues in human terms. Few people are convinced when they find out that the unemployment rate is down to 4.3% when it peaked at 14.2% under Trump. Those are just numbers. They rarely convey emotional impact. No, it is stories that convince people.

Stories work. When you give speeches, tell stories.

by William D. Harpine

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P.S. Ocasio-Cortez entered Congress in January 2019, and quickly became a member of “The Squad,” an informal group of left-wing representatives. Although a few members of The Squad eventually succumbed to their own excesses and faced subsequent electoral defeat, Ocasio-Cortez has taken advantage of excellent staff work and learned to work with the congressional leadership, while sharply articulating left-wing causes. Although she still sometimes aggravates the leadership, there is probably no other Democrat who has aroused the level of vituperation that Republicans direct at her. That vituperation is proof enough that she makes her opponents uneasy.

Again, thanks to rev.com for providing transcripts of the convention speeches. 

Copyright © 2024 by William D. Harpine

Image: Official congressional photo, public domain

A Tale of Two Heckles: Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Jabs Kevin McCarthy - And Resets the National Debate

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The other day, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, gave a floor speech of more than eight hours. His goal was to delay the vote on the Democrats’ Build Back Better bill. The bill eventually passed. McCarthy’s speech was, by all accounts, terrible. The event’s highlight, however, came from two heckles by Democratic firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. One of her heckles was excellent, while the other was a mess. A good heckle makes people think. Let’s look at what happened.

The First Heckle

Ocasio-Cortez’ first heckle was short, pithy, and exactly on point. It was a masterful display of how heckling can reset public issue discussion.

Here’s the context. During his seemingly endless speech, McCarthy complained that the Democratic agenda was too big. Alluding to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, McCarthy said this:

“Just a few weeks ago, Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger said, ‘Nobody elected Joe Biden to be FDR.’”

From the audience, Ocasio-Cortez shouted,

“I did!”

Someone else, presumably another Democratic member of Congress, then shouted, “Me, too!”

Why was “I did!” a good heckle? First, it was short. Two words. Long heckles just irritate people. Second, she interrupted the speaker for only a brief moment. McCarthy needed a few seconds to regather his thoughts, but continued his speech. Since he had nothing to say, he didn’t comment about the heckle.

Furthermore, Ocasio-Cortez’ heckle changed the agenda. With two simple words, she encouraged us to think big. The United States of America is, after all, the country that sent astronauts to the moon and built an interstate highway system. The United States was the Arsenal of Democracy during World War II. The United States dollar is the world’s reserve currency. Nevertheless, today’s conservatives don’t seem to think that the United States can afford to do anything. Let the roads crumble and the bridges fall down? Cut school funding? Let people die without medical care? No problem!

The heckle worked because Ocasio-Cortez reset the debate. FDR became president at the height of a massive economic depression that originated under the leadership of his conservative Republican predecessor. His New Deal brought us Social Security and rural electrification, while helping the nation recover from the Great Depression.

Yet, McCarthy made it clear that he did not want another FDR. FDR thought big, and McCarthy literally boasted about thinking small. Thus, he invited Ocasio-Cortez’ heckle. Speaking for many Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez’ two-word heckle expressed her view that an ambitious, positive program was just what the nation needed.


The Second Heckle(s)

Ocasio-Cortez then retired to the luxurious congressional cloakroom, where she live-streamed a sarcastic running commentary about McCarthy’s speech. She remarked that he had “one of the lowest vocabularies ever.” She said that, even if McCarthy wanted to be evil, he shouldn’t also be stupid. Maybe, she said, he should instead be an “evil genius.” She called him an “imbecile.” And so forth.

Now, first of all, such rude language would not be allowed during floor debate. She got away with it because she was streaming from a remote place, while watching McCarthy speak on a TV monitor. Her sarcastic comments probably appealed to her liberal congressional district. I can’t say that she was wrong about McCarthy. Nevertheless, the crudity of her live-streamed heckles contrasted with her short, pithy shout about Biden and FDR.

Indeed, although Ocasio-Cortez is Past Master of Social Media, her live-streamed observations detracted from the main point. That’s because her instant heckle – “I did!” – made her point perfectly. She didn’t need to say anything else. Task complete! Furthermore, “I did!” focused national attention on the real issue, which was the Democrats’ ambitious social and industrial program. To the extent that people dwelled on her live-streamed insults, they could be distracted from thinking about the issue. For McCarthy’s poor speaking skills were not the national issue. The issue was FDR and Biden – the New Deal and the Build Back Better legislation that is now going to the Senate. 

Sometimes, short is better.


What about Heckling?

Let’s review about good heckling:

1. A good heckle is short and pithy. (Witty is also good.)

2. A good heckle is tasteful.

3. A good heckle does not disrupt the proceedings.

4. Most important, a good heckle makes people think.

When Ocasio-Cortez shouted, “I did,” she got people thinking. That was good. In contrast, when she complained about McCarthy’s lack of English language skills, she may have had a point, but that point was neither pithy nor tasteful. It didn’t make anyone think. It was just a random insult.

It is interesting, though, that we can now heckle a speech in real time over the Internet. I don’t think that’s entirely fair, since the speaker can’t respond in real time, but it is a noteworthy technological development.

Conclusion

When Ocasio-Cortez said, “I did!” she reset the day’s agenda. In two words, she reminded Congress and the public that it’s okay to think big.

“Here, here!” for good heckling. But “shame, shame” for tasteless or pointless heckling.
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Earlier Posts about heckling:

The Lost Art of Heckling

Hear! Hear! Three Cheers for (Tasteful and Witty) Heckling

"OK, Boomer:" Chlöe Swarbrick Teaches Us How to Put a Heckler Down Flat

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P.S.  Whenever I write about heckling, I think about my University of Illinois professor Kurt Ritter, who excelled at the art. 

Image: US House of Representatives

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Made Her Convention Debut Last Night

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Democratic firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered a brief speech – less than two minutes – last night at the online Democratic National Convention. Some people griped that she deserved a longer time, but for such an inexperienced politician to get speaking time at all is an honor. She nominated Bernie Sanders for the presidency, a procedural move that was required by the convention rules. Although Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez both now support Joe Biden, the Convention was required to place Sanders' name in nomination because he had more than 1,000 pledged delegates, and Sanders requested Ocasio-Cortez to speak for him. 

Ocasio-Cortez' straightforward purpose was to reinforce the liberal wing’s agenda. Toward that end, she repeated language similar to what Bernie Sanders said in his convention speech. Her opening included a Spanish word, presumably to insist to her listeners that the Democratic Party stands for inclusiveness: 

“Good evening, ​bienvenidos​, and thank you to everyone here today endeavoring towards a better, more just future for our country and our world.”

She then flowed out a lengthy, jargon-filled sentence that summarized the liberal agenda. “Guaranteed healthcare” and guaranteed higher education are basic to Sanders’ agenda:

 “In fidelity and gratitude to a mass people's movement working to establish 21st century social, economic, and human rights, including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages, and labor rights for all people in the United States; a movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny, and homophobia, and to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past; a movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of long-term stability for the many, and who organized an historic, grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy.”

Ocasio-Cortez’ complaint about “the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of long-term stability for the many” echoes standard Democratic Party agenda items. Even so, her language was more vivid than what we usually hear: “unsustainable brutality,” and “explosive inequalities.” 

Like Sanders, she spoke in language most accessible to a highly-educated audience. Unlike most politicians, however, she presented herself with a simple, conversational delivery style, using plenty of expressive vocal variety. She adapted better than most to the online format. This is no surprise, given her reputation for excellence in social media. 

Earlier Post: Did Bernie Sanders Speak over People's Heads? 

Many of the speakers at this virtual convention spoke from their homes, using normal household objects as backdrops. In contrast, Ocasio-Cortez spoke in front of an array of American flags. In part, the flags sent a nonverbal message that she stood for the United States. This is important, considering her opponents’ tendency to accuse her of being un-American. It also conveyed her message that the United States is inclusive, and that the flag does not just belong to White people. 

Earlier Post: Ocasio-Cortez' Short Speech in Congress Turned the Tables

I'm sure that the Democratic leadership does not want to lose its notoriously fickle liberal wing that supports Bernie Sanders. In this speech, Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t really trying to persuade people; she just laid out an agenda. The speech itself was obviously prerecorded and carefully vetted. The leadership may have been worried that she would uncork, but I don’t think she gave them anything to worry about. And her very presence on the online platform shows the liberal wing that they still have a voice in the party.

Earlier Posts about DNC Convention Speeches:

Kristin Urquiza's Speech about Her Father's Death from COVID-19

Bernie Sanders' Ideological Speech