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I felt like the only way to effectively run for office is if you had access to a lot of wealth, high social influence, a lot of dynastic power, and I knew that I didn’t have any of those things.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

For me, democratic socialism is about – really, the value for me is that I believe that in a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no person in America should be too poor to live.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Democracy Live Myself Poor Rich Social Value
It’s not just that I’m a woman of color running for office. It’s the way that I ran. It’s the way that my identity formed my methods.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Color Identity Myself Office Run Woman
The way the Queens Democratic party machine has worked, they operate on a politics of exclusion.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Democracy Politics Queen Way
Democrats should be getting high-fives from sanitation truck drivers – that is what should be happening in America.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Country Democracy Driver Sanitation
I see people like me, who thought someone like me couldn’t be in politics, now are saying, ‘Oh, wait, I don’t need to take money from corporations to run. Maybe I’ll run, too.’
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Money Myself People Politics Thinking
Public schools in the late ’80s and early ’90s were a total mess… we felt that if I was going to have a good educational option in my life, I would have to go to a public school district that actually served its children.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Children Education Feeling Goodness Life Myself Public Service
We have to have a diversity of age represented in Congress, too.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Age Diversity Representation
I don’t like having people do little things for me.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Myself People Small
It’s disingenuous to pretend the sources of our money don’t impact the policy we write – you just can’t serve two masters.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Impact Money Pretend Service Source Writing
I believe that every American should have stable, dignified housing; health care; education – that the most very basic needs to sustain modern life should be guaranteed in a moral society.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Believe Dignity Education Life Modern Myself Society Stability
I’m very hands-on about social media. That’s my voice.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Hands Social Media Voice
We have to stick to the message: What are we proposing to the American people? Not, ‘What are we fighting against?’
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Fight Message People Propose Rival
I don’t think any person in America should die because they are too poor to live.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Death Myself Person Thinking
I was born in a place where your ZIP code determines your destiny.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Born Destiny Determination Myself Place
I knew that our community needed a very clear voice. and I think we deserved representation that rejected lobbyist funds and put our voters and our community first.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Clear Community Ourselves Voice Vote
We have a political culture of intimidation, of favoring, of patronage, and of fear, and that is no way for a community to be governed.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Community Fear Government Politics