Few Americans are under the illusion that the solons we elect to lead us are uniformly among the righteous. As James Madison wrote in 51 Federalist, “if men were angels, no government would be necessary.” We expect the government to work, not to pray.  Even for those among us who long ago shed hoary convictions nurtured in American civics class, though, the latest remarks by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez still arrived as a shock. 

In a video tweeted by the Hill, AOC laments that “it’s just really wild to be a person that works in a corrupt institution, which is what Congress is, and to try and be a normal person surrounded by so much decay and moral emptiness, that frankly transcends party, is very difficult.” AOC, of course, is one of the highest profile members of that “corrupt institution.” Jeremiah never had eight and a half million followers on Instagram. 

While we extend our sympathies to the congresswoman as she strives, however vainly, to be a “normal person,” we hold no brief for her slander of our elected representatives. The notion of AOC as a righteous beacon among the sinners of Sodom strikes us as even less persuasive than the socialist’s suggestion that America is an irredeemable assemblage of amoral capitalists. Denunciation is the lingua franca of this faction.

On the subject of moral emptiness, we would point to another recent video from AOC on Instagram Live, where in reference to the disputed death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh the congresswoman asserted “She was killed by Israeli forces,” and  “our tax dollars are part of this.” She lamented that “we can’t even get healthcare in the United States, and we’re funding this.” A more scurrilous charge would be difficult to level.   

It is hard to tell if “emptiness” or “ugliness” is a better word to describe Her Honor’s sanctimony, which highlights the absurdity of AOC cloaking herself in robes (or dresses) of pure white and dressing everyone else in the scarlet shades of sin. To loathe the people’s house to kvetch to no purpose and, since she can’t let it go, borders on self-hatred. We’ve heard there’s a need for good bartenders these days, if AOC can abide by the morality on tap.