Wobbly Lozen & the Cat Gods

AOC TELLS THE LEFT TO ABANDON PURITY TESTS, LIKE GAZA Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez built her political career challenging the Democratic establishment, promising a new era of progressive politics and accountability. But a New York Times profile portrays a politician increasingly embracing party alliances while encouraging the left to move beyond ideological “purity tests,” almost gaslighting her supporters. Among the scathing rhetoric is how divisions over Isr*el's war in G*za and the g*nocide are portrayed and diminished by AOC. To many of her critics and supporters, it seems that questions about P*lestinian rights and accountability are being dismissed as political obstacles rather than fundamental principles. AOC's own voting record has fueled those criticisms. In 2021, she voted “present” rather than opposing an additional $1 billion in funding for Isr*el's Iron Dome mis*ile defence system. In 2025, she voted against an amendment that would have eliminated roughly $500 million in Iron Dome funding, arguing that defensive systems should be distinguished from offensive weapons. The Democratic Socialists of America even withdrew its national endorsement of AOC in 2024, citing disagreements over P*lestine and her failure to meet several conditions, including opposition to all military funding for Isr*el. Although AOC has since pledged to oppose all future U.S. military aid to Isr*el, including Iron Dome, her evolving positions continue to raise questions about the relationship between progressive movements and the political establishment, especially when progressives like her, Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed, seem to be moving closer to establishment politicians like Obama. As both major parties face criticism over corporate influence, foreign policy, and their inability to deliver meaningful economic change, voters are left wondering if this even matters, if anything will fundamentally change. It appears not much has.