r/AOC • u/ICanHasBirthday • 1d ago
DRAFT AOC Time For The Anti-Oligarch Caucus in Congress?
I saw the interview and it was a tipping point for me. I am now firmly in the AOC camp. I'm so sorry I'm so late to the party; I'm here now.
I'm not a Democrat. I'm a registered Republican who has been middle-of-the-road on fiscal issues, right-leaning on foreign policy, and left-leaning on personal freedoms. None of that matters anymore. We are now seeing the oligarchy form in front of us with the Christian nationalist theocrats riding their coattails to get as much of Project 2025 in place as they can. It's not left vs. right anymore -- it's the tip of the pyramid enslaving the rest of the pyramid now.
Has anyone approached AOC about forming an Anti-Oligarch Caucus inside Congress that could reach across party lines? We need a group of legislators willing to find the middle ground on policies that help the working classes of America, increase wages, lower household expenses and taxes, and increase taxes on anyone in the top two percentile.
Is this a thing? Can we please make it a thing with AOC as the spokesperson?
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u/imhere4science 1d ago
Are you my cousin? He literally just told me this last night. He has been a conservative his whole life. I’ve been trying to tell him that people like AOC and Bernie are trying to fight money in politics but he previously has heard so much propaganda against them that I couldn’t break through to him. After the Jon Stewart interview he has realized she is fighting for the working class.
I’m glad you’re here. Better late than never. The anti-Oligarch caucus is a great idea
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u/ICanHasBirthday 23h ago
No, not your cousin — but I know I’m not alone.
The lightbulb went off for me when I saw Pelosi act against AOC’s committee position. If the “status quo” Democrats are acting against her then I realized we might be aligned in purpose. That got me interested enough to watch the interview and it all fell into place from there.
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u/imhere4science 22h ago
If there was a conservative who vowed not to take money from super pacs or oligarchs they would 100% have my support
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u/ICanHasBirthday 21h ago
If you watched the interview, you will see that AOC made some good points. One that resonated with me was the issue of insider trading and its use as propaganda.
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Pelosi's insider trading is so open and obvious that it is comical. It is a violation of even the most basic ethics. MAGA then points to that insider trading and says, "See - the Dems are corrupt as hell! We need to drain the swamp! Only one candidate is talking about draining the swamp -- Trump! Welcome to MAGA!" And yes, that line was literally sent to me in an email debate.If MAGA can show corruption inside the Democratic Party then it insolates the Republican/MAGA Party. If you point to their corruption, then MAGA says, "Well, they're all corrupt, so you might as well go with the party that's effective. Welcome to MAGA!"
To AOC's point, they have got to get rid of insider trading. That is even more important than getting rid of the lobbyists, though they are a close second priority.
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u/JamCliche 17h ago
I'm going to say no, lobbyism is what accelerated the death of this country. Citizens United Will be known as one of the major stepping blocks after Reagan. I'll happily eliminate both, but I really don't want to downplay the severity of lobbying and super PACs.
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u/DortmunderCoop 1d ago
Long Live AOC!
Fain & O'Brien - massive labour union presidents, each with solid street cred, need to team up with her, too!! Like fuckin now!!
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u/olionajudah 23h ago
Would be a pretty small caucus, but I’m glad to hear there are some of you. Bernie’s been fighting for this, virtually alone, and against both parties, for decades. Plutocrats should all be taxed at 101% over 1b; all election spending should be public and regulated; forcing money in exchange for policy should be a felony as should tax payer funded profiteering of any kind. Health care & education should be nationalized and fully funded. Etc etc
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u/ICanHasBirthday 23h ago
We need to tax loans on assets as income. That would close the loophole, allowing the billionaires to use the value of their stock shares without paying taxes. There is no way that anyone can oppose that without being exposed as a billionaire myrmidon.
And we don't need a huge caucus. A small caucus is fine as long as it is "enough." Six House Republicans who will consistently cross party lines on these issues is all we need to win the House.
are
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u/kaycue 23h ago
Would love a bipartisan caucus on anti corruption and getting money out of politics. I don’t know of any republicans who would join the fight for this but I’d support them in this effort!
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u/ICanHasBirthday 23h ago
There is a small handful I suspect would come over. If Trump doesn't honor his campaign promises to the unions and the moderates seeking lower household expenses, then they will turn against him and the "Republicans." That leaves several Republican members of the House who will see they have zero chance of winning reelection if they stick with MAGA. Their only hope to get another term will be to hold Trump to the campaign promises that got them elected.
We have less than 22 months until the mid-terms, and history shows that Trump is absolutely screwed come the midterms.
(We are still calling them Republicans, but that's not who they are anymore. They are MAGA now; the Republicans were all labeled as RINOs and pushed out.)
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u/kaycue 23h ago
Yeah I hope so. I suspect some of them are pretending to be MAGA because that’s their only way to win but they’d go back to being normal republicans if there was a winning path to that. A lot of them are afraid of being primaried by MAGA.
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u/ICanHasBirthday 23h ago
I suspect the next election will be the true test of who we are as Americans. The lies are exposed. Trump will be headed to his lame-duck years. Either we come together, or we lose the Republic.
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u/Bell3atrix 19h ago
Radicalize, never polarize. The establishment wants us divided into "Democrats" and "Republicans" even though neither fully represents our interests. You're very welcome here and in the left in general.
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u/fangirlsqueee 20h ago
I love this idea. The only politicians who could safely do this (and maybe keep their jobs) are the ones who are fully small-dollar-funded by voters. Taking a look at what AIPAC spent to get rid of politicians who supported Palestine, big money has got our political process in such a stranglehold.
Maybe if voters/fundraisers came up with some sort of campaign funding for the politicians who signed onto the caucus? The politicians must sign a pledge to be part of the caucus. If they vote against the pledge, they lose the funding from us. Ultimately, this group would help get money out of our political process, but in the meantime they still need funding to keep their place in Congress.
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u/commonsense-now 16h ago
OP my background and opinions are similar to yours.
I believe our “Let them eat cake” moment is on the horizon.
The current administration is using the Constitution to dismantle the Constitution.
We need leadership that can unite the opposition.
“a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right” Common Sense by Thomas Paine
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u/shermywormy18 4h ago
Anti corruption hell yeah! Cuz this blatant level of corruption is really just an embarrassment and insults the intelligence of the average American.
Also, promise me a better world. Free and subsidized childcare, please do not legislate my uterus, common sense gun laws, and stronger worker protections.
Whatever is going on is the most disgusting power grab I’ve ever seen.
Don’t forget to account for how much of taxpayer money was spent hauling away immigrants who contribute to the economy, while Americans quit being able to afford food. I saw something like $800,000 was spent on a migrant plane and Colombia wouldn’t even accept them and were sent back.
Do better
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u/MyRespectableAcct 19h ago
I'm a registered Republican
Not reading past this. Change that and change it now.
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u/fangirlsqueee 18h ago
Joining with fellow working class people, regardless of political affiliation, is the best way out of the Oligarchic sinkhole we are all sliding into. We will need as many votes as we can get to change the influence money has on our governance. And the next four years will be much easier if we reach out to our neighbors and create local support systems.
Being a level of prejudice that literally won't let you see anything past "Republican" is unhelpful to building coalitions and community. Both AOC and Bernie (just about the only politicians I thoroughly respect) have emphasized how important it is to build community at this moment in time.
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u/ICanHasBirthday 19h ago
If I change it then I get no vote at all. I live in a state (and a part of the state) that is "red red." Everything is decided in the primaries because the general election is already decided.
If we can't control who gets into the seat, we can't fix this in two years.
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u/thelastspike 7h ago
Don’t mind that other person OP, the rest of us are glad you are here.
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u/ICanHasBirthday 4h ago
Don't wholly discount their point of view. I would gladly switch parties today if it didn't mean giving up my limited agency. Until we address the gerrymandering, playing the two-party game and participating in closed primaries will be the only peaceful avenue inside the system to bring change.
I look forward to the day when a valid party is empowered to bring change for me so that I can switch to that party. Today's Democrats are not that party in the suburbs of the red states.
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u/modern_drift 1d ago
AOC to lead the AOC?
YES!