Last week, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was sworn in as the youngest ever congresswoman in US history. In response, someone on the right leaked a video of her dancing on a roof while she was in college, in a vain attempt to humiliate her.
“Here is America’s favourite commie know-it-all acting like the clueless nitwit she is,” the original caption read from the now-deleted account. The full clip shows the politician dancing alongside her Boston University classmates to Phoenix “Lisztomania”, a lá this iconic Breakfast Club scene.
Despite the poster’s intentions, the video actually just made Ocasio-Cortez look way more human than the average Washington droid. And now the clip of her twirling, smiling and just generally enjoying life has become a meme, and has been set to a classic set of songs. There’s now even an entire Twitter feed devoted to the mash-ups called AOC Dances To Every Song.
Below, we’ve listed our favourites of the “commie know-it-all” clips, using a right-to-left ranking scale, in a vague attempt at making sense of what politics even means anymore.
Great song, loved by all. When Britney sang this tune, she told MTV that it was about one girl’s hopeless addiction to a man “she’ll do anything to get”. She sings that “there’s no escape” from unhealthy environment created by this man’s influence – which TBH sounds a lot like the relationship between Trump and white nationalists.
Rank: Alt-right
BEYONCÉ – “SINGLE LADIES”
An anthem for independent women everywhere, this song beautifully illustrates Ocasio-Cortez’s carefreeness, but in terms of its lyrical content, the song praises individualism in a similar style to the ideologies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Rank: Thatcherism
This happy-go-lucky classic is a feel-good anthem. It also sums up many people’s sentiments about former US President Obama.
Rank: Neo-liberalism
PULP – “COMMON PEOPLE”
This tale of a well-to-do girl wanting to blend in in a working-class environment is emblematic of basically every woke arty kid gentrifying cheap neighbourhoods to have a proximity to struggle while also praying the local businesses are turned into brunch spots sometime soon.
Rank: Champagne socialist
CHINA’S NATIONAL ANTHEM
This one takes little explanation. As the national anthem for the People’s Republic of China, this is clearly the most commie of the lot.
Rank: Full-on communism
Since you’ve read this far, you might as well watch this bonus clip that illustrates why this 29-year-old is a rising star in American politics. She perfectly deconstructs how President Donald Trump is a “symptom of racism”. It’s not a catchy meme, but it’s an apt analysis of modern American life. Watch the clip below.