Shrewd as a fox: Does Ocasio-Cortez want Trump to win in 2020?

Anyone who has seriously played deep-strategy games such as chess and Othello recognizes the importance of making a counter-intuitive move that, although in the short-term seems to lose, does in the long-term set up a win. In chess, this is called a gambit, often involving the short-term sacrifice of a valuable piece or position. The winning advantage of a successful gambit becomes clear only later in the game. Granted, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) does not seem to have the intellect required of subtle strategy, but her behind-the scenes handlers may be politically astute enough to know that in order for the far left to triumph in 2024, the Democratic Establishment must first be dethroned in 2020. A Democrat win in 2020 would firmly ensconce that very establishment, the one vying for power against "the squad," which Ocasio-Cortez leads, at least in the public mind.

In support of this theory, consider that, inadvertently, the Republicans may have benefited from their unintended loss to Barack Obama in 2012. Had Mitt Romney won that election, as we have learned by his subsequent actions, he would have been an establishment president, further solidifying the power of what we disparagingly refer to as the RINO faction. Romney's loss had a significant role in propelling Trump to victory in 2016. Checkmate. It could hardly be more clear that the "four horsewomen of the apocalypse" (Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, and Pressley) have little practical power at the moment, but they seek to gain power at the expense of House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Pelosi, however, holds nearly all the political cards. Like the queen on a chess board, she is the most powerful mover. If a Democrat is elected president in 2020, she and her establishment will get the credit, and her rebuff of "the squad" will be vindicated. A Democratic win in 2020 would be a disaster for the nation, for President Trump's programs, and for the Republican Party. That much is obvious, but less obviously to many, it would also be a disaster for the most radical fringe of the Democratic Party, the rebellion led by Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez cannot afford to be seen as openly advocating for a Trump win. On the contrary, she must be seen as the Joan of Arc battling him. But only if Trump wins, with Pelosi discredited and the Democrat Establishment defeated, will Ocasio-Cortez and all she represents have any hope of hijacking the Democratic Party, seizing its assets, and marching forward to 2024. Trump will have retired after his second term, and it is questionable whether anyone with his energy, popularity, and stamina will arise to take his place. The real question is, what will Ocasio-Cortez and her ilk do to pull off the deception? Their task is easy. They need simply to continue railing against not only Trump, but Pelosi as well. Keeping herself (Ocasio-Cortez) front and center in the 2020 campaign will help assure a Democratic loss, while at the same time discrediting the Democrat Establishment, setting up a radical leftist assault in 2024. Whether the gambit will lead to a radical leftist victory in 2024 is in doubt, especially if the economy reaches its zenith. The Left must hope for a deep recession, an American defeat overseas, or political scandals to undermine the Republicans in 2024. In that regard, there is little the Left can do to control the outcome. As it all develops, we may discover that the political game is a lot less like chess than like poker. All the skill in the world cannot always overcome bad luck. Even so, "trapping" is a valued tactic in poker, as much as gambits are in chess. The "squad" is setting a trap. Ocasio-Cortez cannot even win at tic-tac-toe without help, but those who support her from the shadows are playing the long game. Image: Dimitri Rodriguez via Flickr.