Progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezHouse passes bill to avert shutdown Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' The Memo: Dems face balancing act on SCOTUS fight MORE (D-N.Y.) harshly rebuked of political moderates, saying the widespread admiration of centrist ideologies is misplaced.”

“We view cynicism as an intellectually superior attitude, and we view ambition as youthful naivete,” she said Saturday at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin.

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“When we think about the greatest things we have ever accomplished as a society have been ambitious acts of vision, and the ‘meh’ is just worshipped now, for what?”

Ocasio-Cortez is part of a group of progressive House freshmen who want to lurch the Democratic Party to the left, pushing hard for policies such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, which would fight climate change by investing in eco-friendly jobs.

She first burst onto the political scene by defeating moderate Rep. Joe Crowley Joseph (Joe) CrowleyHillicon Valley: Election officials prepare for new Russian interference battle | 'Markeyverse' of online fans helps take down a Kennedy | GOP senators unveil bill to update tech liability protections 'Markeyverse' of online fans helps take down a Kennedy The Hill's Campaign Report: Trump visits Kenosha | Primary day in Massachusetts | GOP eyes Minnesota as a battleground MORE (D-N.Y.) in their House primary race last year. She then joined protesters in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare House lawmakers reach deal to avert shutdown Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill MORE’s (D-Calif.) office to demand greater efforts to combat climate change while Pelosi was still House minority leader.

While moderate Democrats have sought to distance themselves from Ocasio-Cortez without drawing the ire of her millions of social media followers. Republicans, on the other hand, have excoriated the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, suggesting she is an example of the Democratic embrace of far-left policies.