They smear conservatives as science deniers while flying around the world in private jets. Their frontrunner frequently rails against the wealthy while owning three homes. They decry money being used to influence politics without batting an eye at Planned Parenthood’s massive financial contributions to Democratic campaigns. And now, prominent progressives are displaying their hypocrisy when it comes to school choice.

By now, most of us have seen that the progressive left takes a “good for thee, but not for me” approach to many of their political stances. But recently, socialist superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has been exposed as a hypocrite when it comes to school choice and charter schools.

In 2017, Ocasio-Cortez recorded a Facebook livestream in which she discussed the neighborhood in which she was raised. “This area’s like a lot of where my family is from,” she said. “My goddaughter, I got her into a charter school like maybe a block or two down.”

.@AOC: "My goddaughter, I got her into a charter school like maybe a block or two down" Good for her! Now let's embrace school choice for everyone else. pic.twitter.com/sOxPD9vu1v — Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) February 25, 2020

Of course, those who understand the importance of parents being allowed to choose the schools that their children attend would have no problem with the lawmaker’s comments. But to the socialist left, sentiments such as these are problematic because they fervently believe that the government should make decisions such as these, not private citizens.

In fact, the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York platform has railed against the notion that parents know what its best for their children. They insisted that “charter schools act as tools for privatizing education and weakening the power of unionized teachers.” They have even called for the end of “the creation of new charters schools,” and banning “the expansion of existing charter schools.”

AOC herself has complained that residents in her district were being “incentivized to enroll into a charter school.” The representative has loudly excoriated the existence of charter programs while lauding the benefits of a state-provided education. But she is not the only one on the left who believes that what’s good for the goose is not good for the gander when it comes to education.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who seems to be vying for a spot as Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) when he secures the nomination, was caught lying about children’s stint at a private school last year. RedState’s Nick Arama explained, “Warren’s son, Alex, went to the Kirby Hall School in Texas while Warren was teaching at the University of Texas at Austin at least for part of his time since he was listed in their yearbook when he was in the fifth grade in 1986-87.”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has also criticized non-public educational institutions, exclusively attended private schools when he was younger. The Cato Institute reported that his husband taught at the Montessori Academy in Indiana. The school accepts pupils who use the state’s tax credit scholarship program. Buttigieg is one of many on the left who oppose school choice initiatives that benefit disadvantaged children.

Is any of this a surprise? The school choice issue is just one example in a long list of the far-left’s hypocrisy on various issues. The fact of the matter is this: Marxism inevitably leads to a system that purports to promote equality while its elite classes practice something entirely different.

This type of system depends on keeping the underclass equally poor while they enjoy the very luxuries that they demonize in public. It enables them to maintain control while pretending to be virtuous.

When it comes to poverty-stricken communities run by Democrats – especially those predominantly populated by minorities – many conservatives would argue that the school systems have failed. I disagree. I believe they are working exactly as intended; enforcing poverty by foisting a substandard education on these children.

In light of this, it makes sense that they would oppose school choice – if they are positioning themselves as the champions of the poor, they must keep as many people as poor as possible.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Follow me on Twitter: @JeffOnTheRight