Earlier this week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put up a tweet so mind-numbingly stupid that simply calling it “factually incorrect” would be an insult to the word “incorrect.” As is to be expected in the social media world, folks on the right ripped the incoming congresswoman to shreds for it.

Here were some of the typical responses: “This is factually incorrect!” “We cannot have someone this stupid in the government!” “This is what happens when we elect someone with no experience.” “Sure, this message is popular. Too bad it’s all wrong.”

Learning From The Left’s Mistakes

Take a moment and look at those responses again. Do they look familiar? They are the exact same arguments the politico class made against then-candidate Donald Trump for two straight years, right up until the point he carpet-bombed Hillary Clinton on election night.

Yes, the tweet was incorrect. Yes, it would be nice if the people in our government had some actual knowledge about the things they talk about. Still, it is critical for folks on the right to avoid the mistakes made by the left. We must learn from how they treated (and treat) President Trump and endeavor not to make the same mistakes.

Do not underestimate this woman, and do not think your savage mockery of her stupidity will be an effective tool to stop her. It won’t. It will instead be personalized by her supporters, creating an army that will lay down and die for her (or at least vote for her), just like the army Trump has. You should be afraid of Ocasio-Cortez. Be much more afraid than you are.

Through thick and thin, up and down, one thing about elections in America has never changed: you cannot win them without non-political people. It is the undecided masses who decide elections. They do not watch YouTube videos of Milton Friedman breaking down economics, and they’re unimpressed that you graduated summa cum laude. They may only glance at the nightly news for a few minutes, but they will get on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

That can be difficult to accept, especially for legacy media families who grew up with Walter Cronkite as the most powerful news source in America. Today, social media is Walter Cronkite. Candidates like Ocasio-Cortez who know and embrace this will have a leg up on the rest of the nation.

It is human nature to over-inflate one’s importance. We all do this. We pretend whatever we are doing is uniquely important and valuable. Doctors do this, but it is not reserved for the white-collar professions. Want to hear about the glory and importance of a man’s job? Talk to a cattle rancher. He’ll happily oblige you with all the reasons why his career is uniquely difficult while also letting you know he’s extremely important to America itself.

Now, he’s not wrong. Ranchers are great and important people. My folks have a ranch. The point is that he and everyone else over-inflate their lot in life as a way of validating themselves.

Nowhere is this more apparent than political punditry. Every single person who talks politics for a living is convinced he knows the inside scoop, has the pulse of the American people, and has some special control over the outcome of the next election. They don’t. The next national election (and the next hundred after that) will come down to one thing: Who do the relatively non-political people prefer?

Ocasio-Cortez Seems Extra-Relatable

In politics, there is no ability like relatability. Gone are the days of needing a scroll-like political resume like George H.W. Bush. This is the age of Barack Obama. He was twice elected president. This is the age of Donald Trump. He has a list of transgressions that would have sunk any candidate trying to get elected before the 21st century. But that was then. This is now.

And now is the age of social media. This is the age where a tidal wave of support can and does come from anywhere. Social media allows candidates for office to let the public see them with their blemishes. With a push of a button, you can watch Ocasio-Cortez make instant mac and cheese like a college freshman. She’s pretty. She’s young enough to understand and take advantage of this current political world. Most importantly, her naiveté about the things of government make her more appealing to the common man, not less.

Ocasio-Cortez is a socialist. Socialism is just communism dressed up in high heels and lipstick. It is a tremendous evil and a scourge upon the face of the planet. It has killed far more people than Nazism, racism, or any of the other isms combined, and America is not as far from it as you might think. Don’t believe me? Here are the Bernie Sanders versus Donald Trump polls from last election. Very scary stuff.

So go ahead laugh at Ocasio-Cortez. That’s fine. Sit in your Foggy Bottom townhouse and mock the dullard from the Bronx as she eats the food of the unwashed masses. Squeal with delight every time she fails basic civics. After all, this freshman congresswoman, her peasant food, and her Boston University degree wouldn’t even be allowed in the front door of your tennis club.

But know this; the people who decide the next election like easy mac and cheese, and they’ll never step foot in a tennis club. She speaks the language President Trump speaks, and she speaks it well. Let’s hope we smarten up and don’t carry her to the White House one day as the left carried Trump.