Ocasio-Cortez/Shapiro Redux
by tristero
Ginia Bellafante makes good points about how rare it is for male politicians to take female politicians seriously in her essay re: Ocasio-Cortez's refusal to debate a right winger with a propensity for ethnocentrism and other intolerances. I discussed this situation once before but I'd like to briefly revisit it because I think I missed something quite obvious the first time.
Ocasio-Cortez's refusal has been wrongly construed as - in Bellafante description of the right wing position — "proof of the left’s antipathy to engaging with ideological difference." Liberals, progressives, and the left are not adverse to engaging in with ideological differences. What all three groups — yes, they are distinctly different political philosophies — object to is a false engagement with bogus ideas, be they the facts of evolution, climate change, the complexity of gender, the undeniable relationship between the above-ground Republican party and white supremacists, and so on. There is plenty to discuss about each of these issues, and plenty of difference of opinion. However, the modern right wing has nothing important to contribute to these discourses. They are, as Ocasio-Cortez herself put it, merely cat-calling.
Nevertheless, the actual reason why Ocasio-Cortez should not debate Shapiro is even more obvious than the fact that Shapiro does not have a serious intellectual leg to stand on. It's that he's simply not in the game. He's a dilettante and Ocasio-Cortez — who's a very savvy politician — knows it.
If Shapiro is truly serious about engaging Ocasio-Cortez in a debate, he should move to her district, secure the Republican nomination for seat, and challenge her for re-election when her term's up.
Let's not hold our breath waiting for him to do that.