Senator Elissa Slotkin’s attempt to carve out a sensible “pragmatist” image for herself amid the rising tides of progressive fervor in her party is—at best—a political costume stitched together with threads of contradiction. During a Medicaid roundtable in Flint, Michigan, Slotkin decided it was finally time to say out loud what many centrist Democrats whisper behind closed doors: that the far-left darlings of her party—Senator Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett—are little more than loud voices in a very crowded room.
“I can’t just be an activist,” Slotkin said, distancing herself from the screech-and-scream strategy of the progressive trio. She stressed the importance of action over rhetoric, painting herself as the sober-minded workhorse compared to the headline-chasing firebrands. Yet the line between activist and legislator has never been more blurred in her party—and in Slotkin’s case, that blur is entirely self-inflicted.
Democrat Senator Elissa Slotkin rips AOC, Bernie, and Jasmine Crockett to shreds.
"What have they actually done to change the situation with Donald Trump?"
"All of those things require me to be more than just an AOC." pic.twitter.com/7Y4fgQFEiq
— Rusty (@Rusty_Weiss) March 21, 2025
Slotkin specifically called out AOC, saying that being in a purple state like Michigan required more than performative politics. “All of those things require me to be more than just an AOC,” she claimed. But here’s where her argument wobbles: while she throws shade at AOC’s social media stardom and Sanders’ ideological purity, Slotkin has her own history of progressive signaling, media-friendly posturing, and indecision when action was most needed.
This is the same senator who skipped a vote on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act—an issue where many voters expect clarity, not calculated absence. It’s the same Slotkin who once suggested Americans under Trump were like teenagers without fully developed brains, while accusing Elon Musk of orchestrating a digital heist through "his gang of 20-year-olds" and their tech wizardry.
In Flint, @repkmr and I held a public event for folks who are scared, worried, and just plain angry about the potential cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.
Elon Musk is looking for $6T in cuts, and the math doesn’t work without going after the health care and… pic.twitter.com/ZmH9h7e46U
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) March 20, 2025
And while Slotkin addresses Medicaid in Flint, AOC and Sanders are in Las Vegas hosting a "Fighting Oligarchy" rally, leaning into their roles as celebrity revolutionaries. The symbolism isn’t lost: while Slotkin insists she’s grinding in the trenches, her critique rings hollow without the legislative follow-through to prove it.
Ultimately, Slotkin’s speech may have been less about offering a coherent policy stance and more about drawing a line in a fractured party. In trying to separate herself from the activist class, she exposed just how deep the divide runs—and how hard it is to sell pragmatism when your voting record wobbles with the winds of political optics.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is speaking at her and Bernie’s "Fighting the Oligarchy" tour.
"When they call us radical, and what they like to call me as radical. I believe is common sense."
AOC and Bernie Sanders team up as many Democrats go on tour, trying to claim the… pic.twitter.com/506ZKrBfnJ
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) March 20, 2025