AOC on purity tests and reality tests

I have once again encountered a Democrat who finds the likes of Bernie and AOC to be "radical left." That they just don't understand how the world works, that they are idealistic and want what is not possible. This has to do with their demand to not accept corporate PAC money, that it's an unrealistic purity test that shoots itself in the foot because you need more money to compete in elections. And yet Bernie and AOC, while not accepting that sort of money, nevertheless raised more money for their campaigns than their opposition who took it, completely proving that argument false.

The Princeton Report makes clear that politicians that accept corporate money end up voting for policies that favor their corporate benefactors, plain and simple. And those that do not take that money end up supporting policies that benefit the majority of we the people. This is not mere correlation but a direct cause that big money has corrupted out government. If we want a government of, for and by the people then we simply must get big money out of government and institute publicly-funded elections. Of course to ever achieve that requires that progressives who don't take that money get elected in the majority so that we can finally enact laws to that effect. So we the people must keep fiercely working to achieve that goal until we get there.

These progressives merely have values which support what the majority of Americans want: A government that represents everyone, not just the 1%. The are not idealists or radicals, just true representatives of a real democracy. Framing to the contrary is part and parcel of the reigning corrupt, corporate narrative that detests that democracy. The underlying truth is that these progressives have a commitment to serving we the people and what's best for us, and of fighting the forces that want to prevent it. Let's reinforce often that narrative which exposes the lies and supports the reality of what needs to be done to enact it. Let's make that the true test which challenges the corrupt reality and replaces it with a better one.