I actually agreed with AOC

Donald Trump recently questioned the credentialism of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). AOC Tweeted a reply that it was classist to judge people by their credentials.

I could say yes, but who cares? Plenty of people without college degrees could run this country better than Trump ever has.

As much as GOP cry about “elites,” they’re the ones who constantly mock food service workers, people w/o degrees, etc as dumb. It’s classist & disgusting. https://t.co/t4FepwyeGl

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 26, 2020

The media jumped on what they considered to be a brilliant response. I have seen this on multiple websites. I will share the first article I encountered. https://www.newsweek.com/aoc-denounces-classist-trump-after-he-questions-her-college-education-1542264

In reality, AOC completely undermined the educational beliefs of her party. This includes policies that she pushed in the same sequence.

In this particular case, AOC was right. If you have visited my educational blog, you will see multiple posts about credentialism and why we need to stop judging people on their acquisition of a piece of paper.  I have even insisted that we have created a caste-like system.

Oddly enough, she made the argument that it's the Republicans that judge people on their credentials. It's actually the Democrats who are guilty. Liberal media outlets have been known to promote the myth of the uneducated voter. This is the idea Democrats are better because people with degrees are more likely to support their party. This is despite the common sense reality that degrees are not a valid measure of education. It's even worse and a bigger defiance of common sense when the portrayal relies on credentials measuring intelligence.

In 2016, Donald Trump was slammed for a concerning quote. He said that he loved the poorly educated. He clearly meant voters without degrees, but he erroneously and inexcusably referred to them as poorly educated. Democrats insisted that he loved these voters because he had to rely on voters who were less intelligent. Again, this was a defiance of common sense.

Alongside AOC's supposedly brilliant Tweet, another Tweet was used as an example of how great AOC is at countering Trump. She insisted that we compare her schooling history to Trump's. By her own logic, wasn't she being classist?

Let’s make a deal, Mr. President:

You release your college transcript, I’ll release mine, and we’ll see who was the better student.

Loser has to fund the Post Office. https://t.co/OXnmJxufIw

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 13, 2020

When I started reading her Tweet about classism, I couldn't help but wonder if she could speak to Joe Biden about his proposed educational policies. Biden wants to do such things as cancel student debt and provide tuition-free collegiate options. These policies are reliant on the idea that credentials, not ability, lead to success. They also intentionally exclude benefits to anyone who learns outside of the schools. They are completely incompatible with what AOC was saying.

I didn't wonder long. AOC actually provided a sequence of two Tweets. The second half of her second Tweet suggested these same policies. These policies would strengthen the flawed and inequitable concept of credentialism. They would further hinder the lives of the people she claims to be defending, those who lack college degrees. Despite claims from the media, it is not brilliant to undermine your own political views.

I’ve hired people w/o degrees who have done incredible, effective, & strategic work.

The more college costs soar, the more degrees become a measure privilege than competence. Our country would be better off if we made public colleges tuition-free & cancelled student loan debt.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 26, 2020