Satire is dead. Nothing says “a woman of the people” like wearing an ugly designer gown festooned with a class-warfare slogan to a $30,000-per-ticket gala event. The only way possible for this to get any more hypocritical would be if some fashion magazine infamous for its own elitism offered hosannas from the red carpet.

Oh, wait …

NEW – Democrat Rep. AOC wears a "Tax The Rich" dress at #MetGala, where a ticket costs $30,000 to attend.pic.twitter.com/V9B7UGoGX5

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 13, 2021

Yes, those are “reporters” from Vogue offering a giggly “damn!” to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). This would be the same “Vogue” whose top boss Anna Wintour has such a reputation for elitism and abuse of workers that it spawned a best-selling barely-fiction novel and hit movie, The Devil Wears Prada. In fact, the Met Gala is organized and run by Vogue, and both its exclusivity and price make it among the elitist of elite social events of the year.

NBC News at least pointed out the criticisms of hypocrisy in its report:

But it’s what was on the back of the Brother Vellies by Aurora James gown that had people talking. In large, bright red lettering was the message “Tax the Rich.”

“It’s really about having a real conversation about fairness and equity in our system, and I think this conversation is particularly relevant as we debate the budget and reconciliation bill,” she said.

Some on social media thought the message could be seen as a bit hypocritical, coming at an event that charges tens of thousands of dollars for a ticket where Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is among Hollywood celebrities.

Still, others cheered her political statement, and said wearing something with that message on it at an event with so many wealthy individuals makes it more powerful.

Wearing a dress with a hoary, beyond-simplistic socialist slogan isn’t “about having a real conversation.” It’s an attempt to virtue-signal to the media and the stuffy elites at the Met who fancy themselves superior to everyone else. At best, it’s a bizarre homily, not a conversation, which would involve Ocasio-Cortez explaining a specific tax plan, and then listening while others explain that the wealthy already pay the largest share of income-tax revenue in the US. Our income-tax schedule is not called “progressive” for nothing, after all.

That brings up another point. Not long ago, Ocasio-Cortez complained about not having enough money to live in Washington DC. How did this working-class hero suddenly find the spare cash to buy a custom-made designer dress and a $30,000 ticket to the Met Gala on her <$180K salary while maintaining residences in two of the most expensive cities in the US? Either AOC’s accepting some very high-priced gifts from the elite, has come into a great deal of cash from somewhere, or is using campaign donor money to have a great time out on the town hobnobbing with the Wintour clique. If there’s another explanation, let’s hear it, because the Brooklyn bartender seems to have adopted the lifestyles of the rich and famous these days while decrying them at the same time.

It’s good to know, I suppose, that even as a socialist AOC has no problem living with the two-party system. That would be the inner party/outer party system seen in other socialist countries, where the workers get the bread lines and the leaders get the dachas, the red carpets, and the “damn!” from each other. The proles are merely an means to that end for AOC and her fellow limousine socialists.

Addendum: Ben Shapiro nails the moment in a single tweet:

Our asshat radicals cosplay the revolution. Actual revolutionaries eat the rich. They don't eat cake with the rich, then declare their virtue by wearing a shirt saying "eat the rich."

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 14, 2021