President Trump, during his State of the Union address, marked the turf on which he wants to fight for reelection. Daring the Democrats to veer hard to the left, he declared that “America will never be a socialist country.” Game on, answered Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the freshman dynamo who has energized her party’s Twitter base.

Though at 29 she’s too young to be the 2020 candidate against Trump, Ocasio-Cortez seeks to define the Democratic platform for the eventual nominee, whoever it is. To that end, she unveiled her vision for a “Green New Deal,” which promises not only an energy revolution of unprecedented scale, but also government-guaranteed jobs, wages, housing, vacations, nutritious menus, family leave and health care. As a proposed nonbinding resolution, the idea is in its symbolic stage, but what it symbolizes is way to the left of Denmark.

Socialism. It is to politics as New Year’s resolutions are to waistlines. No matter how reliably it fails, believers insist it will work next time. Sweden can swear off fad diets. Zimbabwe can flop like a week-old ThighMaster. There will always be socialists to insist they just need another shot.