Centrists Hold Progressives Accountable for Woke Records
Progressive Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are trying to distance themselves from radical positions like defunding police that they championed during the pandemic and BLM era.
According to Hailey Bullis writing in Washington Examiner, leading progressive figures are now trying to avoid accountability for stances that dominated during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter unrest era. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, reportedly being floated as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, recently echoed a phrase from a New York City councilman describing that period as “Woke 1 was crazy.”
The comments came during an appearance on ABC News’s This Week, where Ocasio-Cortez defended Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, who previously advocated for abolishing prisons and canceling Thanksgiving. Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, now claims she has “evolved” from those positions ahead of Wisconsin’s Tuesday primary elections.
Hong attempted to explain away her previous statements as reactions to pandemic stress. I had some hot takes, some bad takes on Twitter, she said over the weekend, attributing them to the pressures of running a restaurant during COVID while being a student.
Ocasio-Cortez suggested that candidates should be judged on their current positions rather than past statements, using the “Woke 1” framework to categorize the previous era of progressive activism as an aberration.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive movement’s standard-bearer, similarly distanced himself from the “defund the police” movement last week, claiming that “no serious person” he knows running for office supports the policy—despite it being a major rallying cry among progressives in 2020.
Former Democrats Reject the Revisionism
The attempt to dismiss these positions as merely a phase has provoked strong reactions from centrist Democrats and former party operatives. Evan Barker, a former Democratic campaign operative who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, posted on X that Ocasio-Cortez’s strategy treats the period as “some kind of mass hysteria” that can simply be laughed away.
Barker warned that the movement “ruined careers, pushed an entire cohort of people out of Democratic politics,” and remains active within the party. He cautioned that the apparent “vibe shift” is merely “a mirage” and predicted a more organized “Woke 2” could emerge.
Yemisi Egbewole, a former Democratic staffer and Biden administration alumna, rejected the notion that the party can simply “giggle away ‘Woke 1 was crazy’ as if it was all just harmless rhetoric.” She pointed out that real people’s lives were affected and noted the extensive time she spent trying to explain to progressives why Black neighborhoods still needed law enforcement.
Progressive Candidates Navigate Past Associations
The strategy shift comes just 85 days before November midterm elections, where numerous socialist and progressive candidates will appear on ballots nationwide.
In Michigan, Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed distanced himself from comments made by far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who campaigned with el Sayed during Michigan’s primary. Piker previously stated that “America deserved 9/11.”
El Sayed called the comment “dumb” and suggested Piker himself would acknowledge it as such, adding that Piker had disavowed it. He complained about what he characterized as “gotcha politics” and “cancel culture,” insisting he wants to be held accountable only for his own words and actions.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, considered a possible 2028 contender, has also weighed in on the progressive movement’s attempted repositioning, according to the analysis.
With information from Washington Examiner
