“Woke one was crazy.”
Such was the proclamation from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on ABC’s This Week about far-left rhetoric that has alienated voters and cost Democrats dearly in recent elections. The statement was particularly shocking coming from Ocasio-Cortez given that she, perhaps more than any other single politician, is primarily responsible for mainstreaming “woke one” and jawboning the rest of the party to go along with her.
That Ocasio-Cortez is willing to acknowledge the toxicity and “craziness” of the height of the woke era is a sign of how much things have changed – or perhaps a sign of her own 2028 ambitions.
Regardless, every indication suggests that her analysis is correct. Last year, a research project conducted by American Bridge 21st Century involving thousands of voters in 21 states came to the following conclusion: “Working-class voters perceive Democrats to be woke, weak, and out-of-touch.”
But as much as Democrats frantically try to shove their extensive history of extremist rhetoric down the memory hole, it is unlikely to work for the simple reason that they haven’t actually abandoned their radical views. Democrats merely recognize how unpopular the woke platform has become and are now opting for the Trojan Horse strategy – publicly expressing contrition while still pushing for the same policies under a façade of moderation.
Kamala Harris’s 2024 debacle provides an ominous preview for Democrats now trying to outrun their association with “woke one.” Harris tried and failed to leave her radical history behind. Her most deadly nod to the woke mob was in reference to so-called gender-affirming care: “I made sure that they changed the policy in the state of California so that every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access.” A clip of her saying this on video appeared in a Trump campaign ad. Heaven knows how many votes this cost her.
Ocasio-Cortez is unlikely to find any more success than Harris at burying the past. She co-sponsored legislation to defund the police and still calls for the abolition of ICE in her 2026 platform: “Undocumented individuals fill so many of the essential jobs that kept this country running during COVID-19. It is past time to make them full members of the country they call their home and abolish ICE.”
But during her now-infamous ABC interview, Ocasio-Cortez attempted to wave away all this radicalism as inconsequential and irrelevant now:
“During this time, and especially during COVID, there was a huge opening of the Overton window … I think the doors were really opened in trying to entertain any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place. And I actually think the discussions that were had in that time were quite fruitful. During lockdown, of course, rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric we would use today.”
The problem here is that many Democrats never stopped salting their rhetoric with woke craziness. Minnesota’s far-left Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who just won her state’s Democrat nomination for the U.S. Senate, demonstrated that Tuesday night during her victory speech: “We need to rip ICE apart and stop them from terrorizing our communities. And I know this. I know that we can fix our broken immigration system, secure the border, and create a real pathway to citizenship that aligns with our values.”
By “real pathway,” she means mass amnesty. It’s the exact same “woke one” policy, just dressed up in language that seems more acceptable to normal voters.
The anti-ICE brigade also includes Michigan’s Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed. Indeed, he frequently attacked his opponent, moderate Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens, over her support for ICE. He ran an ad in July in which he declared, “I’m Abdul El-Sayed, the only Senate candidate for abolishing ICE.” He also attacked Stevens for the support she received from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which is consistent with his recently-revealed adherence to Sharia law. As the Washington Free Beacon explains:
“Sharia, or Islamic religious law, sets strict rules for living that include harsh restrictions on women and gruesome, medieval-era forms of criminal justice … Sharia is also used as the basis for the repressive governing codes in several Muslim-majority countries, including Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, which mandates that women cover their entire faces and bodies in public at all times, and Iran.”
El-Sayed has rejected allegations that he intends to subvert the Constitution and implement Sharia law. But his positions on such issues are obviously transactional. El-Sayed happily hobnobbed with anti-Semitic left-wing activist Hasan Piker for many years after the latter said that America “deserved 9/11.” Yet he only disavowed Piker’s outrageous claim last week under enormous political pressure – without denouncing Piker himself. There is no word yet on whether he has suddenly changed his antagonistic position toward the 4th of July tradition or the Second Amendment.
If El-Sayed manages to defeat GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers, he will be joined in Washington by DSA-backed Donavan McKinney. McKinney is a Michigan state Representative who successfully challenged Democrat Rep. Shri Thanedar in the same primary. He evidently didn’t get Ocasio-Cortez’s memo about those crazy “woke one” policies. His campaign website boasts that he favors no-cash bail, a pathway to citizenship for all illegal aliens, government-guaranteed housing for all, and of course ending military aid to Israel:
“We need to end the military aid and arms that America gives to Israel, and pass legislation like the Block the Bombs Act, which I pledge to co-sign when elected. We must also resume funding for UNRWA and other NGOs … Israel needs to immediately end the genocide and release all Palestinians who have been detained, as well as allow the remains to be reunited with the families of their loved ones.”
The DSA has highlighted McKinney’s victory in Michigan as the seventh major win for its endorsed candidates this cycle. Other DSA-endorsed candidates who have successfully defeated Democrat House incumbents in the primaries include Melat Kiros (CO-1), Darializa Avila Chevalier (NY-13), Claire Valdez (NY-7) and Chris Rabb (PA-3). In addition, “Squad” members Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) easily won their primaries. All of their platforms are cut and pasted from the DSA’s “Workers Deserve More” platform.
Republicans regard this platform as excellent evidence to use in their effort to prove that the Democrat Party has been captured by far-left extremists. And its radical contents, including proposals to abolish the U.S. Senate, replace the presidency with a congressional selection system, and eliminate ICE while cutting military and police budgets are very much like the crazy “woke one” rhetoric from which Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats are trying desperately to distance themselves.
We’ll find out in 90 days if the voters will fall for that balderdash.
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