{
  "id": 560526,
  "title": "The Democrats Can’t Just Laugh Off ‘Woke 1’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/the-democrats-cant-just-laugh-off-woke-1",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-11T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/08/aoc-democrats-wokeness-republicans/688241/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Sunday, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made two notable comments. First, she hesitated when ABC News questioned whether she intended to pursue a presidential campaign. She eventually responded, \"I haven’t ruled out the possibility.\" Second, she attempted to dismiss progressive stances her party had previously supported, stating, \"Woke 1 was crazy,\" in reference to ideas like defunding the police. Ocasio-Cortez represents a highly liberal New York congressional district. Her reluctance to defend and move past these positions highlights how controversial they have become. However, simply ignoring these ideas is proving challenging. Over the past decade, Democratic politics have been transformed by a focus on systemic oppression and radical policies meant to address it. This ideology, known as \"wokeness,\" gained significant cultural influence in 2020 following the death of George Floyd. It led to numerous institutions adopting change such as police kneeling during events, companies implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, universities acknowledging their complicity in systemic racism, and news outlets standing against colleagues seen as part of \"the resistance.\" Although many ideas once considered significant now seem trivial, they remain influential among Democratic elites. While some have attempted to move past Woke 1, others have pursued strategies like rewriting history or retconning. For instance, Kamala Harris shifted her stance during the 2020 presidential race by advocating for decriminalizing illegal border crossing. In 2024, she tried to align herself with the center by prosecuting repeat offenders and restricting asylum, yet insisted, \"My values have not changed.\" Ocasio-Cortez now joins this group by making light of past excesses. However, these avoidance tactics may not work as progressives still aim to control the Democratic Party. Some candidates, like DSA-aligned Darializa Avila Chevalier – a prison abolitionist – still support extreme positions like abolishing prisons. Meanwhile, the Democratic Socialists of America's platform still embraces ideas such as reparations for descendants of slaves and fully abolishing policing and the prison system. Despite shifting rhetoric, the backing for these outdated ideas persists, posing a threat to Democrats running for office. Republicans, who have positioned themselves as the party of regular people against the elite, have capitalized on anti-wokeness to unify their base, making it a core tenet of their platform. As such, Democrats may struggle to shake off the impact of Woke 1 in future elections.",
  "summary": "Republicans have no incentive to let them forget past excesses.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}