When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., recently dismissed past left-wing platforms by noting that "Woke 1 was crazy," some media reports framed the comments as a shift toward the political center. But Pirate Wires Editor-in-Chief Mike Solana argues her comment points to a more aggressive direction for the party.
As Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates win races across the country, centrist Democrats are confronting the group’s growing influence as DSA-backed candidates support policies like abolishing the Senate and expanding public ownership of major companies.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Solana criticized Ocasio-Cortez’s response to her party’s progressive past after the congresswoman appeared on ABC’s "This Week." When host Jonathan Karl pressed her on Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong’s past calls to defund police and abolish prisons, Ocasio-Cortez dismissed concerns about Hong’s previous positions.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SHRUGS OFF PAST 'DEFUND THE POLICE' COMMENTS, JOKING 'WOKE 1 WAS CRAZY'
"I have a local city councilman that has this saying, 'Woke 1 was crazy,'" Ocasio-Cortez said. "And I think that what’s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now."
Hong failed to capture the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial nomination, losing on Aug 11.
Solana argued the congresswoman’s comment allowed her to avoid accountability for past positions. "She said something more interesting, which she had from another Democrat, a phrase, ‘Woke one was crazy,’" he said. "Now, it was an incredible obfuscation, you know, there's no real admission of guilt there, but there is an admission that there was an era of crazy left-wing views that was not really palatable or correct."
Solana said Ocasio-Cortez has not renounced several of her previous "woke" positions. He pointed to her past support for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defunding the police and granting mass amnesty to illegal immigrants.
"I mean, it's crazy, right? It's like, 'Sure, we lorded over a loosely decentralized global censorship apparatus in service of burning the world down in the era of BLM, but that was like so long ago. Oops, my bad, girls will be girls,'" Solana said sarcastically.
While Solana acknowledged that politicians can change their views over time, he argued voters deserve clear answers on which positions progressives are actually abandoning.
AOC'S ATTEMPT TO DISMISS 'WOKE 1' AS 'CRAZY' DRAWS CRITICISM FROM LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS
"There are all of these things in the era of woke that she's been a part of that she hasn't actually said she no longer believes. We kind of wrap it all in a neat little bow which is ‘woke one was crazy,’ and we move on and maybe she's not going to talk about those things anymore," Solana said.
"Maybe there are some things there that she no longer believes. It's possible that people, politicians, can evolve on some other topic. In fact, it's great. But we need to know exactly what position she's evolved on and why," he added.
According to Solana, the shift from "Woke 1" to "Woke 2" is less about identity politics and more about class conflict.
"Things are a little bit less racist and a lot more classist. We're doing a class war now; the race war is kind of over. There's room for everyone of every color to eat the rich," Solana said.
Solana's comments echoed statements he made in a recent column, where he suggested that Democrats are now less focused on "destroying White people" and instead have shifted their platform to center around destroying the wealthy.
The DSA is the largest socialist political organization in the United States, with more than 100,000 members. The group has gained more attention as DSA-backed candidates have defeated more moderate Democrats in states including New York and Colorado. Prominent democratic socialists holding public office include Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
According to the DSA website, the group opposes capitalism, which it calls a "system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit." Its platform also calls for abolishing the Senate, expanding the House and establishing public ownership of the largest private companies.
Solana said moderate Democrats are allowing far-left members to remain influential in the party rather than pushing back against them.
"They've won everywhere from obviously New York and [Los Angeles] to Louisville, Kentucky. They're winning everywhere. Everywhere there is a city, the DSA is ascendant," Solana said.
JAMES CARVILLE PREDICTS 2028 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY WILL TEST TRUE STRENGTH OF PARTY'S SOCIALIST WING
"As the DSA becomes more ascendant, the centrist Democrats have a choice. It's like, ‘Do we cut them out of our party completely, or do we ourselves moderate, not in the context of America, but in the context of the New Democratic Party?" Solana said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the DSA and representatives for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez but did not immediately receive a response.
