U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez let the cat out of the bag when she conceded: “Woke 1 was crazy!”
The New York congresswoman was facing questions some of the left’s greatest hits from the COVID era, including calls to abolish police and prisons. AOC argues that the pandemic created a massive opening and that candidates should be judged on where they stand today, not on what they said then.
Convenient.
It is understandable why she and other socialists are desperate to put some distance between themselves and… themselves. November is approaching, and wishing away yesterday’s radical ideas is easier than defending them.
Just one problem: When it comes to energy, “Woke 1.0” never went away.
Look at the Democratic Socialists of America’s own 2026 platform. Under its Green New Deal plank, DSA calls for massive taxpayer spending in “publicly owned” energy and phasing out fossil fuels.
It’s remarkably similar with what happened when Democrats actually controlled the federal government.
Upon assuming office, former President Joe Biden revoked the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Days later, he ordered a pause on new oil and natural gas leases on federal lands. In 2024, his Department of Energy halted new natural gas exports. And of course, he demanded everyone buy an electric vehicle.
Did Joe Biden implement the DSA platform word for word? No. But you’d be hard pressed to see the difference.
And you do not have to take that characterization from conservatives. Ocasio-Cortez herself said in 2023 that core tenets of the Green New Deal were reflected in Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act. Her office described the law as progress toward a “Green New Deal future.”
If it walks like a socialist and governs like a socialist…
Now, some Democrats are spending $15 million to combat the growing influence of DSA, which some describe as a “mortal danger” to the Democratic Party. Clearly, some Democrats understand that being associated with socialism creates an electoral problem. But from New York to Michigan, Democratic voters continue handing victories to candidates from the party’s socialist wing.
All of this brings us back to “Woke 1.0.”
For the next several months, voters will hear politicians insist that an old statement no longer represents their views. Or an unpopular slogan was a product of an unusual political moment or that something said during 2020 should not define a candidate in 2026.
Sometimes that explanation may be legitimate. People can change their minds. But voters are entitled to ask a harder question: What happened when these politicians actually had power?
On energy, we already have an answer.
Keystone was canceled. Federal leasing paused. LNG approvals halted. Federal regulators pushed the automobile market toward electric vehicles. Hundreds of billions of dollars were directed toward a government-driven energy transition.
“Woke 1.0” may become something Democrats laugh about rather than defend. But their energy policy is full of receipts, because it was working families who were paying the bill.
Leftists now want voters to doubt what they said. However, when it comes to energy, we should never forget what they did.
Larry Behrens is an energy expert and the Communications Director for Power The Future. He is also author of the book “Power Restored: President Trump’s First Year and the Revival of American Energy Leadership.” You can follow him on X/Twitter @larrybehrens
This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.
