For years, Democrats have followed a familiar playbook: promise the base the moon during a primary, then inch toward the center once the general election comes into view. This year, a stranger version of that game is playing out. The most radical members of the party are downplaying how radical they've been, in real time, on camera. For some reason, they expect no one will notice.
One recent exchange between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and ABC News’ Jonathan Karl shows how the trick works. Does it hold up?
Karl pressed Ocasio-Cortez on some of the far-left's least popular ideas. "Abolish prisons, abolish police, which is also positions that have been taken by a lot of the progressive candidates who have won. How do you get around that?" Karl asked. "Those are not positions that are supported by most Americans," he added.
Obviously, Ocasio-Cortez didn't defend the substance of those positions, because no one actually can. She deflected the way politicians and former bartenders usually do, by calling the races "ultimately... local.” She even pointed to a specific example: state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Wis.). "My understanding is that Francesca Hong has made clear her present stances to her electorate," she said.
Karl picked up on the shift immediately. "Yeah, she's moved away from a lot of that," he said of Hong. Ocasio-Cortez agreed. "Right, she's moved away from it," she said, adding that a city council member she knows likes to say, "'Woke One' was crazy." Karl responded, "Woke One was crazy. I think that's the truth," and the two laughed.
WATCH: ABC's Jon Karl lobs a Francesca Hong softball at AOC. AOC dances around the question, asserts that "Woke One was crazy"- brought about by Covid causing a "huge opening of the Overtone Window."
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) August 9, 2026
JON KARL: So, you have Wisconsin coming up next. Francesca Hong, who is the… pic.twitter.com/Navw0iESNS
The moment made for good television for the left, didn’t it? Oh yeah, all that crazy stuff… that’s just old news, no longer even relevant. It might as well have never happened.
Hardly.
In January, Hong received an endorsement from the Wisconsin Electoral Socialists, a group that praised her "commitment to police and prison abolition" in its announcement. That endorsement followed a questionnaire and an interview process with the group. Hong still supports abolishing prisons and police. The only thing that has changed is the phase of the election cycle, and the same rhetoric that gets you all the support in the Democrat primaries doesn’t exactly win you the general election.
So you lie, and people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cover for you.
ICYMI: These Newly Released Texts Prove What a Monster Fauci Really Is
Karl and Ocasio-Cortez did each other a favor in that exchange. By treating Hong's public rebrand as real, and her old positions as a punchline, both of them acknowledge how extreme those positions actually are. The Democrat Party insists it's a moderate operation, then reveals positions well outside the mainstream the moment anyone checks the record. And it’s such a universal thing, too.
Most Americans support voter ID laws. But, Democrats in Congress oppose them like their power depends on it. Most Americans reject transgender ideology, particularly when it targets children. Democrats are still pushing it hard. Even on abortion, where the party claims to represent broad consensus, it actually doesn’t. Most Democrat politicians support zero limits, while most Americans want at least some restrictions in place.
Democrats have tried to paint themselves as more moderate than they really are, and for some reason, it has worked. Democrats like Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill ran to the center in their gubernatorial elections and then governed like radical leftists the moment they took office. This year, things can be different. Democrats have made this easier for the GOP by nominating candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America in competitive races across the country.
