Let's turn now to the concept of wokeness, first as applied to this actual hearing.
Here is AOC talking about what this actually means in practice.
>> There's no definition of what woke is.
But on paper, what's actually being criticized in this
hearing is that the so-called woke policies are remote work for
federal workers, especially those that live in rural areas and
those who have disabilities.
Paying interns so that critical opportunities don't just go
to privileged kids whose parents can afford to pay for
their rent while they go on a free internship, that is what is woke here.
That is what the other side is calling woke here.
Making sure that OPM can create opportunities and federal careers for
partners of military service members, that's woke.
This is the woke alleged takeover that we have.
>> I'm glad that she identified those couple of policies.
Like the idea that you would make accommodations for
people who live in rural areas, many of them might be conservative, so that they
could still be a part of government, those with disabilities, that's woke.
No wonder they don't wanna actually define woke.
Because when you take a look at what they're actually trying to do,
it makes them look really bad when they oppose it.
That said, despite the fact that you have heard literally constantly
from the right four years now, woke this, woke that,
woke's bad, woke's coming for your kids, woke just transed you.
Even after all of that, I got an email from a guy saying if you try
to trans my kids, I'm going to kill you.
I don't even know what that means.
I don't have a ray gun, I don't know that setting.
Anyway- >> We don't know your kids, you weirdo,
parent your own kids.
>> Exactly, but anyway, when you ask people after all of that,
this reminds me of when you ask people about the Green New Deal.
After years of the only thing they hear about it is bad, but they still like it.
New USA Today/Ipsos Poll finds a majority of Americans are inclined to see the word
woke as a positive attribute, not a negative one.
56% of those surveyed say the term means to be informed, educated on, and
aware of social injustices.
That includes not only three-fourths of Democrats, but
also more than a third of Republicans.
That's not necessarily the best definition that you can come up with.
But from what it eventually came to mean, I don't think it's a bad one, and
people actually seem to get it.
39% say instead that the word reflects what has become the GOP political
definition, to be overly politically correct and police others' words.
That's the view of 56% of Republicans.
By the way, that is not what Republicans mean when they say, I mean,
they'll call that sort of thing woke but they call anything they don't like woke.
If a bee stings them, it's awoke insect.
It just means whatever they want it to mean.
Which means by the way,
that people can put into it any negative attribute they want.
That should make it very easy to convince people that it's a bad thing.
But despite that, all of those factors,
still people largely see it as a more positive attribute.
>> So I love the examples that AOC gave there.
And let me just suggest step one a.
After you give that example, turn to whoever is leading the proceedings,
usually some idiot like Jim Jordan.
And go Representative Jordan,
do you believe that helping the disabled is being woke?
Yes or no?
You're saying this is woke, it's in the papers.
This is in your proposals.
We're helping the disabled and you say that's a terrible dumb woke thing to do.
So should we not help the disabled?
Should we hurt the disabled, Representative Jordan?
Cuz it's not my goddamn proposal, it's yours.
What would happen?
That would create nonstop headlines about a war between AOC and Jim Jordan.
She called him stupid.
Does he wanna hurt the disabled?
These are all great headlines.
These are giant headlines about how, my God,
the Republicans want to hurt disabled people.
But it's actually literally true.
Why don't you take things that are literally true and use it?
And by the way, again, don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing AOC,
she's the best of the lot.
She listed the things that they're actually trying to do, right?
So, all right, now on to the woke issue.
Amazing numbers there because you know what happens is,
something is popular as proposed, in this case, it's social justice.
Most people are greatly in favor of social justice in America, about two-thirds are.
Unfortunately, we've got a third of the country that literally doesn't like
justice, okay?
>> [LAUGH] >> But that's true,
again, by the way, I mean,
I hate to say, but it's kind of in our minds, it's true in almost every country.
That's kinda how humans are built, and
two-thirds of every country is actually progressive.
Now what the media's job is, is to convince a third of those guys, half of
the two-thirds that are progressive in every country, you don't wanna do that.
Instead you wanna give all the money to the rich and the powerful, okay?
You wanna give all the power to the rich and the powerful, so
we have to convince you to be a conservative.
So how are we gonna do that?
We're gonna smear everything that helps you.
So Green New Deal and universal health care,
both polled at around 80% when they were first introduced, okay?
And then not just Republicans, but corporate democrats like Joe Biden and
Nancy Pelosi, etc., and all of mainstream media, and all of right wing media.
They pile on, they pummel Green New Deal.
They're gonna ban burgers, they're gonna ban airplanes.
None of it is true, but they just keep putting it in the headlines.
It's gonna take away all your freedom, right?
Medicare for All, you think you're getting free health care that's better and
less expensive?
Yes, that's actually is what you're getting, right?
No, how are you gonna pay for it?
If it's half the cost, you can't afford it.
What?
Okay, and so they did that with woke, but in this case, just the Republicans, right?
And it battered it- >> And Bill Maher.
>> No, no, but guys, it's always important to have useful idiots like Bill Maher and
Joe Rogan, okay?
Because they make it seem like, well, everybody's against woke politics.
Look, it's now normal for Tucker Carlson to be against it, but
even Bill Maher says it, right?
That's manna from heaven for corporate goons who wanna distract you and
rip apart anything that might help you, okay?
So now, still at 56%, they couldn't knock it down.
Same thing happens with Medicare for All.
They sometimes knock it down to 59%, a couple of months later, back up to 71%,
cuz people are like, goddammit, I need the health care.
I need the health care and you guys are robbing me and I know it.
Despite overwhelming propaganda.
Okay, now, but get a load of this.
It's a tiny little stat in there, but I found it really interesting.
Independents, because of all this propaganda against it, 42 to 32,
10 point lead, say woke is an insult, perceived as an insult.
But Independents, by 51, 45, say woke means being aware of social injustice,
not being overly politically correct.
And they're in favor of it.
They're in favor of being woke.
So even though 42% of them got the memo, I'm supposed to be insulted by this.
I'm supposed to think this is bad.
Still, majority were like, no, I still want it, I still want social justice.
I don't care what they say, I want it, right?
Now, if you turn on television today or any other day, do you think you're
gonna get a positive view of woke or are you gonna get the negative view?
I think you're gonna get the negative view almost everywhere you turn.
Are you gonna get the sense that the great majority of Americans are in favor
of social justice like that?
Are gonna get the sense that independents, a majority of independents say,
I love woke people, okay?
You're not gonna get that sense anywhere on television, not anywhere.
And this is exactly how they deceive you.
>> I think you're exactly right, Cenk.
This is an example of a successful branding exercise.
And we saw that also with critical race theory.
If you look at Google search data and Google search trends,
nobody was searching for or talking about critical race theory until the right,
Manhattan Institute, Chris Rufo.
These are Koch-funded and Republican billionaire-funded enterprises,
made this thing materialize almost overnight.
Then suddenly, that's a top concern to a lot of hard line conservatives.
It's everywhere, it's in your kindergarten class, it's in your kids books.
We're ripping libraries apart just to get rid of all the critical race theory and
all these books.
But when you really talk to people, and you see it in the same thing here,
about these issues without that label, without that branding,
these are things they mostly think are good.
For the Medicare for All front, I did a video for you all in DC at a protest
where people were calling for the release of the January 6th prisoners.
And one of the questions I asked was, if Trump gets reinstated,
what's the first thing you want him to do?
And an overwhelming number of people,
their answer to that question was universal health care.
These are things that we all want because these systems impact everybody.
Health care doesn't just affect Democrats in a negative way.
Everybody is affected by these broken systems and they all want a fix.
But unfortunately, because of the media, because of politicians and charlatans,
they're misled through successful branding.
And we really need to push back on this and just talk to people that we know in
our lives, and to audiences, and people that are listening to us, or that we know,
about these issues, specifically devoid of that branding.
And then approach that branding conversation after.
>> Yeah, 100%.
>> Yeah, I'm gonna say one last stat here that proves Jordan 100% right.
From the same poll, critical race theory, are you in favor of it or opposed to it?
53% oppose, only 41% in favor.
So they're definitely against critical race theory.
What is critical race theory?
It is studying the, quote, ongoing effects of slavery and
racism in the United States, not just in the past but the ongoing effects.
So the American people hate it, right?
So they asked them that specific question when they find out what it actually is,
right?
72% in favor of teaching it, only 26% opposed.
So when you use the magic words, critical race theory, because of the propaganda,
they say they're against it.
When you tell them what critical race theory is and ask them,
should we teach it?
72% say yes.
Isn't that amazing?
>> It is. >> And that right there is the power of
propaganda.