Introducing the Woke Right

Conservatives have spent the last decade railing against “woke” progressivism—cancel culture, ideological purity tests, and the relentless pursuit of ideological enemies. But now, a new breed of conservatives is adopting the very same attitudes and tactics they once condemned.

Enter the woke right: conservatives who have embraced a maximalist, take-no-prisoners approach to purging “unacceptable” ideas from public life. They claim to be fighting for free speech, but in practice, they’ve built their own ideological purity tests. If you’re not fully on board with their mission, you’re the enemy.

Sound familiar? It should.

The Anti-DEI Witch Hunt

Nothing has animated the woke right more than its war on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs. The initial backlash to DEI was grounded in legitimate concerns—many DEI initiatives are bloated, ideologically rigid, and enforced with the same kind of dogmatic fervor that conservatives have long criticized in academia and HR departments.

But the woke right isn’t interested in reform. They want total annihilation. Every program, every job title, every bureaucratic function that even smells like DEI has to go. And if you dare to suggest that maybe some reforms should be done carefully? Congratulations, you’re now a DEI sympathizer, a “squish,” or worse—a liberal in disguise.

Just ask Cathy Young. The libertarian writer recently got into it with Chris Rufo, one of the architects of the conservative anti-DEI movement. Young, while critical of DEI, argued that Rufo’s approach was overzealous and risked turning conservatives into the very ideologues they opposed. Rufo’s response? She was simply “helping the enemy.”

This is how the woke right operates: total ideological compliance, or exile.

Trump’s Purge of DEI and the Military Crackdown

This movement has been emboldened by Trump, who, during his first term, signed an executive order banning DEI training in the federal government. That order was quickly reversed by Biden, but now that Trump is on the verge of a second term, the message is clear: DEI’s days are numbered.

Just look at what’s happening at the Pentagon. Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and now a key Trump ally, sent out a memo with a blunt directive:

“The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at [DoD]. The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays.”

But here’s the kicker: unlike other federal agencies, the Department of Defense doesn’t actually have full-time DEI personnel. It has part-time diversity coordinators and HR professionals who were doing DEI work alongside other responsibilities. Which raises the question—what exactly is being purged here?

If the goal was to reduce bureaucracy, great. If the goal was to root out left-wing ideology in government, okay, fine. But what the woke right is doing looks a lot more like a purge for the sake of purging—an ideological cleansing operation, not a reform effort.

The Hiring Freeze: Another Maximalist Move

The woke right isn’t stopping at DEI. They’re taking aim at federal hiring altogether.

A newly announced executive order will freeze all hiring across the federal government starting on January 20, 2025. It’s one of the broadest hiring freezes ever imposed and states explicitly:

“No Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created.”

This isn’t just a temporary stopgap measure—it’s a deliberate attempt to grind the federal government to a halt. While the woke right may see this as a long-overdue check on federal bloat, it’s also a blunt-force instrument that will create chaos.

Need to replace a social worker handling veterans’ benefits? Too bad. A key cybersecurity position in the intelligence community left vacant? Sorry, no hiring allowed.

The woke right’s ideology doesn’t leave room for pragmatism. It’s burn it all down or nothing.

The OMB Debacle: When Ideology Collides with Reality

And then there’s the OMB disaster.

In a move straight out of a dystopian novel, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a sweeping freeze on all federal grant funding. This wasn’t just about DEI—it covered everything, including:

Federal funding for Medicaid

Grants for local law enforcement

Foreign aid programs

Infrastructure projects

Why? Because, according to the memo, agencies needed time to conduct a full audit to ensure that no federal funds were supporting woke ideology, DEI, or “green new deal” initiatives.

This caused widespread confusion and temporary shutdowns at state and local levels, crippling essential programs that had nothing to do with the culture war. Medicaid payments were delayed. Local governments panicked. Even conservative state officials were left scrambling.

After immediate backlash, the administration rescinded the memo—but the damage was already done. A court battle is now underway over whether the president even had the authority to order such a sweeping freeze.

And now Russell Vought, one of the key architects behind this policy and a major figure in Project 2025, is suddenly facing serious opposition to his confirmation as OMB Director. Conservatives who once saw him as a champion of the cause are now wondering if he went too far.

Conservatives Caught the Car… Again

This isn’t the first time conservatives have won a fight only to immediately lose control of it.

It’s the Roe v. Wade debacle all over again.

For years, Republicans campaigned on overturning Roe. When the Supreme Court finally did it, they had no coherent plan for what came next. The backlash was immediate. State-level bans became a political nightmare. Red states started rolling back extreme anti-abortion laws as voters revolted.

And now, with DEI and the federal hiring freeze, the same thing is happening. The woke right has pushed its agenda to the absolute limit, but now the blowback is coming.

Conservatives love to talk about how the left is devoured by its own activists. But the woke right is doing the exact same thing.

The anti-DEI movement has now reached a purity spiral where even slight hesitation makes you suspect. The hiring freeze is going to cripple Republican-run agencies just as much as Democratic ones. And the OMB debacle? It’s already blowing up in their faces.

The woke right, just like the woke left, has no brakes.

Final Thoughts

The rise of the woke right proves something we’ve all known deep down: extremism isn’t limited to one political side. The same instincts that led progressive activists to burn down their own movement—purity tests, ideological rigidity, and a refusal to engage with reality—are now defining the new conservative movement.

The problem isn’t “woke” vs. “anti-woke.” The problem is maximalism.

And if the past is any guide, it won’t be long before the woke right starts eating its own.