Opinion

DAVID MARCUS: Woke 1.0 is why entertainers needed our secret conservative club

'Everybody Loves Raymond' star described how thousands of industry independents joined during the Obama era

By David Marcus Fox News

Published August 28, 2026 1:26pm EDT

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As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., laughs off the excesses of what she now calls "Woke 1.0," it is worth remembering just how bad censorship was under that politically correct cultural regime, and how it got so bad that Hollywood conservatives needed to form their own secret club.

In a recent podcast interview, actress Patricia Heaton, of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ fame, spilled the beans on Friends of Abe, a secret organization for conservatives and independents in the entertainment industry, which she helped form during the Obama administration.

Abe, in this case, references the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln.

FILE - Patricia Heaton urged her "friends on the left" to reject violent political rhetoric following the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting. Heaton allegedly participated in the Friends of Abe group. (Brian Stukes/Getty Images)

AOC SAYS ‘WOKE 1 WAS CRAZY,’ BUT DEMOCRATS STILL OWE VOTERS AN EXPLANATION

A small........

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