As progressive rhetoric on policing collides with electoral reality, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s apparent shift raises a broader question about whether Democrats are learning from experience or simply rebranding an unpopular message. The more important test is not the change itself, but whether it comes with a candid acknowledgment that public safety remains a basic duty of government.

Congress has an opportunity to put sanctions on Russia and Iran on firmer legal footing and increase the costs of aggression, proxy warfare, and sanctions evasion. A strong bipartisan measure would not solve either crisis on its own, but it would show that American institutions still know how to use economic power with strategic purpose.