Sorry Nora, but Woody was no punk rocker. I doubt very much he would cotton to the corporate image of that kind of performer. He loved the Carter Family and African-American music. How do I know? I was one of his pickin' buddies in 1952 in Topanga Canyon, California.

I think Steve Earle is closer to Woody than any of the other imitators.
Earle writes topical songs of which Woody would have approved. Woody's model for songwriting is far superior to that which any punk rocker could ever have conceived.
I think he might have thought rock and roll to be a commercialization of African-American music, all flash and no substance. He gravitated to the narrative ballad that said something about American history unlike the puerile output of punk rock. He played the guitar simply so that the words could be conveyed, not covered over with slash and burn guitar distortions. He would extend vocal phrases so that he could remember what he had written.

A lot of folks tried to ape Woody's image without coming close to his talent.
In his more lucid times, he rejected imitators of all kinds and loved Leadbelly because he was himself and copied no one.

I think he respected Pete, also, because he also was uniquely himself.

The Carter Family's "When the World's on Fire" became the tune for "This Land is Your Land".

Leadbelly has a similar attitude since one of his favorite performers was Richard Dyer- Bennet.

The idea that all folk singers should sound alike is a recent construct by exurbanite
folkies allowing them to sing poorly and ruin their voices. There's a lot of hype in this movement.