I Hate to Say This But DNC Vice Chair David Hogg's New Maneuver Is Ill-Advised—and Worse-Timed

David Hogg is exactly what we expect from a citizen touched by unthinkable tragedy. Having survived the 2018 massacre at Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, he immediately dove into constructive political action, first on serious gun reform, and then within Democratic party politics, rising to his present position as DNC vice-chairman. Which makes it difficult to point out that his latest project couldn't be more ill-advised and, worse, incredibly ill-timed. It is a perfect example of something that is in the right place. but at the wrong time. From Politico:

Leaders We Deserve, which Hogg co-founded in 2023, announced plans on Tuesday to spend $20 million in safe-blue Democratic primaries against sitting House members by supporting younger opponents. In an interview with POLITICO, Hogg said the group will not back primary challenges in battleground districts because “I want us to win the majority,” nor will it target members solely based on their age. “We have a culture of seniority politics that has created a litmus test of who deserves to be here,” Hogg said. “We need people, regardless of their age, that are here to fight.”

The one thing that this time in history doesn't need is a well-financed primary campaign against safe incumbents. In the first place, opening primary campaigns opens them to everyone, including well-financed nuisance candidates and, worse, outright ratfcking operations. It will force safe incumbents to raise more money, much of which must come from sources distant from Hogg's own purposes. Second, it will divide the only viable opposition to a genuine established threat to American democracy. It will provide the robot army of the elite political media with their favorite narrative on a national basis.

Even a stultified Democratic House majority is preferable to any kind of Republican majority, now that the GOP has gone completely mad. Only then can the serious work of renovating the creaking Democratic party machinery truly begin.

Hogg argued that backing primary challengers is in line with what he ran on for his DNC role. “I am not in this position because I want to bank my political capital. I just want change. I want to see a stronger Democratic Party,” he said. He acknowledged “there are going to be people who are very, very upset about this” but argued Democrats “are in a crisis right now,” citing a recent CNN poll that found the party’s approval rating at 29 percent, a record low for the party. “Our base is craving dramatic change,” Hogg said. “We need to show our base we’re here to fight for them. We need to show there are younger faces stepping up.”

Unfortunately, last November proved that the entire country is not the Democratic base, not by a longshot. This reeks of being an untenable short-cut to the real work that needs to be done.