They should absolutely be primaried. Our leaders have not met the moment, and there needs to be accountability. Throw the bums out. AOC has earned a leadership role through merit and she got shafted because of seniority. Fuck those sad sack losers.
AOC has been out building coalitions and energy in an effort to resist these dictators and oligarchs who are taking over our country. I have heard crickets from Gerry Connolly. The progressives are the only ones meeting the challenge. It’s not even about their politics. It’s about their grit and resolve. They can’t win if moderates would rather have these Trump policies we are experiencing right now.
Anyone who thinks that the Dems can take control of Congress...or win the WH...by backing progressive candidates and their out of touch ideology is badly, badly, mistaken. Dems = AITOW.
Honestly, if it will wake up some of these incumbents to start REALLY pushing back and going after trump in the same way trump goes after everyone who doesn't suck up to him...more power to him...
I just set up monthly donations to Leaders We Deserve. I wholly support primaries against Schumer and other appeasers and especially those lifetime pols who have been involved in politics longer than I’ve been alive (and I’m in my 60’s)
I’ve known Chuck since he was a New York State Assembly member. He was a very good representative but he’s playing the old game of politics: people in the minority (like he is now) want to preserve their cachet for when they become the majority
….so that’s why he rolled over and gave John Thune the votes to pass Trump‘s budget. He made a very bad mistake In my opinion he should have let them twist in the wind and own a government shutdown
I support primaries against many of our current Democratic leaders who have not done a good job , not just the old ones. There's some younger middle-age ones that should be primaried too . However , I agree with chris that there's an issue in doing both jobs. I don't know how you could realistically say you're the vice chair of the Democratic Party and then you have an agenda to get many current Democratic members of Congress and the Senate out. I certainly respect Mr. Hogg ; he's accomplished a lot at a young age, and I would support all of his efforts on gun control. I think he would do better picking one of the two jobs, and I would suggest he pick the one he's president of and push for new representatives and senators
Had a lot of mixed feelings reading this story. Hogg is right about needing new faces. But is this really the time for big, expensive, divisive primary fights? Or are resources better used to identify and fund Democratic candidates who can actually win against these do-nothing Republicans?
I like David Hogg and the party desperately needs younger leadership and younger candidates. However, they really need to abandon ridiculous positions such as abolishing the police.
Hogg has said he wants to abolish ICE- perhaps not the police specifically. I agree only the ultra far left have said they wanted to defund the police.
I think if Democrats want to start winning again they need to make sure they hammer home the messages that really matter and reaching the voters that need to hear it. Re-build the middle class, protect social security and healthcare. Create good paying union jobs. Help our teachers & children. Too much time is spent on fringe issues like trans-women in sports, USAID etc.
I'm with you on this. The Democrats and Republicans have both fed heartily on identity politics and culture wars. It's pitted the left and the right in pointless, energy-draining spats. Meanwhile, China has spent the last 15 years investing in their infrastructure - high tech jobs, high speed rails, infrastructure galore. So while they have flying taxis, we can't agree on what bathrooms to use.
That is fair but most of America is vastly uninformed. They will simply hear that Democrats want to get rid of the ability to remove illegal aliens and they will vote Republican. Need better ways to reach low information voters and reach them with popular ideas.
Your last sentence is 100% spot on. Many hear "reform ICE" as "defund the police". The message to everyone needs to be clearer and reach everyone; that's why these rallies and town halls NOW are a great idea.
As Lebron_is_king mentions here, people are uninformed. As in, if you're commenting on Cillizza's Substack, you probably know more about this than 80% of the citizenry.
He's absolutely correct...the current crop of do nothings and spineless cowards needs to go. His generation is stuck with this mess and he wants to fix that...to that I say "Bravo"!!! As far as ICE, they are essentially kidnapping people to avoid that whole rule of law thing...Due process....
I teach grad students and I tell them to sieze their future and start finding ways to affect change....go for Hogg...
My generation has fucked this country and it is time to unfuck it.
I don't disagree but as Chris has pointed out, if you want to make changes you need to get in power first. If the Democrats want power back they need to find better messaging and yes, younger, candidates.
no..you don't wait, you start pushing and planning to regain that power. Better messaging? Really, if people aren't smart enough to see what is going on at the moment, they aren't people who are going to vote for you anyway...telling people that the country and its democratic rule was at risk if the turd got elected didn't work...the messgae Hogg is sending is this crap stops now...chris gets wrapped around the axel because he doesn't want to state the obvious and he's rather focus on Bidem. Hell, he still can't bring himself to write the words "DUE PROCESS" when talking about an nindividual kidnapped off the street and sent to a foreign gulag... The Democratic party is calcified and damn near ossified. It would serve the party well if every elected officialin the house over 55 and every senator over 65 (sorry Bernie) steps aside.
They need to do a complete 180 to ever be competitive in the rust belt. Clearly a candidate like KH or even Gavin Newsome will not play in these areas they need to win. Go woke Go broke
It was absolutely rightwing propaganda. It was a slogan stupidly used by a handful of people on the far left and was disavowed by everyone from Biden to the Congressional Black Caucus. Perhaps you should turn off FOX Noise. They're lying to you.
Completely agree we need more training and better ways to hold rogue officers accountable. Unfortunately most conservatives have no interest in getting rid of the bad apples in the force. The Trump admin got rid of a federal database tracking this kind of behavior from police officers. When you have a convicted Felon as president though, he doesn't want law abiding police officers. He wants loyalty.
Yay for David Hogg!!! Something needed to be shaken up, and it is crystal clear the Dems geriatric set isn't going to do it. Even if this puts a burner under the butts of the OLD timers, then the effort is worth it.
As for the Dem leaders who seemed shocked by this, remember the Leopards Eat Faces party - just what did they expect?
Here in NC, a whole crew of very young, savvy Dems ousted almost the entire state leadership last year. It needed happening, and the next generation of leadership has stepped up.
If the status quo were going to work, Kamala would have won the election. The Democrats lost the election because people were promised they would be able to afford things like healthcare, housing, and groceries. And the dem's gave no reassurance in that regard. Our communities are in survival mode; the Dems continue to do things the old way: interviews on CNN, not podcasts, cave to the bullies in Washington, and act surprised when Trump follows through with what he said he was going to do. It's been straight reaction mode since the beginning. And it doesn't move the needle. To be fair, the same could be said on the Republican side. There is too much status quo and not enough working for the constituents. They are too afraid to do what's right because they think MAGA will take their jobs in a Primary. I am over the old guard. We had no choice in our candidates for president in this election. It was decided for us. Both sides. It's time to break up what has always been.
The Democratic Party is, as has often been said, a big tent. David Hogg represents one of the rings under that tent and his inclusion in the leadership of the party is one of the positive things I've seen lately. Go, David!
I’m a 73 y/o David Hogg supporter. From their first televised interviews at the Parkland tragedy to the Feb 17th rally in Ft. Lauderdale, young people called out the bullshit. Proud to say I was there listening to their truth. March for Our Lives continues its work despite the ever present brick wall of GOP and the complacency of too many older Dems. Leaders We Deserve is the investment required to strengthen the Democratic Party. Yes, time to cut the dead wood before maga burns down the forest.
I'm all for getting the deadwood out. There are a number who are well past their sell by date. My objection is not to primarying useless incumbents, it's on basing it strictly on age. Would Hogg want someone to primary my senator Elizabeth Warren? I would hope not. On the other hand I wish someone would primary my useless rep Ayanna Pressley who is only 51.
He is quite naive. This is what is known as shooting oneself in the foot. Democrats will just screw themselves and end up continuing to lose even though the Rs are ripe for the taking.
OK, I live in a state where one of my incumbent Senators is up for re-election in 2026. He's been in office for FIVE TERMS! He's a Democrat, the minority Whip I believe, and he will be 82 in 2026.
Frankly, he has to go. I'd love for him to say he will retire and endorse a 30-year-old, but if not, he MUST be primaried by a younger person. I say that even though there would be the chance a Republican takes over in 2027, we've had those before. In any event, I support what Hogg is saying, at least as far as my state goes. Get some new blood in there, dad gum it!
Pearl clutching aside, Hogg may be on to something.
As of the 119th U.S. Congress (2025), the average age of Democratic members is approximately 59. In the Senate, the median age of Democrats is 66.0, slightly higher than that of Republicans, at 64.5.
In the House of Representatives, the average age of Democratic members is about 57.6, closely aligning with their Republican counterparts.
Democratic members of Congress tend to be slightly older than their Republican colleagues.
They should absolutely be primaried. Our leaders have not met the moment, and there needs to be accountability. Throw the bums out. AOC has earned a leadership role through merit and she got shafted because of seniority. Fuck those sad sack losers.
AOC has been out building coalitions and energy in an effort to resist these dictators and oligarchs who are taking over our country. I have heard crickets from Gerry Connolly. The progressives are the only ones meeting the challenge. It’s not even about their politics. It’s about their grit and resolve. They can’t win if moderates would rather have these Trump policies we are experiencing right now.
Anyone who thinks that the Dems can take control of Congress...or win the WH...by backing progressive candidates and their out of touch ideology is badly, badly, mistaken. Dems = AITOW.
Jeff speaks the truth
Remember the definition of insanity ?
Seriously! THANK YOU
Good! I hope most of these buffoons get primaried. They suck and are business as usual in a depraved and idiotic washington
Honestly, if it will wake up some of these incumbents to start REALLY pushing back and going after trump in the same way trump goes after everyone who doesn't suck up to him...more power to him...
I just set up monthly donations to Leaders We Deserve. I wholly support primaries against Schumer and other appeasers and especially those lifetime pols who have been involved in politics longer than I’ve been alive (and I’m in my 60’s)
I’ve known Chuck since he was a New York State Assembly member. He was a very good representative but he’s playing the old game of politics: people in the minority (like he is now) want to preserve their cachet for when they become the majority
….so that’s why he rolled over and gave John Thune the votes to pass Trump‘s budget. He made a very bad mistake In my opinion he should have let them twist in the wind and own a government shutdown
I support primaries against many of our current Democratic leaders who have not done a good job , not just the old ones. There's some younger middle-age ones that should be primaried too . However , I agree with chris that there's an issue in doing both jobs. I don't know how you could realistically say you're the vice chair of the Democratic Party and then you have an agenda to get many current Democratic members of Congress and the Senate out. I certainly respect Mr. Hogg ; he's accomplished a lot at a young age, and I would support all of his efforts on gun control. I think he would do better picking one of the two jobs, and I would suggest he pick the one he's president of and push for new representatives and senators
Funny I see Shummer speaking up all the time. So what's the real point - politics is an ugly game
Had a lot of mixed feelings reading this story. Hogg is right about needing new faces. But is this really the time for big, expensive, divisive primary fights? Or are resources better used to identify and fund Democratic candidates who can actually win against these do-nothing Republicans?
I like David Hogg and the party desperately needs younger leadership and younger candidates. However, they really need to abandon ridiculous positions such as abolishing the police.
Who has said they want to "abolish the police" that's a strawman.
Hogg has said he wants to abolish ICE- perhaps not the police specifically. I agree only the ultra far left have said they wanted to defund the police.
I think if Democrats want to start winning again they need to make sure they hammer home the messages that really matter and reaching the voters that need to hear it. Re-build the middle class, protect social security and healthcare. Create good paying union jobs. Help our teachers & children. Too much time is spent on fringe issues like trans-women in sports, USAID etc.
I'm with you on this. The Democrats and Republicans have both fed heartily on identity politics and culture wars. It's pitted the left and the right in pointless, energy-draining spats. Meanwhile, China has spent the last 15 years investing in their infrastructure - high tech jobs, high speed rails, infrastructure galore. So while they have flying taxis, we can't agree on what bathrooms to use.
ICE has turned into an American Gestapo. They need to be reformed and/or replaced.
That is fair but most of America is vastly uninformed. They will simply hear that Democrats want to get rid of the ability to remove illegal aliens and they will vote Republican. Need better ways to reach low information voters and reach them with popular ideas.
Your last sentence is 100% spot on. Many hear "reform ICE" as "defund the police". The message to everyone needs to be clearer and reach everyone; that's why these rallies and town halls NOW are a great idea.
As Lebron_is_king mentions here, people are uninformed. As in, if you're commenting on Cillizza's Substack, you probably know more about this than 80% of the citizenry.
I'd say 95%!
He's absolutely correct...the current crop of do nothings and spineless cowards needs to go. His generation is stuck with this mess and he wants to fix that...to that I say "Bravo"!!! As far as ICE, they are essentially kidnapping people to avoid that whole rule of law thing...Due process....
I teach grad students and I tell them to sieze their future and start finding ways to affect change....go for Hogg...
My generation has fucked this country and it is time to unfuck it.
I don't disagree but as Chris has pointed out, if you want to make changes you need to get in power first. If the Democrats want power back they need to find better messaging and yes, younger, candidates.
no..you don't wait, you start pushing and planning to regain that power. Better messaging? Really, if people aren't smart enough to see what is going on at the moment, they aren't people who are going to vote for you anyway...telling people that the country and its democratic rule was at risk if the turd got elected didn't work...the messgae Hogg is sending is this crap stops now...chris gets wrapped around the axel because he doesn't want to state the obvious and he's rather focus on Bidem. Hell, he still can't bring himself to write the words "DUE PROCESS" when talking about an nindividual kidnapped off the street and sent to a foreign gulag... The Democratic party is calcified and damn near ossified. It would serve the party well if every elected officialin the house over 55 and every senator over 65 (sorry Bernie) steps aside.
Agreed!
They need to do a complete 180 to ever be competitive in the rust belt. Clearly a candidate like KH or even Gavin Newsome will not play in these areas they need to win. Go woke Go broke
Meanwhile Trump's approval rating continue to plummet as he tanks the economy, fires veterans, and defies the courts.
It’s all about the left behind’s
Where u been? That was the liberal leftist rallying cry! Did you “somehow” forget?
No, that was the propaganda line on FOX Noise and among you MAGAts. It was never a "rallying cry" of the left.
Very true Daniel.
Messaging machine of Repubs is unstoppable. Convinced peole that "defund the police" was on the Dem platform.
😂
Living proof that for MAGAts ignorance IS bliss.
It was absolutely rightwing propaganda. It was a slogan stupidly used by a handful of people on the far left and was disavowed by everyone from Biden to the Congressional Black Caucus. Perhaps you should turn off FOX Noise. They're lying to you.
What is the weather like in Voronezh this time of year? I hear it is really quite beautiful.
Completely agree we need more training and better ways to hold rogue officers accountable. Unfortunately most conservatives have no interest in getting rid of the bad apples in the force. The Trump admin got rid of a federal database tracking this kind of behavior from police officers. When you have a convicted Felon as president though, he doesn't want law abiding police officers. He wants loyalty.
Yay for David Hogg!!! Something needed to be shaken up, and it is crystal clear the Dems geriatric set isn't going to do it. Even if this puts a burner under the butts of the OLD timers, then the effort is worth it.
As for the Dem leaders who seemed shocked by this, remember the Leopards Eat Faces party - just what did they expect?
Here in NC, a whole crew of very young, savvy Dems ousted almost the entire state leadership last year. It needed happening, and the next generation of leadership has stepped up.
If the status quo were going to work, Kamala would have won the election. The Democrats lost the election because people were promised they would be able to afford things like healthcare, housing, and groceries. And the dem's gave no reassurance in that regard. Our communities are in survival mode; the Dems continue to do things the old way: interviews on CNN, not podcasts, cave to the bullies in Washington, and act surprised when Trump follows through with what he said he was going to do. It's been straight reaction mode since the beginning. And it doesn't move the needle. To be fair, the same could be said on the Republican side. There is too much status quo and not enough working for the constituents. They are too afraid to do what's right because they think MAGA will take their jobs in a Primary. I am over the old guard. We had no choice in our candidates for president in this election. It was decided for us. Both sides. It's time to break up what has always been.
The Democratic Party is, as has often been said, a big tent. David Hogg represents one of the rings under that tent and his inclusion in the leadership of the party is one of the positive things I've seen lately. Go, David!
Yeah, those two roles do seem mutually exclusive. 👀
These safe seats need to be primaried . So many are old and tired politicians that no longer serve their constituents. Go David go
I’m a 73 y/o David Hogg supporter. From their first televised interviews at the Parkland tragedy to the Feb 17th rally in Ft. Lauderdale, young people called out the bullshit. Proud to say I was there listening to their truth. March for Our Lives continues its work despite the ever present brick wall of GOP and the complacency of too many older Dems. Leaders We Deserve is the investment required to strengthen the Democratic Party. Yes, time to cut the dead wood before maga burns down the forest.
Ditto!
I'm all for getting the deadwood out. There are a number who are well past their sell by date. My objection is not to primarying useless incumbents, it's on basing it strictly on age. Would Hogg want someone to primary my senator Elizabeth Warren? I would hope not. On the other hand I wish someone would primary my useless rep Ayanna Pressley who is only 51.
He is quite naive. This is what is known as shooting oneself in the foot. Democrats will just screw themselves and end up continuing to lose even though the Rs are ripe for the taking.
OK, I live in a state where one of my incumbent Senators is up for re-election in 2026. He's been in office for FIVE TERMS! He's a Democrat, the minority Whip I believe, and he will be 82 in 2026.
Frankly, he has to go. I'd love for him to say he will retire and endorse a 30-year-old, but if not, he MUST be primaried by a younger person. I say that even though there would be the chance a Republican takes over in 2027, we've had those before. In any event, I support what Hogg is saying, at least as far as my state goes. Get some new blood in there, dad gum it!
I believe he is going, just hasn't officially announced yet. New blood is coming. Time catches up with us all. (except for Chuck Grassley!)
Pearl clutching aside, Hogg may be on to something.
As of the 119th U.S. Congress (2025), the average age of Democratic members is approximately 59. In the Senate, the median age of Democrats is 66.0, slightly higher than that of Republicans, at 64.5.
In the House of Representatives, the average age of Democratic members is about 57.6, closely aligning with their Republican counterparts.
Democratic members of Congress tend to be slightly older than their Republican colleagues.