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The David Hogg experiment was a total disaster 🌪️
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The David Hogg experiment was a total disaster 🌪️

PLUS: Chuck Todd is on Substack!

Chris Cillizza's avatar
Chris Cillizza
May 13, 2025
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So What
The David Hogg experiment was a total disaster 🌪️
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This nightly newsletter is for paid subscribers only. Why subscribe? Read my mission statement! You can become a paid subscriber today for just $6 a month or $60 for the year. That gives you access to not just this newsletter but ALL of my content — including my weekly video podcast with Chuck Todd! 🎧

1. Democrats’ David Hogg problem

(David Hogg/ Photo by Lorie Shaull)

The David Hogg experiment appears to be almost over at the Democratic National Committee. And it has been — and this is a technical term — an utter debacle.

On Monday, the Democratic National Committee’s credential committees — committees within committees! — approved a resolution challenging the February 1 election of Hogg as DNC Vice Chairman because of [checks notes] “the decision of party officials to combine votes for the last two vice chair slots into a single vote,” according to the New York Times.

I mean, with such an egregious violation how could the DNC NOT act! 😂😂😂

It will surprise you not at all to learn that the real story is somewhat more complex. Hogg, the 25-year-old activist who became a Democratic celebrity in the wake of the mass shooting at his high school in Parkland, Florida, has roiled the party since he became an official spokesperson for it four months ago. And this end will surprise no one who has been paying attention.

It’s a story about a party that knows it has to change but isn’t sure that it actually wants to. And about an activist wing — and a youth movement — that has little interest in following the established rules of how Democrats have “always done it.”

Paid subscribers get my diagnosis of what went wrong with the David Hogg experiment — and what it says about Democrats’ ongoing brand problems — below.

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