David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting who became an advocate for gun safety and youth leadership, has begun his candidacy for the vice chairman post of the Democratic National Committee, argued that we needed to move in a bolder, more anti-establishment direction. Preparing for Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Hogg announced on Monday that the party’s top leadership, in part due to frustration with a lack of accountability among prominent Democrats in the wake of Kamala Harris’ loss in the November presidential election, announced that he is aiming for one of the positions of
Mr Hogg told the Guardian before the announcement: “I’m trying to take that responsibility myself and understand that it doesn’t make us any weaker as a party (or) as people.” he said. “It’s an important part of leadership to talk about what we could have done differently to prevent something like this from happening again and build a better future.”
Mr Hogg could face an uphill battle to win one of the committee’s four deputy chair positions when the leadership election is held on February 1. At least three other candidates have already begun running for the vice-chair position. Wyoming Democratic Party Chairman Joe Barbuto. Shasti Conrad, Washington State Democratic Party Chair; James Zogby is a pro-Palestinian advocate and long-time committee member.
But Hogg, who co-founded the gun safety group March for Our Lives before founding the grassroots organization Leaders We Reserve, is hoping to win back young voters who have shifted sharply to the right in this year’s election. believes that the Democratic Party needs new voices at decision-making tables. election. In 2018, young voters supported Democrats by a 35-point margin, according to an analysis by Tufts University’s Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. According to the center’s research, by 2024, that gap has fallen to just four points.
“It’s a crisis. We can’t win without young voters,” Hogg said. “And I think it’s clearly become clear that the time has come for young people to have a real place in the party. It’s not just a symbolic position, it’s a real position of power.”
Hogg has some ideas about how Democrats lost not only the White House but both houses of Congress in November’s election. He criticized Democratic leadership for creating an echo chamber within the party, disconnected from voters’ biggest concerns and priorities such as inflation.
“When people feel that the economy is not doing well, our message should not be, ‘No, you don’t understand.’ See if it’s there,” Hogg said. “At the end of the day, it’s important that we actively choose not to live in a comfortable delusion, but in an uncomfortable reality where we might actually win.”
Hogg also noted that while voters associate Democrats with institutions they have come to distrust, Republicans have taken a more skeptical and even combative approach to the so-called “establishment.” I am concerned that this may be the case.
“Part of the reason we’ve been able to win the last three elections is that we’ve been anti-establishment,” Hogg said. “And since then, as Republicans have gone after these institutions that many Americans are frankly justifiably outraged by, we’re taking them away at all costs when, in fact, we need them. “It seems like we’ve gone in the opposite direction of defending them.”It’s about reforming these systems. ”
Hogg argued that one of the institutions most in need of reform is health care, and that his personal experience has guided his thinking about expanding and protecting access to health care. Earlier this year, Mr Hogg took a step back from campaigning to help care for his father, who was in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease. Hogg’s late father required at least 12 hours of care each day in his final years, creating a huge financial burden on the family.
“There were so many that we basically had to make a spreadsheet of how long we could keep my dad alive,” Hogg said. “If he had lived more than a month, we would have been bankrupt. No American should have to face that reality.”
By seeking one of the vice chair positions, Hogg hopes to better connect the Democratic Party to the realities of everyday life for working Americans. In the weeks since the election, Mr. Hogg has expressed frustration with Democratic leaders and consultants who avoid responsibility for the party’s losses.
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Hogg believes he too should have acted differently. Looking back on his meeting with Joe Biden last year, Hogg said he wishes he had been able to more clearly express his concerns about the Democratic Party’s lagging performance with young voters and advise the president to withdraw from the race. It may not have changed Biden’s thinking, Hogg acknowledged, but perhaps it could have set an example for other members of Biden’s team.
“I think (Biden) has multiple responsibilities,” Hogg said. “Obviously, he should have left earlier. But the reality is, those around him should have told him that he was choosing his political career, his political convenience for the country. There are people.”
Now, as President Trump prepares for a second term as he prepares to push his legislative agenda through an all-Republican Congress, Hogg says the same advisers and consultants who helped defeat the Democratic Party are in the midst of their defeat. They are concerned that they are not recognizing the role they played. And he’s eager to bring a fresh perspective to the Democratic National Committee.
“You can’t go out and say Donald Trump is a great threat to democracy,” Hogg said. “The world is ending, he’s a fascist, etc. And after the election, say to me and the people of this country: ‘Guys, we did our best. Here’s our participation trophy. ”It’s a loser’s mentality.
“We need to have a winner’s mentality.”
