Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg runs for Democratic committee post: 'We can't win without young voters'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Mon 16 Dec 2024 06.00 EST


David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting turned gun safety and youth leadership advocate, has launched a bid for one of the Democratic National Committee’s vice-chair positions, arguing the party needs to move in a bolder and more anti-establishment direction as it braces for Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Hogg announced on Monday that he would seek one of the party’s top leadership posts due, in part, to his frustration with a lack of accountability among prominent Democrats following Kamala Harris’s loss in November’s presidential race. “I’m trying to take that accountability myself and realize it does not make us weaker as a party [or] as a person,” Hogg told the Guardian before his announcement. “It’s an essential part of leadership, just talking about what we could have done differently, so we can build a better future, so that something like this never happens again.”

Hogg may face an uphill battle in claiming one of the committee’s four vice-chair posts when the party holds its leadership elections on 1 February. At least three other candidates have already launched bids for the vice-chairperson seats: Joe Barbuto, chairperson of the Wyoming Democratic party; Shasti Conrad, chairperson of the Washington state Democrats; and James Zogby, a pro-Palestinian advocate and longtime committee member.

But Hogg, who co-founded the gun safety group March for Our Lives before creating the grassroots organization Leaders We Deserve, believes Democrats need fresh voices at the decision-making table to win back young voters, who moved sharply to the right in this year’s elections. In 2018, young voters preferred Democrats by a 35-point margin, according to an analysis from Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. In 2024, that margin fell to just four points, the center found.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/16/david-hogg-democratic-national-committee-vice-chair

[Think. Again.]

1. He is absolutely correct...

...the Democratic Party must turn it's attention to the youth vote, just as the nazi's have done, if we want to get anywhere with creating excitement for our candidates and our principles.

No, they don't have money, but they do have the energy, communication, numbers, and most of all the personal interests to rid America of rightwingers once and for all.

[Lovie777]

2. I hope he gets in.....

The GQP have mastered the art of propaganda of fear, hatred, lies and making up shit. They lied about America’s future only to deceive. The GQP is not the future for prosperity just the total opposite. Those voters that understood this will suffer alongside those who believed the propaganda.

And that is a damn shame.

[sop]

3. He's right, "the party needs to move in a bolder and more anti-establishment direction."

[TommieMommy]

4. He is amazing. We need him. 💙💙💙

[Magoo48]

5. Also,

Young voters must be allowed have new progressive ideas; casting young democrats with old molds hasn’t worked for a long time.

[TBF]

6. Change is needed & he has a big network -

time to turn over at least some of the reins. Pulling for you David!

[Wiz Imp]

7. I know a fair number of Democrats that don't like him but he's always impressed me.

I think he is exactly the kind of person the DNC needs more of as part of the Committee - Young, Fresh Voices. I don't now anything about Joe Barbuto or Shasti Conrad, but I Say no to James Zogby. Rightly or wrongly, he has too much negative baggage.

[FakeNoose]

8. This is awesome news! We need young, energetic, progressive leaders

[LittleGirl]

9. When someone that age steps up to offer suggestions

We need to listen. We need to get them in leadership positions. He has lived experience that no one has experienced first hand. And, if they have experienced it first hand, they need our support and we need their suggestions. It's just the right thing to do after losing that election.

[SpankMe]

10. Who votes in these Dem vice chair elections?

Whom can we lobby on behalf of David?

Also, did I use "whom" correctly?

[ConstanceCee]

11. Yes

You used "whom" correctly. "Whom is the object of "lobby". It's good you asked.

[ificandream]

12. I support his work, but I wish more young people had voted in November.

They could have forestalled the nightmare coming in January.

[Noel Kums]

13. "We can't win without young voters voting" is more apt

Promise them text-voting & 1K 'likes' and they'll race to vote.

[Lulu KC]

14. I find this insulting to "young voters"

I do not believe they are any more a monolith than any other age group.