David Hogg is Right

 

by Pa Rock

Democrat

The fact that there is a controversy brewing in the heart of the Democratic Party should come as no surprise to anyone claiming to support that particular arm of the American political party structure.  Democrats are notorious for being free spirits, independent thinkers, and having a habit of not playing well with others, and especially other Democrats.  The current brouhaha is focused right at the heart of the Democratic national power structure:  the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

I have worked within the actual structure of the Democratic Party serving as a precinct committeeman in a county committee, and I understand the importance, from a committeeman's perspective, of supporting the ticket, top to bottom, in the general election,  (I won't say that I always did that because every now and then the voters in the primary would cough up a political hairball to run in the general election, but I held my counsel and I voted my conscience.)

As a member of a party committee - at the county, state, or national level - the expectation is that person will support the electoral process and try to keep it open and fair so that the best candidates may emerge to do battle with the GOP in the general election.

That's the way it should work, but sometimes the best people can't emerge in the primaries because some dinosaur of an incumbent is parked in the way, drawing a paycheck, and slowing progress.  Think Dianne Feinstein, Chuck Grassley, Nancy Pelosi, Strom Thurmond, Robert Byrd, Claude Pepper, Joe Biden, or Donald Trump.  Their use-by dates came and went, yet they persisted (or still persist) in office thanks to high name recognition and piles of campaign cash that they have collected and set aside over decades.  Removing a dinosaur from its place at the public trough is damned near impossible.

David Hogg was attending Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine's Day in 2018 when a fellow student showed up with an automatic weapon and opened fire, killing seventeen and wounding eighteen others.  To date it is the deadliest high school shooting in America's history.  David's experience led him to become a gun control activist as well as a strong supporter of the Democratic Party.  

Last year David Hogg helped to found a political action group called "Leaders We Deserve" which is dedicated to electing young progressives to public office.  In January of this year, the young activist, a recent Harvard graduate, also entered the political arena when he announced his candidacy for one of the five vice-chair positions in the Democratic National Committee (DNC), a position he ultimately won.   As an officer in the DNC, his is serving under the newly elected party chair, Ken Martin of Minnesota.

As the leader of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin sees the national committee's role as being that of a neutral arbiter, facilitating every candidate's attempts to win public office equally, without showing preference to one over another.  But David Hogg, who many see as a "disruptor," views it differently.  He recognizes the almost insurmountable advantages that incumbents have, and sees his role as being more of a promoter of pumping new blood - and energy - into the party.

David Hogg is quick to point out that in supporting young candidates in primaries against ancient blue-state Democrats who are incumbents in office, he is doing nothing that violates current Democratic Party by-laws.  But Ken Martin and other party officials see David as not being a "neutral arbiter," and have encouraged him to resign his position if he insists on encouraging and supporting primary opposition to the dinosaurs.  David Hogg has locked horns with tougher hombres than Ken Martin, and he is standing firm.

Now there is a push within the party to rewrite the by-laws to be more specific about neutrality, and ultimately force David Hogg to resign from the DNC.

This tired old party activist (age 77) agrees with Mr. Hogg (age 25).   The Democratic Party is well along the road to irrelevancy, and if something doesn't change substantively and quickly. the party will die - and it may take democracy with it.  The stakes are just too damned high to sit around mired in the swamp of incumbency.

The Democratic Party will not strengthen itself by removing its squeaky wheel.  If it is going to start winning elections and turning the country around, every wheel on the party apparatus needs to be squeaking.  It's time for the old coots, like me, to sit down, shut up, and let the kids drive.  Maybe they can get us out of the ditch!

Change your by-laws, Ken.  That sounds like a bold and decisive move that is certain to go a long way toward removing the country from the evil clutches of Donald John Trump, especially if you were to pair it with a sternly worded letter from Chuck Schumer.  Perhaps you're the one who should think about resigning.