A number of party leaders are frustrated that Hogg, who has a leadership position in the party, is pushing primaries against some incumbents in deep-blue seats.
Democratic party leaders Thursday morning admonished officers to not take sides in primaries, addressing a situation involving activist and Democratic National Committee vice chair David Hogg.
“Let me be unequivocal. No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a press call. “Voters should decide who our primary nominees are, not DNC leadership. Our role is to serve as stewards of a fair, open and trusted process, not to tilt the scales.”’
As of now, however, the DNC does not have the power to remove Hogg if he refuses to stand down on funding primary challenges through a separate PAC — unless the body changes its rules, a senior DNC official told NBC News.
“Under the present bylaws, there is no action that can be taken against David Hogg without changing to the bylaws to extend that policy of neutrality to all primaries," DNC Finance Chair Chris Korge told NBC News. "There is no codified, legal way to remove an officer for doing what David Hogg has done because it only extends to the presidential race. "
Korge said that, as of now, the situation is to be addressed at a future meeting, likely in August.
Korge said he believed it was imperative for the body to formally change its bylaws because the party division the Hogg situation has caused harkens to an old ghost Democrats don’t want to revisit.
“It smells like 2016, when progressives said the DNC had it in the bag for Hillary Clinton," Korge said, referencing angst in the party that the DNC had its thumb on the scale to block Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., from the presidential nomination. “No party official, no officer of the DNC, should do anything that would result in the division that was created by the perception that existed back in 2016.”
On Thursday, Martin went on to say he had spoken to Hogg about what he perceived as a conflict but he did not expound on whether he gave him an ultimatum.
“I understand what he’s trying to do,” Martin continued in the press call. “As I’ve said to him, ‘If you want to challenge incumbents, you’re more than free to do that. But just not as an officer of the DNC, because our job is to be a neutral arbiter. We can’t be both the referee and also the player at the same time. You have to make a decision.’”
In pushing back on Thursday, Hogg cited Trump’s power clashes with institutions in saying the party needed to take more aggressive actions. He added that he had not violated any DNC bylaws.
“They’re trying to change the rules because I’m not currently breaking them. As we’re seeing law firms, tech companies, and so many others bowing to Trump, we all must use whatever position of power we have to fight back. And that’s exactly what I’m doing,” Hogg said in a statement.
How dare he rock the boat when the current bunch are doing so well.
Hey man, we gotta be patient, the old guard is really busy doing absolutely nothing
There’s totally moderates we can flip guys, totally! We’re hot on their trail!
Note that the text OP posted above is NOT the whole article!!
IDK why that isn’t made clear?Since last week, Hogg has appeared on just about every cable news show and digital outlet, advocating for a party reset of sorts — not just because it lost the White House to Donald Trump, but also because, he said, it lost faith among voters.
David Hogg is right IMO, the party needs a reset, and the platform needs a reset. For one: Calling themselves the Democratic party, they really should work more to improve democracy in USA! As it is they are not really democrats any more than people calling themselves pro life when in fact they aren’t at all pro life. What they are is against abortion rights.
Likewise the Democrats have helped maintain the status quo, in a dysfunctional flawed democratic system.
IDK why that isn’t made clear?
its a community rule not to post the whole article, so I posted some of it
Voters should decide who our primary nominees are, not DNC leadership.
Tell that to Sanders, Clinton, and Harris… That’s just recent memory…
🙄 🤡 🤦♀️
They straight up told us who the nominee would be against Trump. What a fucking joke. "Democracy is in peril so we have to suspend democracy.
The outrage is telling. Hogg is making an effort to introduce fresh faces and ideas at the primary level. This gives Democrats a chance to choose which ideas they want to go into play in congress. That is all.
If those voters are happy with what they currently have, the incumbent is safe. If not, those new ideas go up against opposing ideas. If a plurality like those ideas, they get to see them play out in congress. The only risk here is that they lose the seat.
Since at the moment, he’s doing this in reliably blue districts, the risk is lower than elsewhere. This is a recipe for real change in the Democratic party for the better.
The only reason to fight against it so hard (that I see) is the protection of individuals’ comfort at the expense of the welfare of our nation. It’s evidence of moral rot in the the party that is threatened by true representation of the citizens’ needs.
I support Hogg’s efforts - as long as he does not have the morality of “boss Hogg”. (For the kids out there who have no idea of what i mean, find and watch a season of The Dukes Of Hazzard.)
Nothing surprising here but it is somewhat notable that the DNC response to activists whipping up enthusiasm and engagement among younger voters is to change the bylaws in order to stop them. Real pieces of shit, they are. Proven time and time again.
Making reform impossible is a very dangerous game.
Rebuke away, ya dumb fuck Dems. What the young Mr Hogg is attempting — funding primary challengers to the most empty-suit Democrats — might be futile, might not, but you gotta respect the effort.
“Wake up, wake up,” he shouts at the corpse of the Democratic Party, which will probably wake up only long enough to smack him away, and then go back to sleep.
Lmao and they can’t get rid of him, I fucking LOVE that.
Sucks to suck, status-quo old-guard fucksticks.
If they even fucking dare try its the very last time an entire generation votes D.
Yeah, like if they can’t reform to represent their voters then we’re gonna have to throw the whole party out. Not really the type of play I want to have to make in the current situation though.
What do they say? The best time to start working out was 10 years ago.
The second best time to start is now.
Generally inadvisable to work out while on life support. Want to at least get out of the icu first.
Context does matter
FUCK the DNC. They helped put us in this mess.
We remember 2016 and 2020. Stop lying about not interfering in primaries.
“Let me be unequivocal. No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a press call.
This is a position the DNC has acted contrary to for decades, and only decided they conveniently held when someone wanted to primary centrists. Ken Martin is not a departure from the centrist wing of the party’s decades of self-serving bad faith; he is a continuation and possibly an acceleration of it.
Justice for Bernie!
Thus marking the greatest opposition democrats have mustered against anything this year.
Let me be unequivocal: No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger
Hah, right. The more accurate statement would be something like
As a DNC officer It’s only acceptable to put your thumb on the RIGHT side of the scale
The gall of saying that DNC officers shouldn’t ever influence a primary nominee after them shafting Bernie in 2016, and foisting Biden and then Harris on us in 2024. Silver lining I guess is now they’re on record as having that policy and are likely codifying it
Fuck the DNC. Complicit pieces of shit
Summarized translation from political speak:
Stop interfering with out interference!
