When Democrats were able to get activist David Hogg into the DNC, the party considered it a coup of sorts.
Hogg never hid the fact that he wanted to remove older members who appeared to be going through the motions, but when he began to move up in leadership of the DNC, the party lost its mind and had him removed from his post.
Now, Hogg has a big PAC and lots of money, and his first target is under fire.
I can count on one hand how many things David Hogg and I see eye-to-eye on, and that one thing is that we need to shed the fossils from Congress.
Yes, there may be a handful of 70- and 80-year-old members doing their jobs, but the physical demands of the job make it virtually impossible. I mean, we just had a member step down because dementia is setting in, and I lost count of how many members died over the last few years.
When Hogg said he wanted to start targeting these people for removal, the party had a fit, but he is absolutely right. Only as the Democratic National Committee Vice Chair, nobody expected to hear him say that.
He did walk it back just a bit after everyone lost their minds, stating, “The people that we are challenging, it’s not like it’s just because they’re above a certain age that we’re going to be challenging them. It’s about effectiveness and being able to meet this moment.”
Saying the uncomfortable thing out loud will often get you into trouble, and it resulted in Democrats concocting some lame excuse to have Hogg removed from his leadership role.
Rather than face another election that he knew he would lose, Hogg decided to step down as the vice chair and go about this on his own.
At the time, he stated, “I came into this role to play a positive role in creating the change our party needs.”
After highlighting the disagreements he and other members of leadership had, he concluded, “Ultimately, I have decided to not run in this upcoming election so the party can focus on what really matters.”
Hogg has identified a Democrat to primary, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), who has been in office for a quarter of a century and is now 70 years old, 71 if he wins another term and is sworn back in.
Hogg's political group, Leaders We Deserve, is backing Patrick Roath to primary Lynch, with Hogg stating, “When my dad was sick with Parkinson’s, the Affordable Care Act took care of him and kept my family out of debt. I’m beyond proud to endorse Patrick Roath, a candidate who can finally kick Stephen Lynch out of office.” He continued, “The era of cowardly and do-nothing Democrats who side with Republicans over their constituents’ wellbeing is over.”
This is exactly what the Republican Party needs to start doing, as we need to remove the fossils who are too old and do not have the energy to fight this battle any longer. The next decade for conservatives will not be easy, and you cannot fight this battle with a walker.
We need people who are in DC four days a week, then back in their districts on Thursday night, talking to constituents until they leave for DC again on Monday morning. If we let Democrats get ahead of us on this, well, I don’t think I need to tell you what that holds for the future of the conservative movement.
