What is the Democratic Party?
A housecleaning looks to eject David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta — what does that say about the future of the party
Again and again, we’ve heard from elected officials, strategists, analysts, and everybody else that the Democratic Party needs fresh blood. Donald Trump still outpolls Democratic leadership, even given all of the chaos. Nobody feels good about the party right now — not even Democrats. Sure, the older generation has valuable skills, but with Joe Biden’s age back at the top of the discourse (sparked by Original Sin, Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s new book on how the Democratic campaign’s efforts to conceal the former president’s decline may have tanked the election), it seems like high time to get younger reformers into key positions. Or at least those committed to the fight.
When gun violence activist David Hogg and Pennsylvania state representative Malcolm Kenyatta were elected to Democratic National Committee vice chair positions in February, it seemed like a step in that direction, especially given Hogg’s open criticism of the party and his commitment to primarying out-of-touch Democrats in safe seats. But now it looks like both of them are on the way out, with a procedural challenge to the vote reportedly likely to succeed.
So what does the future look like for Democrats? The DNC isn’t the party, as Pete Buttigieg told us just yesterday. And the Democratic Party isn’t so much a party as a fundraising consortium, as Faiz Shakir told us earlier in the year. But that all begs some questions: Where does the DNC want to steer the party? What is the Democratic Party now? And what can Democrats do to recapture the conversation, motivate voters, and turn the country off its authoritarian path?
We’ve talked to so many people looking to answer those questions and get the Democratic Party on track. Here’s what they’ve told us.
Live conversations this week!
Today, Wednesday, May 14, at 12:15 p.m. Eastern, we’ll talk to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. And after that, at 1:00 p.m., we’ll have the second meeting of The Ink Book Club, where we’ll be diving deeper into Abundance. Then on Thursday, May 15, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, we’ll welcome the return of messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio; then, following that at 1:15 p.m., we will be joined by Amanda Litman of Run for Something. You won’t want to miss any of these!
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