DNC vice chair David Hogg has announced his plan to spend millions of dollars to primary Democratic incumbents. And some people are predictably very upset about it. And they're exactly the people who you would expect to be upset. And we'll talk about the response to Hogg a little bit later. [00:00:17] But, Jake, how do you feel about this? Are you excited? Does it feel a little reckless, dangerous even, but like in a fun way? No, no. I wish it was reckless in a fun way. And we all had a great time with it. No, no, it's perfectly normal. [00:00:34] We're going to show you, other Democrats like James Carville flipping out over it and going nuclear about it. No. It's great. I love it. It's healthy for the Democratic Party. And and we'll defend the move as we go along. - First you get let's get the whole story. - All right, so here's the plan. [00:00:51] Hogg is the president of a grassroots organization called Leaders We Deserve. And through that group, he plans to spend $20 million in primaries against Democratic incumbents in the hopes of just getting better Democrats in their seats. [00:01:06] But David Hogg was well aware when he announced his plan that people were not going to like it. He's been fighting the Democratic establishment for years. He knows what he's dealing with. Not only did he know the corporate Dems would not like it, he also predicted that there would be a smear campaign against him [00:01:22] and attempts to destroy his reputation. And we're already starting to see these things take shape. So here's what Hogg had to say of his plan. He said people say they want change in the Democratic Party, but really they want change so long as it doesn't potentially endanger their position of power. [00:01:40] That's not actually wanting change. That's selfishness. And from the New York Times, they said at a private meeting last month, a neutrality policy was circulated asking the party's top officers to refrain from any activity that would call into question their impartiality and even handedness, [00:01:59] according to two people with knowledge of the pledge, which sought to cover officers both in their DNC capacity and in their personal capacity. Everyone signed it except Mr. Hogg. Hogg also got ahead of any accusations of ageism that are sure to be headed his way [00:02:15] by addressing them head on before they could even start saying what we are not saying here is, oh, you're too old, you need to go, Mr. Hogg said of older officials. What we're saying is we need to make room for a new generation to step up and help make sure that we [00:02:32] have the the people that are most acutely impacted by a lot of the issues that we are legislating on, that are actually going to live to see the consequences of this. Hogg, of course, has received plenty of support since his announcement. Including. [00:02:47] Included amongst his those supporters is Randi Weingarten, a member of the DNC and president of the American Federation of Teachers. And here's what she had to say. She said yes, it will ruffle some feathers and yes, some people will be upset. The key is that they are trying to create the connection between the long [00:03:05] term values of the party and people who don't see it, and you have to do things differently to make that connection. So we'll get to the critics just now, one in particular. But David Hogg is a member of Gen Z. He's quite young to be involved in politics, let alone in such a high and influential position. [00:03:24] But I think it's important to remember, especially in light of that breaking story that we just covered. It's important to remember that David Hogg became politically active in the first place because he survived the Stoneman Douglas School shooting. He thought politicians do absolutely nothing to stop school violence. [00:03:41] He saw them explain away all the reasons why they couldn't do anything. They said thoughts and prayers. They said, this is horrible. They said these things sometimes take place. And he saw them politicize the news cycles where these stories were being reported. And how many about how all of his schoolmates [00:03:57] and his friends had died in the shooting. He was rightfully, absolutely sick of these do nothing politicians, and he wasn't willing to let the Democrats off easily for not doing more. And these actions by David Hogg are exactly in line with what someone who has experienced the negative impacts of weak politicians firsthand [00:04:16] would at least try to do. He wants to get rid of the people who let him in so many other young people down. And those politicians shouldn't be allowed to continue to govern when they've demonstrated how ineffective they're okay with being. - What are your thoughts, Jake? - Yeah. [00:04:32] So look, there's two different issues here too. Number one is, you know, are we in the same part of the political spectrum as David Hogg? And so a lot of the centrists like Carville and others are furious because they're not they hate that he's a progressive. And so when, the establishment was, [00:04:49] putting all of their weight on protecting incumbents and taking sides in Democratic primaries and always siding with the corporate Democrats and against progressives. Carville didn't mind at all. He didn't mind at all. Okay, so please cry me a river. We'll get to him in a second. [00:05:07] So David Hogg, for example, or some of the candidates might be further left than me on some, cultural issues. Right. To which I say, so what? So let them go in the primaries and have an even playing field, [00:05:25] and let's see who wins. And if the voters are more to the left on those issues than I am or Carville is, then great. They're more to the left. Why is that a bad thing? As long as you win, that's the thing that's important, right? And so now, the second part of it is much more important, which is are [00:05:43] we going to actually have change in the Democratic Party or are we not? So I agree with David Hogg on the economic issues, as far as I can tell from his positions. And, and, you know, more Bernie Sanders style economic populism. I think that is a much better winning strategy. [00:06:01] It'll help us in the general elections. I totally disagree with the corporate Democrats on that. I agree with David Hogg on that. So let us run all those different candidates. Let us run someone who's very far left on cultural issues. Let's run someone who's populist left. [00:06:16] Let's run your standard establishment Democrats and let's see who wins without the cheating of the DNC at all times. So in this case, remember, David Hogg is doing this through, a different PAC that he has not in his official capacity at the DNC. [00:06:32] He's allowed to have a PAC. They're allowed to raise money and they're allowed. Why? Why are only why are people only allowed to raise money for corporate Democrats? Why can't you raise grassroots money for progressive Democrats or populist Democrats? Of course you can. [00:06:48] The only people who don't want that are the people who know that if we go with just corporate, if we allow competition against corporate and establishment Democrats, that those Democrats will lose and they don't want them to lose because they want them to serve the donor class. [00:07:04] And most of all, when David Hogg says, hey, we need change. And this is what change looks like, people pretend to be in favor of change, but then when you actually give them change, they go, how dare you? He's 1,000% right about that. [00:07:20] Yeah, and thanks for for emphasizing the point that this is his own grassroots raise money. So it it's just funny because the corporate Dems, as we call them, they're mad about the money that's about to be spent. But yeah, like like they take in all kinds of money from all kinds of places and now [00:07:35] they're courting billionaire money. So anyway, I did promise some criticism, and I don't think you'll be surprised to hear who one of Hogg's most vocal and irate critics is with all of this. And yes, it is James Carville. Just a reminder, Carville is 80 years old and has served as a political consultant [00:07:51] for several Democratic leaders, most notably president Bill Clinton back in the 90s. In other words, he has been around the block a few times. He knows a thing or two about winning elections, but he's never been fond of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. So here, here he is on Newsnation with host Chris Cuomo. [00:08:10] And Cuomo compares progressives to MAGA. You know why they're doing it. They looked at MAGA, and they did what we see all the time. When you don't have better minds and better ideas, this is why you were so transcendent in politics. Is that and I always find it so cheap when people say, oh, Jim Carville. [00:08:28] Oh, yeah, it's the economy, stupid. No, no, no, that wasn't your genius. Your genius was. I'm not going to be. What? Beats me. What you see with Bernie and AOC right now is MAGA, MAGA playbook, MAGA playbook. Make the masses angry. Dave Hogg, that's MAGA playbook. [00:08:44] Go after your own and have a purity test. But, James, tell us how you really feel about David Hogg. Here it is. Why don't somebody sue David Hogg? He's an officer of the Democratic National Committee. He is the vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, [00:09:01] and he's running against other Democrats. I would like to know. And you went to law school. Does he have a fiduciary duty toward Democrats? If I work for. If you work for News Nation, you can't promote CNN. That's because you work for somebody else. You have a fiduciary duty to your employer, which anybody can understand. [00:09:19] He's being paid to run against other Democrats. I think it's an outrage. I'm if I don't know if I have standing, but I might give the DNC $10 and sue him. - He's a contemptible little twerp. - If you sue his ass. [00:09:35] All right. If anything in this story feels ageist, that feels ageist to me. Anyway, here is how Carville feels about progressives in general. I don't think these people get it. I don't think they ever will get it. [00:09:50] And I've said this before and I'll say it now. I think we ought to think about just having a schism. I think these people should get their own party. Don't call it anything Democratic. Call it the Socialist Union, urban justice community, unity party of the whatever. [00:10:08] Right. And then after the election, maybe we can have negotiations. Or you can, you know, vote for a Democrat to be the speaker. If if we win. But I actually think that it might be at a point where there are certain elements in a Democrat coalition [00:10:27] that we just we just can't live in the same room with these people. So I don't want to diminish this or minimize this conversation by saying, you know, it's like Zoomer versus Boomer within the Democratic Party because it's more than that. [00:10:43] But the younger generations, they are ready to lead. They're willing to lead their energetic. They want to to resolve a lot of the issues that they're actually living through. Right. And David Hogg is such a great example of that. But these older people, they are refusing to relinquish the reins. [00:10:59] So Carville says that progressives just don't get it and will never get it. But one could argue that it's also the other way around. One could argue that years of corporate Democrats in control of the party has not been the win for most Americans that the Democrats want you to believe it has been. [00:11:15] And I don't you know, I really don't want to make all of this about age, because it isn't about age. This isn't about ageism. It's not a matter of whether or not people are older or whether or not older people can still lead. They can if they want to. But these particular older people that we're constantly dealing with, [00:11:32] Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, James Carville, even Joe Biden, they refuse or they're unable to adapt with the times. So they're stuck in a time that no longer exists. They're operating based on a reality that a significant portion of the population has never even known. [00:11:48] They have wisdom and experience. Let's give them credit where it's due, but they're not able to apply that in ways that serve anyone but themselves or they don't want to. - So what is it all for? - Yeah. So I want to point out a major hypocrisy by James Carville there. [00:12:04] So first a quick note on him saying, oh my God, I can't believe it. He's running against other Democrats. But wait, James, you're leaving out the fact that it's a primary. They're both Democrats. Both the candidates would be Democrats, maybe even three that are all Democrats. [00:12:21] So when he says Democrat, he means corporate Democrat, he means I love, love corporate Democrats who take donor money. And they should be the only Democrats. Only corrupt Democrats should be Democrats. And if you're not corrupt and you're not a real Democrat, because otherwise what [00:12:37] he's saying doesn't make any sense at all. It's. Well, so you're not allowed to run against Democrats if you're a Democrat. We should never have any primaries. So many of the current Democratic Congress people won in a Democratic primary against another Democrat. So should we kick them all out because they were all traitors and they [00:12:53] dared to run against the Democrat? That doesn't make any sense at all. Now the hypocrisy. So there's a portion of James Carville that I actually agree with, and we've talked about that in the past, where, look, I'm I'm forced to explain this every time because I [00:13:10] don't want people to misunderstand. Right. I'm not talking about where you are on policy. Right. So, you know, I'm far left on, as I explained earlier in the show on gun control, for example. And you could be far left, near left, center left. You could be anywhere you like. Okay. So but do I think being radical left, which is a more of an attitude right. [00:13:29] Of doing purity tests, no dissent is allowed. You must believe with 100% orthodoxy, you must have the most maximalist positions. Otherwise we're going to attack you, etc.. Do I believe that that is a good strategy? No. I agree with James Carville on that. But then look at the hypocrisy and the irony of what James Carville is saying. [00:13:47] He's saying, if you're not a corporate Democrat, I'm going to do a purity test, and you shouldn't be allowed in the party. You shouldn't be allowed in the DNC. And I'm going to sue you for disagreeing with me. Well, brother, if that ain't a purity test, I don't know what is. [00:14:03] So no, that that makes James Carville a radical moderate. Meaning, like he can call himself a moderate, but his mindset and his attitude is radical. He wants complete purity. Only establishment Democrats, only people who agree with James Carville. [00:14:19] And that's crazy. And that is, by the way, terrible for the party because it kills off competition. It kills off the ability to find our best candidates. It it prevents them from getting stronger in the heat of a battle of a primary. [00:14:34] Instead, what it does is it rolls out these old geriatric and it's again, not about age, it's about attitude and the and their absolute insistence on defending the status quo and the current corrupt system. They rolled them out and go. That's it. [00:14:51] No, this is they're backed by ExxonMobil and Pfizer and and all of these companies and AIPAC, etc., and you must bow your head to them. No, that's the exact kind of radicalism that I can't stand, no matter what part of the political spectrum it comes from. [00:15:07] Have real primaries, real competition, find the strongest Democrats, no matter where they are in the political spectrum, and let them run. Let them run David Hogg's 100% right. And in this case, Carville's 100% wrong. James Carville did say in another interview to addressing Bernie [00:15:25] Sanders and AOC and their Fight the Oligarchy tour right now. He was like, you know what? Whenever they actually defeat a Republican in an election, let me know. You know, it's like very snarky, very disrespectful to these people who are pulling in tens of thousands of people to these rallies when they're not even running [00:15:42] for any kind of race right now in very, very red states and red districts across the country. So if you're a Democrat, why isn't that something that you're celebrating? Right. These are still blue people in blue in Congress that we're presumably going to get if all of this goes the way that people like Bernie Sanders and AOC [00:16:00] and David Hogg would like it to go. And if James Carville, he's a Democratic strategist, that's what he should want, right? But he just doesn't like the Democrats that are coming in, which means he really doesn't understand the younger generations at all. So. Yeah. [00:16:16] And, if if he wants to go look, I, I've said it already, he if he, if you're going to be an absolutist and you're going to demand that only your side is allowed to compete, I've got no interest in you. And and you make the party much, much weaker. [00:16:33] Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets his wings. Totally not true. But it does keep you updated on our live shows.