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June 8th, 2025 Len’s Letter #79 Should we be angry at David Hogg
If David Hogg is related to the 20th century Texas society figure, philanthropist, and patron of the arts Ima Hogg, the connection is so obscure it is never mentioned.
David Hogg is the son of a former FBI agent. He earned his initial 15 minutes of fame as a high school student at the Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School which was the scene of a mass shooting in 2018. He and a group of other students were directed by a janitor to return to a classroom where the culinary arts teacher moved them into hiding in a closet. In the closet, using his cell phone to reach the internet, Hogg learned that, despite the fire alarm, the school was not on fire, but under attack by a shooter. He interviewed his fellow students and recorded the scene so that there would be a record if they did not survive.
After graduating, he took a gap year during which he extended his activism for gun safety. He enrolled at Harvard the following year and graduated in 2023. In 2024, he was elected one of several Vice Presidents of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Seeking to attract youths to the Democratic Party, the DNC got more than they bargained for with David Hogg. He created a PAC called Leaders We Deserve and announced her would seek challengers to run against Democratic office holders who had been ineffective. When he was told the DNC is supposed to remain neutral in primaries, he responded that he would be willing to lose his leadership position rather than give up his campaign. Convenient for those who would prefer that David Hogg go away, a candidate who lost to Hogg and Pennsylvania political figure Malcolm Kenyatta brought a complaint that the DNC election violated the organization’s bylaws in their election. The DNC will vote between June 9 and June 11 on whether a new election is required.
In forming his Leadership We Deserve PAC, David Hogg said he was seeking generational change, that he would raise and spend $20 million to oust older incumbents in safe districts. He said the “culture of seniority politics” has made the Democratic Party less effective.
Not every Democrat was angry. Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said David Hogg had made some good points. There are a few ranking members who probably should step aside.
One Democrat who was angry was me. Hogg seemed to me to be focusing on age rather than effectiveness. I am 83. I am not a Member of Congress. But I felt as if I were under attack.
David Hogg has not retreated from his plan to oust ineffective Democratic Members of Congress, but he has tried to retreat from being critical of all of the older Democrats in Congress. For instance, he has said he would not oppose the reelection of Steny Hoyer.
Is there a disproportionate number of elderly Democrats in Congress? Do Republicans have this problem? I made myself a spread sheet to look at Republican and Democratic Members of Congress by age. Twelve Democratic Members of Congress are 80 or older. Three Republicans fit that category. Forty-two of the Democrats elected to the 119th Congress (including the three who died) are now (or were at the time of their deaths) between the age of 70 and 79. Twenty seven Republicans are in that category. So….54 elderly Democrats to 30 elderly Republicans. That would be close to a rout in football. A margin of three touchdowns plus a field goal.
Look at the Democrats’ 80 in the 119th Congress. Are they the ineffective elderly? Are they sages?
Emanual Cleaver (MO 05) (80) is the Ranking member of the Housing and Insurance subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee. He is Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus’s TECH2025, the co-chair of the Mayors Caucus, and the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ 12) (80) is on the Appropriations Committee. Part of the Party Leadership, she is the Deputy Whip for Policy, Chair of the Party’s Task Force on Poverty, Co Chair and Co-Founder of the Caucus on Black Women and Girls, and co-founder and co-chair of the American 250 Caucus.
John Garamendi (CA 08) (80) is the Ranking member of the Readiness Committee of the Armed Services Committee and the former chair of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of five caucuses including the Mobility Air Forces caucus.
Doris Matsui (CA 07) (80) is the Ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee. She is a co-chair of seven caucuses, among them the Sustainable Environment Coalition.
Jan Schakowsky (IL 09) (81) has announced she will not run in 2026. She is the Chief Deputy Whip in the House and a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Among caucuses, she is the Chair of the Providers and Clinics Task Force of the Pro-Choice Caucus. She is Vice Chair of Progressive Caucus. And she is the Founder and Chair of the International Workers Rights Caucus.
Rosa DeLauro (CT 03) (82) is the Ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee and its Education Appropriation subcommittee. She is also the Ranking member of the House Labor, Health and Human Services Committee and is a member of leadership. She serves on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She co-chairs three caucuses: The Baby Caucus, the Long Island Sound Caucus, and the Food Safety Caucus.
Frederica Wilson (FL 24) (82). Her official website lists committee membership from the 117th Congress. Wikipedia’s information is from the 118th Congress. According to Wikipedia, she was the ranking member of the Higher Education and Workforce Development subcommittee of the Education and Workforce development committee. No caucus chairmanships are listed.
Danny Davis (IL 11) (83) is the Ranking Member of the Work and Welfare Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. He serves as a regional whip and is co-chair of the bi-partisan caucus on re-entry that addresses the support provided to the formerly incarcerated to civilian life.
Jim Clyburn (SC 06) (84) is currently the House Assistant Democratic Leader. Previously, he was the majority whip, the third highest ranking member of the House when the Democrats were in the majority. He and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer voluntarily resigned from their posts, but not from Congress, to create generational change in the most powerful House Democratic positions. Jim Clyburn’s support of Joe Biden in the South Carolina Presidential primary was probably responsible for Joe Biden becoming the Democratic nominee in 2020.
Steny Hoyer (MD 05) (85) was the Democratic Majority Leader for a total of 8 years. He is the Dean of the Maryland delegation and the most senior Democrat in terms of length of service in the Congress.
Nancy Pelosi (CA 11) (85) was the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives and the first woman to lead either branch of the legislature. She is the Dean of the California delegation.
Maxine Waters (CA 43) (86) is the Ranking member and former Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. She is the second most senior member of the California delegation and the most senior Black woman in Congress.
Only Jan Schakowsky has announced a retirement. Those who have announced a run and those who are keeping their thinking to themselves know something about politics. They know public anger about having an opponent is unwise. Aware that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez defeated the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Joe Crowley in her successful challenging run for Congress, they all know they have to campaign when they face a primary opponent.
If they do not have the stamina for a campaign, they should not run. If they do not have a sufficient reservoir of support in their district to defeat a young candidate, David Hogg is right. There are some older Democrats in the House who should be replaced. Sixty-five year old Massachusetts Congressman and Ranking member of the Rules Committee agreed.
Consider the Democratic Octogenarians. Whose replacement would make the Democratic Party stronger? David Hogg should look, too. Having started s movement, he is unlikely to be able to control who challenges which octogenarian. So far, in addition to the Schakowsky challenger, four have had young challengers announce a candidacy. Those facing a primary opponent include Doris Matsui, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters, and Steny Hoyer.
If he raises the money he intends to raise, David Hogg will have to figure out which young primary opponents he will fund.
Good luck to him.