Hogg’s Democratic Party shake-up should model Ocasio-Cortez, not Trump

In "Avengers: Age of Ultron," Quicksilver, who moves at the speed of light, protects the powerless Hawkeye from a spray of bullets, quipping, “You didn’t see that coming,” before collapsing onto the floor.

“Democrats, you didn’t see that coming,” was my initial response when I read that newly elected Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg would raise the dough to support progressives challenging failing Democrats in the primaries.

Hogg, 26, was selected by members of the Democratic Party to represent young people’s voices. Those who elected Hogg believe the only way out of Donald Trump’s reign, currently wreaking havoc on our democracy and government systems to benefit the few, is to fill the room with young people.

They are not wrong. But...

While Hogg viewed his rise in the DNC ranks as an opportunity to challenge those in power, remember that he also bore witness to a school shooting that left friends murdered, his community scared and lasting trauma that I’m certain he relives daily. 

It’s not shocking then that he may view his role as the person to sacrifice himself for a larger calling — to ensure that young people who are losing faith regain it.

Hogg argues through his actions that the party needs someone to bring those young people back, someone from within to course-correct, and history supports him. Former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton furiously wrote our founding documents in his late 20s. 

In that regard, Hogg’s boldness is right on time, yet old guard strategists recoil at his youthful exuberance for change.

James Carville, the architect of former President Bill Clinton’s campaign and someone who is handed a microphone every time a producer can’t find Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), called Hogg a “twerp” and then said, “His strategy is the most insane thing I’ve heard.” 

Honestly, Carville, you’re proving Hogg’s point.

What he chose to ignore when going public with his media-catching dismay at Hogg’s decision to influence Democratic primaries is that Hogg is rejecting the Carvilles of the world, who remain steadfast in being gatekeepers, deciding who gets in and who stays out of the Democratic Party.

Bottom line: You don’t elect fresh faces to sideline their youthful energy and ideas. Even someone like me, who has been involved in politics for 20 years and now possesses relationships across all sectors of government, sees Hogg’s abandonment of DNC norms to remain neutral in primary elections for what it is: action.

Hogg isn’t wrong in his assertion that young people are being ignored. Footage from the Association of State Democratic Chairs 2024 winter meeting — one month after Trump was reelected — captured a conversation between the organization’s leaders, who asserted that understanding the chartered and unspoken rules of party politics takes time. 

We latch onto this belief in systems, processes and experience, relegating fresh ideas to the wings instead of center stage because, you know, dues have to be paid.

I’m 43, and it’s comforting to go into a DNC meeting and see the same people, who elicit my favorite political memories, but that doesn’t mean I’m growing. 

Growth is critical, but it’s about more than young people maturing into political systems. It’s about the old guard being willing to let go of what they know and inviting new ideas into the mix.

Real leaders embrace a young person’s growth because then everyone else will thrive. Stunt it, and you get the same.

Hogg also has something to learn from this. He orchestrated a media rollout in The New York Times for his big reveal that he would challenge the DNC practice to stay out of congressional primaries. He ran it by a few Democrats, for sure, who probably warned him against it. Instead of seeing their advice as counsel, he probably viewed the moment as something he had to do.

But the DNC members who elected Hogg weren’t asking him to blow up the institution: They were asking him to fix it. 

His move feels Trumpian to me: promising one thing, but going in another direction. It shows a lack of strategic acumen and paints him as someone more eager to grab a mic than to develop the meaningful relationships needed to convince party chairs, elected officials, party leaders and local organizers that his ideas are worth investing in and advocating for.

You know how I would know? I’ve had my moments where I put myself first, especially when a reporter called me, looking for an idea to “shake things up.”

Been there, bruh.

My self-absorption taught me, though, that it’s a lot harder to organize 57 states and territories. It takes patience to believe your work will translate into systemic changes. 

Hogg is showing publicly that he is more willing to spend his time with the press, creators and donors than on the ground with those worried about paying their bills, staying in their homes or caring for their families.

Hogg experienced great tragedy, but if that moment is fueling his strategic decision-making, if he believes a national splash is better than working with others, then he needs to take a look around.

Unlike Carville, who cares only about the media attention he receives, Hogg has a community of people who believe in his move to challenge primary Democrats. But from the outside, it looks like a media move to bolster his profile.

It would behoove Hogg to look at someone like Ocasio-Cortez, a willing student who is turning her progressivism into bridge-building and working with others instead of going solo, all while landing right hooks in Republican arguments. And she’s organizing.

Ocasio-Cortez is learning and leading, not blowing things up in the name of shock and awe. She’s not behaving like Trump, and neither should Hogg.

Michael Ceraso is a Democratic strategist who served on four presidential campaigns, including those of President Barack Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Pete Buttigieg. He is the founder of the communications firm Winning Margins, as well as Community Groundwork, a nonprofit supporting two-year students interested in civic careers.