DANIEL VAUGHAN: Democrats Are Terrified Of Their Base
David Hogg is out at the Democratic National Committee. The Parkland High School shooting survivor had angered just about everyone in the role. But what is notable about his ouster is that it marked the third time in the last 18 months Democrats have rigged their internal or primary election.
For a party that's hyper-focused on threats to democracy and decrying fascism, the Democratic Party doesn't want the pressures of dealing with vote results. Hogg had won the party leadership race back in February, and Democrats were largely okay with that until this week. Hogg had started encouraging primary challenges to incumbent Democrats.
In response to deciding Hogg needed to go, Democrats decided to "re-do" the election over "diversity" rules. In the election do-over, Hogg wouldn't be allowed to run for the seat again, which leaves the seat open to others the DNC prefers in those roles.
The decision to re-do everything was also made after the DNC Chair was caught on leaked audio complaining about Hogg and was near tears over it. The decision to oust Hogg was made, and DEI rules claimed another victim.
Election results are final unless Democrats can find some arcane way to ensure they aren't.
This isn't the first time Democrats have engaged in this type of behavior.
In the 2024 primary season, Joe Biden sought to undermine his opposition by adjusting the primary calendar. He had his campaign move South Carolina to the start of the primary season, ousting Iowa and New Hampshire from the lead. Both reporting at the time and in the latest book, "Original Sin," revealed this was to block any attempts to primary him.
Democrats also did everything in their power to legally block Dean Phillips from challenging Biden. Phillips had to sue the DNC to get access to the ballot in primary states despite meeting all the qualifications.
And then, who can forget the ultimate switcharoo when Biden finally dropped out of the race? Kamala Harris took over the Biden campaign machine, whipped Democratic delegates into shape, and prevented any challenge to her either through a primary or a convention fight.
What we're witnessing is a party at odds and at war with its radical elements. The older establishment wing of the party does not want to allow Bernie Sanders or any of the other young upstarts to be anywhere near power. That's why, since 2022, the last eight people to die in Congress have all been Democrats.
Three members of Congress have died this year so far, all Democrats. Those three deaths, particularly Gerry Connelly's, changed the vote count in favor of Republicans, giving Speaker Mike Johnson more room to pass Trump's budget bill.
When it came time to push Biden out the door, it was Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, and Chuck Schumer making the calls. Obama is the youngest of the bunch, and he's now 63, having last been in office eight years ago. We're approaching a decade since the end of the Obama presidency.
The Democratic Party's leadership is dying out, and they're doing everything, including changing election rules to avoid fights with its radical base. You don't have to believe me on what they think about the radicals at the party base. All you have to do is watch what they're doing: avoiding votes that benefit the radicals at all costs.
We've had three tilted elections, and most outside forces in the Democratic Party would say they've done this several times previously (Clinton attempted to lock out the field in 2016 and tried the same in 2008). The Democratic Party is losing grip of reality.
We're seeing this firsthand in Los Angeles and other places. If you go back 5-10 years, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and more all held views in line with what Republicans believe on immigration. They were fine with legal immigration, but they also supported the deportation of those who were here illegally.
Polls show that the public supports deportations and shipping illegal aliens out of the country. Even first-generation American immigrants now support deportation and Trump's position on the issue. That group alone has shifted 40 points to the right on this one topic.
But that's not where the base is for Democrats. The Democratic Party's base is fighting police, ICE, and authorities in the streets of Los Angeles. It's clear the older establishment set of the Democratic Party is terrified of this base and will continue doing everything in its power to keep them from power.
It's also clear that the establishment is dying out. The only thing left after that is the base fighting in the streets. The Democratic Party's ability to rig things away from the radicals is likely ending. What happens next? The answer to that is clearly terrifying Democratic leaders.