John, I’m always direct in these emails. Papering over bad news doesn’t help our teams at Leaders We Deserve and the PCCC win.
It is a hell of a lot harder to slow, derail, and stop Trump from crashing the economy, disappearing people, and leading our country into ruin with a weak Democratic Party.
With a 26% approval rating, that is where we are right now. If the midterms were held today, we would lose.
And yeah, a few members of the old-school Democratic establishment are pissed at me for calling us weak. They can’t understand why Leaders We Deserve would consider primarying old, ineffective congressmen who are asleep at the wheel during the most consequential moments in our political history.
In today’s party politics, there’s an unwritten rule. If you win a seat, it’s yours for life. No one serious in your party will challenge you. That is a culture we have to break.
I am doing this so that we have a stronger party. We stand a significantly better chance at defeating MAGA if we can build a more effective Democratic Party that gives voters a real alternative — a vision for the future they believe in.
The answer lies in building the party we all know we could be. A party that restores people's faith in Democracy by using it to revive the American Dream through lowering costs and fighting special interests. To do that requires serious change, though.
Yes, there are incredible Democratic leaders that we already have who are stepping up. But unfortunately there are far too many who are asleep at the wheel and completely failing to meet the moment. That is unacceptable.
We cannot recycle the same playbook and expect different results. That’s why Leaders We Deserve launched a $20 million fund to usher in the next generation:
- Primarying asleep-at-the-wheel Democrats in deep blue seats. It might seem counterintuitive to do this in blue seats, but people decide their votes based on what they think about Democrats and Republicans overall. The weak, ineffective, out-of-touch members of Congress are a liability for us all.
- Supporting young, frontline Democrats running in tight red-to-blue races. Making sure the next generation of leaders in tough districts have our full support, and that the old, ineffective guard doesn’t weigh them down.
When we challenge the status quo, some incumbents will rise to the occasion and emerge stronger, reminded of who they serve. Others will demonstrate exactly why they need to be replaced. Either way, the party gets stronger, and the American people win.
This $20 million initiative is ambitious. But it’s not a random number pulled out of a hat. Based on how much these elections cost, it’s the amount of money that we think makes a serious dent in the way people think about the Democratic Party. It allows us not just to run in one or two important races, but to run in several and make a genuine splash.
But here’s the catch. That $20 million only happens if we raise it together. I’m not independently wealthy. We don’t have a cadre of secret billionaires waiting in the wings to fund this effort. This isn’t a lottery ticket.
This action plan for a renewed, stronger Democratic Party comes down to each of the people reading this email doing what they can with what they have. If we all rise to that level, we will hit this $20 million goal and the plan will work.
I know that everyone reading this email isn’t in a position to donate. That is okay. And I believe we can fund this effort successfully in a truly progressive way. Here’s how:
⇢HIGH EARNERS: If you have done well and can afford it, please consider investing more for those who can’t. Click to donate $1,000, $500 or $100 or as much as you can to Leaders We Deserve and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
⇢MEDIUM EARNERS: Give what you can. What’s more important is that we’re all in this together. If thousands of people give small amounts each month, this plan will still work. Click to donate $25 — or $5 each month split between Leaders We Deserve and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
⇢EVERYONE ELSE: If you are not in a position to donate, that’s okay. We each have a role to play in this plan, and yours might be to do all of the free things you can do. Get active on social media. Tell your friends about what we’re doing. Forward this email around. You are just as important in this fight.
We’ll check in periodically with you on our progress here. But I really believe that today we’re going to make a big step in the right direction on fundraising for the plan.
Thank you for reading, especially a long email like this one. It means a lot to me personally to be in this work and this fight with teammates as dedicated as you. The energy I draw from people like you is what keeps me fighting every day.
So thank you. And thank you to the PCCC for letting me reach out today.
– David Hogg, Leaders We Deserve
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