John,
Here’s a stat that should piss you off:
Nearly 70% of members of Congress aged 65 and older are Democrats.
That’s not a typo. It’s a symptom of a system designed to preserve power. And it’s a threat to our party and our democracy. That is not because there shouldn’t be any older people in power but it’s because we can’t have a government that properly represents and fights for all Americans if one group is massively over-represented to the point that even out of 435 members of Congress there’s only ONE who is under 30. (It’s Maxwell Frost if you are wondering).
So the next question is why the hell is this happening? In part because the Democratic Party doesn’t put term limits on committee chairs. That might sound like a wonky procedural thing, but it has massive consequences. It encourages older members to hang on to their leadership positions for decades and it blocks younger, more diverse voices from moving up the ranks.
That’s what Leaders We Deserve is all about changing. We recruit and elect young, progressive candidates ready to challenge the status quo and actually fight for our future.
If we want different outcomes, we need different leaders. Not just new messaging but new messengers. Messengers who know the anxieties of going through a school shooter drill or not knowing if AI is going to make the job they have been going to college to get obsolete. But in order to get that generation elected, they need your help.
Can you pitch in $5 or anything you can now to elect a new generation of Democrats?
Our mission has never been to burn it all down, John. It’s about building something better. That’s why we’re doing this work.
Thanks for being in the fight with us,
David Hogg
