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Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin will call for DNC officials’ neutrality to be codified in the party’s official rules and bylaws, two Democratic sources tell CNN. Martin has already been telling DNC members of his plans and will explain more in a call with members Thursday afternoon.

. . . “No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” Martin told reporters on a call Thursday. “Voters should decide who our primary nominees are, not DNC leadership.”

The DNC’s Rules & Bylaws committee is expected to vote on Martin’s proposal next month in a virtual meeting. If the committee approves the proposal it will advance to a full vote of the DNC membership in August.

The push for the new rule comes days after Hogg, who beat out a crowded field to become one of three DNC at-large vice chairs in February, announced his plan to help primary incumbent Democrats in safe districts through his group Leaders We Deserve. The organization plans to spend a total of $20 million in next year’s midterms supporting young people running for office.

Hogg stressed that his effort would not target Democrats in competitive districts or use any DNC resources, including voter files or donor lists. He told CNN in an interview last week that he would not endorse in the presidential primaries if he is still a DNC leader.

“I don’t take it personally,” Hogg said of the criticism of his primary challenge. “There’s a difference in strategy here, and the way that we think things need to be done.”

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[-] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 62 points 2 weeks ago

No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election

Yeah, the DNC would never do that.

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 26 points 2 weeks ago

Looking at YOU 2016...

[-] TheFogan@programming.dev 15 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah I would second the view, if it weren't for decades of the opposite of the DNC bending over backwards for it's incumbants. If they had a history of staying neutral and not regularly backing the incumbents. But as they do... then the opposite needs to happen.

[-] aramis87@fedia.io 7 points 2 weeks ago

I wouldn't mind then backing the incumbents, if the incumbents had any fucking spine to stand up to the Republicans.

[-] TheFogan@programming.dev 5 points 2 weeks ago

well yeah... backing should be merit based not seniority based. You've been there 30 years, and no one knows what the hell you are doing, you've not fought for anything we want. Get lost... if you're still backing good policies, standing up for what's right and making people happy, stick around as long as you want.

A bit of why I fear the general concept of term limits. Bernie sanders is still far and away one of the best in congress. He's old as fuck, been there forever... but easilly in the top 5 most active senators...

[-] thefartographer@lemm.ee 6 points 2 weeks ago

*No tag-backs

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Pretty sure they got the memo

[-] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

They did not get the memo; they saw a credible effort to threaten their chokehold on national politics and want to shut it down on a technicality. There's literally no reason to believe this is an act of good faith; if it was they wouldn't have elected Hoggs to the position of DNC vice chair in the first place.

[-] cabron_offsets@lemmy.world 33 points 2 weeks ago

I hope this kid haunts their fucking nightmares. Cunts.

[-] Skiluros@sh.itjust.works 24 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Fascinating stuff.

I am not American (have previously lived in North America for a decade and travelled extensively in the region), but based on my experiences this is a very good example of how the US centre-right opposition is completely unqualified for any kind of real action. They clearly lack the risk tolerance and gumption to deal with current internal challenges in their country.

[-] meyotch@slrpnk.net 10 points 2 weeks ago

Yep! As an American who has been active in local Dem party activity, they need to be rooted out and replaced. It’s really our best hope.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

They clearly lack the risk tolerance and gumption to deal with current internal challenges in their country.

I didn't get that from the article. I thought the article was showcasing some real gumption to change things, something the RNC would never dream of in a million years (or need to).

[-] Skiluros@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago

Respect to David Hogg. I meant this in a more broader perspective.

I am comparing to global examples. One would be Hong Kong. They failed, but they actually were able to shut down the local airport for a short period.

Or say the initial phase of the Syrian revolution. The population openly protested against a brutal regime that was in power for many decades and there were many examples of their brutality.

I specifically chose failed or highly controversial situations (to highlight how a fight for freedom involves scary and painful choices, this is not a movie). From my experience living in the US, I thought local risk tolerance was low. On a certain level, the US is too well off to have the motivation for resistance (be it mass scale ptotest, 10% of pop or more, weekly protest or violent rebellion).

I don't know how to say it diplomatically, but true fight for freedom doesn't seem like the American way.

[-] aramis87@fedia.io 13 points 2 weeks ago

"Neutrality" is just (very thin) cover for supporting the status quo, when what we need is a complete change.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Neutrality is the opposite of what they always get accused of by the people who love to shit on the Dems. So it's not the status quo. Or it is. But it can't be both.

People need to make up their minds why they're mad about it.

[-] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

But it can't be both.

Have you considered: People, and especially groups of people, can do more than one thing at once?

[-] Gregg@lemm.ee 9 points 2 weeks ago

Oh look. The Dems rolling out the same shit since 2015 thinking it’ll work. They are corporate controlled opposition and nothing more. We need a new party ideally, but Hogg needs support from other members who also are tired of the party being The Washington Generals of well, Washington.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I think the article is saying they're not doing the same shit. Not doing it in two different ways, even.

And I'm all for electing the best people to get what we want, but Deez Nutz and Jill Stein ain't gonna get it. Reforming the DNC is our best shot.

[-] Gregg@lemm.ee 3 points 2 weeks ago

Jill Stein should be nowhere near even the idea of a reform coalition.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

100% agree. So what's the plan?

[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 8 points 2 weeks ago

This is the perfect cover for them. They don't have to advocate for the incumbents, that's what corporate media will do for them. They get the bonus of looking like they want to be neutral while neutering Hoggs ability to rally people against the feckless dinosaur moderates in the party.

For the incumbents and DNC leadership it's a win. :/

[-] Maeve@kbin.earth 7 points 2 weeks ago

“No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” Martin told reporters on a call Thursday. “Voters should decide who our primary nominees are, not DNC leadership.”... “Let me be clear, this is not about shielding incumbents or boosting challengers,” Martin said. “It’s about voters’ trust in the party, and when we uphold a clear policy of neutrality, we guard against the perception or reality of bias.”

The trust they lost when they argued in court the party has no obligation to keep promises made to constituents? The trust lost when HRC decided propping up djt as the opposition candidate because he's easy to beat? The trust lost when Joe said, "Nothing will fundamentally change?” The trust lost when Kamala not only shut out Palestinian voices but also backtracked on campaign promises?

Zero. Irony.

[-] CMLVI@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Literally none of this is based off what voters want.

How would the DNC know to put into elections if they aren't available during the primary?? Do they operate off of vibes and random phone polls?

[-] timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago

Despite the naysaying, isn't this a good thing? Seems the new chair wants impartiality and if codified then should be a wide open contest.

It's exactly what the Democratic party should want. Just not necessarily the Democrat politicians who may have overstayed their welcome.

[-] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 2 points 2 weeks ago

Have you considered why they're doing this now rather than eight years ago? They're trying to give you the worst of both worlds here, and that aside Hoggs explicitly said he wouldn't use DNC resources for his project. The party has no business deciding what he does with his other organizations.

[-] AmidFuror@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yes, it's what everyone has been bitching about since HRC got the nomination. But in reality they wanted their preferred candidates to get a leg up, apparently.

[-] miguel@fedia.io 5 points 2 weeks ago

Stuff like this is why I left the dem party, they're only strong opponents to progressives, not conservatives. The best summary I ever saw of them was: GOP: "fascism" DNC: "fascism ✨🏳️‍🌈"

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

So the party you went to was what? Is it better?

[-] miguel@fedia.io 2 points 2 weeks ago

I just went with independent, which removes me from the "primaries", but also removed me from all the non-stop text messages and phone calls begging for money to support a party that does little more than shrug non-committaly.
So, no? I'm from the US, I don't really get a choice in ISP, phone network, or political representative, but boy I sure do get to pick from a number of different cereals.

I am more active at the very local level, though, which seems to be the only place an individual can have impact.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Fair enough then. Probably not a good national strategy but personally it sounds ok.

[-] Nyticus@kbin.melroy.org 4 points 2 weeks ago

I like how they think of codifying shit when something happens around them or to them.

But don't ever think to codify things everyone else needed to be codified.

[-] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago
[-] not_that_guy05@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Lol they want to lose so badly if we have an honest election.

Please Bernie and AOC start your own party with this young fellow, he is showing what people have been saying.

[-] Donjuanme@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

If there's a single issue the left can get behind this its school shootings, and apparently we can't.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

I think we're all there on "school shootings bad" so what's the specifics you'd like to see? That's where the hot takes die because something concrete has to be supported.

Banning all guns from school property? Stronger gun buying restrictions? What?

[-] EchoCranium@lemmy.zip 0 points 2 weeks ago

“Voters should decide who our primary nominees are, not DNC leadership.” Since when has the DNC not put it's thumb on the scales in the past few decades, or ignored the voters entirely?

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Given that you've got about 100 years to play with - who else besides HRC did they put their thumb on the scale for?

Please show your work.

[-] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I haven't seen any evidence that Bernie should have won the 2016 primary. He was close by like 12% margin, but he still lost by millions of votes.

[-] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago

I still remember the DNC talking points, along with the media going along with the bullshit superdelegate fuckery to custom the story at the time, radically changing the race. Bernie was absolutely rat fucked by the DNC. I guess people can argue He Isn'T eVeN a ReAL DemoCrat, true, but that just plays into the fuckery.

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[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

That's what the lawyers are supposed to argue. That prevents Jill Stein from saying she's a Democrat and then suing because they didn't give her the presidential nomination.

[-] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It may be what lawyers do, but it is not what a democratic system is supposed to do.

If voters decide Jill Stein is what a democrat stands for, she is a Democrat. It's not up to whoever controls the DNC to decide that she shouldn't be a candidate.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

I mean - no? But it's kind of a moot point - if voters rally around Jill Stein at that level, they can just write her in.

The point is that the DNC shouldn't write her out (or show bias, change rules etc.)

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this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2025
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