Jason,
I want to clear something up: I don't hate old people.
The media loves framing our fight as young vs. old, but that's not the truth. The real issue isn't about age, it's about incumbent Democrats who have gotten too comfortable in their seats and abandoned the people they were elected to serve.
It's about leaders who lack the integrity, courage, and forethought to know when it's time to pass the torch.
And listen, there are older leaders who are solid on progressive issues and have truly pushed the Democratic Party forward. Leaders like Ed Markey who helped author the Green New Deal and inspire young climate activists across the country, and Bernie Sanders who has spent decades fighting for universal healthcare and now is directly uplifting young candidates across the country.
What's really at the core of this fight is pushing back against leaders of any age who prioritize corporate interests over working people. Too many Democrats spend their time in office clinging to their seats by playing it safe instead of delivering on all the promises they made while trying to win that seat.
There are plenty of older folks who see that problem, too.
Just look at what President Obama said in an interview a few weeks ago:
"I'm not making a hard and fast rule here, but I do think that Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times and the particular struggles that folks are thinking about as they look towards the future, rather than look backward toward the past."
This is not an issue of age nearly as much as it is one of competency and integrity.
Unfortunately, there are corrupt and incompetent people of all ages who belong nowhere near the halls of power. What we are doing at Leaders We Deserve is finding the right young people to lead this moment with energy and integrity.
And we're focused on building an intergenerational coalition of leaders working together to push our Party forward, and make sure our government answers to us, not corporations or billionaires.
Thank you,
David Hogg
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