Frankly, as awful as the Republicans are, their leadership is dotted with millennials and gen-Xers whether we look at DeSantis, Hawley, Rubio, MTG, and others. These are dreadful people, but they sadly draw more excitement (as evidenced by the “enthusiasm gap”) among people than do Biden, Pelosi, Sanders, Warren, or Schumer. And now there are even some rumors that Hillary Clinton might run again.
Now, I get that sites like Dailykos and Democraticunderground are frequented largely by people 60 and above (like me), so I understand if people think I’m being ageist. But, that’s not my intention. I readily acknowledge all that our leaders have achieved in the past. But, they are not doing enough to promote the next generation of leaders and, rather than giving space to new ones or mentoring them into stardom, are hogging the limelight for themselves. Worst of all, it’s simply not working. Despite controlling Congress and the White House, our rights are being eroded, and if we don’t do something fast, just imagine how bad it will be when Republican gerrymandering and a corrupt Supreme Court give Republicans all the power.
The fact is that even younger progressives have some different views of individualism, identity, the media, feminism, and many other issues than the older generation. Younger people tend to be less dogmatic, and are more likely than many of us to be into gaming, online friendships and romances, crypto, geeks, nerds, and so on. For many in my generation, our multicultural universe largely excludes these people.
If the Democratic Party is to succeed, people like AOC, Kamila Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Hakeem Jeffries, Beto O’Rourke, Seth Moulton, Stacey Abrams, and Pramila Jayapal need to become the face of the national Democratic Party. Our Party cannot continue to be dominated by leaders who identify with senior citizens. We need leaders who identify with the young.