NYT editorial board: Time for some young Dem leaders

The New York Times editorial board on Saturday called for a stronger presence of young leaders in the House Democratic Caucus on Saturday, arguing that the makeup of the caucus should reflect the “forward-looking” nature of the party. 

“Democrats are supposed to be the party of the future, the forward-looking party, the party of youth and progress,” the board wrote in an op-ed. “That spirit is hard to convey with a House leadership team that looks uniformly and dramatically like the past.” 

{mosads}The board cited the long tenures of current leadership for House Democrats as a potential roadblock for bringing in younger voices. 

“For too long, this regime has clung to power at the expense of future leaders. Neither of [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi’s [D-Calif.] two chief deputies, Steny Hoyer [D-Md.], the party whip, and Jim Clyburn [D-S.C.], the assistant leader, is a remotely viable successor,” the board wrote. 

“Like Ms. Pelosi, both men are just shy of 80 and have occupied top-tier posts for over a decade. At this point, the caucus leadership has gone from stale to downright ossified.” 

The op-ed comes nearly a week after the progressive 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat out longtime Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary. 

Pelosi said last week that Ocasio-Cortez’s victory should not be viewed as something larger, like a movement within the party.

“They made a choice in one district. So let’s not get yourself carried away as an expert on demographics and the rest of that,” Pelosi told reporters at a news conference.

“Within the caucus or outside the caucus, we are … again, we have an array of genders, generations, geography, and there is opinion in our caucus, and we’re proud of that,” she said. 

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) echoed Pelosi’s comments in an interview on Sunday, saying Ocasio-Cortez’s victory is not a reflection of a larger national movement.

“I think it’s the future of the party in the Bronx, where she is,” Duckworth told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.” 

“I think that you can’t win the White House without the Midwest and I don’t think you can go too far to the left and still win the Midwest.”