The Archdiocese of Chicago announced last week that Cardinal Blase Cupich will give Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) a lifetime achievement award on Nov. 3.

The prospect that a prince of the Holy See will pay honors to a radical pro-abortion activist has prompted significant backlash from prominent Catholic leaders.

'This decision risks causing grave scandal, confusing the faithful about the Church’s unequivocal teaching on the sanctity of human life.'

According to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America's national pro-life scorecard, Durbin, a self-identified Catholic, gets a failing grade for routinely voting in support of virtually limitless abortion.

Durbin voted, for instance, in January against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would require health care practitioners to save babies who survive attempted abortions. He has also voted against legislation that would have criminalized abortions for unborn babies 20 weeks along or older; against adding status-quo Hyde Amendment protections to COVID relief funds; against a bill that would prohibit partial-birth abortion; and for legislation expressing support for protecting access to abortions after the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision.

In case there was any doubt about his indefatigable support for abortion, Durbin stated on the third anniversary of the Dobbs ruling in June that "this fight is far from over" and that he plans to keep fighting for mothers' legal ability to snuff out the lives growing within them.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Image

Concerning abortion, the church holds that abortion is a grave moral sin — the procurement of which incurs an automatic excommunication — and that political leaders have a responsibility to protect the unborn.

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church" clearly states:

"Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception" (2270);
"Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law" (2271);
"Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life" (2272); and
"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin" (2273).

For decades, Durbin has been barred from receiving communion in the Catholic diocese where he grew up on account of his radical pro-abortion activism.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, who has long upheld the prohibition, said in a 2018 statement, "Because his voting record in support of abortion over many years constitutes 'obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin,' the determination continues that Sen. Durbin is not to be admitted to Holy Communion until he repents of this sin. This provision is intended not to punish, but to bring about a change of heart. Sen. Durbin was once pro-life."

Despite Durbin's long-standing efforts to advance policies diametrically opposed to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Chicago noted in its announcement for the Nov. 3 "Keep Hope Alive Benefit," subtitled "Light in the Darkness," that Durbin will receive a lifetime achievement award for his work with immigrants.

The plan is for Cardinal Cupich to give the award to Durbin on behalf of the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity.

Blaze News has reached out both to the Archdiocese of Chicago and to Durbin's office for comment.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images.

Illinois Right to Life President Mary Kate Zander was among the first to condemn the planned honors for the abortion activist, stating, "The Church emphasizes that human beings are integrated persons and that we cannot live in spiritual harmony if we are denying even one aspect of the truth of the faith."

"Presenting Dick Durbin with an award — and from the Office of Human Dignity, no less — is an explicitly inconsistent and un-Catholic choice by Cardinal Cupich," continued Zander.

"Our shepherds are supposed to proclaim Jesus' teaching that all human life is sacred," Dr. Mary Elizabeth Keen of the Catholic Medical Association’s Illinois chapter told CatholicVote. "Senator Durbin has spent his career eliminating protections for the most vulnerable members of the human family."

Bishop Paprocki said in a statement to the Pillar that he was shocked to learn of the archdiocese's plans to give Durbin an award.

"Given Senator Durbin’s long and consistent record of supporting legal abortion — including opposing legislation to protect children who survive failed abortions — this decision risks causing grave scandal, confusing the faithful about the Church’s unequivocal teaching on the sanctity of human life," continued Paprocki. "Honoring a public figure who has actively worked to expand and entrench the right to end innocent human life in the womb undermines the very concept of human dignity and solidarity that the award purports to uphold."

Bishop Paprocki noted further that such an award might violate the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' guidance that "the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles."

The guidance adds that "they should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco indicated on Sunday that he stands in solidarity with Bishop Paprocki in urging Cardinal Cupich to reconsider giving Durbin the award.

"Bishop Paprocki, who is Senator Dick Durbin’s bishop, has expressed shock that the Archdiocese plans to honor Senator Durbin who, although a self-professed Catholic, supports access to abortion so radically that he has even opposed legislation to protect babies born after an attempted abortion," wrote Archbishop Cordileone. "Bishop Paprocki is correct that both clarity and unity are at risk. I hope this will be a clarion call to all members of the Body of Christ to speak out to make clear the grave evil that is the taking of innocent human life."

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Gallup poll captures damning snapshot of the extremity of Democrat resentment

The Trump administration — and the country by extension — has enjoyed tremendous success over the past seven months.

The administration has, for instance, secured the border; reformed the foreign aid establishment; fired thousands of bureaucrats across the government; exposed elements of the deep state; routed racist DEI initiatives in the federal government; turned international trade on its head in America's favor; brokered historic peace deals between warring nations across the globe; taken meaningful steps to make America healthy again; driven down the foreign-born population and rounded up multitudes of dangerous criminal noncitizens; and set about the demolition of the child sex-change regime.

Rather than join their countrymen in enjoying the fruits of the administration's efforts, Democrats have apparently grown more bitter and resentful.

Polling data published on Wednesday by Gallup revealed that whereas 93% of Republicans approve of President Donald Trump's overall job performance, only 1% of Democrats signaled approval — a 92-point gap.

The polling outfit noted that this chasmic difference ties the record for the largest partisan divide in Gallup's presidential approval trends, which was set in June.

When polled this month, 35% of independents signaled approval for the job done by the president.

Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump's record disapproval among Democrats is not entirely surprising. After all, a poll revealed late last year that nearly one in three Democrats would have preferred to see the president murdered in cold blood.

What is surprising, however, is that Democrats are similarly dissatisfied with the state of the country at large.

'Partisan perceptual biases that lead Democrats to see things as worse than they are and Republicans better than they are.'

Overall, 31% of Americans say that they are satisfied with the direction the country is going — up from 26% in October and the average 22% throughout Joe Biden's presidency.

Whereas 76% of Republicans say that they are satisfied with the direction of the country, less than 1% of Democrats said the same — a 76-point gap, the highest Gallup has ever recorded on this measure.

— (@)

Although in July 2024, only 1% of Republicans said that they were satisfied with the direction the country was heading, the partisan divide on the question was far less dramatic because 62% of Democrats were dissatisfied with the state of play.

Robert Shapiro, a professor of government at Columbia University, told Newsweek, "Two things are at work. One is genuine Democratic dislike of what is happening in the economy regarding prices, tariffs, etc. and then all the opposition to what Trump has been doing."

"Second is partisan perceptual biases that lead Democrats to see things as worse than they are and Republicans better than they are," continued Shapiro. "It is only good news for the Democrats if this mobilizes voters in 2026. The voters are not so happy with the Democratic Party and its leaders."

That is a major understatement.

A CNBC poll revealed earlier this month that favorability toward the Democratic Party among registered voters was 56% negative and 24% positive. The poll indicated that Trump had a 46% approval rate. Gallup indicated in late July that only 73% of Democrats had a positive opinion of their own party.

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Victory for faith: Catholic defiance of Democratic law pays off in Washington state — but battle isn't over

Bob Ferguson, the Democratic governor of Washington state and a self-identifying Catholic, ratified a bill in May that would have compelled Catholic priests to break the seal of confession or face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

As it would invite the government into the confessional and put priests at risk of automatic excommunication, Catholic bishops in the Evergreen State vowed to defy the law, reassured Catholics in their dioceses that the seal of the confession would remain unbroken, and filed suit on May 18, asking a federal court to block Senate Bill 5375.

The Trump Department of Justice joined the fight last month, intervening in the bishops' case against the State of Washington and emphasizing that SB 5375 "deprives Catholic priests of their fundamental right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, as guaranteed under the First Amendment."

'Here, clergy were explicitly singled out.'

A Biden judge broke from custom on Friday, issuing an injunction that hurt rather than aided the Democratic cause.

U.S. District Judge David Estudillo temporarily blocked the law, noting that "there is no question that SB 5375 burdens Plaintiffs' free exercise of religion" by placing clergymen "in the position of either complying with the requirements of their faith or violating the law."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church maintains that "every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him" and "can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about penitents' lives."

Washington State Gov. Bob Ferguson (D). Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images

The Code of Canon Law cited in the bishops' complaint similarly underscores the inviolability of the sacramental seal, noting further that a "confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs a latae sententiae — automatic — excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See."

In the amicus brief it filed last week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops noted that by driving priests into Washington jails or out of the church, Democrats' law "would also be catastrophic for parishioners, who will be left with fewer clergy to administer the Sacrament of Confession to them."

Estudillo appeared to agree with the argument raised by both the bishops and the Justice Department that the law is not neutral and generally applicable.

SB 5375 will require any person operating in an official supervisory capacity with a nonprofit or a for-profit organization who has "reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect" to notify law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

However, as acknowledged in the final bill report, the Democratic law mandates no one except for members of the clergy to report abuse when that information is obtained solely as a result of a privileged communication.

"SB 5375 modifies existing law solely to make members of the clergy mandatory reporters with respect to child abuse or neglect," wrote Estudillo. "However, other groups of adults who may learn about child abuse are not required to report. Parents and caregivers, for example, are not mandatory reporters."

The judge noted that another piece of legislation set to go into effect with SB 5375 on July 27 will also exempt university attorneys from divulging child abuse information if it has something to do with their clients.

"A law is not neutral if the government 'proceeds in a manner intolerant of religious beliefs or restricts practices because of their religious nature,'" Estudillo noted. "Here, clergy were explicitly singled out."

The judge indicated there were likely less restrictive and more effective means of helping protect children and highlighted Catholic Church efforts already underway that go further in the protection of children than required by state law.

As a result of the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. CASA Inc., which severely restricted the reach of judicial injunctions, Estudillo indicated he had to limit relief to the individual plaintiffs in the case. There was, however, a catch.

'In a nation where anti-Catholic bigotry is on the rise, this ruling is a hopeful reminder.'

Estudillo noted that the bishops — Archbishop Paul Etienne of the Archdiocese of Seattle, Bishop Joseph Tyson of the Diocese of Yakima, and Bishop Thomas Daly of the Diocese of Spokane — have a responsibility for the administration of the sacraments and the discipline of the priests across their dioceses, and that absent an injunction that applies across all three dioceses, "they — as individuals — cannot fulfill their religious responsibility by ensuring that the priests within their dioceses maintain the sacramental seal."

Accordingly, the judge determined that complete relief in this case must apply to all Catholic priests who fall under the administration of Etienne, Daly, and Tyson. As those bishops run the only three dioceses in the state, Estudillo's injunction effectively protects all priests in the state while the lawsuit proceeds.

Kelsey Reinhardt, president of CatholicVote, called the ruling a "major victory for religious freedom" in a statement obtained by Blaze News.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

"The Seal of Confession is not only a vital tenet of the Catholic faith, it is a safeguard for the penitent — who must be free to seek God’s forgiveness without fear of exposure," continued Reinhardt. "In a nation where anti-Catholic bigotry is on the rise, this ruling is a hopeful reminder: no American should face criminal penalties for living out their faith. We are grateful for today's ruling and hope that the final outcome of the case similarly reflects our nation's commitment to the First Amendment of all Americans — especially Catholics."

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented the lead plaintiffs with the First Liberty Institute and WilmerHale, similarly celebrated the ruling.

"This ruling confirms what has always been true: In America, government officials have no business prying into the confessional," said Becket CEO Mark Rienzi. "By protecting the seal of confession, the court has also safeguarded the basic principle that people of all faiths should be free to practice their beliefs without government interference."

"For centuries, Catholic faithful around the world have sought reconciliation with God through the sacrament of confession," said Jean Hill, executive director of the Washington State Catholic Conference. "This ruling protects that sacred space and ensures that Washingtonians of all religious stripes can live out their beliefs in peace."

The Trump DOJ has separately requested a preliminary injunction, which will be taken up this week.

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Smug Obama speechwriter provides damning reminder of Democrats' intolerance for conservatives, vax-refusers

There is an editorial genre kept alive at liberal publications around the country that is focused on questions about what to do with conservative kin and how best to prevent family members from similarly adopting viewpoints at odds with leftist values.

The HuffPost, for instance, published a long-winded essay from a stereotypical Bluesky progressive about whether she should cut her "right-wing, Trump-loving in-laws out of [her] kids' lives."

New York magazine ran an essay last year from a mother of white boys expressing terror over their potential slide to the right and over "having a flesh-and-blood oppressor-in-training eating [her] spaghetti and meatballs."

The Delaware News Journal published an open letter in December in which the former president of the Delaware teachers' union defended the decision to ditch Trump-supporting family members, claiming that "it comes from a deep sense of betrayal, a need to preserve our mental and emotional well-being, and the refusal to stay silent in the face of harm."

Obama speechwriter David Litt recently contributed to the genre with a piece in the New York Times titled "Is It Time to Stop Snubbing Your Right-Wing Family?"

Litt ultimately answered yes, that "keeping the door open to unlikely friendship isn't a betrayal of principles — it's an affirmation of them."

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

However, prior to signaling his beneficence, Litt provided Times readers with a reminder both of the elitism that has helped the Democratic Party alienate much of the electorate and of Democrats' chronic abuse of those who failed to fall in line during the pandemic.

At the outset, Obama's former speechwriter noted that he "felt a civic duty to be rude" to his wife's younger brother.

"He lifted weights to death metal; I jogged to Sondheim. I was one of President Barack Obama's speechwriters and had an Ivy League degree; he was a huge Joe Rogan fan and went on to get his electrician's license," wrote Litt.

Although the speechwriter did not dwell on these differences, they appear to fit thematically with voters' understanding reflected in a poll recently conducted by the Democratic super PAC Unite the Country — namely that the Democratic Party is "out of touch," "woke," and "weak."

According to Litt, the imagined chasm between him and his conservative brother-in-law grew during the pandemic, particularly when the in-law refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine — a decision that various studies and recent warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have vindicated, especially when it comes to healthy men.

'It felt like he was tearing up the social contract that, until that point, I'd imagined we shared.'

The Ivy League Democrat admitted that had the man "been a friend rather than a family member, I probably would have cut off contact completely."

Although Litt did not end up cutting off his brother-in-law, he indicated that he was for a period of time strategically unfriendly, claiming that such treatment of the unvaccinated "felt like the right thing to do" — a tactic then advocated in the pages of USA Today.

Democrats at the time were apparently willing to go far beyond unfriendliness in their efforts to bring the unvaccinated to heel.

In a Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey of 1,016 likely voters conducted in January 2022, pollsters asked, "Would you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose a proposal to limit the spread of the coronavirus by having federal or state governments require that citizens temporarily live in designated facilities or locations if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine?"

Whereas 71% of all voters — and 84% of Republicans — signaled opposition to throwing the unvaccinated in quarantine camps, 45% of Democrats said they strongly or somewhat favored the proposal.

According to the same poll, 48% of Democrats supported federal or state governments fining or imprisoning Americans who questioned the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines on social media, TV, radio, or in digital publications.

The same month that nearly half of polled Democrats expressed a desire to see their fellow citizens locked up for wrongthink or tossed into camps for avoiding an experimental vaccine, the Los Angeles Times ran a piece suggesting it was "not necessarily the wrong reaction" to "celebrate or exult in the deaths of vaccine opponents."

"Turning down a vaccine during a pandemic seemed like a rejection of science and self-preservation," wrote Litt. "It felt like he was tearing up the social contract that, until that point, I'd imagined we shared."

Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

While certain that conservatives will continue to be shunned over the MAGA agenda — in particular over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and over Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reform of the medical establishment — Litt questioned the efficacy of Democrat cancel culture, suggesting that "it's counterproductive."

In what might be the most telling sentence in the piece, Obama's Democratic speechwriter characterized as "radical" the notion that individuals can like each other despite disapproving of each other's political choices.

More in Common, a research outfit that studies social division, noted in a 2019 study concerning the root causes of political polarization that "Americans have a deeply distorted understanding of each other. We call this America's 'Perception Gap.'"

According to More in Common, Democrats have a much wider perception gap, "likely because they have fewer Republican friends." The likelihood of Democrats reporting most of their friends sharing the same political beliefs increases depending on their level of educational attainment, whereas the likelihood remains flat for Republicans.

Although he claimed shunning family with opposing views wasn't worthwhile, Litt made sure to indicate that ostracizing strangers was still okay, claiming he'd avoid White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on account of his supposed "odiousness."

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Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration could greatly impact Democrats' political clout

Over 30 members of the Democrat-dominated California legislature signed a letter last month urging Republican congressional members from the Golden State "to request the President to end the crackdowns on hardworking, taxpaying immigrants in Southern California and throughout the state, as the actions are causing significant harm to our economy."

The June 18 letter noted that over one-quarter of the state's residents are "immigrants, totaling nearly 11 million people, including about 1.8 million who are undocumented," and suggested that "the vast majority of these folks contribute to California's economy and way of life."

For the first time in its history, California lost a seat in Congress in 2021, down from 53 to 52 following the 2020 census.

Those migrants, both legal and illegal, also contribute to the state's headcount in the decennial census.

While California Democrats might be genuinely concerned about the potential impact of losing low-wage foreign laborers who stole into the homeland, they also have cause to be concerned about what their party stands to lose as a result of a population decline precipitated by immigration enforcement.

As California is the most populous state in the union, it presently enjoys the most representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, for the first time in its history, California lost a seat in Congress in 2021, down from 53 to 52 following the 2020 census and a year marked by a drop in the state's population by more than 182,000 souls.

Owing to California's anemic population growth and significant growth elsewhere in the country, the state could lose additional seats in Congress and votes in the Electoral College through census-driven apportionment, as well as receive proportionately less of the federal money that is distributed by population.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Citing December 2023 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, the Brennan Center for Justice indicated in a report that California could lose four congressional seats after the 2030 census, and may fall to second place behind Texas in total population before 2040 if current trends continue.

"Based on the most recent trends, Texas would gain four seats and Florida three seats in the next reapportionment, placing Texas within striking distance of becoming the largest state, perhaps as early as 2040," said the report. "Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee also would each gain a new congressional seat, as would three mountain states: Arizona, Idaho, and Utah."

In a December update, the Brennan Center noted that "these big apportionment changes would also significantly change political parties’ Electoral College math starting with the 2032 election."

Even if a Democrat carried the so-called blue wall states and both Arizona and Nevada, they would eke out only a narrow 276-262 victory in 2032 if the Brennan Center's projections are correct.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

While the American Redistricting Project changed its forecast of California congressional seat losses from five to three, the Democratic stronghold's dominance still appears to be waning.

California has hemorrhaged residents to other states in recent years, though CalMatters noted that the intranational population loss is offset by inbound international traffic.

Democrats' dominance could be undermined further not only by the Trump administration continuing to remove illegal aliens but by the administration slowing down legal immigration into the country. After all, state officials credited the first Trump administration's immigration policies with helping set the stage for the 2021 congressional seat loss, reported the New York Times.

"If that immigration stops, then that's going to have some real consequences for our population growth and ultimately for our representation, for sure," Eric McGhee, a demographer at the Public Policy Institute of California, told CalMatters.

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Democratic Party's collapse continues: Teachers' union boss Randi Weingarten ditches DNC after 23 years

The Democratic Party is deeply unpopular, at odds with most of the electorate on several key issues, estranged from the working class, and roiled by infighting. It's becoming increasingly clear from recent personnel changes that hatred for President Donald Trump is not enough to hold the party together.

American Federation of Teachers boss Randi Weingarten, the childless leftist who helped undermine the mental and physical health of a generation of kids by fighting to keep them out of the classroom during the pandemic, has announced that she is leaving the Democratic National Committee.

Like David Hogg — the gun-grab activist who announced Wednesday that he was not running again for the DNC vice chair position seemingly stolen from him by Democratic election deniers — Weingarten appears to have an issue with DNC Chairman Ken Martin and the current state of play within the party.

Weeks before her hysterical speech at the No Kings rally in Philadelphia, Weingarten noted in a June 5 letter to Martin obtained by Politico that she is honored to have served as an at-large member of the DNC since 2002, on its rules and bylaws committee for the past 15 years, and as a delegate to each of the Democratic conventions for the past three decades.

'It’s flabbergasting to me that a senior DNC member, much less one as supposedly committed as Randi, would take the moment to make it all about her.'

"While I am proud to be a Democrat, I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging, and I do not want to be the one who keeps questioning why we are not enlarging our tent and actively trying to engage more and more of our communities," wrote the lesbian union boss, who collects an annual salary of well over $450,000.

She concluded her letter by emphasizing that the AFT will be "especially engaged in the 2025-26 elections."

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Blaze News reached out to Weingarten for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Martin, the longest-serving chairman in the history of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, campaigned on disabusing Americans of the understanding that "the Republican Party best represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and the Democratic Party is the party of the wealthy and the elites" and uniting "families across, age, background and class."

Weingarten, under whose leadership the AFT has championed divisive race-obsessive initiatives and narratives, backed one of the losers in Martin's DNC chairmanship race, Ben Wikler. The AFT boss lauded Wikler in a joint statement for his "inclusive leadership" and for his "ability to unite the party during a tumultuous time."

Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images

The union boss' issue with Martin may be a lot more personal than his victory over Wikler. After becoming DNC chair, Martin kicked Weingarten out of her position on the DNC's rules and bylaws committee.

A longtime Democratic strategist complained to The Hill about the timing of Weingarten's resignation ahead of the No Kings demonstrations held across the country on Saturday.

"Especially when the country just showed up by the millions across all demographic and geographic boundaries to take on Trump grassroots-style, it’s flabbergasting to me that a senior DNC member, much less one as supposedly committed as Randi, would take the moment to make it all about her," said the strategist.

Lee Saunders, the leftist president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, also declined his nomination to remain on the DNC, telling the New York Times in a statement that the decision "comes after deep reflection and deliberate conversation about the path forward for our union and the working people we represent."

The news of Weingarten and Saunders' departures comes on the heels of David Hogg's unceremonious removal as DNC vice chair.

Hogg, who enjoyed backing from Weingarten, was elected the Democratic Party's youngest vice chairman on Feb. 1. Since the immutable characteristics of the winners of the February election were apparently undesirable, party elites declared Hogg's election null and void, then removed him last week through a virtual vote of 294 to 99.

In a long-winded thread explaining why he would not run again for the position just stolen from him, Hogg bashed the Democratic Party, claiming that Democratic leaders suffer a "serious lack of vision" and are "asleep at the wheel," and said that if Democrats "don't show our country how we are dramatically changing and provide an alternative vision for the future as a party, we will continue to lose."

He also alluded to his "fundamental disagreement about the role" of vice chair with Martin, who reportedly subjected the 25-year-old leftist to a tongue-lashing ahead of his removal.

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David Hogg removed as DNC vice chair, attacks Democrats weeks after spilling beans to undercover reporter

Gun control advocate David Hogg was elected the Democratic Party's youngest vice chairman on Feb. 1.

This proved controversial among some of his fellow travelers, including an electoral loser who complained that the Democratic National Committee had violated its own DEI bylaws by not electing enough people with preferred immutable characteristics.

Despite the party previously stating that the election was "conducted fairly, transparently, and in alignment with the rules," party elites subsequently declared Hogg's election null and void, then removed him on Wednesday through a virtual vote of 294 to 99. Hogg was therefore put in the undesirable position of competing for a seat he won 130 days earlier but had stolen from him.

'We will continue to lose.'

Rather than suffer more humiliation at the hands of his party, the gangling Democrat threw in the towel on Wednesday, announcing he was not running for the new DNC vice chair election.

Prior to explaining his surrender, Hogg revisited critiques of the party that previously got him in hot water with the old guard and dubbed a "twerp" by Democratic strategist James Carville.

Hogg stated in a thread on X, "I started Leaders We Deserve for a simple purpose: to be the Emily's List for progressive young Democrats."

David Hogg. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Leaders We Deserve is an outfit that tries to help young leftists get elected to Congress and state legislatures in order to "defeat the far-right agenda and advance a progressive vision for the future."

"After seeing a serious lack of vision from Democratic leaders, too many of them asleep at the wheel, and Democrats dying in office that have helped to hand Republicans an expanded majority, it became clear that Leaders We Deserve had to start primarying incumbents and directly challenging the culture of seniority politics that brought our party to this place to help get our party into fighting shape again," Hogg wrote.

Hogg, warned not to challenge Democratic incumbents earlier this year by DNC Chairman Ken Martin, noted further, "We have a real challenge ahead of us. We lost voting share with almost every demographic across the board, and despite all that Trump has done, our approvals remain at 27%. If we don't show our country how we are dramatically changing and provide an alternative vision for the future as a party, we will continue to lose."

After that throat-clearing, the 25-year-old Democrat noted that while he sought to play a positive role in the position of DNC vice chair, it has become clear to him that "there is fundamental disagreement about the role."

'I respect his decision to step back from his post as vice chair.'

Hogg claimed that he ultimately decided not to run "so the party can focus on what really matters."

Had he stuck it out, Hogg would likely have faced significant criticism over his recent disclosures to an undercover Project Veritas reporter.

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Project Veritas released undercover footage last month that appeared to show Hogg both hammering California Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) over her alleged insider trading and identifying Jill Biden's former chief of staff, Anthony Bernal, as an individual in the Biden White House who wielded "an enormous amount of power" — a troubling admission amid investigations into the potential misuse of the presidential autopen in the finals days of the Biden administration.

Despite reportedly giving Hogg a tongue-lashing over the weekend, DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement obtained by Semafor, "I commend David for his years of activism, organizing, and fighting for his generation."

"While I continue to believe he is a powerful voice for this party, I respect his decision to step back from his post as vice chair," continued Martin. "I have no doubt that he will remain an important advocate for Democrats across the map. I appreciate his service as an officer, his hard work, and his dedication to the party."

The DNC is holding new elections for the roles beginning on Thursday.

Kalyn Free, the American Indian who originally challenged the DNC's February election, tried and failed to secure the role of vice chair earlier this year. Now with Hogg out, she is reportedly trying again.

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'He can't hide': FBI identifies LA thug who allegedly hurled massive rocks at federal officers

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (Calif.), and other Democrats demonized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, characterizing its lawful operations in California as terrifying and cruel.

The following day, similarly minded radicals swarmed an ICE command post near the Home Depot east of the 710 freeway in Paramount, California. Agents were savagely attacked as they drove away.

The FBI has identified one of the thugs suspected of hurling rocks at ICE agents in Paramount — and the Department of Justice made clear Monday that he won't be on the run for long.

Footage shows a radical wearing a helmet throwing fist-sized rocks into the windshields of ICE vehicles leaving the command post while someone off camera cheers him on in Spanish.

'We are coming after you.'

An individual wearing the same clothing as the rock-thrower appears multiple times in footage captured by KTTV-TV. On one occasion, he can be seen holding a red bottle while standing atop a truck and screaming at U.S. Border Patrol agents.

It is clear from video taken inside one of the ICE vehicles that the incoming projectiles threatened the lives of the ICE agents therein and, on at least one occasion, punched through the glass.

— (@)

The FBI put the then-unnamed suspect on its Most Wanted list over the weekend and offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the rock-thrower's identification, arrest, and conviction.

Anti-ICE protesters in LA on June 8. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

The bureau noted that the suspect, accused of assault on a federal officer and damage to government property, should be considered armed and dangerous.

— (@)

Bill Essayli, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, noted, "We will find him. We will charge him. Justice is coming."

It didn't take long to put a name to the masked face.

The FBI announced Monday evening that agents identified 40-year-old Elpidio Reyna of Compton as their suspect and indicated that he is now considered a fugitive.

"Elpidio Reyna can run, but he can't hide," said Essayli.

"Reyna, 40, is charged with assault on a federal officer, and faces up to eight years in prison if convicted."

Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images

After likening Los Angeles to a "third-world country," Attorney General Pam Bondi told Sean Hannity Monday, "They are doing a search warrant on his house as we speak."

A spokesperson for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office told the New York Post Monday night that Reyna had not yet been captured and that the investigation was ongoing.

While Reyna had not been captured as of Monday night, Bondi put him and other possible attackers on notice: "We are coming after you, federally."

Both the recent attacks and the firm response from the legal arm of the Trump administration appear to have emboldened the Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to Blaze News, "Under the leadership of President Trump, we will put the safety of American citizens FIRST, not these criminal illegal aliens that sanctuary city politicians are defending."

"ICE will continue to enforce the law. If you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," added Noem.

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Sen. Fetterman breaks ranks, admits the truth about Democrats' radical position on the anti-ICE riots

Numerous Democratic politicians have in recent days returned to their summer 2020 strategy of characterizing violent leftist riots as peaceful protest and President Donald Trump's desire to restore order as both escalatory and authoritarian.

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, among the standouts in his party who previously refused to join progressives in attacking Israel in the wake of the 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks, proved willing once again to call out his colleagues for their radical approach.

The trend

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents executed a number of lawful operations last week in California. Democrats were quick to demonize the federal agents and frame their operations as illegitimate.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for instance, accused ICE agents of sowing "terror" and stressed that the city would "not stand for this."

California U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla followed suit, stating that the "ICE raids across Los Angeles today are a continuation of a disturbing pattern of extreme and cruel immigration enforcement operations across the country" and demanding "accountability for today's actions."

'This is a wake up call for many Democrats.'

While Democrats vilified ICE, similarly minded radicals took to the streets, attacking police and federal agents, blockading major thoroughfares, setting fires across the city, and looting downtown businesses.

Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images

At the outset, Fetterman's comrades were largely silent on the matter, even as police were being brutalized by foreign flag-waving radicals. However, when President Donald Trump called up the National Guard on Saturday and deemed the rioters "troublemakers and insurrectionists," Democrats decided chaos was, actually, a problem — but a problem attributable primarily to Trump.

Bass, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey were among the Democrats who blamed Trump and his administration for the violence and unrest.

The exception

Fetterman suggested in a message on Monday that Democrats' failure to condemn the violent and destructive acts committed by the rioters in Los Angeles was not only immoral but a self-own.

"I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration — but this is not that," wrote Fetterman in a message accompanying a photograph of a rioter standing atop a destroyed car and waving a Mexican flag while nearby other wrecks burned. "This is anarchy and true chaos."

"My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement," added Fetterman.

While poorly received by unhinged partisans like podcaster Keith Olbermann, Republicans welcomed the insight.

Anti-ICE protesters in LA on June 8. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

"Well said," responded Alabama Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R).

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wrote, "It's hard to preach hard truths to your own side. I respect this."

Elon Musk responded with an American flag emoji.

Deputy White House chief of staff Taylor Budowich seized upon Fetterman's tweet as a strong indicator to similarly sensible Democrats that their party may have left them behind.

"This is a wake up call for many Democrats: there is no room for you in the party of @GavinNewsom and @KamalaHarris," wrote Budowich. "Their self-obsessed pursuits of power are blind to you and your concerns. They defend chaos, reject biology, and are unbothered by the invasion of our nation."

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