Native American woman gets a chance to topple Hogg at DNC

[Meowmee]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/native-american-woman-gets-chance-182956352.html

https://www.semafor.com/article/04/29/2025/native-american-woman-gets-a-chance-to-topple-hogg-at-dnc

"The Scoop
A candidate who failed to win a Democratic National Committee leadership role is challenging her defeat — the first threat to DNC Vice Chair David Hogg since he vowed to keep backing some primary challenges to incumbents.

The DNC’s credentials committee will meet virtually on May 12 to consider the challenge from Kalyn Free, a Native American attorney and party activist who lost a vice chair spot to Hogg at the party’s Feb. 1 meeting.

In her complaint, shared with Semafor by a Democratic source, Free argued that she lost a “fatally flawed election that violated the DNC Charter and discriminated against three women of color candidates,” and asks for “two new vice chair elections.” In February, after several rounds of voting, the race came down to five candidates – Kenyatta, Hogg, Free, and two other women. Kenyatta and Hogg claimed the open spots.

“By aggregating votes across ballots and failing to distinguish between gender categories in a meaningful way, the DNC’s process violated its own Charter and Bylaws, undermining both fairness and gender diversity,” argued Free, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation.

Free filed her challenge on Feb. 28, and committee members were informed yesterday that it would be taken up on May 12. Attorneys for Hogg argued in a response to the committee earlier this month that the election “was conducted in compliance with the rules in place at the time,” and that it is “inappropriate to try to revise those rules or decisions after the fact through a credentials challenge.”

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. Systems will predictably resist change

Hogg has really pissed off and frightened the status quo.

[mcar]

8. How is a Native American woman "status quo?"

[Cha]

14. Brilliant quesiton, mcar..

Please see my post #3..

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20285007

[Fiendish Thingy]

18. That's not the point

The system is attempting to rebalance itself by removing the person who is creating the imbalance- in this case, Hogg.

[betsuni]

36. "Status quo" for this group means money in politics, corruption, so I'm sure they'll attack her that way next.

If she received a $200 campaign contribution from a wealthy person that's proof she's a corruption monster paid to tease nice Justice Democrats types who just want to fix America by destroying the true threat to progress, the Democratic Party.

[betsuni]

34. Hogg IS the status quo, the establishment, part of the system. Must be "pissed off and frightened" according

to the song and dance "The Establishment is Terrified" so beloved by conspiracy theory audiences.

[Fiendish Thingy]

44. That is your opinion, but That is not accurate

The DNC is a long established system, with entrenched “traditions” and ways of doing things that have not been allowed to be questioned for decades.

Hogg (and Kenyatta) is an intruder into this established system, and his outspoken activism has caused an unbalancing of the DNC’s established system. As is common with all systems, whether governments, businesses, or family units, change is resisted, and often the change agent, in this case Hogg, becomes a lightning rod for blame, anger, criticism, and ultimately, expulsion from the system. This is the established system seeking what is called homeostasis, or a return to balance, without making any substantive change.

This is basic Systems Theory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_theory

Oftentimes, a system’s push for homeostasis results in just plain stasis, or inactivity/immobilization. Stasis is the opposite of what the DNC needs right now.

What the DNC, and their voting base, needs right now is activation and mobilization.

But that would require change, and that might make people who are used to being comfortable and working within familiar and predictable conditions, it might make them uncomfortable.

[Mountainguy]

45. Rich white male

With an ivy league eduction.

[FSogol]

2. Wow, Us Democrats are really good at fighting ourselves.

Kudos everyone!

[Meowmee]

4. KF wants a redo which she may be entitled to

I don't think she has plans to spend money to primary D if she were a vc for dnc.

[rollin74]

7. Yes. And Trump and his magat followers will contine to reap the benefits

indeed

[Cha]

3. Good Luck to Native America Attorney, Kalyn Free, who is Not

"status quo".

TY

[Meowmee]

5. Yes. I noticed when I looked at who was elected

and already thought it was unbalanced. I think all the vc and chair are men, maybe one woman. I have forgotten now.

[Cha]

10. It would be brilliant to have a Woman on the

DNC.

Snip~

Kalyn Cherie Free is an American attorney, former elected district attorney, and a tribal citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She is the first woman and Native American to be elected district attorney in Oklahoma. Free represents Oklahoma as the National Committeeperson on the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalyn_Free

TY

[Meowmee]

11. Yes she seems like a good candidate 😁

[mcar]

23. I suspect that her election would really shake up

the status quo.

[Cha]

24. lol Precisely!

[Duncan Grant]

6. Carville said the DNC needs Hogg, like Lincoln needed Grant.

I don’t disagree.

[Attilatheblond]

13. I like Hogg on the DNC, but he needs to wear one hat and not try to encourage primaying DEMS who are solid

Trying to do DNC AND Leaders We Deserve at same time just isn't viable. He needs to pick on and back off the other.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

19. Hogg would have been great at a different time. Right now, we have an emergency.

The #1 objective should be for Democrats (or Democratic-leaning Independents) to take back the house and the senate.

[yorkster]

28. X1000

[BoRaGard]

22. Apt

[comradebillyboy]

29. Say what? Grant won the Civil War for Lincoln.

Don't compare Grant to Hogg.

[leftyladyfrommo]

9. I'm prejudiced. I'm always for the Native

Americans. And for the women in general.

I admit it.

[Cha]

12. I just looked her up in previous post.. Kalyn Free

Looks like she'd be a Worthy Addition to the DNC.

TY

[kerry-is-my-prez]

20. I usually am but surprisingly, they were the largest group to vote for Trump.

Trump’s win shows Native Americans are changing their political leanings

By Jessica R. Towhey
| November 24, 2024 12:00 AM

https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2024/nov/24/trumps-win-shows-native-americans-are-off-the-democrats-reservation/

Political pundits were stunned by Donald Trump’s strong support among people of color — a surge that helped sweep him to the White House and a popular vote victory. However, while attention has focused on Trump’s improvement among Black and Hispanic voters, the group where Trump scored his most significant win?
Native Americans.
Exit polling from NBC News found Trump won 65 percent of the vote from “American Indians” (the term used by the pollsters), compared to 57 percent of votes from White Americans.

-snip-

“As tribal leaders, we’re just trying to take care of our own people,” former Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer said. “We’re tired of the same old, and there’s a lot of people in our movement.”

-snip-

“Similar to polls conducted nationwide among the general population, the Native News Online survey shows that Native voters are concerned about the high prices of everyday goods,” the website reported. “Inflation was the top issue, followed by jobs and the overall economy. The third top issue was Native American issues.”

This gives even more of a reason to be more inclusive of them. We need them back on our team. You would think they would be more concerned about the environment and against pipelines, drilling and fracking. Apparently, the Republicans were going into reservations and “working them” promising all kinds of things which they most likely are not going to do.

[Nanjeanne]

15. I believe she previously had this chance as she was on of the candidates when Hogg was chosen.

[Meowmee]

16. If you read the article it says she says the election was not fair/done properly

[Nanjeanne]

17. Yes I read that. So we shall see... If it was unfair it was unfair back in February. It's May now so not sure what

this all means - surprised she didn't challenge it way back then but then all this anti Hogg tweeting wasn't happening then so I guess in some way it makes sense.

[wanderer54]

27. Appeal filed on 28feb

She filed her appeal on 28feb

[Meowmee]

31. She appealed it in February which was before he announced his plans I think

Dnc seems to move slowly because it was only announced recently that there will be a hearing about it now.

[Celerity]

25. but there is also this from the article:

Attorneys for Hogg argued in a response to the committee earlier this month that the election “was conducted in compliance with the rules in place at the time,” and that it is “inappropriate to try to revise those rules or decisions after the fact through a credentials challenge.”

IF that is indeed true, then this challenge should not be upheld, as Free is trying to ex post facto change the rules in place when the election actually occurred in order to get a do-over, as she doesn't like the original outcome.

[MichMan]

32. Either way Free is entitled to due process

No surprise that Hogg and Free have opposite views on whether the DNC election was per the rules or not.

[Celerity]

35. She will get her due process, but IF she is trying to change the rules on an ex post facto basis, the appeal should not

be successful. IF the rules in place at the time of the elections were not followed, then of course she is entitled to a fair and legal remedy.

IF the rules in place at the time of the election were not followed, that is a very bad look for the parts of the DNC that were in charge of running those elections.

[MichMan]

37. Her argument is that the election did not follow the already established overall DNC bylaws

“By aggregating votes across ballots and failing to distinguish between gender categories in a meaningful way, the DNC’s process violated its own Charter and Bylaws, undermining both fairness and gender diversity,” argued Free, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation.

[Celerity]

39. And that is being disputed, as I have pointed out in multiple posts. We shall see what becomes of it all. They both will

get their due process and will both get to make their case.

Attorneys for Hogg argued in a response to the committee earlier this month that the election “was conducted in compliance with the rules in place at the time,” and that it is “inappropriate to try to revise those rules or decisions after the fact through a credentials challenge.”

ATM there are 5 DNC vice chairs (3 are 'at-large': Hogg, Kenyatta, and Blanco), and 3 of the 5 are women (Artie Blanco, Jane Kleeb, and Reyna Walters-Morgan) The 4th is a gay black man (Malcolm Kenyatta) and the 5th is Hogg. Of the 5 vice chairs, 3 are also people of colour (Blanco, Walers-Morgan, and Kenyatta). 60 per cent female and 60 per cent PoC seems pretty diverse to me.

[Torchlight]

21. I had hoped he's be an impetus for change

but it seems he's going the exact same route and processing leverage just as so many others before him have.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

26. I hope that this lady prevails

David Hogg is going to hurt the party attacking democratic candidates

[Meowmee]

30. I feel the same way- any primary generally hurts all the candidates

If he truly supports d imo he would put the money to fighting R candidates not attacking any d candidates. I hope she prevails too.

[Nixie]

41. Yes, and it's difficult to believe they haven't figured that out yet.

I hope she prevails, too.

[jalan48]

33. Dems in disarray?

[LexVegas]

38. I hope she succeeds. nt

[Renew Deal]

40. It would look pretty bad if the DNC allowed her to steal the election.

All the talk about "democracy" and "fair elections" would look hypocritical.

[Meowmee]

42. It would look bad if the election wasn't fair to start with 😀

Are you accusing her of trying to steal the election?

[Blue Full Moon]

43. If she's 3rd way. She can go away.