James Carville Demolishes DNC Vice Chair David Hogg, Wipes Smug Look Off His Face

There is nothing more entertaining — for a Republican, anyhow — than watching two angry Democrats go at each other. It’s particularly edifying when one’s an old Democrat, the other is a younger one, and the topic is the future of the party.

Usually, these fights happen in backrooms or among pundits who don’t actually wield any power. Thus, what made this one edifying times a hundred was the fact that one was the most powerful Democratic political consultant for many a year and the other is now the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

The former is James Carville, the “Ragin’ Cajun” best remembered for coining Bill Clinton’s catch-phrase “It’s the economy, stupid” during the 1992 presidential election. (History’s editing pen has actually embellished it a little; the original phrase, as per Carville, was “The economy, stupid,” but why let facts get in the way? Clintons certainly don’t.)

The latter, meanwhile, is activist David Hogg, the obstreperous indignation muppet who’s turned a career of witless freelance activism into a career of witless Democratic Party activism. However, he’s already rubbing people the wrong way after he announced that, with the help of his outside political organization, he’d be spending $20 million on defeating older, moderate Democrats in blue districts, something the DNC immediately took him to task for.

So did Carville, even though the octogenarian has joined the punditry class himself. In multiple appearances on cable news this week, Carville lambasted Hogg, calling the 25-year-old a “contemptible little twerp” and saying the plan was the “most insane thing” he’d heard.

“Does he really think the problem that we‘re facing in the United States today is because we got 65-year-old Democrats in office? Why don’t you take on a Republican? That‘s your job,” Carville told CNN, according to Fox News.

Hogg, meanwhile, fought back: “Carville believes in a politics of being timid, of hiding. I believe in fighting, and that is what people want to see right now from the Democratic Party,” he said.

Let’s ignore the problem of being young enough that you really believe James freaking Carville is the kind guy who believes “in a politics of being timid, of hiding.” Remember that scene in “Road House” where Patrick Swayze’s character rips out some guy’s throat? I’m not going to make any baseless accusations of violent behavior here, I’m just saying there’s a slight but real possibility MGM Studios is still paying Carville royalties for using that idea.

Instead, let’s pay attention to the problem that, if you call James Carville out like that, there’s the very real possibility you, David Hogg, will actually have to face him and explain yourself. He did, on “The Tara Palmeri Show” podcast Wednesday. Remotely, I might add. Remember that whole “Road House” thing.

It didn’t matter, since he still ended up, intellectually speaking, looking for all the world like one of the roughly 436 toughs Swayze dispensed during that aforementioned 1989 cinematic masterpiece.

When Palmeri noted that Carville had said Hogg should be sued for breaching his fiduciary duty to the DNC — i.e., don’t destroy the elected members of the party you were elected to serve — Carville said, “I think it is abominable that an official of a political party who is being paid or supported by that political party to go out and raise money to defeat members of the same party.

“I think that’s jacka**ery of the highest level,” he added. “I’m not into beating Democrats; I’m into beating Republicans. And I’m going to tell you right to your face: I think it’s abominable that you have anything to do with the DNC if you’re going to go and raise $20 million to beat other Democrats.”

WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some readers may find offensive.

James Carville does not back down while debating DNC Vice Chair David Hogg’s 20 million dollar strategy to primary Democrats:
Tara Palmeri: “You’ve [James Carville] said that members of the DNC should sue him for doing this, since David is a member of the party leadership.”
James… pic.twitter.com/wCnElJvhUJ

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) April 30, 2025

Hogg, a young man not known for subtleties, implied that Carville didn’t understand the intricate long game he was playing: “You have to understand the nuance here,” he said.

“I don’t,” Carville cut in. “There ain’t no nuance to it. It’s just flat-out wrong. … That’s money that could be used to beat Republicans to beat Democrats.”

“What is your plan to deal with our abominable approval rating?” Hogg shot back.

Carville, by the by, has actually laid out his plan in numerous interviews during the 2024 election: Stop talking about woke stuff, stop trying to pretend Biden’s economy worked out, and stop trying to pretend the border and crime aren’t problems. However, he simplified it for Hogg, since apparently this guy doesn’t listen to others all too frequently: “Win elections. Win elections,” he said, leaning into the webcam.

The entire podcast is a worthwhile listen, but here’s the fun part if you just want to see Hogg get torn apart by that guy who believes in timidly hiding:

WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some readers may find offensive.

It’s worth noting that Carville was more gracious on social media later, saying this after a call with Hogg: “He reminded me of the story of, after the battle of Shiloh, Henry Halleck urged President Lincoln to fire Ulysses Grant. Lincoln said: ‘I can’t fire him. This man fights.’ David Hogg fights. The DNC needs him.”

Just called @DavidHogg111. He reminded me of the story of, after the battle of Shiloh, Henry Halleck urged President Lincoln to fire Ulysses Grant. Lincoln said: “I can’t fire him. This man fights.” David Hogg fights. The DNC needs him.

— James Carville (@JamesCarville) April 30, 2025

Well, look, I know that there’s no point in making the beating any more flagrant than it already was, although I’m reminded of another one of those older Democrats Hogg isn’t too fond of, former Texas senator and vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen.

I’ll paraphrase Bentsen here: Mr. Hogg, I’ve read about Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses S. Grant was a hero of mine. Mr. Hogg, you’re no Ulysses S. Grant.

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