I guess the future of the Democratic Party is a bunch of turncoat crybabies who back down over everything. That sounds like a disaster for their party and our country. What did you expect from the people brought up in the participation safe space generation?
A center-left group of young Democrats called Majority Democrats posted a shot at 88-year-old California Rep. Maxine Waters over her age, got one angry phone call from a colleague, and deleted the whole thing faster than you can say “gerontocracy.” Turns out picking a fight with Maxine Waters is a lot easier until you actually do it.
The post, screenshot and reported by Politico, read: “We respect everything Maxine Waters has done for her district and for America in her 88 years, but we also think that Democrats shouldn’t be enabling the gerontocracy that voters have repeatedly rejected.” Strong words. Very brave. Gone within hours.
New York Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres got uncomfortable with the post and flagged it to Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who chairs Majority Democrats. Auchincloss, who apparently didn’t even see the post before it went up, agreed it should come down. Nothing says “bold new generation of leadership” like deleting your own tweets because someone called you nervous about it. You can read more about the Maxine Waters committee fight and how the whole mess unfolded.
Waters is fighting to hold onto her spot as the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. A majority of Democrats on that committee signed a letter backing her, which means Illinois Reps. Sean Casten and Bill Foster, the two members actually challenging her, are already working uphill. Waters first won election to Congress back in November 1990, which means she has been in office long enough that some of her potential replacements weren’t born yet.
Majority Democrats had already taken a softer swing at Waters back in July, releasing a video calling for committee term limits that featured her photo alongside more than a dozen other older Democrats. They just didn’t mention her by name that time, apparently having learned nothing from that experience before going ahead and mentioning her by name this time.
The group was founded in 2025 and counts Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Texas Senate nominee James Talarico among its members. Big names, bold mission, and apparently a social media team that works faster than the legal department.
The broader Democratic primary picture in 2026 does show younger challengers making noise. Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette, Shri Thanedar, John Larson, and Adriano Espaillat all lost their primaries to younger candidates. Larson, 78, lost by more than 20 points to 47-year-old former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. DeGette, 69, lost to 29-year-old DSA candidate Melat Kiros. Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates are on pace to field their largest congressional delegation ever, so the Democrats are handling their internal conflicts with the usual elegance.
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who is 80, beat 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton in the September primary, so the youth movement is not exactly sweeping every race on the blue side of the aisle.
Expect the Waters committee fight to keep simmering, with Casten and Foster pushing their challenge and a whole caucus of Democrats trying very hard not to post anything about it. One thing is certain: if you’re going to come at the queen, you’d better not delete the tweet.
And if you’re smart, then you’ll vote Republican and not have to worry about this nonsense.
