Liberals are packing their Big Tent to the brim. Literally.
The “Big Tent” stage at Crooked Con, the second annual convention put on by the former staffers for President Barack Obama behind “Pod Save America,” is standing room only at 9 a.m. on a Saturday. Hundreds of attendees are hushed to hear Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) give his take on the midterms.
Here, attendees bellow in boos at the mention of Sen. Chuck Schumer’s name (despite the party’s trouncing wins) and glee at the prospect of impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Attendees, with their “friend of the pod” tote bags glued to their side, don shirts like “I’m A Talafreako,” reclaiming President Donald Trump’s less-than-affectionate moniker for Texas’ senator-elect, and proudly display “Deport Trump” pins on their person.
Since Tuesday’s election results, much of left-leaning America has spent their days celebrating Democrats’ largest congressional majority in 50 years. Crooked Con, which ran from Thursday to Saturday, seems to be the apex of the celebration, a place where you can actually see the future liberals want. All that’s missing are the pink knit pussyhats — or are those passé?
Liberal social media commentators like David Packman and Aaron Parnas mill about the “freedom & content for all” press area, seemingly packed to the brim with creators with big platforms wielding tiny mics. Eager parties could even snap a selfie at the pop-art-style, aviator-wearing Ruth Bader Ginsburg step-and-repeat sponsored by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
“I am absolutely libbing out right now,” North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton told HuffPost. “We have the chance to actually help working people.”
Clayton, the country’s youngest party chair, says she feels it’s a “new day” in the country: “We’ve just been given permission by the voters to dream big and that’s exactly what I’m ready for us to do in the Tar Heel State.”
Democrats from all flanks of the party gathered in Washington on Saturday, offering their theory of the case for their triumphant win and previewing their agenda for an era of near-unchecked power.
Many of the intraparty fights to come did not seem particularly relevant, though the Democrats here don’t seem as sheepish as some others in their party about going all-in on congressional investigations into the president’s family and associates, unleashing the full weight of their newly won majorities.
“Trump family corruption is actually one of four main things we are going to be focused on,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), who serves on the powerful House Oversight Committee, said Saturday.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) added that impeachment of Hegseth specifically is “on the table” but that oversight will be extended to any and all in the president’s orbit.
“People have bellied up to the Donald Trump trough in a pay-to-play way, donated to his campaigns, donated to the Gilded Ballroom, as if this would never end,” said Crow. “It’s ending.”
Some of the ideas on Democrats’ wish list? Slashing the Pentagon’s budget, reengaging diplomatic ties with Canada, winding down the war in Iran, curbing the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reforming the Supreme Court, majorly tamp down on artificial intelligence companies, data centers and billionaire tech founders, withdrawing funds from Israel and other foreign wars, prioritizing climate change, and potentially eliminating the Electoral College, among a litany of other things.
Prime 2028 contender Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro cheekily dodged questions about his White House intentions while pitching that this is the time his party should make big swings.
Shapiro is “looking forward to making sure that as our party thinks about the direction we want to go in, that we are focused on a party that is looking at doing big things again,” he said. “We’re focused on significant reform, not rebuilding what is in the past, but building something big for the future. And I think coming from ... the swingiest swing state in America, we got a little bit to say about that. And I definitely intend to be part of that conversation about what our party looks like going forward.”
Shapiro demurred when HuffPost asked what he’s looking for in a 2028 candidate more specifically, however.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore agreed that Democrats need to laser-focus on what they’re doing with this momentum.
“I’m ecstatic because we now have an opportunity to do something,” said Moore. “I think anyone who looks at Tuesday as some kind of celebratory moment is missing the point. What Tuesday is an opportunity to actually do something.”
Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s election takeaway?
“Donald Trump: shellacked,” she said at the “Echo Chamber” stage. Slotkin suggested that just impeaching Hegseth is not enough. (The line to see Slotkin snaked around the top floor of the convention center. There were similar queues to hear NYC mayoral candidate turned incoming congressman Brad Lander speak, too.)
“It’s not just about going after Cabinet-level officials or the president. It is also about saying if you’re going to abuse taxpayer dollars and violate the law on behalf of this president, you too are going to be held accountable,” said Slotkin.
And while there seems to be no firm preferred candidate to lead the new Senate Democrats, there seems to be a consensus on one thing: Chuck Schumer should not be the de facto leader.
Van Hollen, whom some progressives back for the role, said there should be “no coronation” for his caucus’ next congressional leader. Van Hollen, for his part, may have his sights on a higher office.
When Slotkin was asked if she’d consider running for Senate leader, audience members yelled “do it” to cheers as she navigated a political answer culminating in her saying she is “not ruling anything out.” She also warned against taking Tuesday’s results as a glowing signal that “somehow people love Democrats.”
“Let’s not make that mistake.”