What Kind Of Jacklegged Democracy Sticks Us With Chump Schumer?
We can do better.
Senate Democratic Leader is not an inherited title that one holds until death, but it too often seems that way. We might as well call Chuck Schumer the “Duke of Useless,” whose position doesn’t depend on merit or even competent performance.
When eight members of the Democratic Senate caucus caved and voted with Republicans to approve a budget deal to end the government shutdown, without any measurable gain, Schumer somehow thought it was sufficient to simply vote against the deal personally. However, if he can’t keep his caucus in line, he’s not much of a leader. Of course, no one is truly gullible enough to believe his transparent dodge. He most likely supported the Democratic surrender all along but thought a shallow display of defiance could save his own political skin.
I’ve watched the embarrassing shuck-and-jive interviews with senators who screwed us and they all remind me of the Doctor Who aliens the Tivolians, who suffer from an aggressive form of cowardice and perversely enjoy subjugation. Their species’ motto is “Resistance Is Exhausting.”
There are reports that the eight Mighty Chamberlain Art Players wanted to surrender even earlier, but Schumer convinced them to wait until this week, after the recent elections. That’s still pathetic and particularly craven, as Schumer kept what he knew was false hope alive just long enough for Democrats to benefit politically.
Schumer has failed repeatedly and disappointed us consistently, but we can’t get rid of him. Some congressional candidates and a few elected Democrats have called for Schumer to step down, but that alway seems performative. He’s not going anywhere. It’s even worse than an inherited title. After all, even King Charles finally took some action against his own brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the sex predator formally known as a Prince, and removed all his fancy titles and access to the Royal Family’s streaming service plans.
Schumer has previously said that his strategy is for Democrats to bide their time while Donald Trump destroys everything good and decent in the world. This will lower his approval ratings enough that Republicans would start working with Democrats. Yes, it’s almost impossible to read those last couple sentences without falling to the floor and laughing. Trump’s approval is admittedly terrible — tanking the economy and invading U.S. cities will do that — but as we’ve seen just this week, more Democrats are actively surrendering to Trump than Republicans are even considering helping Democrats. Schumer has disproved his own political thesis.
Yet there’s no recall measure for failing Senate leaders. Schumer has served in the Senate since 1999, but only New York state residents can vote for him. They also aren’t choosing a party leader, just a senator. That’s a big difference. He’s not up for re-election until 2028, and although I’d love to see Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pants Schumer politically, that shouldn’t be the only way of removing him from leadership. Pissed-off Americans in Oregon and Michigan should have a direct vote on congressional leadership. Does anyone really think Hakeem Jeffries would be within a country mile of the speakership if it were up to normal people? The same goes for the wholly corrupt current Speaker Mike Johnson, but at least every two years, there’s a chance to replace him. Kevin McCarthy was speaker for about 10 months before Republicans yanked his gavel (and in public, no less), but they’re like Lord of the Flies over there.
So far, only House Democrats have called for Schumer’s ouster, but they don’t even go here. Not a single Senate Democrat has moved to replace Schumer, despite impassioned statements from Bernie Sanders, Liz Warren, and Chris Murphy denouncing the shutdown surrender. This is telling, as Gabe Garbowit, a former Senate staffer for Tina Smith in Minnesota, has pointed out — any single Senate Democrat could call for a vote to replace Schumer.
Democrats talk a big game about preserving democracy, but they’ve consistently ignored the clear opinion from voters that Schumer sucks. Instead, they keep making excuses for Schumer and throwing a pity party for him, as if they can’t imagine actually succeeding in his role, but it’s not like you need Walt Disney’s imagination to conjure up someone better than Schumer. You just need sufficient short-term memory to recall Mitch McConnell. Yes, he’s evil but he was an effective opposition leader. He stymied Barack Obama and congressional Democrats so much that he was called the “grim reaper” of the “legislative graveyard,” which he accepted as a compliment. No Republican seriously considers Schumer a threat. Democrats dropped an almost Avatar-level budget into Amy McGrath’s doomed 2020 campaign to unseat McConnell. Republicans don’t care if Schumer keeps stinking up the joint. He leads controlled opposition, not a true opposition party.
Yes, Schumer was only majority leader for two years under President Joe Biden, when Joe Manchin and literal first-term senator Kyrsten Sinema regularly obstructed Biden’s domestic agenda. The press regularly described Manchin as the “most powerful man in Washington,” because he steered the ship more than Schumer. That was quite the contrast to faux-moderates Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowsi, who only ever voted against McConnell’s interests when it didn’t actually matter. The one time this transparent arrangement failed was when John McCain joined them at the last minute to vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act. McConnell didn’t hide his fury over that shocking loss.
Schumer might try to spin repeated failure into some paltry symbolic victory, but McConnell was minority leader for the first six years of Obama’s presidency and he drew actual blood. He was a “one man party of no,” blocking Obama’s jobs bill in 2011 and repeatedly forcing Senate Democrats to come up with 60 votes without his help for even the most benign legislation. Senator Bob Bennett said, “McConnell knew the places to go, around the tank, and loosen a lug bolt here, pour sand in a hydraulic receptacle there, and slow the whole thing down.”
McConnell was more ruthless and far savvier than Schumer, who blinks so often you think he’s communicating in Morse code. That doesn’t make Schumer more noble than McConnell, just far less effective. Yet, according to Politico Punch Bowl, “There’s no real appetite to oust Schumer, though. Nor is there any interest from another Democrat to challenge him, according to interviews with more than a dozen Democratic senators.”
When Sanders was asked during a CBS News interview if Democrats should replace Schumer, he replied, “By whom? That’s the point.”
No, that’s depressing. Why is the Senate Democratic bench so empty and why are Senate Democrats so timid? Brian Schatz is expected to replace the fossilized Dick Durbin as Democratic Party whip, which would put him in line to succeed Schumer. However, that’s still predicated on whether Schumer runs for re-election in 2028, when he’s 78. I don’t know if Schatz would be any better than Schumer. I do know he doesn’t still use a flip phone. However, if Schatz were truly the leader Democrats need, he’d make his move now, not just wait around until Schumer retires. Unfortunately, waiting around is seemingly how all Senate Democrats are approaching their obvious leadership crisis.
Zeteo reports, “Some are simply waiting to see if a critical mass of Democratic legislators calling for Schumer to step down emerges, and only then would they feel comfortable joining in.”
Senate Democrats need to stop acting like Tivolians. It’s time to fight for real.
Maybe Democrats are afraid Trump will screw with the elections and figure if they piss off enough of their own supporters that they lose the midterms legitimately that would make it so Trump had no need to screw with the elections. Ergo, democracy saved!
Seriously the party is run through with cowards and idiots who have no idea how normal people see them. I’m sure if an idiot like Kaine wanted to hang out with normals his staff would set up a diner visit that would be as real as a Potemkin village. They really think voters will pay attention to a show vote in the Senate over healthcare and turn out en masse come November.
Every damn one of them is garbage. Even Tommy Tuberville knew how to use denial of unanimous consent to slow a vote to a crawl (delaying by MONTHS a vote on a Biden nominee) yet every Democrat—not just Schumer, every one—allowed the usual fast track vote to reopen the government so they weren’t TOO upset about this. And as for the excuse “Republicans are hurting people by cutting SNAP so they had to cave”—great, now Republicans know what hostage to take next time. And the more you insulate voters from the consequences of a GOP government, the more they’ll think you cry wolf every election.
The dumbest thing here was that there was an obvious endgame that would have worked for Dems and even some Republicans—hold out until they end the filibuster. Then your fingerprints aren’t on this budget. Clearly the fact that the filibuster is something Democrats want to keep tells you that Sinema and Manchin were just taking fire for a whole caucus of shit. Fuck them all, no exceptions.
However, Dems may be counting on short memories. Think about it—just a week ago during this whole impasse, most people forgot about Schumer caving just this past spring. Problem is, they’ve shown Republicans that next time Democrats talk big, they’ll fold.
Well you know what, Schumer would have a challenger. Or people who hate Schumer online can recruit one. Maybe AOC since she is an Internet fave? (I want to see what happens to her statewide!) They all really have challengers. But those who want him gone there's tried and true ways to get rid of Democrats that people don't like. You have numerous tools at your disposal. And the same goes for Hakeem Jeffries (who is up for reelection too).
Those challengers need to declare *now* so that they get a name recognition advantage. Else there's just a bunch of people that will keep training their fire on Schumer, et al. and let the Internet faves avoid a tough position like Schumer and Jeffries have...and importantly, protect their brand.
I will say this, Chuck Schumer wasn't the one who threatened to starve millions of people. Chuck Schumer isn't the one who threatens the livelihoods of millions in order to achieve destruction of health coverage. But millions of Americans do vote for legislative terrorists who do exactly this...this isn't even the first time we've been in a shutdown position like this. I'm certain some number of them believe a government shutdown means "now the government can't take my hard-earned money and give it to Black people."