Did Schumer Engineer the Surrender?
Let's take a look.
On Monday I had an article published by Newsweek about the strange Democratic capitulation, entitled “This May Be the End of the Democrats.” I argued that the amazing lack of will and cohesion the Donkeycrats (or should it be Jackasscrats or maybe just Jackasses at this point?) showed make it clear that they’re an inadequate force for fighting the fascist threat we’re facing.
That’s true as the sky is blue, dear reader. But I’m not going to re-argue it here (though feel free to tell me why you think I’m wrong in the comments, if you’d like).
Instead, what I’ll address here is whether Chuck Schumer, supposed Democrat, and the supposed Minority “Leader” in the Senate, orchestrated the capitulation. My article included the line “Though Chuck Schumer managed to stick to his guns this time and not cave with the rest, as he did the last time around, he too has failed to understand the ire and fears within the Democratic base, and should be setting his masts to sail into the political sunset.”
After my article was published, a friend challenged this assessment and sent me a piece by Robert Kuttner from The American Prospect. Kuttner’s article was titled, “Why Does Schumer Keep Trying to Cave?” It was published on Saturday, November 8th – the day before the Democrats did – guess what? – caved. The same friend sent me this cartoon, which sums things up pretty well too:
Anyhow: Kuttner noted how, even after the Democrats’ strong election showings, caucus negotiations seemed to center around how soon to give-in. There was some fighting going on backstage, folks, with the bulk of the Democrats outraged that a rogue sect of ten or so was ready to wave the white flag of surrender, even as things were flowing in their favor. Three senators had, from the get-go, been working with Republicans to pass a clean bill with no restrictions that would (and now will) drastically raise healthcare premiums: Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Independent Angus King of Maine, and Senator Shrek of Pennsylvania, who is perhaps off his meds again. According to Kuttner, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen – New Hampshire’s senators – spearheaded recent capitulation efforts. (Thanks, New Hampshire! Now you’ll be known for these putzes AND Franklin Pierce! – Look him up.)
Monday night, after my article was published, the little wife and I (it’s not a misogynistic term – she’s a shortie) put on J. Stew to get his reaction. It was definitely one of his more brilliant monologues and, if you haven’t seen it, you should watch it after finishing this article and recommending this Substack to all of your friends (I’ve recommended it to both of mine). Stewart not only lambasted the Dems, expressing his utter disbelief that even they – even the Dumb-Dumb Democrats – sadly, our main line of defense against the current fascist regime – would be so stupid as to make this deal without any real guarantee on the Affordable Care Act subsidies. He broke out the ole Schoolhouse Rock video about how a bill gets passed, reminding these idiotic senators that, even if an ACA subsidies extension somehow managed to get through the Senate, it still would simply die in the House or on Trump’s desk. In other words, they’re supposed “deal” was nothing but a complete fold for which they received nothing in return.
But Stewart went further, addressing Chuckie Shoes and his supposed role as the Democratic leader. He wasn’t buying that Schumer was against this, declaring, “Chuck Schumer, your protestation be not believable. Look – either all eight senators who voted to capitulate coincidentally are not up for reelection in 2026, or Chuck Schumer worked behind the scenes to give in to the Republicans while still protecting vulnerable Democrats, including himself.”
Stewart may be right. Yet there are alternative explanations, and none of them are necessarily exclusive. One is that, because those senators aren’t facing reelection – some not at all, others not for a while – they felt less restrained and voted their consciences, as stupid a direction their consciences may have led them in. They may have also simply made the mistake of thinking that the short-term pain of their constituents needed to be alleviated immediately, rather than thinking about their long-term interests. (If we had a better system that used a national vote and seated the top vote-getters, we could largely avoid such problems, but that’s an argument for another time.) We also have to consider whether any special interests were involved and might have swayed these eight senators in some way. And, of course, we have to consider that Schumer may not have orchestrated it, but may have simply been too weak and ineffective to stop it.
But it essentially leads us to the same conclusion. If Schumer orchestrated it, he’s an idiot and needs to go. If Schumer didn’t orchestrate it, he let it happen and therefore is weak and an idiot and needs to go.
In short, as I’ve argued before, we have to chuck Schumer – as far as we can.
And, while we’re at it, let’s get rid of some of these others too. They don’t seem to understand that the house is on fire and are busy folding sheets and putting flowers on the table.
We need leaders who can actually lead – who understand that a movement is required. Ones who will call for protests and boycotts and are willing to break decorum because they understand that that’s what this emergency calls for.
To put it another way: Get in the car or get the fuck out of the way.