I don’t know if he is or isn’t the person for the hour. I think there was time and strategy that he left on the table in this fight, but the bill was always going to pass generally in the form that it was presented. I could be wrong.
I do tend to agree with the opinion that I’ve read elsewhere to “don’t interrupt your enemy while they are making a mistake”. And I do believe Trump et al is in the process of tanking the economy - whether intentionally or not. At this point in time, with Dem approval ratings well below Trump’s approval ratings, the blame and resulting damage for shutting down the government was, in my opinion, going to partly if not mostly be put on the shoulders of Dems. Even if that blame was just from the side of Republican voters.
I think (hope) there is going to come a time further down the road when the finger can no longer be (falsely) pointed at Biden when Trump is going to own what he is doing to this country, economically, socially, legally. When that time comes and the people who voted for him who aren’t full on MAGA realize they made a tragic mistake the Dems want their powder dry and to have won over those types of voters. Whether that means to vote against Republicans or to fight against them in whatever type of battle is coming our way.
This isn’t to say Schumer necessarily should stay as minority leader. He probably isn’t the person for the moment given his age. I’m just not sure that his voting for cloture is the reason he should go. Clearer and calmer heads should prevail before the decision to change leaders in the middle of a war is made.
What I'm not reading here is Schumer didn't even vote for the bill. He and nine others voted to bring the bill to the floor instead of using the time-tested McConnell strategy of blocking the bill. Only two of the Democrats actually voted in favor. That was their way of eating their cake and having it too.
I dont think age is the real issue because if he had met the moment effectively ppl wouldnt care about his age. Im not a D or an R and cheer leading for elected officials goes against my personal policy, but at least on a few sm platforms, I thought dem voters seemed to like Pelosi but I never understood why. I expect action from our officials not performance, but it seems i'm in the minority there. Why did anyone think it might have been the right thing for Schumer to vote for the bill? AOC said on some tv news show that they had an offer ready to fund 30 days to give reps time to negoiate even tho she didnt they would. Ive been surprised by the inaction of the democrats for several years now but even I thought surely they'd quietly have the brainiacs at some think tank game out various solutions to the most likely issues they expected from Trump. Turns out no one has been driving the bus for quite some time there.
"The senator [Chuck Schumer] isn’t infirm nor does he face questions about his cognitive abilities, as the ex-president did. But he does now face the perception that his sensibilities are antiquated; that his political dexterity has faded; and, most importantly, that he lacks the vigor to take on Donald Trump."
The fact is that even Donald Trump, had he been in the position of a Schumer or Biden, would "lack the vigor" to take on someone like himself, if the latter were surrounded by an army of like-minded protectors, all committed to replacing the Republic with a dictatorship. Like it or not, the Democratic party is in disarray, and I can't blame them. They know that the GOP has become a cult, which must be defeated, whether or not one wants the old (pre-Trump) GOP back as a worthy competitor (as I do). The hard part is to know when to push back and when to "give them enough rope to hang themselves" (JVL's "modest proposal" from just after the election). My own modest proposal is for Democrats and Never-Trump Republicans (mostly now out of power, but still with some clout) to temporarily set aside most of their differences on the issues and focus like a laser beam on preventing the MAGA cult from stealing future elections. You know they will try; they don't even pretend otherwise.
Fetterman is younger and he was out in front on passing the budget before Chuck. I would not frame this as an age issue. This is, IMO, an issue of understanding Trump and all his current MAGA admin are literal criminals and they are actively working to destroy the US constitution. The DEMS need to fight this. This is not about protecting LGBTQ or gay marriage. It is but it is so so so much more. It is about free speech, protection from illegal search, religious freedoms, etc. It is about social security and education and who are political friends are. The dems have so much to work with and they are failing. I mean seriously why the fuck are they not out there every day with a photo of a J6 taken on J6 beating the shit out of a cop and saying this is .... Trump said beating officer ... was ok and let him out/gave him a pardon. The DEMS IMO have been failing since they let this slide.
Good point. MAGA showed the same damn video of some random vandals at a BLM protest to tar all Dems. We are in a propaganda war and it's time we engaged in it.
I was ready to shut it down, until I saw this. After the special elections, we should be in a stronger position to control the narrative and the outcome of the next CR vote.
Off topic, but JVL mentioned about a week ago that The Bulwark was hiring someone to explain complex policy. If that person was named, then I missed it. Does anyone know who it is? I’m curious.
Two things can be true at once: the Democrats would have been hurt more by a shutdown than Trump and Republicans, and Democratic leadership needs to change. In the long term I think Schumer will have been vindicated in not shutting the government down, knowing that his actions will have given the jolt to Democrats that they have needed to get new leadership.
Thanks for validating! I hope more people will slow their roll and give Schumer some support. He didn’t get this far in his career by misreading the room.
I agree with Lauren Egan. The older Democrats are completely taken aback by the current situation. The dynamics of the fight have changed, and they seem unsure of how to respond. If Harry Reid were still around, I believe he would have been able to navigate this new challenge effectively. While Schumer was effective in the past, the rules of the game have changed. I think it would be best for the country if he stepped aside now.
I don’t know if he is or isn’t the person for the hour. I think there was time and strategy that he left on the table in this fight, but the bill was always going to pass generally in the form that it was presented. I could be wrong.
I do tend to agree with the opinion that I’ve read elsewhere to “don’t interrupt your enemy while they are making a mistake”. And I do believe Trump et al is in the process of tanking the economy - whether intentionally or not. At this point in time, with Dem approval ratings well below Trump’s approval ratings, the blame and resulting damage for shutting down the government was, in my opinion, going to partly if not mostly be put on the shoulders of Dems. Even if that blame was just from the side of Republican voters.
I think (hope) there is going to come a time further down the road when the finger can no longer be (falsely) pointed at Biden when Trump is going to own what he is doing to this country, economically, socially, legally. When that time comes and the people who voted for him who aren’t full on MAGA realize they made a tragic mistake the Dems want their powder dry and to have won over those types of voters. Whether that means to vote against Republicans or to fight against them in whatever type of battle is coming our way.
This isn’t to say Schumer necessarily should stay as minority leader. He probably isn’t the person for the moment given his age. I’m just not sure that his voting for cloture is the reason he should go. Clearer and calmer heads should prevail before the decision to change leaders in the middle of a war is made.
I agree. I'm pissed at the TEN. Bit I am also asking: what about recess appts that trump could have made during a shutdown?
What I'm not reading here is Schumer didn't even vote for the bill. He and nine others voted to bring the bill to the floor instead of using the time-tested McConnell strategy of blocking the bill. Only two of the Democrats actually voted in favor. That was their way of eating their cake and having it too.
I dont think age is the real issue because if he had met the moment effectively ppl wouldnt care about his age. Im not a D or an R and cheer leading for elected officials goes against my personal policy, but at least on a few sm platforms, I thought dem voters seemed to like Pelosi but I never understood why. I expect action from our officials not performance, but it seems i'm in the minority there. Why did anyone think it might have been the right thing for Schumer to vote for the bill? AOC said on some tv news show that they had an offer ready to fund 30 days to give reps time to negoiate even tho she didnt they would. Ive been surprised by the inaction of the democrats for several years now but even I thought surely they'd quietly have the brainiacs at some think tank game out various solutions to the most likely issues they expected from Trump. Turns out no one has been driving the bus for quite some time there.
I am sorry to say but I think his decision could have been a conflict of interest because of the timing of his book publication.
"The senator [Chuck Schumer] isn’t infirm nor does he face questions about his cognitive abilities, as the ex-president did. But he does now face the perception that his sensibilities are antiquated; that his political dexterity has faded; and, most importantly, that he lacks the vigor to take on Donald Trump."
The fact is that even Donald Trump, had he been in the position of a Schumer or Biden, would "lack the vigor" to take on someone like himself, if the latter were surrounded by an army of like-minded protectors, all committed to replacing the Republic with a dictatorship. Like it or not, the Democratic party is in disarray, and I can't blame them. They know that the GOP has become a cult, which must be defeated, whether or not one wants the old (pre-Trump) GOP back as a worthy competitor (as I do). The hard part is to know when to push back and when to "give them enough rope to hang themselves" (JVL's "modest proposal" from just after the election). My own modest proposal is for Democrats and Never-Trump Republicans (mostly now out of power, but still with some clout) to temporarily set aside most of their differences on the issues and focus like a laser beam on preventing the MAGA cult from stealing future elections. You know they will try; they don't even pretend otherwise.
Good job Lauren. On the podcasts, tell Sam Stein not to interrupt so much.
"“It will haunt him,” the member said."
God, I hope so.
Fetterman is younger and he was out in front on passing the budget before Chuck. I would not frame this as an age issue. This is, IMO, an issue of understanding Trump and all his current MAGA admin are literal criminals and they are actively working to destroy the US constitution. The DEMS need to fight this. This is not about protecting LGBTQ or gay marriage. It is but it is so so so much more. It is about free speech, protection from illegal search, religious freedoms, etc. It is about social security and education and who are political friends are. The dems have so much to work with and they are failing. I mean seriously why the fuck are they not out there every day with a photo of a J6 taken on J6 beating the shit out of a cop and saying this is .... Trump said beating officer ... was ok and let him out/gave him a pardon. The DEMS IMO have been failing since they let this slide.
Good point. MAGA showed the same damn video of some random vandals at a BLM protest to tar all Dems. We are in a propaganda war and it's time we engaged in it.
Listen before you judge…
I was ready to shut it down, until I saw this. After the special elections, we should be in a stronger position to control the narrative and the outcome of the next CR vote.
https://jaketapper.substack.com/p/schumer-calls-his-shutdown-vote-an?r=2kv6ai&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=audio-player
Off topic, but JVL mentioned about a week ago that The Bulwark was hiring someone to explain complex policy. If that person was named, then I missed it. Does anyone know who it is? I’m curious.
Who amongst Senate Ds has the most nous and the least radical winged-ness?
The Republicans have an age problem too, starting with trump.
Yeah, the age problem with Trump is that he's got the maturity of a 5 year old, and that's insulting to most 5-year olds.
Two things can be true at once: the Democrats would have been hurt more by a shutdown than Trump and Republicans, and Democratic leadership needs to change. In the long term I think Schumer will have been vindicated in not shutting the government down, knowing that his actions will have given the jolt to Democrats that they have needed to get new leadership.
Ya know…I was all for the shutdown, then I saw this:
https://jaketapper.substack.com/p/schumer-calls-his-shutdown-vote-an?r=2kv6ai&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=audio-player
Thanks for validating! I hope more people will slow their roll and give Schumer some support. He didn’t get this far in his career by misreading the room.
There was also an excellent podcast by Simon Rosenberg in support of Schumer. I just can’t find it at the moment. 🤔
I agree with Lauren Egan. The older Democrats are completely taken aback by the current situation. The dynamics of the fight have changed, and they seem unsure of how to respond. If Harry Reid were still around, I believe he would have been able to navigate this new challenge effectively. While Schumer was effective in the past, the rules of the game have changed. I think it would be best for the country if he stepped aside now.
#ChuckChuck