Charles P. Pierce is looking at Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, and he is not pleased by what he sees.
No matter what happens on Election Day, Chuck Schumer should be out as the Democratic leader in the Senate. On Thursday, he cut another ridiculous deal with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In exchange for an adjournment until after the election, so his members up for re-election could go home and campaign, Schumer agreed to fast-track 15 more Trump appointees to the federal courts, further guaranteeing that the cancer of this administration* will metastasize over decades until a lot of us are dead, and until a lot of us won't be able to remember what the American government looked like before this president* was elected.
Schumer seems to have no long term strategy in place, and whatever messaging he’s doing seems to be having little impact.
Further, just when the Kavanaugh fiasco had Senate Democrats warmed up for a fight, deals like the one above put the fire out — and it wasn’t even necessary. He’s tone-deaf to the larger themes that should be playing out at this time. Schumer might have been okay as a leader for normal times — but these are not normal times.
Pierce concludes with this:
I'm sure he's a swell guy and a good fundraiser, but Chuck Schumer is not a wartime consigliere. And he is not suited to these times; he's too close to Wall Street and deals like this make him look like the biggest sucker in two cordovans. At this point, I don't see a way for the Democrats to take the Senate. But, majority or minority, Chuck Schumer ought to be done as a leader of the Democratic Party in this moment. Gold watch, a hearty handshake, a warm ovation, and off the stage with him.
There’s more to it: read the whole thing to better appreciate how Schumer is doing as the top Democrat.
For all those who think the Republican Party can not be saved after going full Trump, the other question is, can the Democratic Party reinvigorate itself?
The Blue Wave is rising from the grass roots — not the DC establishment (with few exceptions.) Is Schumer the right leader to ride that wave, given his performance to date?
There is a small but unsubtle difference between being Senate Minority Leader versus leader of the Opposition. Schumer seems more comfortable with the first than the last.
What do you think?