Schumer faces brewing war and progressives ramp up primary threats
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has a brewing civil war on his hands as Democratic activists turn up the volume on talk about challenging Sens.
Read in The Hill: https://apple.news/AZFTK1iWEQPGVZgB0nv83_Q
Shared from Apple News
Scottie's Playtime 
I think it’s ridiculous to say there’s a brewing battle for the Democratic Party as though Manchin and Sinema’s votes weren’t the only outliers. The fractious party was entirely united except for those two.
Don’t people realize they’re still voting for Biden judges, etc, and if either of them defects, we get Mitch McConnell deciding everything in the Senate? And there’s surprise that Schumer won’t take a public stand?
An effort to primary Sinema is surely in order eventually. Manchin’s probably the best we can expect from a West Virginia Democrat—disappointing though he’s been at this point.
I’d like to see the restless progressives devote their energies to electing more Democratic Senators in 2022, immediately reducing Sinema and Manchin’s importance.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Annie. I agree with getting as many Democrats as possible elected so to diminish the power of any one or two members of the House or Senate. I think Sinema has made her goal clear, she follows what is good for her personally and she is out of the money. The current rumors are that she has convinced herself she has a great shot running for president against Biden as the center candidate using her support for the filibuster as a platform thing.
While Manchin and Sinema were the ones in the news we have a lot of corporate Democrats. Many started out as progressives have moved to the right to get corporate donations. Pelosi was progressive when she first ran, now she is the biggest money raiser in the House. There seems to me to be three fractions among the Democrats. The corporate Democrats that put business needs first with only minor tweaks to help the people, the righteous Democrats that lean hard to supporting religion behind the scenes with The Fellowship Foundation, a Christian organization, and the progressive caucus Democrats. I do think there is a lot of tension between these groups just as the right has a lot of conflict between the Freedom Caucus and the other more corporate members.
I agree the idea of dumping Manchin is short sighted. I want instead to make him inconsequential. Get a 67 plus Democratic Senate and a much large margin in the house and we can start to get things done.
Best wishes.
LikeLike
Hi, Scottie—
I wasn’t suggesting all’s harmonious among Democrats (hence my use of “fractious”), though I like to think there’s more widespread concern about the common good among them than there is among the Republicans, who have ceased to be a party and have become an instrument of authoritarianism.
But if it hadn’t been for Manchin and Sinema’s siding with a unified Republican wall, we could have had a decent build back better law, with some really strong progressive programs, as well as some actual, protective voting rights legislation.
And if that had happened, it would have been due to a great extent to the tireless work done by the masterful Nancy Pelosi. I realize you disagree with me strongly on this one. But I think she’s been true to her progressive roots while excelling at the art of the possible—and she’s secured her place in the history books as one of the most effective speakers ever.
I hate the big money in politics and would love to see it gone. I understand how badly it skews political decision-making. But I also don’t think the Democrats should have to unilaterally disarm while they’re fighting the powerful forces who fund those who oppose financial disclosure and any proposed legislation to tax the wealthiest among us. Pelosi’s not above reproach, of course, but much of her funding is for other Democrats—and she’s almost always on what I regard as the correct side of these legislative battles. (I say almost because I wish she’d support measures to prevent legislators from trading stocks.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Annie. I agree with you more than I disagree. As for Pelosi I like the younger person she was more than the older person she has become. Two years ago she was asked why she should be the Speaker of the House and she responded that she raised the most money for the Democrats. That is disheartening to think the best qualification in her mind is who raises the most donations.
But the real issue we have is all of our leadership is elderly. Really elderly. While with the exception of McConnell most of the Republican leadership is decades younger than ours. I hate to listen to Pelosi when she gives a press conference or goes on TV. Not that she is not smart or knows what she is saying, I agree she is very smart. But she has no strength to her voice, she mumbles, she quavers as she talks. She starts a sentence, gets some of it out, then starts again as if she changed her mind or forgot what she said. Or maybe she needed more air. But it is not just her. Diane Feinstein is 87 and she is known to have a “mental decline issue”. Patrick Leahy is a great man, good mind, but he showed how much he has lost a few steps mentally during the tRump impeachment. He couldn’t be heard even with the sound system, he was confused, needed to be constantly coached by the people around him. Don’t get me started on Chuck Schummer, he is a monotone mess. But all of these elderly people know how old they are and refuse to step aside for anyone younger for leadership positions. Heck they all seem to want to die in office. How can they truly relate to the needs and desires of the current generations when their prime was 40 years ago. One of Bidens problems is he sees the congress through the eyes of the 1980’s. Take legalized cannabis for example. The people in leadership grew up with refer madness and the sure knowledge that cannabis was a dangerous gateway drug. They created the laws that tried to stop any use of it and the punishments for those that did get caught using it. They cannot admit they were wrong now. I am not saying these are bad people, I am saying they are out of their time, they need to step aside and let others have the levers of power. They can be senior states people if they wish, advisors. But to me this is the US case where the queen won’t step down and Charles is now too old for the job he waited for all his life. Now it falls to his already middle aged son to do what he never got to do, and the queen still will not step down. We have people in their 30’s, 40s, 50s, ready to step up and lead the country. But the ones in their late 70’s and 80’s won’t give them the room to do so. Anyway, that is my real beef with Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic leadership. A person’s thinking calcifies with age, they have a mindset that is 40 years ago, not what is needed today.
LikeLike
HA! Scottie you should just copy and paste this comment on the blog post I told you about (and sent the link). It’s totally about what I wrote!
LikeLiked by 1 person