Dick Durbin didn’t lose his position as Majority Whip of the U.S. Senate, but he did lose some of his power to Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York.
“We lost some of the American people because we were so hyperfocused on policy we allowed ourselves to get on the defensive,” said Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who will be on the ballot next time. “If you want to pick somebody to help you get on offense, Chuck Schumer is the right guy.”
Officially, Mr. Schumer will be both vice chairman of the Democratic caucus and chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. In those roles, he will also share control over the party’s messaging apparatus run out of the Senate Democratic Communications Center, better known as the war room.
I like this move because Schumer knows how to fight, how to score political points, and how to make an argument. You can’t say that Schumer is more liberal than Durbin, but you can say that he’s a partisan and that he will advise Reid on how to use procedure to maximum advantage.
Agree with every point, especially Schumer’s abilities in knife-fighting. Really wish he had been Senate Majority Leader in the 111th.
My only quibble with Schumer is his grotesque support for the Israeli government. Otherwise, he’s more or less OK.
Schumer’s support for the Defense of Marriage Act was heart-breaking. The fact that he now, in theory, supports gay marriage is nice. But how long will we have to wait for the repeal of the heinous law that Schumer supported?
Don’t forget, Wellstone supported DOMA at the time, too. And Wellstone had stones enough to admit that voting for DOMA was the worst mistake of his Senate career(which he admitted before his death). With Schumer, it’s more his unwavering support of Israel and Wall Street. Neither can do any wrong according to Chuck.
So what if a liberal supported DOMA too (and then felt really bad about it.)???
The important question is: What is Schumer going to do about it now?
My guess is absolutely nothing.