Well, if there was any doubt that Chuck Schumer is in charge of messaging for the Senate Democrats, I guess that’s over:
Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line, began to instruct his fellow senators on how to talk to reporters about the contentious budget process.
After thanking his colleagues — Barbara Boxer of California, Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, Thomas R. Carper of Delaware and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — for doing the budget bidding for the Senate Democrats, who are facing off against the House Republicans over how to cut spending for the rest of the fiscal year, Mr. Schumer told them to portray John A. Boehner of Ohio, the speaker of the House, as painted into a box by the Tea Party, and to decry the spending cuts that he wants as extreme. “I always use the word extreme,” Mr. Schumer said. “That is what the caucus instructed me to use this week.”
A minute or two into the talking-points tutorial, though, someone apparently figured out that reporters were listening, and silence fell.
There wasn’t anything damaging since the Republicans really are extreme, but it demonstrated how things work in Washington. I don’t really have a big problem with it, but it falls far short of how Madison et. al., envisioned the Senate. It’s supposed to be a body of 100 independent high-minded individuals. It’s kind of sad to see them calling in to find out what their argument is for the week. But this is a body that employs morons like Jeff Sessions and Jon Kyl, ideologues like Jim DeMint and Rand Paul, and soulless hacks like Jim Inhofe and Mike Lee. It’s not like it has been living up to its reputation anyway.
