Bernie Sanders, the 85-year-old Vermont socialist who has been in Congress since the early 1990s and has only had a career in government, just turned on Chuck Schumer. This week he announced he will not back the New York Democrat for Senate majority leader when Democrats take control in January because, he insists, “the time is now for change.”
The man who has spent more than three decades on the public payroll declared that last week’s midterms prove voters want a “new and bold direction.”
“I personally have known Chuck Schumer for over 30 years and I like Chuck, nobody who works harder than Chuck Schumer. But in my view, the time is now for change and I will not be supporting Chuck to be reelected as the Democratic leader,” Sanders said.
In reality, the far left is already treating its Senate win as a blank check for more radicalism, more spending, and more hostility toward anyone who stands in the way.
He was not alone. Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin stood beside him at the Capitol and declaredshe is “not actively seeking this job. I am seeking change.” She added that she has “been very consistent for a very long time that we need a new generation of leadership.” Slotkin left the door open to voting for Schumer, but only after she sees a concrete plan for the first 100 daysthat puts “money in people’s pockets” and changes how Democrats communicate. In other words, the same progressive priorities, just sold by a different messenger.
The progressive activists can be counted on to join their lifetime government employee in the belief that Schumer is no longer a good fit. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen is the only Democrat openly weighing a run, and they are already trying to draft him. He is still “actively listening” and warned against a “coronation,” saying “We should not support anybody for leader without a very clear plan.” So far, the only clear plan on offer is more of the failed agenda that produced the very problems Democrats claim they now want to fix.
Schumer, for his part, is pretending nothing is wrong. He insisted the caucus has “great unity” and that he’ll “be proud to lead it as majority leader.” Not everyone is defecting. Returning Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, asked whether he backs Schumer, answered with one word: “Yes.”
Then there is the filibuster. With at least 54 seats, the far left wants Democrats to scrap it so they can ram through their agenda without a single Republican vote. Sanders would not commit. “That’s a very important question, and I haven’t reached an answer on it,” he said, while praising majority rule and fretting about “protecting minority rights.” The same party that spent years warning about threats to democracy is now openly discussing how to silence the minority the moment it holds the gavel.
Senate Democrats vote on their leader next month. Schumer has led the caucus for nearly a decade. Now his own side is openly demanding he be replaced before the new Congress even begins. If this is what he means by “great unity,” the party is already splitting in public.
