I don’t love Chuck Schumer‘s politics, but I’ve always thought he’d be a better Senate majority leader than Harry Reid:
The expected passage of immigration reform this week will hand Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) the biggest legislative triumph of his Senate career and bolster his case to someday become Democratic leader.
Schumer strenuously avoids speculation about his political future or talk about what will happen when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) decides to step down.
But there’s no doubt among his Senate Democratic colleagues and aides that Schumer wants to succeed Reid. The bipartisan passage of a landmark immigration bill will go a long way in addressing any lingering concerns about his ability to lead the Democratic caucus.
I’ll admit I’m biased — as a loud-mouth northeastern ethnic I reflexively dislike all those Minnesota nice style motherfuckers like Daschle and Reid. But I think Schumer would be a million times more likely to go nuclear on the filibuster than Reid is, for example.
NickT
Expected? Seriously?
JPL
@NickT: Republican senators have nothing to lose for voting for it because they know it will die in the house.
PsiFighter37
Not a huge fan of Schumer’s overall politics, but we need someone who is willing to play a little smashmouth with the other side. As someone who absolutely ripped the GOP a new one (15 seats won in a 4-year cycle as DSCC chair), he knows how to play hardball – and win – on the political front. If he can combine that with policy chops, he’s probably got himself set up. I would take him over Durbin in a heartbeat.
I also dislike the fact that most of the recent Democratic leaders in the Senate haven’t come from dark blue states. You really haven’t had any Democratic senator that you could say came from a dark blue state (during their time in office) since Robert Byrd…not that he was worth much on the liberal side of things anyways.
Cacti
I imagine Reid has always been the compromise choice as a sop to the blue dogs.
I’d much prefer a majority leader from a solid blue state, whether it’s Schumer or someone else.
beltane
Chuck Schumer is a dick, and that is why I supported him in the 1998 senate primary (I knew it would take a dick to defeat Al D’Amato) and why I would like to see him as majority leader. I’m also not a fan of his overall politics, but I am a fan of the fact that he would never appear to be a hapless patsy of Mitch McConnell.
Yatsuno
Neither of whom are from Minnesota, but I’m just being pedantic.
Yatsuno
@Cacti:
Patty Murray. She’s solid blue and she’s tough to boot.
Cacti
@beltane:
This.
Majority leader is a partisan leadership position. I want it to be held by an unapologetic partisan, not someone who looks like they’re trying to a win a good sportsmanship award. Reid has been a poor counterpart to Nancy Smash.
JWL
Shumer has also fought Wall Street tooth & nail throughout his entire political career.
The man, the hour, and the democratic party will have all met the day he replaces the hapless Reid.
Arrik
Really? DougJ is “ethnic”??
patroclus
Senate passage of the immigration bill will be a major step forward, but I don’t consider something to be a “legislative triumph” until final passage through the entire Congress and signature from the President. Schumer is one of the gang of 8 and would certainly deserve credit for pushing immigration reform, but others would too, including Reid and Durbin. Schumer is Chairman of Rules, but in the Senate, that’s not a particularly important committee.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@JWL:
If I had to choose one word to describe Reid it would be “hapless.” His leadership has consisted of whining “Marquis of Queensbury Rules!” while the GOP wails on him with pool cues.
wenchacha
Somebody with integrity would be nice, but I’d take Schumer over Reid.
Roger Moore
Sorry, but this reads like typical Messianic Firebagger crap. Recent Democratic Senate Majority leaders always look weak because their primary job is herding cats. They simply aren’t in position to push their colleagues around, and assuming that it’s a personality thing is missing the larger problem.
raven
@wenchacha: You understand we are talking about the United States Senate, right?
Thlayli
@beltane:
Funny thing about this neck of the woods, we like electing dicks: Schumer, Spitzer, Giuliani, Christie.
NickT
@JPL:
Which isn’t the same thing as passage of immigration reform. The House GOP isn’t going to vote for anything remotely meaningful.
beltane
@Thlayli: And never forget the late dick extraordinaire, Ed Koch.
Violet
Whoever is the Senate equivalent of NANCY SMASH! is my choice.
eastriver
schoom is my local guy. I met him years ago, in the 90s, at a street festival in Carroll Gardens, gripping and grinning. I have never met a more ferocious gripper and grinner in my life. He gives a great ‘seven’. 2 eyes and 5 fingers.
He’s in the pocket of Wall Street for much. He makes a show of fighting the money. He’s not sucking their dicks, like the two former senators from the Nutmeg State, but he’s certainly capable of some ball cupping.
NickT
@eastriver:
He may not actually say he so horny, but he will certainly love them longtime.
Sawgrass Stan
@Cacti: Absolutely.
I’d love to have a Majority Leader that didn’t make me think of (cliche, but accurate) C.Brown w/ Lucy + football every time push came to shove. I can’t see Shumer (or Durbin) falling for the same crap every time, and The Shu seems to have at least minimal cajoling skills to pull the rest of the caucus into line. –And if it’s Minnesooaata yer askin’ for, I’d love to see Franken in the job, but seniority and all….
Kilks
@Yatsuno: strongly agree about Patty Murray. She’s a great mix of good politics and pragmatism to get things done.
Lavocat
I agree.
I can’t fucking stand Chuckles The Clown – and he’s my senior senator.
But he is LIGHT YEARS BETTER in knife-fighting Republicans than the perennially disappointing Harry Reid.
Schumer is an asshole – but an asshole who isn’t afraid to fight.
I can (hold my nose and) live with that.
Doug Milhous J
@Roger Moore:
Yeah, that was what gave me pause too as i was writing it .
rikyrah
ok, that made me laugh.
Hal
Did I miss something? Seems like just days ago immigration reform was deader than Paula Deen’s career.
Doug Milhous J
@Hal:
Passage through the Senate.
BGinCHI
Breaking News:
5 SCOTUS judges celebrate today’s VRA decision by ordering out for Sambo burgers.
Paula Deen announces her new position as executive chef to five ninths of the Supreme Court.
raven
Live election results.
askew
No need to diss Minnesota. One of the reasons I am such an Obamabot is that Obama is the epitome of Minnesota Nice. You don’t need to be an asshole to get stuff done.
On the other hand, having someone from a safe Blue State as Majority Leader just makes sense. Plus, I think Schumer has more leverage over pain in the asses in the Democratic coalition like Levin, etc. than Reid does because Schumer is such a big fundraiser for Senate Dems.
Roger Moore
@Doug Milhous J:
The Senate is messed up as an institution. A functioning Senate would do away with the filibuster, stop basing everything on seniority, and generally aim to be more like a legislative body and less like an old boys club. Institutional reform won’t guarantee great leadership, but great leadership can’t do much in that environment. If you want to pin something on Reid, it should be that he didn’t do enough structural reform when he had the chance, so he’s left running a disfunctional organization.
Steeplejack
@Thlayli:
Yes, and look at their awesome record of achievement.
MomSense
O/T The Mass election results are freaking me out right now. Yes, few precincts are reporting but damn it makes my heart jump to see Gomez ahead.
Steeplejack
@Sawgrass Stan:
What exactly has Franken been doing? I know he’s keeping a low profile, but, damn, he has been all but invisible.
Rock
Leave Minnesota out of it…they gave you Wellstone and neither of Daschle and Reid :)
Chris
@Roger Moore:
The Senate, like the electoral college, was designed as a counter weight to the will of the people. As well as an affirmative action program for rural, low-population (e.g. conservative states) giving them a power far out of proportion to their population size. All the messed-up-edness stems from that.
Could be worse. At least senators are directly elected now.
Sawgrass Stan
@Hal: right. Call it stillborn; the Senate may pass the bill once the sharks/lasers amendment passes, but there’s no way the Tea House will approve anything that doesn’t include spaying/neutering as a “path to citizenship.”
It’s pertinent to this discussion, since Schu wants to load up the bill with border security cake icing to entice more southerners into voting for it, because then House Teas will find it delicious, or at least harder to vote against. I’m with Reid and Durbin, here.
Roger Moore
@MomSense:
The HuffPost link that Raven gave above might help calm you down a bit. They have a very cool graph where they do a county by county or town by town comparison of the current election results vs. previous elections. They show Markey in the same general range as Warren- generally better in blue districts and worse in red ones- and distinctly better than Coakley (ahead basically everywhere). I think it looks closer than it is because Republicans tend to do better in smaller, more rural and suburban precincts that get counted first and Democrats do better in larger, slower to count urban precincts.
Yatsuno
@raven: Jeebus. I got scared for a minute, then I remembered outlying areas usually report first. Come on Massholes!
Sawgrass Stan
@Steeplejack: I guess that’s the plan. Every now and then, something makes him spout off about an outrage, but mostly he’s doing constituent-friendly stuff. Hope that he feels a little more confident after he’s reelected. I think he’s in it for the long haul.
pokeyblow
@raven: Winding down the clock.
Eric k
@NickT: @NickT: @NickT: @Rock: @Rock:
Rock, and Franken, all in all Minnesota has a great history of liberal Senators
raven
@Yatsuno: Markey is catchin up.
mdblanche
@MomSense: It’s unnerving, but Markey is now within 3,000 votes and still little from inside 128 has come in, including nothing from Boston and only 1 precinct from Cambridge. It looks like it won’t be a blowout after all, but now Republicans get to infight over leaving Gomez for dead.
jo6pac
My question is has any one read this bill or will is to become I didn’t read because staff didn’t have time or are told because this the way it is in the new Amerika. Oh sorry you don’t have any rights any more but that’s the way it is for you on Main Street. Reed isn’t going to buck the tide against the on crushing of the Main Streeters of Amerika or any where else on the little blue sphere hurling through space. Please wake up, the elite don’t care what you think and do I have a plan, No other than quit playing the game any why you can.
Poopyman
@raven: … And has passed Gomez at 38% counted.
Pleeeeez hold ….
MomSense
@Roger Moore:
The numbers look better now, too. It is down to 50.1 to 49.5. When I first looked it was 53 for Gomez.
Turnout was really low today so that is a worry but hopefully we will prevail. I have some friends who have been there working for the Markey campaign and they have been optimistic.
raven
@jo6pac: Try spellcheck there bubba.
Roger Moore
@raven:
Markey is now ahead, with 0 of 254 precincts in Boston reporting. I don’t think Gomez is going to regain the lead.
Poopyman
@Poopyman: 38% and under a half million votes. If today’s news hasn’t shaken out the vote, what is it going to take? And I’m not picking on MA, I’m talking nationwide.
raven
@Roger Moore: They sure don’t have many counties.
pokeyblow
@raven: So is father time.
mdblanche
@Roger Moore: Most of the district Markey represents in the House hasn’t come in yet either.
@raven: Nobody in New England cares about counties. Here it’s all about cities and towns. And Mass. has 351 of those!
ETA: Boston coming in now, Markey’s lead is growing.
MikeJ
I like the Brookline results. 80-20.
raven
@mdblanche: I don’t care about counties either, that doesn’t seem to have much to do with how many there are.
pokeyblow
@mdblanche: You’ll have to give raven a “holler” count to get your point across.
Poopyman
Markey up by 3% with 49% reporting, just what the last polls were showing. Funny how that works.
Roger Moore
@raven:
No, they don’t. But considering that my county has a larger population than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I don’t feel like I’m in a strong position to criticize their organization. And a quick look suggests that counties are more or less vestigial as political units in Massachusetts, so maybe the small number isn’t so important.
raven
@Roger Moore: Goddamn, the map has a county view and a city view. I was just surprised by the number of the former. That’s all.
pokeyblow
@raven: Gollllleee!
Redshirt
We need a Senate Majority Leader like George Mitchell. Bring back George!
Redshirt
@raven: Mass is a tiny state, with the majority of its population mostly in/around Boston, with pockets in Worcester, Springfield, and to a degree, Amherst.
4tehlulz
Today, I learned there is a Florida, Massachusetts.
Patricia Kayden
@MomSense: O o. Please not another Scott Brown shocker! My heart can’t take that tonight.
schrodinger's cat
@4tehlulz: There is a Poland in Maine.
mdblanche
@Patricia Kayden: Markey’s now leading solidly with
7578% in. I think we can exhale.Roger Moore
@schrodinger’s cat:
And a Manhattan in Kansas. And West, Texas is not in West Texas.
Hal
AP called it for Markey.
Redshirt
@schrodinger’s cat: There’s an everyplace in Maine. Rome, Mexico, Norway, Boston, Sweden, Belgrade, it goes on and on and on. There’s a sign for the tourists.
scav
@mdblanche: There is that real difference between New England style town/township states and especially those states that barely bother to notice they’ve got the township and range sort of geographic subdivisions. County govt is far more important when you’ve got spaces between cities/towns, and can be redundant if your towns are necessarily space-filling. And then there are all the mutant systems, like in Ohio (and if anyone understands Maine . . . ). If the definitions of city and village are confusing, adding in all the varieties of towns and townships (grants, plantations, .. . ) is head-banging. Counties are relatively calm, except for those independent cities and merged city-county govts. CT’s counties are even more vestigal than MA’s, no?
AxelFoley
@eastriver: @NickT:
LMMFAO
Roger Moore
@scav:
California has a strange system where incorporated cities are free to provide only those governmental services they choose and contract with the county to do the rest. For example, only 3 of the 88 cities in LA County do their own restaurant health inspections; the rest let the county handle it. This has been abused by some white flight suburbs, which incorporate only so they can pay lower taxes than unincorporated county areas and contract all of their services from the county.
Redshirt
You could found your own town in Maine right now, if you wanted to. It’s easy – there’s a metric ton of “Unorganized District 361” and the like across Maine. Buy a square from the paper company, set up a “town hall” (your house), and name it Ted&Helenburg. Fill out the proper paperwork and voila! You’ve cemented your legacy.
Davis X. Machina
@scav: Maine’s got counties, just like Massachusetts, from which it was Adam’s-ribbed in 1820. They don’t mean much — courthouse, sheriff’s dept, a jail in the bigger ones, maybe a civic building or two (Cumberland Co. Civic center.) Maybe public health inspection….
The best part of Maine is the unorganized territory, population 9000, each division of which is in a county, but without any local government entity of its own. There are some named entities, but others are just numbered, like T5 R17 (Township 5, Range 17)
Keith
Knowing Reid, he’ll probably wait until right before the Senate flips to go nuclear, thus screwing up the whole point of it.
mdblanche
@scav: MA’s counties are only used for things like courthouses and jails. The last remaining county governments were disbanded once people figured out they weren’t doing anything besides embezzlement. I don’t think CT’s or RI’s have any functions left at all.
Davis X. Machina
@Redshirt: If you’re a real anti-government type, you can join the movement to de-organize a town, too.
Maine has ~40 fewer towns than it did a century ago
Redshirt
@Davis X. Machina: Not me. I want more government. The rednecks need proper management.
Suffern ACE is a Basset Hound
@Redshirt: Suffern ACE City. Suffern ACEopolis. The Venice of the North. West Xanadu. Gotta think big to make it big.
Elie
@Redshirt:
LOL — I agree
Redshirt
@Suffern ACE is a Basset Hound: I’ve always dreamt of buying a square on the Canadian border then causing some kind of International Incident, and in the subsequent media coverage hawk my self help book “Want to Invade Canada?” and make millions. Maybe even get on a reality show or something. It’d be sweet.
eldorado
not really sure why i should give a **** about this bill. fences keep people in too.
Steeplejack
@Redshirt:
The Moose That Roared. You can thank me later (and send a small royalty check).
dewzke
Even though she is a freshman senator, I would like to see someone like Tammy Baldwin.
mai naem
I was listening to Alex Bolton talk about Schumer. He said he had talked to a veteran congressional reporter who said he only cared about retiring before Schumer became Majority Leader because Schumer would have a real busy senatorial calendar. OMG, the $160K/yr Senators and reporters may actually have to work if Chuck Schumer becomes the leader. Are you fcuking kidding me?
Gomez is a fcuking idjit as well. His stands are at worst moderate Democratic. He should have just signed up as a Dem ran for the House and he probably would have won. He’s got a decent personal story. The Dems would have groomed him well. Not like they can’t do with more Latino candidates. Does he really think that the Repubs are trying to attract Latinos or even have a chance of attracting Latinos? Dumbass.
aimai
@askew: Reid has been pretty safe in Nevada. He isn’t a temporizer because he needs to please his local voters–he’s got a great machine and he is in control of his seat (more or less). He’s a temporizer by nature and he seems reluctant to blow up comity. We need someone who is more comfortable with politics as a back and forth–blow the fucking filibuster up and then bring it back next session. Who cares? Consistency is not the issue. Get something done.
Howlin Wolfe
Dear loud-mouth east-coast ethnic know-it-all Doug J:
Neither Reid nor Daschle are from Minnesota. Reid is from NV and Daschle from SD.
I’m sure this has been pointed out upthread. If you want, I can start ascribing all loud mouth assholes to your state. Rahm Emanuel comes to mind. You can have him.