Appreciate the nuance and the calculations about what's at stake in this post. It gets missed a lot, especially I media - Jay Rosen from NYU Journalism wrote about it during the run up to the 2024 election: the info voters and citizens need is "what's at stake" - the impacts
Very much look for and appreciate your work. Thank You ⭐️
I agree there's nuance here. While I believe Schumer should go, I'm not calling for his head nor do I need him to step down immediately. Initially I was LIVID at the actions of the 7 Dems (& 1 Independent), not the least of which because 2 are my senators (Shaheen and Hassan). Both are far too centrist. But now I'm not angry that they reopened the government but at how they did it.
Unless there was a need for speed, why not give us a week to celebrate our election wins? Once we got that time, start messaging about why capitulation must happen. It wasn't like they had some grand strategy that needed to be kept hidden. They could've prepared us better, even reached out to grassroots leaders to explain and ask them to help manage the message. Unless there's stuff we don't know that made it necessary to do now, this secretive, speedy giving in wasn't politically savvy at all. It feels sloppy and disrespectful to all of us who have worked so hard. It also seems they miscalculated how deeply the feeling of betrayal resonates with the faithful. Schumer and some of the 8 will likely pay the price for that.
Do I think Schumer is terrible? No. Do I think he knew what was happening? Yes. My reasons for wanting him gone have to do with his age, his frequent tone-deaf responses, and the lack of trust he has with Democratic voters. It's time for him to pass the baton. He must start training his successor now so that person can hit the ground running.
Excellent - while I am unhappy with the deal, I’m not going to go pushing my dems to replace Schumer. I think to many leftists think everyone agrees with them. (Actually that’s probably true for all of us. )
Do you have any good reason for thinking this except for the fact that you don’t like Schumer because I have heard from countless sources that that’s not true
I appreciate your expressing at length your thoughts about whether it is correct to blame and replace Schumer as Senate Leader. I feel similarly, that we don’t know what happened behind closed doors and that he is likely not as responsible as he’s being made out to be. I agree he should be replaced as Leader, but for other reasons, that he appears to me to have handled this fairly well, and what angers me most is the all-knowing, unforgiving, holier-than-thou attitude I have experienced from people who want him out now, or else! There is a lot of nuance and complexity in what is happening now, and we need to appreciate differences of opinion, the importance of unity with and extending grace to fellow Dems, and the potential for good to come out of this if we hold our unity, continue to do the work, and put hope into action.
I think we have asked Leader Jeffries and Schumer to be the face of our movement when the face should be us. Let’s be real Jeffries wasn’t comfortable being on camera until a couple months ago if you compare and contrast today vs Jan you can see real growth.
Here is the problem with Effective Democrats they make the role they are in look easy when you are whipping numbers for votes and you like mom or dad in the caucus. It’s unglamorous work which should be (I hope in the future ) regulated to the backrooms.
My opinion from Sunday vote I wasn’t mad and I stand tall with my opinion.Senator Jeanne Shaheen said Chuck was aware what was going on the entire time . Also I trust that Chuck wanted to make this as painful as possible and wanted to make sure if there was an end we got something for it. Our Happy Warrior Tim Kaine confirmed it ,wins on last Tuesday night and Abigail speech told him it was time to reach out and stop the madness. We’re dems not sociopaths . We had points to make and we made them ACA costs especially . We dont like hurting people we actually do like people and want the best outcome for them. If the GQP doesn’t do the December vote thats on them. Everyone in America will be pissed at them . It’s beyond time they face people at the ballot box or townhalls or their communities . They dont get to destroy people lives just because . On top of that if they want to crush the ACA then allow them to do it. It’s time for Medicare for all. I m damn sure the new incoming dems feel the same way. Yes we are all gonna be in pain (side note to complain I loved getting my insurance through ACA I was paying $15.00 then last week I saw my insurance for next year was gonna be $330 monthly I was forced this week to go on my insurance via my new job (basically maybe 300 monthly) . It’s not perfect solution. Its would have been great if people understood which party actually stands by them but this a lesson every one has to learn. From the Maga Crazies to the Left Purists. Politics isn’t perfect and the majority choice may not be your choice but at least hear them out before you judge them. Or show you what they can or can’t do for the community.
I had the view that the leader should be the face, the spokesperson for the party, and didn’t feel Schumer did that. Thank you Ms. Elm for clarifying the speaker’s role, and including links to O’Donell. I owe Leader Schumer a big apology.
I know we were operating out of fear and anger in Jan . As I have learned We cant let fear stand in front of us and hold us back , we need to push to back and help us go forward.
I appreciate you promoting the wins as always, but I feel like your introduction starts from assuming that the vote was truly something Schumer didn't want. Personally, I think the argument that Schumer gave those Democrats either explicit or tacit permission to vote that way shouldn't be ignored. He's a real instutionalist and it's very likely that he saw things moving toward the Republicans nuking the filibuster to reopen the government. Trump was publicly giving him those marching orders after all. It's not too far a leap to suggest that Schumer is the kind of person who would prioritize the preservation of minority rights like the filibuster over what he would see as a shorter term fight like this one, even if he thought it was winnable. That's the kind of thinking an institutionalist would have. I disagree with it vigorously, but I don't think it's far-fetched.
If those were the same places where you heard the list you published before the vote, it might be worth considering that the fallibility of that information.
Maybe that list was accurate, but because of our rapid response, things changed. Also people not knowing who’s in a private meeting is different than people not knowing what They heard directly from Chuck Schumer about himself
I guess, to me, there are two ways of looking at Chuck Schumer, either he's...
- a smart, shrewd politician who was actually behind the effort to reopen the government in the last few days while preserving his party's minority rights and got what he wanted. Or...
- a less-than-effective leader who was caught off guard by members of his own caucus who undermined his very public strategy and position in a critical moment for the country.
I think it's the first, but either way, I don't think that's a person who should lead the Democrats in the Senate for a day or hour longer than strictly necessary.
I like your intro essays, which does not mean I agree with you. To me, the problems
with the Senate Dems giving up as they did are multiple. There’s the consequences for health care, the people who can’t afford it immediately and all the ripple effects. There’s teaching $rump that if he escalates cruelty, he wins. There’s the betrayal of all the people who cared that Dems were finally showing spines. Betrayal not only by what they did, but how they did it - deciding secretly among themselves and pretending that only the five who openly switched votes are responsible for the decision. As if the voters and Dem base are marks to be manipulated, not coworkers to be treated with respect in the form of honesty.
Here’s one thing you might not know, when the CR comes up again in January, snap will be paid in full furloghed workers will get paid and service members will get paid plus there’s no holiday weekend coming up. We will be in a much stronger place in January to do this the week before Thanksgiving is not a strong week and could’ve ended up undermining the whole process because people would be blaming those on the ACA for not being able to fly home for the holidays. This is just one point of view. It’s totally fine if you have another I just wanna share this one with you.
The thing is, though, after March we were told the right time to fight wasn't then. So we waited. In September, we were told the time to fight was now so we did! We made the calls, gave public support, mobilized the vote, and invested them with what we thought was power. Then a week later we're told once again that it's no longer the right time to fight. Maybe you're right that a big stand will be made in January and some win will result, but I don't think it's unreasonable to look at that with skepticism.
a week later it’s been 40 days. And again, Schumer was not in support of what happened. Not to mention, we are coming up on a holiday weekend where it’s very likely we would’ve lost the support for the shutdown when people couldn’t get home for the holidays. Going forward there will be full snap for the entire year. There will be full pay for federal workers and there will be full pay for service members when the CR comes up again in January. There is no holiday weekend. The fears that those Senate Democrats had won’t be there.
It was a week after the election where they had measurable victories and actual exit polls reflecting support for the keep-up-the-fight position. I think even you were hoping they would keep up the fight because you advocated for contacting these Senators to give them strength. It feels like you're now arguing that the deal was good, though.
This is the best thing you have ever written. Excellent in every way. Completely convincing and so compassionate. Thanks for doing this. I will repost to many!
Dearest Ariella,
"Whatever we conceive well we express clearly, and the words flow with ease."
[French: Ce que l'on concoit bien s'enonce clairement,
Et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisement.]
Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux, 1674
Appreciate the nuance and the calculations about what's at stake in this post. It gets missed a lot, especially I media - Jay Rosen from NYU Journalism wrote about it during the run up to the 2024 election: the info voters and citizens need is "what's at stake" - the impacts
Very much look for and appreciate your work. Thank You ⭐️
I agree there's nuance here. While I believe Schumer should go, I'm not calling for his head nor do I need him to step down immediately. Initially I was LIVID at the actions of the 7 Dems (& 1 Independent), not the least of which because 2 are my senators (Shaheen and Hassan). Both are far too centrist. But now I'm not angry that they reopened the government but at how they did it.
Unless there was a need for speed, why not give us a week to celebrate our election wins? Once we got that time, start messaging about why capitulation must happen. It wasn't like they had some grand strategy that needed to be kept hidden. They could've prepared us better, even reached out to grassroots leaders to explain and ask them to help manage the message. Unless there's stuff we don't know that made it necessary to do now, this secretive, speedy giving in wasn't politically savvy at all. It feels sloppy and disrespectful to all of us who have worked so hard. It also seems they miscalculated how deeply the feeling of betrayal resonates with the faithful. Schumer and some of the 8 will likely pay the price for that.
Do I think Schumer is terrible? No. Do I think he knew what was happening? Yes. My reasons for wanting him gone have to do with his age, his frequent tone-deaf responses, and the lack of trust he has with Democratic voters. It's time for him to pass the baton. He must start training his successor now so that person can hit the ground running.
Excellent - while I am unhappy with the deal, I’m not going to go pushing my dems to replace Schumer. I think to many leftists think everyone agrees with them. (Actually that’s probably true for all of us. )
I think that behind closed doors, Schumer was behind the cave. Then he, and other spineless Dems, convinced 7 members not facing re-election to vote yes. I think Corporate Dems just took the historic election win and told us all to go back in our hovels. Read https://www.qasimrashid.com/p/why-dems-have-35-approvalnearly-10?r=1bd9pr&triedRedirect=true today.
Do you have any good reason for thinking this except for the fact that you don’t like Schumer because I have heard from countless sources that that’s not true
I appreciate your expressing at length your thoughts about whether it is correct to blame and replace Schumer as Senate Leader. I feel similarly, that we don’t know what happened behind closed doors and that he is likely not as responsible as he’s being made out to be. I agree he should be replaced as Leader, but for other reasons, that he appears to me to have handled this fairly well, and what angers me most is the all-knowing, unforgiving, holier-than-thou attitude I have experienced from people who want him out now, or else! There is a lot of nuance and complexity in what is happening now, and we need to appreciate differences of opinion, the importance of unity with and extending grace to fellow Dems, and the potential for good to come out of this if we hold our unity, continue to do the work, and put hope into action.
You expressed your ideas well. Thank you!
I think we have asked Leader Jeffries and Schumer to be the face of our movement when the face should be us. Let’s be real Jeffries wasn’t comfortable being on camera until a couple months ago if you compare and contrast today vs Jan you can see real growth.
Here is the problem with Effective Democrats they make the role they are in look easy when you are whipping numbers for votes and you like mom or dad in the caucus. It’s unglamorous work which should be (I hope in the future ) regulated to the backrooms.
My opinion from Sunday vote I wasn’t mad and I stand tall with my opinion.Senator Jeanne Shaheen said Chuck was aware what was going on the entire time . Also I trust that Chuck wanted to make this as painful as possible and wanted to make sure if there was an end we got something for it. Our Happy Warrior Tim Kaine confirmed it ,wins on last Tuesday night and Abigail speech told him it was time to reach out and stop the madness. We’re dems not sociopaths . We had points to make and we made them ACA costs especially . We dont like hurting people we actually do like people and want the best outcome for them. If the GQP doesn’t do the December vote thats on them. Everyone in America will be pissed at them . It’s beyond time they face people at the ballot box or townhalls or their communities . They dont get to destroy people lives just because . On top of that if they want to crush the ACA then allow them to do it. It’s time for Medicare for all. I m damn sure the new incoming dems feel the same way. Yes we are all gonna be in pain (side note to complain I loved getting my insurance through ACA I was paying $15.00 then last week I saw my insurance for next year was gonna be $330 monthly I was forced this week to go on my insurance via my new job (basically maybe 300 monthly) . It’s not perfect solution. Its would have been great if people understood which party actually stands by them but this a lesson every one has to learn. From the Maga Crazies to the Left Purists. Politics isn’t perfect and the majority choice may not be your choice but at least hear them out before you judge them. Or show you what they can or can’t do for the community.
I had the view that the leader should be the face, the spokesperson for the party, and didn’t feel Schumer did that. Thank you Ms. Elm for clarifying the speaker’s role, and including links to O’Donell. I owe Leader Schumer a big apology.
I know we were operating out of fear and anger in Jan . As I have learned We cant let fear stand in front of us and hold us back , we need to push to back and help us go forward.
I appreciate you promoting the wins as always, but I feel like your introduction starts from assuming that the vote was truly something Schumer didn't want. Personally, I think the argument that Schumer gave those Democrats either explicit or tacit permission to vote that way shouldn't be ignored. He's a real instutionalist and it's very likely that he saw things moving toward the Republicans nuking the filibuster to reopen the government. Trump was publicly giving him those marching orders after all. It's not too far a leap to suggest that Schumer is the kind of person who would prioritize the preservation of minority rights like the filibuster over what he would see as a shorter term fight like this one, even if he thought it was winnable. That's the kind of thinking an institutionalist would have. I disagree with it vigorously, but I don't think it's far-fetched.
That’s because that’s what I’m hearing consistently from everyone I talk to
If those were the same places where you heard the list you published before the vote, it might be worth considering that the fallibility of that information.
Maybe that list was accurate, but because of our rapid response, things changed. Also people not knowing who’s in a private meeting is different than people not knowing what They heard directly from Chuck Schumer about himself
I guess, to me, there are two ways of looking at Chuck Schumer, either he's...
- a smart, shrewd politician who was actually behind the effort to reopen the government in the last few days while preserving his party's minority rights and got what he wanted. Or...
- a less-than-effective leader who was caught off guard by members of his own caucus who undermined his very public strategy and position in a critical moment for the country.
I think it's the first, but either way, I don't think that's a person who should lead the Democrats in the Senate for a day or hour longer than strictly necessary.
I like your intro essays, which does not mean I agree with you. To me, the problems
with the Senate Dems giving up as they did are multiple. There’s the consequences for health care, the people who can’t afford it immediately and all the ripple effects. There’s teaching $rump that if he escalates cruelty, he wins. There’s the betrayal of all the people who cared that Dems were finally showing spines. Betrayal not only by what they did, but how they did it - deciding secretly among themselves and pretending that only the five who openly switched votes are responsible for the decision. As if the voters and Dem base are marks to be manipulated, not coworkers to be treated with respect in the form of honesty.
Here’s one thing you might not know, when the CR comes up again in January, snap will be paid in full furloghed workers will get paid and service members will get paid plus there’s no holiday weekend coming up. We will be in a much stronger place in January to do this the week before Thanksgiving is not a strong week and could’ve ended up undermining the whole process because people would be blaming those on the ACA for not being able to fly home for the holidays. This is just one point of view. It’s totally fine if you have another I just wanna share this one with you.
The thing is, though, after March we were told the right time to fight wasn't then. So we waited. In September, we were told the time to fight was now so we did! We made the calls, gave public support, mobilized the vote, and invested them with what we thought was power. Then a week later we're told once again that it's no longer the right time to fight. Maybe you're right that a big stand will be made in January and some win will result, but I don't think it's unreasonable to look at that with skepticism.
a week later it’s been 40 days. And again, Schumer was not in support of what happened. Not to mention, we are coming up on a holiday weekend where it’s very likely we would’ve lost the support for the shutdown when people couldn’t get home for the holidays. Going forward there will be full snap for the entire year. There will be full pay for federal workers and there will be full pay for service members when the CR comes up again in January. There is no holiday weekend. The fears that those Senate Democrats had won’t be there.
Does full SNAP mean the cuts in the Big Ugly Bill were restored?
It was a week after the election where they had measurable victories and actual exit polls reflecting support for the keep-up-the-fight position. I think even you were hoping they would keep up the fight because you advocated for contacting these Senators to give them strength. It feels like you're now arguing that the deal was good, though.
Did you read the whole post? Because I explain that the fact that he was able to hold them until after the election is a really big deal
Excellent points as always!! Thank you! 😊
Hi there,
This is the best thing you have ever written. Excellent in every way. Completely convincing and so compassionate. Thanks for doing this. I will repost to many!