It makes the point well that you wanted to make. But all of the shade being thrown at Schumer saddens me. I am taking him at his word that he saw a choice between two disasters and took what he believed was the least worst path.
He made the argument that shutting down the government would have given Trump and his DOGE free reign. When the government is shuttered, Trump has broader discretionary power to decide which agencies should be funded and which not -- Trump gains a strong legal defence for shutting down whatever agencies or components of agencies that he wants to shut down. Many of the court challenges that seem to be succeeding today would be failing if we were in the midst of a shutdown.
Imagine how it would feel to protest by shutting down the government, and then discover that this President is delighted to see Congress walk away, leaving him with the power that he wants, to pick from the appropriated functions of government and spend only on those few things that he chooses. Trump would revel in belittling the Democrats for giving him more power when they thought they were giving him less. Imagine how demoralizing that would be for us.
Evidently you disagree with Mr. Schumer's assessment. OK. Maybe the path he chose was the most worst path instead of the least worst path. Maybe not. But he came to an assessment -- he had to know that acting on his assessment would bring a shitstorm down on him, and he took the path anyway. I don't know Schumer personally, but to the extent that I can gauge a public personality's behaviour, it looks to me as though he chose to do what he saw as the right thing even though it would cost him dearly.
Booker is being called a hero for tying up the Senate floor. I am glad to see him doing what he is doing. But I wish that Democrats could also perceive Schumer's choice as heroic too.
If we are going to build a diverse movement that has the numbers and enthusiasm to recapture control of the government and keep it for a while, I think we have to accept that different people in the movement will reach different, conflicting conclusions on many matters. If different allies in the movement come to different conclusions in good faith, then shitting on one of them will narrow the movement. We might still have a big tent, but it will be largely empty.
I don’t disagree with Schumer et. al., for voting for that draconian MAGA budget instead of letting the country go into a debilitating shutdown. I just wished they all had proclaimed emphatically & repeatedly that they were doing so only for that reason, and that it was done under total duress - as if a gun was being held at the nation’s head by a gang of mad people ready to pull the trigger.
He should have also reminded the non-MAGA portion of the American people (i.e., the MAJORITY!) what they were being forced to give up with this budget, and how the Democrats promise to restore it all as soon as they are returned to power in 2022.
Booker is the hero.
I guess its way past Schumer's bedtime....
Time for Schumer to “spend time with his family”.
To be fair it is past everyone's bedtime. It's a lot easier to stay away when you're the one on stage ;-)
Senator Corey Booker heroically doing what every Dem senator should be doing: Stopping Trump.
It makes the point well that you wanted to make. But all of the shade being thrown at Schumer saddens me. I am taking him at his word that he saw a choice between two disasters and took what he believed was the least worst path.
He made the argument that shutting down the government would have given Trump and his DOGE free reign. When the government is shuttered, Trump has broader discretionary power to decide which agencies should be funded and which not -- Trump gains a strong legal defence for shutting down whatever agencies or components of agencies that he wants to shut down. Many of the court challenges that seem to be succeeding today would be failing if we were in the midst of a shutdown.
Imagine how it would feel to protest by shutting down the government, and then discover that this President is delighted to see Congress walk away, leaving him with the power that he wants, to pick from the appropriated functions of government and spend only on those few things that he chooses. Trump would revel in belittling the Democrats for giving him more power when they thought they were giving him less. Imagine how demoralizing that would be for us.
Evidently you disagree with Mr. Schumer's assessment. OK. Maybe the path he chose was the most worst path instead of the least worst path. Maybe not. But he came to an assessment -- he had to know that acting on his assessment would bring a shitstorm down on him, and he took the path anyway. I don't know Schumer personally, but to the extent that I can gauge a public personality's behaviour, it looks to me as though he chose to do what he saw as the right thing even though it would cost him dearly.
Booker is being called a hero for tying up the Senate floor. I am glad to see him doing what he is doing. But I wish that Democrats could also perceive Schumer's choice as heroic too.
If we are going to build a diverse movement that has the numbers and enthusiasm to recapture control of the government and keep it for a while, I think we have to accept that different people in the movement will reach different, conflicting conclusions on many matters. If different allies in the movement come to different conclusions in good faith, then shitting on one of them will narrow the movement. We might still have a big tent, but it will be largely empty.
Yes, honour Booker.
But honour Schumer too.
Schumer's been asleep at the wheel for quite some time….
Perfect! Caught this one perfectly!
Booker is a hero, and despite no longer living in NJ, I plan to contact his office and express my admiration and thanks.
Schumer's asleep even when he's awake. Been that way for years.
I don’t disagree with Schumer et. al., for voting for that draconian MAGA budget instead of letting the country go into a debilitating shutdown. I just wished they all had proclaimed emphatically & repeatedly that they were doing so only for that reason, and that it was done under total duress - as if a gun was being held at the nation’s head by a gang of mad people ready to pull the trigger.
He should have also reminded the non-MAGA portion of the American people (i.e., the MAJORITY!) what they were being forced to give up with this budget, and how the Democrats promise to restore it all as soon as they are returned to power in 2022.