Senator Jeanne Shaheen just threw the minority leader under the bus.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen revealed that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer knew the entire time about the plan for a few Democrats to capitulate to Republicans on the government shutdown.
Shaheen, one of the seven Democrats (and one independent) who dropped their demand for a guaranteed extension of Obamacare subsidies, spoke to Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade on Monday morning.
Aside from serving as further proof that the Democrats are failing to act as an opposition party in any meaningful way, Shaheen’s comments also reveal one of two possible scenarios. Either Schumer was scheming to end the shutdown behind the scenes, only pretending to be against it while pinning the blame on the eight people who aren’t up for reelection anytime soon, or he has no control over his party. Either way, it proves the need for Democrats to jettison the minority leader.
It’s not 100% capitulation. There’s pushback here and there. And it’s a house of cards. In order to secure his position he needs to remove all potential opposition, including within his own party. There has to be a violent purge. Things need to be stepped up a notch.
Same goes for his oppression of the people. His recent use of the armed forces to intimidate and silence the people is just a dress rehearsal. Testing out the process.
Democrats roll over all the time, and it’s infuriating, but just occasionally it might actually be the smart move. If the democratic process can still operate, it offers a way to hamstring this administration. And if not, it delegitimises their position to a point where organized large scale resistance is both feasible and necessary. That might work out better than full scale escalation right now.