āSchumer is bad at his job,ā said one organizer. āJeffries is not ready for this moment.ā
After a Democratic ātsunamiā in this weekās midterm elections that has been widely seen as āa mandate to deliver big change,ā progressives within and beyond Congress have cast doubt on whether the New York Democrats likely to lead both chambers are actually up for facing Donald Trumpās veto threats and fighting for the ābold agendaā sought by US voters.
As critics of artificial intelligence data centers prepared for a Friday protest outside the Brooklyn home of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over a ādirtyā bill that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is suddenly speaking out about, political organizer Corbin Trent argued that āSchumer is bad at his jobā and āJeffries is not ready for this moment.ā
The question is, will progressives allow Jeffries to retain his leadership position? Historically, even progressives among the Democratic party have been unwilling to play hardball the way conservatives will in the Republican party.
Remember, you need an absolute majority vote in the chamber to be elected House Speaker. To be Senate majority leader, you only need a majority of Democratic senators to vote for you. To become Speaker of the House, you need an absolute majority of House members to vote for you.
This means progressives have real leverage in the House, if they choose to use it. No Democrat is getting elected House speaker without either getting progressives onboard or crossing the aisle to make a compromise with a few Republicans. Progressives can and should use this fact to force a change in House Speaker.
The Senate is different. Here only a majority of Democratic senators will be required. The progressives canāt hold that vote hostage in the same way they could House Speaker.
This is when there always seems to be just barely enough. And they take turns pretending to be the one going against the party