He’s Very Competent But It Appears Chuck Schumer Is No Wartime Leader

In the American saga The Godfather, mafia family leader Michael Corleone was forced to lead the Corleone family in a war against rival mafia families. The first thing he did was replace his adopted brother Tom Hagan as the Corleone family’s well-trusted and very competent advisor on all matters. When Hagan asked Corleone why he replied that Hagan was a great peacetime advisor but not a great wartime advisor. Like Corleone, Senate Democrats must face the fact that although Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is well beyond being just a competent peacetime Senate leader, it appears more and more every day that Schumer is no wartime leader.

It would really benefit Democrats if this was reality and Chuck Schumer could add some Godfather tactics to his political battles with Republican Mitch McConnell

I first speculated that Senator Schumer is no wartime leader back in 2017. At the time he was serving as the Senate’s Democratic Minority Leader and Republicans did their wartime best to repeal Democrats’ signature domestic policy, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Schumer’s reaction to Republicans’ assault on healthcare suggested that Schumer is no wartime leader because his reaction lacked the aggressiveness necessary to save Obamacare.

Former Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill was publically challenging then-Republican Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch for the hidden Republican details about the repeal Obamacare bill, Democrat Sen. Corey Booker led a sit-in on the Capitol steps, and a brigade of wheelchair protesters was showing up day after day to protest Republicans planning to vote for the repeal of Obamacare. But since Schumer is no wartime leader his only public reaction was a condemnation speech on the Senate floor, followed by going on the Rachel Maddow TV Show and issuing a “red alert” for people to call into Senators asking them not to pass the repeal legislation. He organized no public demonstrations and attempted no Senate procedural stall tactics to delay a Senate vote.

This is the U.S. Constitution Mitch McConnell applies to all non-Republicans in political warfare

This was surprising to me because during the Barack Obama administration while Senate Republicans were in the minority, then Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was very aggressive in trying to block Obama’s agenda. In 2010 his stated number one goal was to make Obama a one-term President. When Obama legislation appeared in the Senate McConnell launched any Senate procedural stall tactics at his disposal. He also led Republicans to filibuster and block many cabinet appointments and virtually all judicial picks that Obama nominated to the federal bench. Until then-Majority Leader Harry Reid took the wartime tactic of leading the Democratic-controlled Senate in 2013 to eliminate the filibuster for cabinet appointments, executive office appointments, and federal judgeships below the Supreme Court level.

Although McConnell was unable to achieve his goal of making Barack Obama a one-term President his aggressive tactics to discredit, delay, and deny Obama’s legislative agenda from 2009 to 2014 helped Republicans to win control of the Senate in 2014. Control Republicans maintained until the 2020 presidential elections. But a side-by-side comparison of McConnell’s time as a minority leader with Schumer’s time as a minority leader seems to provide further evidence that Schumer is no wartime leader. As minority leader Schumer came nowhere close to being the nuisance to former President Donald Trump’s agenda, as McConnell was to Obama’s agenda. Trump never complained that Minority Leader Schumer thwarted his agenda, Obama constantly complained about Minority Leader McConnell thwarting his.

After Republicans won control of the Senate in 2014 McConnell became majority leader and took wartime leadership to extreme heights. From 2014-2016 the last 2 years of the Obama administration, Obama had to become an “Executive Order President” because Majority Leader McConnell blocked 95% of Obama’s proposed legislation, 100% of Obama’s judicial picks for the federal bench, and outright STOLE Obama’s constitutional right to appoint a deceased Antonin Scalia’s replacement on the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately for President Biden Chuck Schumer doesn’t have the warfare toughness to make Senate Democrats tow the Party line like Mitch McConnell makes Republican Senators tow the line

Now Schumer is Senate Majority Leader with a Democrat Joe Biden as President, but since Schumer is no wartime leader he does not exert the same discipline over his fellow Democrats that McConnell exerts over his fellow Republicans, whether he is the minority or majority leader. The late widely acknowledged Republican maverick John McCain never allowed himself to publically usurp McConnell as the chief negotiator with the Democratic opposition, or as the chief negotiator with President Trump as Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have usurped Schumer with both Republicans and President Biden.

After McConnell witnessed Schumer’s inability to exert discipline on his own Democratic follow-ship, he now feels embolden to once again exert extreme Republican tactics, by announcing not only would Republicans take the rare step of not voting to raise the debt ceiling so America could pay its debt, Republicans are going to make history by attempting to block Democrat’s efforts to raise the debt ceiling on their own. Schumer’s reaction to this challenge to Democrat’s control of the Senate and a potential death blow to the American economy, is the same 2017 reaction to McConnell’s almost successful attack on Democrats signature domestic policy, Obamacare, before maverick McCain stepped up and saved it for Democrats. Schumer rolled out his standard condemnation speech on the Senate floor with no tactical actions to back up the hollow rhetoric.

A wartime Senate Majority Leader would schedule DAILY VOTES on the Senate floor Democrats CONTROL, forcing Republicans to demonstrate to the American public their willingness to tank the American and world economy. Followed each day with a press conference to drive the point of Republicans’ danger to economic order home.

Unfortunately when it’s time to go to political war with Republicans Chuck Schumer doesn’t appear to be the best wartime leader

Chuck Schumer is a good, intelligent, dedicated, and morally conscious Democratic leader. The state of New York should be proud to have him represent them. The American public should be proud to have him as America’s Senate Majority Leader and Schumer has provided great peacetime leadership for Democrats to follow. Just because Schumer is no wartime leader means Democrats need to necessarily replace Schumer as their leader, but if Democrats and President Biden are going to survive and thrive against the cut-throat, unprincipled, morally bankrupt minority leadership of Republican Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader Schumer must at least appoint a Democratic wartime general. One who reports directly to him but possesses the toughness, knowledge, and maybe lack of scruples to fight a political war the McConnell way!!!