Sen. Chuck Schumer just got elected minority leader in the Senate and when given a chance during a follow-up press conference to weigh in on the infiltration of the executive by white nationalist propagandist Steven Bannon, here's Schumer's response (watch it):
Really? That’s it on Bannon? He put out a “statement” a couple days ago and thinks Bannon’s rhetoric is "reprehensible" and that's it? Was anyone inspired by that? Anyone convinced Schumer's in the fight? It's not even clear that Schumer put out a statement—there is no evidence of it on his website. There’s nothing on his Twitter account. Maybe he's talking about his comments Monday to a private gathering of the Democracy Alliance, a very exclusive group of well-heeled progressive donors. Then someone leaked his remarks to the press. Okay, so behind closed doors he's showing fierce resistance—that pretty much sums up Schumer's entire career and it's exactly what we can expect from him as minority leader.
Meanwhile, outgoing leader Harry Reid came out swinging—publicly—from the moment Bannon's appointment was announced. Tuesday he went to the Senate floor, detailed Bannon's history on racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism and implored Donald Trump to rescind the appointment.
I say to Donald Trump, take responsibility. Rise to the dignity of the office of the president of the United States instead of hiding behind your Twitter account, and show America that racism, bullying, and bigotry have no place in the White House or in America.
Did Reid have to be asked at a press conference? No. Did Reid refer people back to something he said at a private fundraiser? No.
You know who else is on the new leadership team: West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who called Reid's criticism of Trump following the election an "absolute embarrassment." Manchin is the type of Democrat who broke with the entire Democratic caucus in December 2010 to vote against advancing "don't ask, don't tell" repeal, which was attached to the National Defense Authorization Act. In other words, he sided with Republicans in filibustering the legislation during the first lame duck vote on it.
Bottom line: Schumer is old-school. Instead of being front and center during this transition, he's been working the halls of Congress trying to decide the lay of the land. Meanwhile, Reid along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have been out there taking some strong stands.
One silver lining of the chaos we are currently witnessing on Capitol Hill is that it opens up the possibility for new leaders to emerge. It's an opportunity for an organic upstart to rise up and meet the moment with fresh ideas and a creative vision. Schumer isn't doing anything to suggest he's going to meet that need.