I am absolutely appalled. And it’s not as if the shutdown wasn’t hurting; it is affecting my family directly since I have a family member who works for the federal government and is furloughed. But this deal that Schumer made is pathetic and wrong. Democrats just had a huge electoral win, mainly because people are so fed up with what Trump and MAGA are doing. They don’t like Democrats, but most know that the Republicans are nuts.
So what did the establishment Democrats do? They took that huge win and all the momentum it provided and threw it away for an empty promise.
Schumer is a small pathetic man whose time is long gone. And anybody who votes for this capitulation should be drummed out of the Senate and political life. They clearly do not understand what is happening in this country and have no business trying to call themselves leaders.
Schumer has said outright that his main political project is to "keep the left pro-Israel". He is, of course, failing at this, and the left just elected a candidate whom many who are pro-Israel see as a direct threat in Zohran Mamdani to the most prominent mayoral post in the country. Schumer doesn't want a left which is galvanised if it ends up electing too many candidates like Mamdani, so he arranged (with votes from retiring Senators and others not up for election in 2026) to blunt the Democrats' momentum before it could result in a wave of candidates like Mamdani being voted into various offices.
If that is true, he just proved the point of every person who believes Israel holds too much sway in our domestic politics. I am very pro-Israel and I am very anti-Netanyahu. The kind of zero-sum thinking that cannot square that difference is what so many dislike about the Democratic establishment.
It may be. I know he said that quote, for sure, and it's an observable fact that a segment of the left* has become anti-Israel in recent years. (And not just anti-Netanyahu; as I said in another comment just a few minutes ago, though, however, there is a difference between being anti-Zionist and being antisemitic**, and there is a long history of anti-Zionism among Jews.) The extent to which it was his motivation in this matter is inference on my part.
**That is not to say that the anti-Israel sentiment has not spilled over into antisemitism: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40407057 Banning a rainbow flag with the Star of David from a Pride Parade is outright antisemitism.
Removing Chuck Schumer as the Senate minority leader is the least that should happen. He and the eight who voted for this capitulation should have no place in any Democratic institution or establishment across the board. The DNC should turn its back, donors shouldn’t take or return their calls, clubs should revoke memberships, etc… There should be a full court black listing that only ends at death. Accountability now!
Absolutely AGREE James - we need to call for donors to abandon them and remove any power they have (remove from committee assignments) and pepper them with bad press - there needs to be a MAJOR message sent that capitulation will have the most severe consequences
Good luck with the corporate feed bag (aka the DNC). They are responsible for where we are today. They protect the weak, geriatric, do nothings instead of ushering in fresh blood. We need a change of leadership and refresh it with non Citizens United benefactors.
He knows what time it is— it is freaking time for him to retire. He is a major problem, not a solution. Old boy backroom pecking order politics brought Dems to this cliff.
This shutdown had more symbolic significance than anything Democrats have done since Biden was elected. It was a touchstone, a recognition that Democrats were starting to accept that Americans are getting shafted, by design, and something needs to be done about it. They had a perfect opportunity to channel all the frustration among our fellow citizens and define the issue of Americans facing more risk and precarity in every aspect of life, and to make the next few elections about that issue. Now that is all gone, along with any leverage they had to get ACA subsidies back in place, which is no small thing in and of itself.
"Eight Democratic senators voted to end the shutdown last night." Last night I said to myself, these eight Senators are the worst Benedict Arnolds since Benedict Arnold himself. I am beside myself with anger, frustration, and fear.
Did Schumer "sign off" on this horrible deal? Did he even have to in order for it to pass? Or did eight Senators just "go rogue" from the party line?
I don't think they went rogue, more likely the establishment Dems rounded up just enough votes to cave w/o leadership shouldering the blame. We need to hold them all accountable!
The political analysts are all agreed that this was orchestrated by Schumer, and the 8 were chosen because they are in no danger in ‘26. And Schumer was played like a fiddle by the Trumpublicans, corporate interests, and right wing media, no doubt.
I mean, I can see the pain of the shutdown; we had already started a little collective to provide food and other needs a while ago, and were already ramping up. But the Dems caved for less than nothing. I am not amused.
There were (supposedly) 12 of them the other day. I'd bet that the other four Dems were Schumer and 3 who could be primaried next year. This feels like a typical McConnell move to me - find the right ones (and just enough of them) who are stout enough in their position, so the rest can pretend they weren't in favor of voting with the opposing party. It's a sick game, and Americans pay the price every. single. time.
We had pulled together for this fight! We'd just won decisive elections! We were helping our neighbors manage food and job insecurity. I think the tipping point was air travel, it cost them personally when wealthy people were affected. 😠 Airlines are big donors
Jeez no wonder MAGA - who to me seem a lot of lunatics- seems so appealing to a lot of Americans. These guys are the most pathetic oppositional party I have ever seen. I have seen jelly fish with more spine. Talk about snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory.
Trump will certainly conclude that hostage taking works. The first step to convincing him otherwise is to relegate Chuck Schumer to being a powerless backbencher till New York has a chance to replace him. If 30 or so fighting Dems can throw out the current Senate leadership before Christmas, the process of building the party that the grass roots are crying for will have begun..
“What he [Schumer] cannot see—what the framework literally prevents him from seeing—is that the fight itself mattered more than any deal. That people weren’t asking for better negotiating tactics. They were asking for proof that Democrats would hold the line on something.” EXACTLY!
How would we arrange recall votes and votes-of-no-confidence in each of the states that the Gang of Eight represents? In Maine, who arranges those votes for an Independent, Angus King? There is no reason the Democratic Party could not, but is there a more suitable forum?
"So, while it is broadly true that Democrats folded, and this is the reaction across the party base, what has folded is the corporate Democratic Leadership Council wing of the party, in British terms, the Liberal Democrats. In Mexican terms, the new PRI. In other words, a pro-corporate centrist-right party."
I am absolutely appalled. And it’s not as if the shutdown wasn’t hurting; it is affecting my family directly since I have a family member who works for the federal government and is furloughed. But this deal that Schumer made is pathetic and wrong. Democrats just had a huge electoral win, mainly because people are so fed up with what Trump and MAGA are doing. They don’t like Democrats, but most know that the Republicans are nuts.
So what did the establishment Democrats do? They took that huge win and all the momentum it provided and threw it away for an empty promise.
Schumer is a small pathetic man whose time is long gone. And anybody who votes for this capitulation should be drummed out of the Senate and political life. They clearly do not understand what is happening in this country and have no business trying to call themselves leaders.
It was that exact "huge win" that may well have prompted this.
https://jewishcurrents.org/chuck-schumer-cannot-meet-the-moment
Schumer has said outright that his main political project is to "keep the left pro-Israel". He is, of course, failing at this, and the left just elected a candidate whom many who are pro-Israel see as a direct threat in Zohran Mamdani to the most prominent mayoral post in the country. Schumer doesn't want a left which is galvanised if it ends up electing too many candidates like Mamdani, so he arranged (with votes from retiring Senators and others not up for election in 2026) to blunt the Democrats' momentum before it could result in a wave of candidates like Mamdani being voted into various offices.
If that is true, he just proved the point of every person who believes Israel holds too much sway in our domestic politics. I am very pro-Israel and I am very anti-Netanyahu. The kind of zero-sum thinking that cannot square that difference is what so many dislike about the Democratic establishment.
It may be. I know he said that quote, for sure, and it's an observable fact that a segment of the left* has become anti-Israel in recent years. (And not just anti-Netanyahu; as I said in another comment just a few minutes ago, though, however, there is a difference between being anti-Zionist and being antisemitic**, and there is a long history of anti-Zionism among Jews.) The extent to which it was his motivation in this matter is inference on my part.
*For that matter, it's occurring on the right as well: https://www.npr.org/2025/11/07/nx-s1-5558286/israel-republicans-antisemitism-carlson
**That is not to say that the anti-Israel sentiment has not spilled over into antisemitism: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40407057 Banning a rainbow flag with the Star of David from a Pride Parade is outright antisemitism.
the far left fetish of making everything about Jews is really getting old
There's a difference between "Jews" and "Israel". Jewish anti-Zionism has a long history.
Consider, for instance, these UK Cabinet memoranda penned by Edwin Montagu in 1917 opposing the Balfour Declaration:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7640371
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7640698
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7640771
You attacked a Jew for being a sellout to Israel based on something he actually voted AGAINST. Your comment beclowned you. Stop doubling down.
Sen. Schumer voted against the resolution. That is true.
I question, however, whether he truly had nothing to do with eight Senators from the Democratic caucus choosing to vote for it.
Yes, I get it. And that makes him an Israeli stooge working to destroy the U.S.
You’re simply not worth my time. Have a good one.
The cave may be just as simple as wanting the planes to fly so they can go home for the holidays.
Removing Chuck Schumer as the Senate minority leader is the least that should happen. He and the eight who voted for this capitulation should have no place in any Democratic institution or establishment across the board. The DNC should turn its back, donors shouldn’t take or return their calls, clubs should revoke memberships, etc… There should be a full court black listing that only ends at death. Accountability now!
Absolutely AGREE James - we need to call for donors to abandon them and remove any power they have (remove from committee assignments) and pepper them with bad press - there needs to be a MAJOR message sent that capitulation will have the most severe consequences
Good luck with the corporate feed bag (aka the DNC). They are responsible for where we are today. They protect the weak, geriatric, do nothings instead of ushering in fresh blood. We need a change of leadership and refresh it with non Citizens United benefactors.
He knows what time it is— it is freaking time for him to retire. He is a major problem, not a solution. Old boy backroom pecking order politics brought Dems to this cliff.
Everything that you said. The Democratic leadership and every fucking spineless Democrat needs to resign. This is a huge betrayal.
This shutdown had more symbolic significance than anything Democrats have done since Biden was elected. It was a touchstone, a recognition that Democrats were starting to accept that Americans are getting shafted, by design, and something needs to be done about it. They had a perfect opportunity to channel all the frustration among our fellow citizens and define the issue of Americans facing more risk and precarity in every aspect of life, and to make the next few elections about that issue. Now that is all gone, along with any leverage they had to get ACA subsidies back in place, which is no small thing in and of itself.
"Eight Democratic senators voted to end the shutdown last night." Last night I said to myself, these eight Senators are the worst Benedict Arnolds since Benedict Arnold himself. I am beside myself with anger, frustration, and fear.
Did Schumer "sign off" on this horrible deal? Did he even have to in order for it to pass? Or did eight Senators just "go rogue" from the party line?
I don't think they went rogue, more likely the establishment Dems rounded up just enough votes to cave w/o leadership shouldering the blame. We need to hold them all accountable!
The political analysts are all agreed that this was orchestrated by Schumer, and the 8 were chosen because they are in no danger in ‘26. And Schumer was played like a fiddle by the Trumpublicans, corporate interests, and right wing media, no doubt.
I mean, I can see the pain of the shutdown; we had already started a little collective to provide food and other needs a while ago, and were already ramping up. But the Dems caved for less than nothing. I am not amused.
There were (supposedly) 12 of them the other day. I'd bet that the other four Dems were Schumer and 3 who could be primaried next year. This feels like a typical McConnell move to me - find the right ones (and just enough of them) who are stout enough in their position, so the rest can pretend they weren't in favor of voting with the opposing party. It's a sick game, and Americans pay the price every. single. time.
It's appalling, shocking, infuriating. Thanks for this article, Mike.
We had pulled together for this fight! We'd just won decisive elections! We were helping our neighbors manage food and job insecurity. I think the tipping point was air travel, it cost them personally when wealthy people were affected. 😠 Airlines are big donors
Jeez no wonder MAGA - who to me seem a lot of lunatics- seems so appealing to a lot of Americans. These guys are the most pathetic oppositional party I have ever seen. I have seen jelly fish with more spine. Talk about snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory.
Trump will certainly conclude that hostage taking works. The first step to convincing him otherwise is to relegate Chuck Schumer to being a powerless backbencher till New York has a chance to replace him. If 30 or so fighting Dems can throw out the current Senate leadership before Christmas, the process of building the party that the grass roots are crying for will have begun..
“What he [Schumer] cannot see—what the framework literally prevents him from seeing—is that the fight itself mattered more than any deal. That people weren’t asking for better negotiating tactics. They were asking for proof that Democrats would hold the line on something.” EXACTLY!
Schumer’s still reading the clock on the wall while the house is on fire. Forty days in the wilderness and he comes back with a participation ribbon.
How would we arrange recall votes and votes-of-no-confidence in each of the states that the Gang of Eight represents? In Maine, who arranges those votes for an Independent, Angus King? There is no reason the Democratic Party could not, but is there a more suitable forum?
"So, while it is broadly true that Democrats folded, and this is the reaction across the party base, what has folded is the corporate Democratic Leadership Council wing of the party, in British terms, the Liberal Democrats. In Mexican terms, the new PRI. In other words, a pro-corporate centrist-right party."
https://open.substack.com/pub/nadinabbott/p/the-end-of-the-shutdown-what-the
I applaud the analogy of hostage taking and the conclusion that this capitulation will lead to more hostage situations.
The Democratic Party is like a manila folder--dull and does only one thing.