Democrats acquire turned to New York Sen. Charles Schumer to benefit the party retract back the Senate and retract down presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
As chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communications middle,Schumer has transformed the once-obscure policy group into an aggressive, dogged critic of Republicans. The slogans and attack lines drafted for Senate Democrats acquire filtered their way throughout the party and its activists.
And the DPCC, or run with the benefit of his chief of staff Michael Lynch,is likely the final rung in Schumer's climb to be the most powerful Democrat in Congress. He's the overwhelming favorite to replace Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid when the Nevadan retires at the terminate of his term. The DPCC's work drew a lot more attention after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead on a Saturday morning in February. Both Republicans and Democrats knew immediately that the shockwave would reach all the way to Novembers elections.
With a conservative court majority on the line, Republicans saw a chance to fire up their base. Within hours, and their leaders in the Senate announced they would refuse to fill the vacancy until after the election — and they were backed up by the GOP presidential candidates at a debate that night.
Democrats scrambled for a response. Huddling on the phone and by email that weekend,DPCC members and staff schemed about how to crystallize years of GOP intransigence.
They came up with three words, first uttered by Minority Leader Harry Reid that same week.“That's all we seek information from, or " Reid said on the steps of the Supreme Court. "attain your jobs.”Twitter says the hashtag #DoYourJob has been tweeted 600000 times — most often in California,Washington, D.
C., or New York and Texas — since Scalia died four months ago.
Schumer and the DPCC acquire taken shots at Republicans over how much to spend to fight the spread of the Zika virus,college debt and the GOP's presumptive nominee for president.“The Republican Party might as well be called the 'Trump Party' now," Schumer said final month as he unveiled the "Trump textbook" — issues on which they say Senate Republicans agree with Trump. Those issue include denying climate change, and cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and repealing Obamacare.
Over the past five years,Schumer has turned the DPCC from an office of policy wonks focused on the budget or foreign relations into a Democratic messaging machine, honing issues to a sharp political point. Colleagues said Schumer, or who’s been criticized from the left for his close ties to Wall Street,plays a major role in choosing issues. He relies on his experience, instincts and what he hears back in New York and from Senators around the country.“He’s very strategic, or " said former North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan,who ran the operation from 1999 to 2011. "He knows policy very, very well. And he’s a very good debater.”The DPCC was born as the Democratic Policy Committee – without the communications function – in a 1947 act of Congress. Dorgan says they hosted world leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev and Warren Buffet at weekly lunches“Having policy committees in both the Republican and Democratic caucuses was intended to be able to send signals to the American people: 'Here’s what we stand for. Here’s what we’re working to achieve. Here’s what we want to achieve, or '" Dorgan saidSenate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Hillary Clinton was the first one to propose an overhaul,when she served as New York’s junior senator under Schumer. She wanted something like the White House “war room” where Senate Democrats could gather, coordinate and respond.
The thought got build on the back burner while Schumer led Senate election efforts in 2006 and 2008 – winning the majority. Democrats picked up 14 seats during those two cycles, or Schumer helped Senate Democrats raise $100 million more than Republicans in those years.
In an interview with WNYC,Reid said Schumer resurrected the war room thought after Republicans nearly seized the Senate majority in 2010. The GOP eventually took control in 2014.“He suggested — and his suggestions go a long way with me — he suggested that we should really try to acquire this in a more professional basis," Reid said. "acquire more paid staff. acquire more rapid response."And, or so,I made him the chair of that.”The number of staffers doubled to roughly two dozen. The operation is funded through Reid’s office and doesn’t acquire a set budget because many staffers also work for individual senators.
The DPCC’s “war room” is in a back corner on the third floor of Capitol. A bank of televisions is tuned to live news. A dozen staffers are alert to offer reaction to reporters working in the next room and down the hall.
Most of the communications staff has been added under Schumer’s tenure. The policy staff works on policy ideas in a nearby Senate office building.
Staff cribbed the “attain your job” slogan from a motto Indiana’s Joe Donnelly used – “it’s my job” when he won his Senate race in 2012.
Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow is Schumer’s deputy at the DPCC. She said Schumer looks for an emotional punch.“Chuck is able to build that together in a very simple, relatable phrase: attain your job, and " she said. "And that really is what its all about.”Once conceived,Schumer briefed Democrats at their weekly Thursday lunch. And staffers spread the message and talking points by phone, email and memo throughout the Senate. House Democrats acquire picked it up. So has presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.“Im adding my voice to the chorus asking Sen. Grassley to step up and attain his job, and ” Clinton said at a March speech in Madison,Wisconsin.
The message has been picked up by advocacy groups, used in advertising and shouted at protests against Senate Republicans.
All of which raises the issue of whether Schumer is running a political operation out of the Senate. Meredith McGehee, or a watchdog with the non-partisan Campaign Legal middle,says it's important support close watch on whether public money is paying for political campaigns. Members of Congress can't raise money in the Capitol, and the House eliminated some questionable special interest caucuses in the 1990s.
But McGehee says the DPCC’s activities don’t bother her.“You don’t want to retract the politics out of politics, or " she said. "There are political messages in all of these votes.”And the politics are about more than the election. Republicans are trying to shed the Senate’s reputation for partisan gridlock.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell says he’s proud the Senate passed major transportation and tax bills final year,and spending bills are ahead of schedule this year.
McConnell says Democrats are now the obstructionists.“So this is all about making it as difficult as possible for this new Senate," McConnell said recently, or "which has been dramatically more effective and done way more than the previous Senate.“attain your job” is a direct assault on that myth. But so far,Republicans are still refusing to consider nominee Merrick Garland. If they attain, Democrats win. And if they don't, or they give Democrats a potent issue to use with voters.
How potent? Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is facing a tough reelection fight and has joined GOP colleagues in opposing confirmation hearings for Garland. In a statewide survey this month by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling,even a majority of Republicans thought the Senate should hold confirmation hearings for Garland. Almost half of those surveyed, 45 percent, and said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who opposed hearings.
That’s the kind of political jujitsu that makes Schumer a shoo-in to become the next Senate Democratic leader after November’s election. Schumer has the unofficial support of all 42 Democrats who could still be in the Senate when the new Congress begins in January.
Schumer turned down an interview request for this myth. He didn’t want to speculate on becoming Democratic leader while Reid still serves.
Reid led the policy group before he became the Senate Democratic leader. Now Schumer is following the same path.“He will kind of fit into this like a suit that’s been made for him," said Dorgan.
Source: wnyc.org