A New York Post editorial board piece published on Tuesday noted that rank-and-file Democrats are largely dispirited and frustrated after a lengthy shutdown failed to win concessions from majority Republicans on issues important to their party.
“Democrats pointlessly kept the government shut down for 41 days (and still counting!), purely to satisfy their squalling left flank’s need to do something to ‘resist’ President Donald Trump,” the editorial began.
“It doesn’t matter that they’re near-powerless because they lost last year’s elections. That is, ‘saving democracy’ never had anything to do with respecting the wishes of the majority of voters; it always meant simply ‘Stop Orange Man!’” the op-ed continued, even if it meant harming the country or impeding Trump policies that improve the lives of all Americans.
The op-ed noted, too, that the most left-wing base of the Democratic Party in Congress is livid with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), even calling for him to be removed.
“Sen. Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” postured Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
There have been rumors for months that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has been eyeing a primary challenge to Schumer, which is why he bent to her wing of the party to keep the government shuttered.
A new report from CNN says that, if she does challenge Schumer, AOC would likely win.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten reported Tuesday that Schumer’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level for any Democratic Senate leader since at least 1985.
The decline comes as some Democrats call for Schumer’s removal following the decision by eight members of his caucus to support a stopgap measure aimed at ending the nation’s longest government shutdown. Enten, speaking on CNN News Central, said Schumer’s net approval among Democrats stood at minus four, citing data from the Pew Research Center and FiveThirtyEight compiled in September.
“Look at this — least popular Dem Senate leader ever. I looked at all of the polls going all the way back since 1985. The one who has the lowest rating among Democrats is, in fact, Chuck Schumer,” Enten said during a Monday segment. “Look at this. He’s underwater with Democrats, his own party. He’s underwater. He’s at minus four points. That makes him the least popular guy for a Dem Senate leader going all the way back since the mid-1980s at least.”
Enten said Schumer’s declining popularity among Democrats stems from perceptions that he has not been aggressive enough in confronting President Trump. “Democrats want a fighter,” Enten explained, noting that polling shows a large majority of Democratic voters believe Congress is not doing enough to push back against the president.
“During the first term, it was just 46% in 2017. That’s the percentage of Democrats who said that the Dems in Congress are doing too little to oppose Donald Trump. Look at where we are now — 69%,” Enten said. “That is an increase of, get this, 23 points. The super, super duper majority of Democrats believe that the Democrats in Congress are not doing enough to oppose Donald Trump. And that, of course, is a big, big, big, huge criticism of Chuck Schumer. And that is why he is underwater.”
Enten also noted that Schumer’s approval ratings have dropped sharply in his home state of New York, citing recent polling from Siena College. He added that if Ocasio-Cortez were to challenge Schumer for his Senate seat, current data suggests she would likely win.
“Look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez running way ahead. If she decides to challenge Chuck Schumer come 2028, she’s got a real leg up on the competition,” he added. “I dare say, at this point, she would be the favorite to beat him.”
