Schumer And Senate Democrats Already Disappoint

One would have hoped Democrats learned something from their GOP counterparts who were able to use the tactic of total obstruction during the Obama years to keep their party motivated and unified. And I want to believe that Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are up to the task. I need to believe that Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are up to the task. But we are still in the first week of the Trump administration and there are clear signs that Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are not up to the task.

Mike Pompeo, now CIA Director, has left the door open to using torture again. According to Ron Wyden, he wants to create the largest surveillance system the US, or probably the world, has ever seen and he has lied and obfuscated to individual Senators on specific issues, essentially telling them what they want to hear. And yet, here is the list of Democratic Senators who voted to confirm Pompeo:

Joe Donnelly of Indiana

Dianne Feinstein of California

Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota

Tim Kaine of Virginia

Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

Joe Manchin of West Virginia

Claire McCaskill of Missouri

Jack Reed of Rhode Island

Brian Schatz of Hawaii

Chuck Schumer of New York

Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

Mark Warner of Virginia

Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island

At least every Democrat on the Foreign Relations committee voted against Rex Tillerson but we shall see what happens when he faces the full Senate.

Schumer and the Democrats also unveiled a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, in an apparent attempt to create a wedge between Trump and the GOP Congress. Trump met with building trade union leaders yesterday and promised them his big infrastructure investment, primarily by going ahead with DAPL and Keystone XL, while also conspicuously not committing to making sure that those construction workers get a competitive wage. It's hard to know what the this proposal really means for Democrats. If they let Trump and the GOP just pick off some their best ideas and then package it into the public/private partnership giveaway that Trump's infrastructure plan envisions and then some Democrats vote for that plan, how is that a win for Democrats? Trump will take credit for any and all jobs the infrastructure investment would create. And if they oppose the plan, the GOP and Trump will just brand Dems as hypocrites for voting against policies they actually proposed. Yes, Democrats need to have concrete policy proposals ready for the 2018 election, but no one will remember this plan by then.

If Schumer and the Democrats really want to drive a wedge between Trump and the GOP Congress, they need to throw away the traditional political playbook and play to Trump's insecurities. They should be out their calling him incompetent and impotent for not doing the things he has promised to do. He can't even fill enough positions in the federal government so that he has to retain Obama's people in those jobs. On day one, Trump promised to propose a constitutional amendment for term limits, a five-year ban on former Congressional officials lobbying, and a lifetime ban of former White House officials lobbying. Dems should be out there goading Trump, saying he is too weak to face up to the GOP Congress to actually keep those promises. If you attack his vanity and ego he will overreact. And when he does propose these actions, see how the Congressional GOP will run.

Calling on the GOP the denounce Trump's lies and voting for his unqualified cabinet nominees just isn't going to do the job. Schumer and the Democrats need to stand united against Trump and the GOP and start playing outside the box, just the way he does.