The Schumer Shutdown Is About the New York Senate Primary Next Year

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Republicans are correct to label the current budget standoff the "Schumer Shutdown." It is, indeed, Chuck Schumer who is the Senate Minority Leader, and he is making the decisions. 

Advertisement

Obviously, the Democrats hope that picking this fight with the president will redound to their benefit, about which they may be very mistaken, but time will tell. Schumer is selling the tactic to his members as a political winner, whether it is or not. 

But for Schumer, the need for a shutdown is much more personal. He is almost certainly facing a primary challenge from AOC, who is also considering a run for president, and the Senator from E-coli needs to show some spine to shore up his left-wing base.

AOC has made it no secret that she wants credit for the shutdown, even inviting Senators to her office to negotiate a "solution" to the standoff. She is being portrayed, rightly, as a power broker in the Democratic Party, and the current gerontocracy is not at all pleased by this. 

Advertisement

In this exchange, the dirty little secret @SpeakerPelosi dances around: The socialist wing of the Democrat party hold the influence cards right now.

Truth be told, @AOC controls the pulse and direction in the party. Most Democrats follow her lead instead of @RepJeffries

Including @SenSchumer, who is scared to death he’ll lose his Leadership seat to her.

The capitulation to an avowed socialist —the word “Democratic” is silent—the first rung on the ladder to communism, should alarm Americans. 

@TheDemocrats  once prided themselves on being the party of moderation and civil rights. 

Today, they are led by perky demagogues whose guiding principle is not fairness or consistency but raw ideology. 

If a victim on either side of the political wire does not advance their agenda, their life and memory are expendable.

Both Chuck and Nan know it.

I don't know that the Democrats have been all that moderate in the past, but they certainly have taken a radical left turn in recent years, and all the ideological momentum is on the left. Even minor deviations, such as musing that men and women might have biological differences, are now harshly punished, as is wondering about whether deporting pedophiles, human traffickers, or drug cartel members might be a good idea. 

Advertisement

There are plenty of Democratic Party voters who aren't all that into communism, but Democratic politicians know that they already have those voters in the bag. Their concern is ensuring that they can keep their sinecures, and the real threat to their power comes from the left. Schumer will get every center-left vote in any case, should he make it to the general election ballot. He can't be sure he will ever get a shot at them because his fate is in the hands of people who think AOC is the moral leader of the party. 

In fact, the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says, “The House CR is just about as clean of a CR as you could get.”

Then came the devastating closer: Cuomo rolled a clip from last March where Chuck Schumer admitted that shutting down the government is much worse than passing a continuing resolution.

“So what changed [with Schumer]?” Cuomo asked. “AOC eyeing his Senate seat.”

I hate to admit this, but this takedown from Cuomo was respectfully savage.


Advertisement

So while Chuck Schumer is, indeed, the author of this shutdown showdown, he is doing so because he is worried that AOC will pull that trigger on the political gun she has to his back.

The Democrats are holding the country hostage largely because Schumer is scared of a socialist bartender who is drunk on her power. 

BONUS CONTENT:

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.


Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | October 01, 2025
Advertisement