The Whole Senate Is Complicit

Plus; 40% off sale!

First, I want to let you all know that there’s a 40% off sale this week on annual subs. That means subscriptions are just $30/year.

As I’ve mentioned a time or two, Everything Is Horrible is completely dependent on reader donations. I try not to paywall much because I’d like people to read what I write. But that means I’m really counting on folks who read to contribute out of the goodness of their hearts and because they want me to be able to continue writing. So…I hope some of you will take advantage of this sale to keep the newsletter going at a bargain price. (And if you are already a contributor, thank you! You’ve made this post possible!

--

The Senate Caves

And now…on to the ugliness in the Senate.

As you probably know, last week the Democratic minority in the Senate spinelessly caved. Republicans needed Democratic votes to break the filibuster and allow them to pass a continuing resolution. The resolution funds the federal government. It also punitively and horribly slashes Washington DC local government. And it effectively surrenders Democrats’ last chance to demand concessions from the GOP and try to get Elon Musk and Trump to stop illegally and unconstitutionally sequestering funds.

Democrats had a chance to try to fight for their constituents. House Democrats voted unanimously to try to stave off fascism, even though many in Trumpy seats worried that a government shutdown could be blamed on them, hurting their election chances. They sacrificed personal ambition because they believed fighting fascism was vital. Senate Democrats, in contrast, shrugged and walked away from the battle, leaving their colleagues out to dry. This is why the House Democrats are furious.

It's true that most of the anger is being (rightly) directed at Chuck Schumer, who personally voted to pass the CR, and who seems to have whipped votes to ensure its passage. Secondarily, people are angry at the ten Democrats who crossed the aisle to break the filibuster in the name of giving Trump and Musk everything they want.

The rot unfortunately goes deeper than Schumer or than those ten Democrats. There’s reason to believe that the Senate as a whole wanted the CR to pass—and that dissenters chose collegiality over their constituents and the fate of the country.

The Spineless Caucus

There were probably some Senators who really did not want the CR to pass, and voted no out of conscience. But there were also probably Senators who wanted to be seen as voting no (to avoid a primary challenge) but actually wanted it to pass (because they are worried they’d be blamed for a shutdown.)

It’s difficult to know for sure which is which—though, for instance, Ruben Gallego in Arizona often casts conservative votes, and waited till the last minute to come out against the CR. That suggests that he was holding his vote in reserve to see if it was needed to overcome the filibuster.

That may sound conspiratorial. But it’s pretty clear, looking at the ten Dem quislings, that the vote was carefully orchestrated. Most of the votes for breaking the filibuster came from blue state Democrats in safe seats who are not up for reelection in 2026, like Brian Schatz of Hawaii or Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Gary Peters of Michigan voted to break the filibuster; he’s already said he’s retiring in 2026. Dick Durbin of Illinois also voted to break the filibuster; he is 80 and is very likely planning to retire next year rather than run for reelection.

Moreover, and in general, the Senate leadership is chosen by the caucus because they can be trusted to do what the caucus wants. If Schumer had defied the majority of the caucus by voting for the CR, the caucus would quickly eject him. The Senate minority leader job is a leading from behind position. A minority leader who goes rogue is not going to be the minority leader for long.

There are many calls for Schumer to resign. But basically none of them are coming from Senators. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who has been one of the Senate’s most outspoken anti-Trump voices, said this Sunday that “Senator Schumer certainly can lead this caucus, but we need to have a conversation inside the caucus about whether we are willing to stand up to Republicans.”

That’s a statement that carefully avoids criticizing Schumer. Instead, it affirms faith in Schumer’s leadership and suggests that maybe the Senate as a whole needs to think about taking a more confrontational stance against fascism. Or, in other words, it tacitly admits that the Senate Democrats, as a whole, chose flaccid collaboration with fascists. Schumer just implemented their flaccidity.

Murphy’s Collegial Objections Are Also Bullshit

I don’t think Murphy is lying here. I think he wanted to block the CR. I think he disagrees with Schumer’s approach.

The problem is that he also pretty clearly thinks that these disagreements over strategy are just…disagreements over strategy. Collaborating with MAGA to pass a continuing resolution, spitting on House Democrats, creating elaborate schemes to fool constituents into thinking you’re resisting—those are, in Murphy’s view, not ideal. But they aren’t bad enough for him to criticize Schumer. They weren’t bad enough for him to withhold unanimous consent and push the vote out a week so that federal worker’s unions and Indivisible could have had a few more days to pressure Schumer and Democratic holdouts.

Schumer and Fetterman and Durbin surrendered to MAGA. But Murphy—and Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren, and Patty Murray—surrendered to Schumer and Fetterman and Durbin. The Senate Democrats had an internal debate, the surrender side won, and the fight side decided that collegiality was more important than fighting. Which means that they all surrendered, and no one really wanted to fight.

What now?

Democratic Senators appear to overwhelmingly, and even unanimously, support Chuck Schumer. None of them have yet criticized him openly. All of them collaborated in deceiving constituents.

That leaves voters and would be antifascists in a difficult position. The ten Democrats who voted for the CR should absolutely face primary challenges. But, again, they were all specifically chosen to take the vote in order to avoid near-term primary challenges. Primarying other Democrats who were complicit wouldn’t be a bad idea. But it’s likely going to be difficult to generate enthusiasm for tossing them out.

Probably the best move would be to force Schumer (and Durbin. and Gillibrand) out of leadership. Indivisible is trying to organize a campaign to dump Schumer. New York House representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who appears to speak for the House as a whole on this matter, has also been harshly critical of Schumer, though she hasn’t quite called for him to step down that I’ve seen.

Forcing Schumer out would be a message to Schumer, of course. But more importantly it would be a message to the caucus that their bullshit won’t stand

The problem is that the caucus has shown pretty clearly that it wants to stand in its bullshit. Massive, furious, and sustained constituent pressure did not convince Senators to block the CR. I don’t know that it will lead them to dump Schumer either.

But, as Senate Democrats have demonstrated, you lose 100% of the battles you surrender. Call your Senators and write your Senators and demand that they dump Schumer and the current useless leadership. Tell them you hold them responsible for caving to Trump, no matter how they voted. Tell them that as long as Schumer is in leadership, you will support primary challenges against anyone. Tell them you won’t be donating to Senate Democrats as long as Schumer is in leadership. (Oh, and Schumer is going on a book tour; if he shows up in your neighborhood, go out and yell at him.)

It sucks that we have to fight our own party as well as the fascists. But if our own party collaborates with fascists, then, yes, we have to fight them too.

Before you go

Again, I am only able to write posts like this with your support. Subscriptions are 40% off now, so only $30/year. Please consider becoming a contributor so I can continue to scribble for you!