Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are poised to become two of the most powerful people in the country: Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader. And despite Democrats’ generational blue tsunami of election wins Tuesday night, by Wednesday they made clear they don’t understand their mandate.
The American people gave Democrats the mandate to legislate and investigate. Any House or Senate leader who cannot manage both constitutional responsibilities should not be a congressional leader.
“The American people don’t want us to get even,” Leader Jeffries told MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” Wednesday morning, as if holding Trump and his administration accountable is akin to retribution. “They want us to get things done on their behalf, because life is way too expensive.”
“We ran on affordability. We won on affordability, and now it’s our job to govern on affordability,” he added. “As a matter of fact, we made clear that we’re fighting for an affordable America.”
“That’s our mission,” Jeffries said. “That’s our responsibility, and we’re gonna work hard to make that happen.”
Jeffries did mention accountability — once — and handed the job to a committee. Democrats on House Oversight, he said, would “follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution, let the chips fall where they may, and make sure that wrongdoers are being held accountable.” Affordability is his mission. Accountability is a task for someone else. Before the election, he told Fox News Sunday his “top priority” is the cost of living. He did not say that Democrats protect and defend the Constitution by holding those who don’t to account.
Professor Timothy Snyder, an expert on the Soviet Union and the Holocaust, explained Democrats’ massive mandate.
“Take the victory,” he said. “Appreciate the victory. Turn the victory, turn the victory into power. Don’t worry so much about what they’re gonna do to you. Worry about what you’re gonna do to them, or, more importantly, think about what you’re gonna do for them.”
“Think about how you’re gonna transform this mandate, which comes from all the people who voted for you, but also from all the people who chose not to vote against you,” he added. “A mandate which is chiefly about ending corruption, ending unfairness, a mandate which has to do with getting money out of politics, which has to do with bringing down oligarchy, reducing inequality. That’s what we’re here for.”
Russian chess grandmaster turned political activist Garry Kasparov, responding to Jeffries’ remarks, delivered this condemnation:
“Now the GOP are clear losers thanks to Trump’s incompetence and corruption, but without new leadership it’s hard to imagine the Democrats doing what is necessary to clean house with this overwhelming mandate,” he wrote. “Democracy without justice is theater.”
Chuck Schumer also made clear he does not quite grasp his marching orders.
Even before the polls closed on Tuesday, Schumer acquiesced. Asked if he will hold Trump accountable or work with him, the Minority Leader replied, “We’ll see if he can actually change his ways, and join. But whether he does or not — because I don’t think he will — we are going to keep fighting for the people and doing what they’ve asked us to do.”
What the people have asked — nay, demanded — is Democrats investigate and legislate.
On Wednesday, Schumer told MS NOW that Democrats should investigate Trump, but called affordability the priority. For the expected incoming Senate Majority Leader, accountability ranks a distant second.
Later Wednesday, Schumer doubled down, calling for “some investigations,” but insisting the “number one” priority is “reducing costs, ending corruption.”
Perhaps sensing the reluctance of top Democrats to carry out their mandate, The Lincoln Project on Wednesday reminded them of their responsibilities. They wrote: “Don’t fuck it up, Dems.”
Attorney Tristan Snell, who led New York’s case against Trump University, offered this take:
Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton explained the stakes on Wednesday.
“Last night, Americans made a clear call for accountability and affordability,” the former secretary of state wrote. “A body politic cannot recover until its harms have been treated and its wounds have been healed. Crimes against our people and our Constitution must be answered for. The historic abuses of the last two years must be prevented from happening again.”
“American families should be able to thrive, not just survive,” she continued. “Every child should have the chance to live up to his or her full potential. The American Dream must be more than a mirage.”
“I am confident Democrats can deliver both, and much more,” she added. “The post-Trump era begins now.”
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Remove them
Ditch them both !