‘A 90’S DEMOCRAT’ — One of the most enduring and hackneyed lines in American politics is the most dangerous place in Washington is between Chuck Schumer and a television camera. Long before Schumer had risen to become the top Democrat in the Senate, let alone even been elected to the Senate, the New Yorker was known for his zeal in pursuing earned media. His Sunday news conferences became landmarks and occasionally punchlines as he created content for reporters often focusing on local concerns that would be easily digestible for the 11 o’clock news with simple solutions that the government could take to address them. Who can forget his public crusade against Four Loko , the highly caffeinated malt liquor drink which was all the rage in the early Obama era? Schumer has continued to be a ubiquitous presence on television lately, only with a different end game. He’s undertaken a wide ranging media tour in the weeks since he enraged his party’s grassroots by voting for a continuing resolution that would keep the government open, and its success or failure could determine his fate as Democratic Senate leader. In an effort to deal with the intense blowback to his vote — and the calls for him to step down from his post — the New York Democrat has been making his case across television networks, appearing on cable news, Sunday shows and even The View to defend his decision and argue that keeping the government open was the lesser of two evils. As one former Schumer aide, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly, said, “it reminded me of those old days where the idea was, just get him on everywhere you possibly can, because he had, he has this sort of conviction that if he can just explain what he’s thinking or what he’s doing, people will be persuaded.” The aide cited a parallel to the PR strategy that Democrat Pete Buttigieg used during his long-shot presidential campaign where a constant array of media appearances elevated him from obscure Indiana mayor to the winner of the Iowa caucuses. For Ezra Levin, the co-executive director of Indivisible, the grassroots progressive group which has called on Schumer to step down after supporting the continuing resolution, the Senate Democratic leader had fundamentally misunderstood the moment. Levin argued that Schumer “doesn’t understand how the 21st century media ecosystem works, he’s fighting like a 1990s Democrat.” In other words, like Four Loko, Schumer’s model of flooding the media zone is a relic of the aughts. In Levin’s view — and in the view of many progressives — there are two leadership models, “either a charismatic effective spokesman who rallies the troops who convinces people on sidelines” or a savvy strategist and Schumer is neither. In particular, he contrasted Schumer with Mitch McConnell, Schumer’s longtime foil as leader of Senate Republicans. “McConnell is terrifyingly effective,” said Levin. In contrast, “what we saw from Schumer not just last week but over the last several months, is a non strategy of rolling over and playing dead.” Another former Schumer aide echoed the McConnell analogy, but for different reasons. “The [conservative] base hates McConnell and the Republican side until he gets a judge confirmed, and the [progressive] base is frustrated with Chuck until he shepherds through the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan, the infrastructure bill, and all of a sudden they’re all saying that he’s the second coming of LBJ, yeah. And then you get into a shutdown fight, that’s not a winnable fight.” The former aide paraphrased Shakespeare in describing Schumer’s situation as “heavy lies the head that wears the crown.” Anthony Weiner, a former Schumer staffer who later replaced him in Congress after Schumer’s election to the Senate, observed that the Democratic leader has been in this position before. “I would have versions of this conversation with Chuck when I was in the House and he was in the Senate. And I would be campaigning for Medicare for all, and I would be campaigning for the public option, and I would be describing myself as from the fighting wing of the Democratic Party,” he said. Weiner recalled Schumer “climbing up my ass over that saying, ‘the implication I don’t fight is insulting, and it’s wrong. My job is to fight for a bigger thing and you have the benefit of being the guy on MSNBC.’ And my answer was, ‘yes, I’m not the fucking majority leader, and I’m an ambitious guy who cares a lot about the issue.’ And I freely admit, and I would say this, and I really admit that I had the ability and the latitude to say and do things that maybe he didn’t and he argues he was being the adult in the room.” The question now is whether being “the adult in the room” will pay off. As one former Schumer aide pointed out, “what he’s learned from his experience in the New York media market is to communicate your message to as many fucking people as you can. And if that means old school, go old school, if that means new school and do social that means that.” The problem is the medium isn’t relevant if the Democrats voters simply don’t like the message. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at bjacobs@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Bencjacobs .
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