Playing off the assumption that Harry Reid is going to get his backside handed to him on a silver platter this November, The Washington Post devotes quite a few inches of column space to floating this nightmarish, disturbing, odious, and cringe-inducing suggestion for a replacement: Chuck “Chucky” Schumer.
During his three-decade legislative career, Schumer, 59, has developed a reputation as a razor-elbowed, shamelessly self-serving, media-addicted political monster. He is also arguably the single most effective lawmaker of his generation.
Now, with confidant Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) hanging on to his seat by a thread, the Brooklynite is nearing the goal line of his long game. Succeeding Reid would make Schumer the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history and, more important for the uber-competitive politician, the first among peers.
Schumer has thrust himself into the center of issues ranging from jobs to immigration to Supreme Court hearings, but as that momentum has carried him into a more intimate arena where popularity matters, the grating architect of the current Democratic majority has become noticeably more collegial. Perhaps not coincidentally, his colleagues see him as the front-runner to be their leader.
May God have mercy on our souls.
Cross-posted on AmSpecBlog.
