Quotes, Radio

WNYC: Chuck Schumer and the Art of Managing Democrats

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I spoke with John O’Connor of WNYC for a segment on Schumer’s stewardship of a purple-tinged caucus in the age of Trump.

Liam Donovan, a former Senate GOP fundraiser who now works for a trade association, said Schumer has nothing to lose if Manchin or other Democrats occasionally break ranks.

“I think he’d gladly let them do whatever they needed to remain in the chamber.”

Donovan said the first eight months have been relatively easy for Schumer because Democrats are united against Trump’s immigration and health-care policies. Donovan said Schumer, who is not known for being camera-shy, has also helped himself by keeping a lower profile than expected.

“Schumer’s done what he needs to do, but he’s avoided becoming the boogeyman that Nancy Pelosi represents,” Donovan said.

But Schumer has also been pushed by activists eager to challenge Trump. Several times Schumer has been pushed by the left — to oppose more Trump nominees, to filibuster Gorsuch and to wage procedural warfare against the health-care bill in an effort to slow down the Senate. Jentleson said Schumer acted when he needed to.

“The measure of the leader is not whether they occasionally need to be pushed or not,” he said. “The measure is do they listen and do they respond?”

Donovan said that energy helps Schumer.

“The activist base of the Democratic Party is incredibly motivated right now and are holding everyone’s feet to the fire,” he said. “So staying together is not really optional at this point.”

Senate Democrats have raised nearly $29 million dollars for the 2018 elections so far — slightly more than Republicans. And neither side has ramped up their spending yet.

The votes will get harder  soon, Donovan said. When they come back,  Congress has things they have to get done — like passing spending bills and raising the debt ceiling. Tough negotiations require  party discipline. And that means Schumer may have  to ask red-state Democrats to stick with the team, even if people back home might not like it.

The full piece (and segment) can be found here.

What I tried to impress (but didn’t make the cut) was that Schumer’s chore would have been much more difficult if not for the President’s initial choices out of the gate. To wit:

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The Guardian: Heller, Tark and the Nevada Senate Race

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I spoke to The Guardian‘s Ben Jacobs for Lauren Gambino‘s article on the state of play in Nevada’s US Senate race.

Liam Donovan, a former operative at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said Tarkanian is less a threat to Heller in the primary as he is an urgent distraction from what promises to be a grueling general election race. Donovan noted that the Nevada Republican is “already among the only targets that Democrats have and is going to have a lot thrown at him”.

Read the full piece here.

Tarkanian’s entry into the race is hardly a good thing for Heller. Anything with the potential to drain resources and take your eye of the general election ball is counterproductive. That said, Tarkanian is a 5-time loser with a trail of personal baggage and debt, one who just happens to have a famous last name. And with Heller falling into line on health care after a shot across the bow from Trump political allies, even the predicate for Tark’s candidacy is underwhelming. Short of unanticipated White House involvement I suspect it will look a lot like the 2016 race where fellow retread Susan Angle tried a comeback and failed to get traction. In the end Senator Heller has more to fear from Trump-related political tension and the state’s dreaded “None of These Candidates” line than he does Danny Tarkanian.

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GQ: What If Mike Pence Becomes President?

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I indulged GQ‘s Jason Zengerle for his look into a hypothetical Pence administration.

In fact, one can imagine many of the big G.O.P. agenda items—from health care to a massive tax-reform plan—would likely remain out of Pence’s grasp, just as they have for Trump. “There might be reasons to root for a President Pence,” says the G.O.P. strategist Liam Donovan, “but the idea that you’re going to pass tax cuts or anything else is incredibly naive. A Pence presidency won’t send things back to normal.”

Read the whole thing here.

I’ve touched on this before. Bottom line– Trump is not going anywhere, and even if he somehow did, things don’t magically go back to normal for his successor. There are no circumstances under which Trump leaves before his term is up and the legislative landscape somehow improves.

 

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