The far-left activist group Indivisible, part of the 50501 movement, is throwing a full tantrum and demanding Senate Democrats fire Chuck Schumer and replace him with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen. Because apparently the left’s answer to losing is to find someone even further left. So in other words, the group wants a Van Hollen hostile takeover.
Indivisible didn’t mince words in their statement. “Schumer’s second massive capitulation to the Trump regime has shown Trump that he can continue to plow forward with his authoritarian agenda without meaningful opposition from Congress,” the group wrote. They also claimed his moves showed that “inflicting pain on Americans helps him achieve his agenda.” Wild stuff from a group that thinks the solution to every problem is a louder megaphone and a more radical senator.
So who’s the great progressive hope they want to install? Chris Van Hollen, a name most Americans would draw a complete blank on. Senate Democratic leadership fight Van Hollen was first elected to the Senate back in 2016, he previously ran the Democrats’ Senate fundraising arm, and that’s about where the resume gets thin. Limited leadership experience is a generous way to put it.
But here’s why the activist crowd loves him. Van Hollen has signaled he’s happy to let the far-left voices in the Democratic Party pull up a chair at the grown-up table. He did push back on some of the wilder planks from the Democratic Socialists of America, like abolishing jails and eliminating the U.S. Senate entirely. Good to know he draws the line somewhere. But Van Hollen still said the Democratic Party’s conversation should include “all the voices,” which in today’s Democrat Party means handing the microphone to people who think America is irredeemably evil.
So the progressive left’s big plan after getting shellacked is to drag the party even further into the fever swamps and hand leadership to a low-profile senator who won’t say no to the abolish-everything crowd. Brilliant strategy, guys. Keep it up.
What happens next is anyone’s guess, but Senate Democrats will have to decide whether they want to follow the loudest voices in the room or figure out why voters keep walking out on them. If history is any guide, they’ll pick the loudest voices, lose again, and blame everyone but themselves.
