A few hours after posting yesterday’s edition of the Editorial Board, in which I said the Senate Democrats should not cave to the demands of blackmail, Chuck Schumer took to the floor and said that he, as one of his party’s leading figures, would cave to the demands of blackmail.

After his speech, Schumer went on Chris Hayes’ show on MSNBC to explain himself. I invite you to watch it yourself. Come to your own conclusions. Mine begins with this: what is Schumer getting in return?

I don’t mean anything corrupt. I only mean this is politics.

Schumer is trading something for something, right?

The continuing resolution, which was passed by the House this week and would keep the government running until September, would almost certainly accelerate the president’s dismantling of the government, a process that, according to the country’s largest public employee union, has been happening since Inauguration Day.

Everett B. Kelly, the leader of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a letter to senators Wednesday that, “a widespread government shutdown has been underway since January 20 and will continue to spread whether senators vote yes or no on HR 1968.”

HR 1968 sets in stone the administration’s crime spree – decimating agencies without due process, cutting off funding that has already been appropriated and signed into law. With it, the administration “will dramatically expand its terminations of federal workers and double down on its campaign to make federal agencies fail, because there will be nothing left to stop the administration,” Kelly said. And it robs the constitutional authority of the Congress. Indeed, the White House has said that even if the bill passes, it will “impound” that money – which is to say, steal it – if it pays for things that the president does not like.

In short, the Democrats can vote for it, after which Trump will act like a criminal president, or they can vote against it, after which Trump will act like a criminal president. That’s not a choice, of course. That’s blackmail. And yesterday, Chuck Schumer said he would cave to its demands, making way for the rest of his caucus to follow his lead.

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During yesterday’s interview with Hayes, Schumer said, over and over, that he must make this choice, because the alternative is much worse. He said a government shutdown is exactly what the president wants, because at that point, Trump can redefine what counts as “essential services” and cut the federal government even closer to the bone.

That’s probably going to convince some Democrats, but I’m not alone in doubting his premise. Schumer did not explain why the House Republicans voted to keep the government open if Trump and Elon Musk want it to shut down. I’m not alone in wondering why, if Schumer really believes the CR is the least-bad choice, he didn’t just say that from the start, instead of trying to fool us into thinking he might lead a proper resistance with phony demands for a one-month extension.

But even if we accept his reasons at face-value, we must ask:

What are the Democrats getting in return?

The answer is nothing.

Not once is that interview with Hayes did Schumer say that even though it’s a terrible bill, even though he does not want to vote for it, even though it’s going to help the authoritarians do what they’re already doing (all his words, by the way, see for yourself), at least we’re getting something for the irreversible sacrifice we are making.

In a separate post, Hayes said, “the institutional Democratic Party” – as represented by Schumer – “is guided by an almost pathological level of conflict-avoidance in almost every direction. ‘What can we do to make the least number of people mad?’ is just a bankrupt way to operate.”

But I think the pathology is deeper than “conflict-avoidance.” It’s the fear of being held accountable by someone somewhere, I don’t know who exactly, who requires the Democrats to take responsibility for the bad choices made by the Republicans. It’s a deep-seated sense of obligation that the Democrats are the only adults in the room, and that if they don’t act like adults, things will get much worse than they are.

That Schumer believes in his bones that the Democrats must save the Republicans from themselves, and thus save the country from the Republicans, is reflected in his comments about a possible shutdown.

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“There’s no exit ramp,” Schumer said. “Anyone who wants the shutdown, I have asked: ‘Well, how do we get out of it?’ Guess who it’s up to to get out of it? Trump, Elon Musk, DOGE. It’s two bad [choices]. I respect people who don’t want to vote for the CR. It’s awful. But with the alternative being a government shutdown, that’s even worse.”

To which you might say, well, yes! It is up to Trump! And if he does to the government after a shutdown what he’s already doing to it before a shutdown, then whatever happens is on him and him alone.

Yes, lots of good people are going to suffer, because the administration is evil. But the Senate Democrats, as I said yesterday, cannot save them, nor should they try, because they cannot hold accountable the man responsible for their suffering if they themselves are complicit in it.

But, as I said, none of that is apparent if you believe it’s your obligation (Schumer’s word) to do whatever’s in your power to mitigate the suffering that arises as a consequence of terrible choices, which is to say, when you believe it’s your job to take responsibility for the GOP.

I say that I don’t know who exactly is demanding this from institutional Democrats like Schumer, but I kinda do. It’s the party’s donors, who are concentrated in the northeast. They do not get their political news from plucky indie newsletters! They get it from the members of the mainstream media, who in turn tend to reflect their values. They want the Democrats to bargain with the Republicans, not necessarily fight them, as serious combat would probably jeopardize their interests.

I don’t think Schumer is taking direction from anyone, not necessarily, but I do think he takes his cues from the mainstream media, which understands subconsciously that the Republicans under Trump cannot be reasoned with. So, in times of real crisis, such as a shutdown or a pandemic, reporters assume that the Republicans are hopeless but that the Democrats are not. They assume that the Democrats will be the adults in the room, and because institutional Democrats interpret this assumption as something mainstream voters want, they deliver. 

Even if it means getting nothing in return.

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AOC: It is almost unthinkable why Senate Democrats would vote to to hand the few pieces of leverage that we have away for free when we've been sent here to protect social security, protect medicaid, and protect medicare.

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T00:16:15.863Z

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Democrats like New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez do not operate in the same infosystem. They are (much) younger. They understand 21st-century digital communications. Therefore, they do not take their cues from the mainstream media. Therefore, they do not see any value in saving the Republicans from themselves. Therefore, they are outraged, and bewildered, by the fact that the leader of the Senate Democrats willingly gives away his only leverage for free.

As such, they are more in touch with the base of the party, which is the only thing standing in the way of Trump and full-on complicity among the Democrats. They understand, as AOC said, “there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal” in reaction to Schumer’s announcement. AOC told CNN that she and other (younger) Democrats are “texting, calling, sending carrier pigeons,” to mobilize the base against Schumer, and the effort is making so much noise that even Nancy Pelosi is hearing it.

In a press release, she doesn’t mention Schumer but says “this false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable. … America has experienced a Trump shutdown before – but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse. Democrats must not buy into this false choice. They must fight back for a better way.”

The deadline is tonight at midnight.