Top Dem senator comes out against Schumer for majority leader: ‘Same old, same old’

By Tom Wrobleski | wrobleski@siadvance.comA top Democratic senator has come out against having Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) as the majority leader when the Dems take control of the Senate in January. Sen. Bernie Sanders told host Jon Stewart on “The Weekly Show” podcast that Schumer represents the status quo and that the Dems need new leadership, per Mediaite. Stewart asked the independent Vermont lawmaker, “This gets into and it’s a much larger debate and it is very heated about whether Chuck Schumer should continue to be the majority leader of the Senate when it goes back over in January into that session, Hakeem Jeffries as well. Is he too tied to status quo solutions that maybe haven’t worked in the past? Is he too tied to the kinds of parliamentary protocols of the Senate and too deferential?”Sanders related that he and Schumer both grew up in Brooklyn and attended the same elementary school. He went on to call Schumer a “very nice” and hard-working person but said that Schumer still needs to be replaced.“I think Chuck’s views, you know when you talk about status quo politics, that’s what you’re talking about in terms of Chuck. Do I think we need new leadership which is going to move the Democratic Party in a much more vigorous way to protect the needs of working families? Yes, I do. Absolutely,” Sanders said.“His institutional knowledge is helpful, but if it’s not helpful to utilize to move the system urgently, then what are we doing?” Stewart said.When asked who he could see in the majority leader role, Sanders mentioned Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has said he is open to challenging Schumer. “People are sick and tired of the status quo. We cannot have leadership in the Democratic Party who are going to do the same old, same old,” Sanders said. “We need to stand up for working families, take on the big money interests and improve life for ordinary people. So that is what I think we have got to do. You ask their names. Chris Van Hollen is one guy who has indicated he might be interested in running for leader. If he chooses to do that, I will support him.”Schumer has said that he is confident he will be elected majority leader and that he is not the problem within the Democratic Party. A 1987 graduate of Fordham University's College at Lincoln Center, Tom began working at the Staten Island Advance in 1995. The native Staten Islander started his career at the Advance as a community board...