this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2026
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DISCLAIMER: I'M NOT FROM USA.

From the outside looking in, it seems like at least half of the inaction of the "left" is because ol' Chucky just hinders everything.

"We wrote a strong letter" was probably the first time I actually, genuinely didn't understand how he's still the leader of the party.

Since then I've done some digging, and it seems like the guy is actually quite delusional. Not even his imaginary friends vote for him, which is kinda sad. Understandable though.

Now he's talking about voting on whether they should block the military action in Venezuela. The ongoing one. The one that's been planned publicly for months.

So, how does he still have his job?

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[–] jontree255@lemmy.world 95 points 1 month ago (5 children)

The Democrats are cowards and fucking terrible politicians. They’re also owned by big money as much as the Republicans.

The entire US Congress except like 4 people needs to fucking go. Not just Schumer.

[–] EarWorm@lemmy.world 41 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That's a fair point. Almost seems like a two-party system is fundamentally flawed.

[–] jontree255@lemmy.world 54 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yeah it’s part of the problem. I think it’s exacerbated by the fact that the US basically legalized bribery with Citizens United.

[–] devolution@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Fairness doctrine being abolished was the end of America.

[–] jontree255@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

It’s one bullet point on a long list that got us here. Installing a Christian nationalist dictatorship has been the right’s goal for 50+ years.

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

People give the fairness doctrine too much credit; First it’s partially responsible for the current mentality of all opinions matter no matter how stupid. But more importantly it only ever applied to broadcast TV and Radio, not cable or satellite, or the Internet. So it never would have applied to Fox News, for instance.

[–] fishy@lemmy.today 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's not a silver bullet, but it was a very useful way to ensure people didn't become radicalized by just listening to one side lie constantly. There's a reason why Reagan and Nixon wanted it gone, and we're living through the repercussions of not having it now; radicalized far right extremists everywhere and in control of the government. Also, we could have made updates to expand it or introduce new legislation to curb extremism on other platforms.

Definitely far from perfect but better than our current reality.

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

On the contrary, lots of people were radicalized by hearing people like new age healers given the same airtime as medical doctors.

It’s taken 20 years to fail at making the publicly funded internet a utility. The purpose of the doctrine was to govern publicly owned airwaves. I strongly believe it would have been and is impossible to expand the FCCs jurisdiction to include privately owned networks. I also strongly believe that the current administration would abuse the fuck out of these regulations.

[–] fishy@lemmy.today 2 points 1 month ago

Yet here we are, with some people believing vaccines cause autism and the far right extremists to boot. I personally would've taken more idiots harming themselves with their new age junk than what we got.

Don't misunderstand, I agree it absolutely wouldn't have been a catch all and even in its time it lacked the teeth to do much but at least it was something. It combined with a stronger education system could've prevented a lot of what we're dealing with now.

[–] thelivefive@startrek.website 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

More legalized. Lobbying was already legalized bribery. Citizens United was just them making sure they get to pick who they bribe.

[–] OshagHennessey@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

And also allowed them to bribe anonymously, don't forget that very important part.

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

I think it's not even the fundamental flaws that make it so bad (they could theoretically be worked-around or fixed), I think at some point the system was captured by a group that to this day ensures both parties remain ineffectual and operate towards the same war goals.

Saying "the whole thing is a pantomine" seems like a lazy throwaway remark from some stranger you meet at a bar or your disillusioned uncle, and yet it's exactly the conclusion you have to come to. We are controlled by the illusion of democracy and illusion of own influence

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[–] morphballganon@lemmy.world 38 points 1 month ago

The simplest explanation is that the oligarchs have assured him he'll continue getting his salary if he continues being ineffective.

[–] the_abecedarian@piefed.social 36 points 1 month ago

because the capitalists like him there

[–] Sharkticon@lemmy.zip 34 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Fun fact Chuck Schumer doesn't even pretend that he works in favor of his Democratic constituents. No Chuck Schumer's entire career is based off of serving the needs of the Baileys. A fictional couple he invented that he bases all of his ideals rhetoric and legislation around. They are Republican. Look this up if you never heard before it's the weirdest fucking thing.

[–] EarWorm@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Oh yeah, Baileys are the imaginary friends I was referring to. Thanks for reminding me!

[–] Sumocat@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago (2 children)

His job is U.S. Senator, which he holds because he received the most votes from the state of New York. “Senate Minority Leader” is a position he holds because no one else wants it. It’s not a Constitutional position, like Speaker of the House or President of the Senate, and the U.S. Senate is a house of equals. Being “minority leader”bestows no added power, only responsibility for representing his party when negotiating with the other party. If another Senate Democrat wants to be responsible for negotiating with a senile man-child, they can call for a vote whenever the minority caucus meets.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

And like Pelosi, he received the most votes from the state of New York because, "That's our guy!" We gotta fight these people where they live.

Mitch McConnell had the game down pat. He'd campaign like hell in Kentucky, be damned what the rest of the US thought of him. He's shaken the hands of 10s of thousands of little old ladies who say, "That Mitch sure is a nice man!" (got that last bit from an article about how he worked his campaigns, not making it up)

Jesus, if lemmy only knew about Orrin Hatch or Robert Byrd (KKK member!). 🙄 Those dirtbags lasted for decade after decade after decade by appealing to their constituents, not the US as a whole.

Former House Speaker Tip O'Neill: "All politics is local."

Side note, Mamdani has this game figured out! Except he went out and listened to his voters, of all sorts. Fascinating man to watch. No talking points shoe-horned in as replies, no sound bites, legitimate listening skills and answers. Bill Clinton was such a master. We will watch his career with great interest!

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

which he holds because he received the most votes from the state of New York

Technically?

[–] porcoesphino@mander.xyz 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Technically, he's in office because he won an election. But he did that by being in the pocket of numerous lobbies and in the good graces of the Democrats' campaign operation. If you don't do those things, your odds of winning are vanishingly small. So he's borderline untouchable.

[–] porcoesphino@mander.xyz 8 points 1 month ago

Oh, the other Democrat candidates withdrew and no other parties are popular:

https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_New_York,_2022

I would expect lobbies to play a decent part in this but I'm not sure I've seen the mechanics fleshed out.

As a voter in New York, what are the options coming up to the next election that help remove him and impede the far right groups?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

How did Mamdani take NYC against a filthy-rich opponent (Cuomo) with literal billionaires and the national conservative machine standing against him?

AOC was a bartender and took her House seat, untouchable now.

Obama was a nobody from Illinois. People heard him speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (me included!) and jumped onboard.

Clinton took the Presidency as an unheard-of governor of a hick state nobody cared about. And a Democrat in that state no less!

They all did it without big money, against wealthier opponents and won by talking to their people and listening. The formula works.

[–] niktemadur@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The fact of the matter is that if Democrats had been elected, there would have been no invasion of Venezuela, nor Iraq two decades ago.

Let us not kid ourselves. Non-voting eligible American voters let trump take the reins again, with control of Congress and the Supreme Court, knowing he could pull shit like this at any moment, yet still sat on their lazy asses TWO Election Days, fondling their purity, bOtH pArTiEs ArE tHe SaMe LoL, and now they're like... "C'mon Schumer... dazzle me and my most excellent purity over here!"

Elections have huge consequences, so spare us the righteous outrage. Whatever blood gets spilled, it's also on those soft, tender, lily-white hands of non-voting deadweights.
Also, twice is a pattern: "Vote for a woman?!! Me?!! When PIGS FLY!!!"

[–] OshagHennessey@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Correct. Instead, dems would have declined to roll back any of those laws "so we have something to campaign on next time" until voters get fed up with their ineffectiveness and vote R next time. THEN, we get the invasions.

[–] ThomasWilliams@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Biden increased sanctions on Venezuela.

During the Venezuelan election, when the US-backed opposition leader said that he wouldn't give the oilfields back to the US, Biden had their financial support cut off and arrested opposition members living in the US.

The Venezuelan policy is bipartisan.

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[–] OshagHennessey@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

When you consider that the Democrats' job is to offer only token resistance and lose elections, you realize he's doing his "job" very well.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

It’s pretty simple really he gets money from Israel and the oligarchs to pretend he’s opposed to things in the weakest and least convincing way possible. He’s doing a good job at the job of pretending to be opposed to facism while preventing any movement left so he continues to get paid to do that.

[–] Boiglenoight@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is, sadly, how it seems to be. Both he and Hakeem Jeffries seem to obstruct real opposition from the Democratic Party against Trump and the Right in any meaningful way.

[–] OshagHennessey@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

It's every democrat since Clinton and every Republican since Reagan. Carter was the last real president this country had.

[–] Reading_Raptor@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Think of it like a ratchet mechanism. He's not there to move things left, he's there to keep things in place while the right takes a little break to twist up the tension even more.

That's how the left works in the US now: They're not actually there to create change or movement, they just hold the place and keep things from moving until the right can get back in power. They don't do anything but act as a placeholder for real change - they hold their position until the right puts their screws into things again and twists us further to the right.

It's...ridiculously obvious once you notice it.

[–] dermanus@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 month ago

Major chunks of the country will always vote for the same party. That's why you hear talk about blue states and red states. He's in a safe area, so he has a negligible chance of losing even if he does a terrible job.

[–] El_guapazo@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They're the party of the status quo. They'll probably take 50 years to reinstate the rights lost by this administration.

[–] OshagHennessey@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

I can alreadyhear them now. "We need something to campaign on next time." As though doing your fucking job isn't something you can campaign on.

[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 month ago

.. because he was elected.

[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

How does/did Schumer, Grassley, Graham, Pelosi, McConnell, Feinstein, and so on, stay in power? I always get downvoted and naysayed when I say this, but American voters fucking suck. Just the absolute worst. People will blame the two party system, and they do have a point there, but those same people don't show up in the primaries to make a difference. They're too scared to vote for change, as they've shown over and over. Just a bunch of ignorant, self-satisfied, cowards.

[–] OshagHennessey@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We did show up to the primaries enough to make a difference in 2016. We voted for Bernie Sanders as our candidate. The DNC told us all to go fuck ourselves, they're a private institution, they can do whatever they want, the votes are just a formality, and appointed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate instead.

Please, tell me more about how it's fault of the voters.

[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Ah, I thought that Hillary ended up getting more votes. I must be wrong. I'm in no way denying the fuckery that went along with it, from the DNC to media doing everythign they could to keep Bernie out, but in the end, voters are the ones who vote. Tell me again about how it's not ultimately the voters. And most tellingly, we weren't discussing the presidency, which is a whole bag of issues, but Congressional representation. Fucking voters 100%.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

AFAIK he was OK during Trump's first term, back then it was Pelosi holding back.
Now he is making the same mistakes Pelosi did.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

Mistakes, yes. Unintentional, no.

[–] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

His job is to lose and stall when instructed to by nazis, and he is a goddamn genius at doing it (though a dumbass for failing to see how dumb it is to do that)

Point is, he's doing his job: losing.

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Are we talking about Chuck Schumer or Mike Johnson?

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

His leadership position was voted on before the DNC chair.

So his threats to cut off funding to the state of any Dems that wouldn't back him still had some teeth.

It doesn't now, mainly because the DNC immediately jumped into the largest twin esture into state parties, ever.

He's been a lame duck all but maybe a month of this senate leadership term, and will almost certainly lose it next year.

If he doesn't, it's a bad sign.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The Baileys' votes each count as 100,000+ votes

[–] j4k3@piefed.world 2 points 1 month ago

Gerrymandering criminals.

[–] Netrunner@programming.dev 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The problem is simple. Congress and Senate treat their job like jobs. Not sworn duties.

At the end of the day they don't give a damn about the USA and will always accept checks from special interest.

[–] blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

What mechanism would you suggest be used to change that?

[–] Jhex@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

politicians are the least accountable poeple in Murica (probably in the continent)

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