Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressed frustration over the Democrats’ inability to secure a majority in the upper chamber, regretting his successful endeavor of recruiting Cal Cunningham, who “couldn’t keep his zipper up,” and lamenting the political position Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was able to maneuver herself into following the death of the late-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The New York lawmaker, whom Democrats reelected to lead their party in the Senate, made the remarks on a call with party donors, according to a report from Axios.
Axios’ source said Schumer regretted his decision to recruit Cunningham, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who faced mounting allegations of multiple extramarital affairs.
Cunningham formally conceded to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) last month.
Cunningham “couldn’t keep his zipper up,” Schumer complained, attributing the former Democrat candidate’s personal matters to the Democrats’ larger failure to take the Senate from Republicans. According to Axios, Schumer also “lamented being unable to successfully recruit Stacey Abrams to run for a Senate seat in Georgia, one of the sources said.”
“One source familiar with the private discussions told Axios that, when discussing the Georgia Senate races, Schumer acknowledged he tried to recruit Abrams but says she insisted Raphael Warnock was the right choice,” the outlet reported.
Schumer also believes that Ginsburg’s death allowed Sen. Susan Collins (D-ME), who was believed to be trailing Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon (D), to effectively “reshape the debate about filling Supreme Court vacancies.”
While she voted to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh following the contentious 2018 hearings, which were dominated by unsubstantiated allegations, Collins took a middle-of-the-road approach in the process leading up to the ultimate confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. While she made it clear that she had “no objection” to the Senate considering a nominee, she said she would not support a confirmation to the close proximity of the presidential election. She kept her word and voted against Barrett’s confirmation — a move appealing to those outside the GOP.
She ultimately defied the polls, defeating Gideon by 8.6 percent.
The January 5 runoffs between Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) and Democrat challenger Jon Ossoff and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and Rev. Raphael Warnock will determine the balance of power in the Senate. If both GOP incumbents lost their seats, it would result in a 50-50 split in the upper chamber, leaving the tiebreaking vote to the party in control of the White House.
While Democrats maintained their majority in the House, they vastly underperformed, losing several seats to the GOP. Prior to the election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) predicted a “double-digit” gain for House Democrats– a prediction that did not come to fruition.
Donald Trump Jr. has remained active, encouraging Georgia Republicans to go out and vote in the January 5 runoffs and warning that his father’s accomplishments are on the ballot.
Both Ossoff and Warnock have a history of holding radically left positions. On Sunday, Ossoff signaled that he would support a statewide lockdown, shutting down businesses to combat the Chinese coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Warnock has a history of making racially charged statements, once deeming “racism” America’s “preexisting condition.”
Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) is working overtime to help tip the scales in the Democrats’ favor in Georgia, recruiting big names out of Hollywood, including singer John Legend and rapper Common, to help Schumer’s vision — to “take Georgia and … change America” — become a reality.
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