Fuck You, Chuck
Time to exit stage left
Well, here’s some news that was hard to swallow on a Monday morning. Seven Democratic senators and one independent have joined with Republicans in a “deal” to reopen the government, without the country’s critical healthcare subsidies intact. These defectors caved in to the GOP and have left our subsidies twisting in the wind. It comes as no surprise that none of them face re-election in 2026, and two are retiring at the end of their terms.
When you and your loved ones can no longer afford health insurance, you can blame this bunch of cowards:
Senator Angus King, ME Senator Tim Kaine, VA Senator Dick Durbin, IL Senator John Fetterman, PA Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, NV Senator Jacky Rosen, NV Senator Maggie Hassan, NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen, NH
Thune’s deal is no fucking deal. He claims he will allow negotiations on the specifics of the ACA subsidies and a separate vote on these issues in December, but only if enough Democratic senators join the GOP in securing the necessary votes to reopen the government. That had to come first. Does anyone with two brain cells trust this man? Only five more Democratic votes were needed, but Thune managed to get a solid eight.
Chuck, how could you let this happen?
How could these Democrats, minus Fetterman, who's lunatic fringe, be so trusting of the GOP? Or perhaps they simply don’t care or are too tired to continue fighting. What is going on here?
Chris Murphy — this is the man who should have been filling Schumer’s shoes during this critical time. If Schumer had been doing his job properly, he’d be looking this shagged out, too:
Chris Murphy called the bill “a mistake” that goes against all that the voters expressed in last week’s elections. He says, “This bill doesn’t do anything to arrest the health care catastrophe, nor does it constrain in any meaningful way President Trump’s illegality.” He goes on to say: “I think the voters were pretty clear on Tuesday night what they wanted Congress to do, and more specifically, what they wanted Democrats to do, and I am really saddened that we didn’t listen to them.”
Hello defectors, do you get any of this? Thune is fucking with all of you. How anyone could possibly imagine the GOP capable of (#1) making good on a promise of any kind, and (#2) be trusted to pass anything that is in the best interests of the American people — well, that is simply beyond comprehension. How many times do the Democrats need to get screwed by their colleagues across the aisle before they comprehend there is no such thing as negotiating with this bunch? They lie, they cheat, they steal. They vote only for that which is in their personal best interest. Rinse and repeat.
These Democratic defectors claim to have joined their colleagues from across the aisle due to overwhelming concerns about government employees going unpaid, SNAP benefits being held up, and airports experiencing an unusually high number of cancellations. Really? Does anyone believe that caving in to Republicans on healthcare is going to resolve even one of those other issues? Ah, no.
Republicans have been super clear about their endgame: they intend to get rid of food benefits (and probably sooner, rather than later), and they intend to pare back the government even further than DOGE has done already. In fact, the GOP seems to have enjoyed the government shutdown. There was much talk about which people to bring back and which to furlough permanently. You can bet your bottom dollar the same sorts of discussions have been going on about SNAP benefits. For more on this, read The Gilded Guillotine.
And about Obamacare, Republicans want it GONE. All of it. They wanted it gone the minute it was passed. They wanted it gone after the Supreme Court left it in place. They wanted it gone when it was clear that it was helping 10’s of millions of Americans, their constituents. They have campaigned relentlessly on repealing this legislation. And you can count on their continued vigilance in finding ways to pare the ACA back to nothing. Stupidly, the Democratic defectors have played right into their hands.
So, back to Chuck Schumer, the man who gets to take full credit for this massive fuck-up in the Senate and the defection of 7 Democrats and one Independent. We’d better pray that Hakeem Jeffries has the fire in his belly to bring together the House Democrats (and fingers crossed, a few Republicans) in opposing Mike Johnson, the man happily doing the bidding of the Malignant-Narcissist-in-Chief. Johnson plows ahead on everything Trump dictates, no matter the toll it takes on our democracy and the well-being of its citizens. He has no conscience.
If the House follows the Senate’s example and Democrats find themselves with another round of defectors, our current healthcare system will be gone. Count on it. And Chuck will be remembered as having contributed significantly to its demise by simply being ineffective and uninspired. A tragic end to an otherwise stellar career.
Here is Schumer’s lame address to the Senate two days ago. Was anyone inspired by this speech? Has Chuck convincingly painted a picture of what lies ahead? Did his words move anyone? No, no, and no. He no longer leads the flock.
Why dump Chuck? Because he did not put on the gloves in defending our healthcare system. He did not get out there and campaign for it. Instead, he gave milquetoast speeches to his colleagues, tie askew, head down, reading dispassionate words from a script, the pages of which he shuffled clumsily. Chuck did not put his best into this fight. Not even remotely.
What did Chuck do? He proposed the idea of a one-year extension for ACA subsidies in exchange for reopening the government. Really? One year? As if anyone in the GOP was going to go for that, especially when they now have the ACA by the balls. Their goal is to repeal and replace this legislation, and they are almost to the finish line. Nothing will stop them now, short of a full-court press. This must become the Democrats’ strategy; anything less will not suffice. This means applying aggressive and unrelenting pressure on the opponent, with the goal of forcing turnovers in strategy, and this must be kept up at a faster pace than Chuck and Co. have been applying. Dems must be working to stifle their opponent’s offense. WE NEED YOUNGER AND MORE AGILE LEADERSHIP.
Extending the ACA for one year. Now that is fucking laughable. Is Chuck now blending all of his food because he can’t chew steak?
So, Chuck, here’s what you’ve given us for all of this pain we’ve been enduring: a 40-day stalemate. That is all. You FAILED at bringing together your own people in the Senate. And under your watch, there were eight (8!) defectors. You and everyone around you seemed surprised by this. How could you not have seen this train wreck coming?
You need to go. NOW.
Chuck Schumer. He used to be the guy, and when paired up with Nancy Pelosi, he got the job done. She said all the hard stuff that needed saying (and took the flak for it like a man), and Chuck always did the right thing: he nodded his support, and loyally accompanied her on every victory lap down the halls of the U.S. Capitol building.
But really… it always felt like Nancy was in charge of both chambers, and that Chuck was the obliging house husband. Or should I say Senate husband? Make no mistake, Chuck respected and trusted Nancy implicitly, but it was clear he was never the one calling the shots, nor was he the one tightening the thumbscrews on every last holdout whose vote was needed to get a thing passed. That was Nancy’s job — she’s the one who shored up the votes in both chambers when it felt like a thing had no chance of getting passed. Guess what, Chuck? Nancy is no longer there to prop you up like a congressional Cialis.
If they’d been a married couple, Chuck and Nancy would probably be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary about now. They were compatible at a deep level, and yeah, Nancy is 11 years older than Chuck, but he always seemed the kind of guy who was cool with an older woman. We liked Chuck. Until we didn’t.
Chuck’s decline began after the 2022 midterms, when Republicans regained control of the House and Nancy’s tenure as Speaker ended, prompting her to retire as the House Democratic leader. Hakeem Jeffries then assumed the mantle of House Minority Leader after being unanimously elected by the House Democratic Caucus in November of 2022. Pelosi praised the caucus in ushering him in, stating that those taking over would “reinvigorate our Caucus with their new energy, ideas, and perspective.” But the chemistry never developed between Jeffries and Schumer, and, sad to say, that is Chuck’s fault. He did not take the initiative to mentor his younger colleagues, unlike Pelosi. He was a one-woman man, and that woman is no longer there to spur him on.
Chuck, you and Nancy were a formidable team. And for your part in that, we thank you. However, now you need to go — like immediately, before there is more irreparable damage, and the Democratic Party shatters into a million splinters.
You’ve lost your fighting spirit. We hear the right words coming out of your mouth, but they lack passion, and your actions don’t back up what you say. You are not going far enough. And you couldn’t even bring yourself to back Mamdani. That says it all.
We need someone willing to fight, not negotiate.
As Bernie Sanders pointed out, the damage that will occur if Republicans get the upper hand in this fight for the ACA is this: 15 million will immediately lose Medicaid, and others with reduced ACA subsidies will be looking at having to put 50% of their limited income toward healthcare costs. That is untenable.
Low-income and working-class families will be most affected by the rate changes and will likely struggle to afford coverage. It has been predicted that 50,000 Americans will die unnecessarily as a result of being uninsured. Nearly 20 million Americans will see their premiums double, and in some states, it will be tripled or quadrupled. Merry fucking Christmas from Mike Johnson and his pals.
Democrats must hold firm and insist on both a reversal in the cuts already made to Medicaid earlier this year and a continuation of the subsidies that have improved the lives of millions of Americans.
Healthcare needs to be a right for all Americans. We must continue the fight.
JOIN IN THE FIGHT NOW. Connect with your Representatives and Senators via social media, by phone, and email. It is critical.
Fuck all the way off, Chuck and Durbin.
Fuck him right in the ass. What a chump.