As Yuval notes, Chuck Schumer’s decision in 2021 to keep Manchin’s offer on “Build Back Better” a secret from other Democratic leaders was baffling.
One has to wonder whether the Senate majority leader is committing even worse acts of political malpractice in 2022. Schumer decided to turn Manchin and Sinema into scapegoats over voting legislation, and now he refuses to say whether he’d support either senator in a 2024 Democratic primary:
In an interview this week, Schumer would not say “if he would stay neutral or support Manchin and Sinema if they face primary challengers in the next cycle,” CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere and Manu Raju report.
“I am focused on 2022, getting things done, and winning the election on 2022,” Schumer told CNN. “I’m not at all focused on 2024 right now, and neither should anyone else be. That’s just how you lose in 2022.”
Democrats have no chance of keeping that Senate seat in West Virginia if anyone other than Manchin runs in 2024, and a Bernie Sanders acolyte would likely be doomed in Arizona in 2024.
Schumer is antagonizing the duo as he still hopes to win their votes on big pieces of “Build Back Better.” He is practically asking Manchin to defect to the GOP caucus — no, I still don’t think that’s likely, but why is he taking the risk?
The only logical explanation of Schumer’s behavior would seem to be that he is deeply afraid of angering the progressive base.