By Emmarie Huettemannov.
Washington: Congressional Democrats stunned by Election Day losses began the process on Wednesday of trying to reconcile their competing factions, framing the contours of a contentious debate within the party.
In the Senate, they elected a new slate of leaders, led by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, that in many ways reflected the divide. That group included Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the best-known figures in the progressive wing, and Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a centrist up for re-election in 2018.
“This team is ideologically and geographically diverse, it mixes the wisdom of experience with the vigor of youth, at least in Senate years,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “But from the top to bottom, each of these senators has devoted their lives to fighting for the middle class and those struggling to get there.”
Mr. Schumer’s immediate challenge will be to meet the often competing imperatives of those senators, part of Democrats’ larger struggle over whether to try to tailor an appeal to the working-class white voters who left them and led to the election of Donald J. Trump, or to attempt to increase the so-called Obama coalition anchored by minority and younger voters.
Mr. Sanders will serve as the conference’s outreach chairman and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.
Who Is Chuck Schumer?
Senator Chuck Schumer, who will take over as the leader of the Senate Democrats after the retirement of Harry Reid, is known as a hard-charging Brooklynite.
“I am going to do everything that I can to make sure that the budget that leaves the United States Congress is a budget that represents the needs of working families and a shrinking working class and not billionaires who are doing phenomenally well,” he told reporters.
Democrats also re-elected Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois as minority whip, with Senator Patty Murray of Washington serving in the No. 3 spot as assistant Democratic leader.
This conflict spilled into House Democrats’ efforts to elect their leaders on Tuesday, as some members from states that Mr. Trump won, like Pennsylvania and Ohio, argued that it was time for Democrats to take a hard look at their disconnect from working-class voters.
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With some agitating ostensibly for more time to reflect on their defeat, House Democrats decided in a closed-door meeting to postpone their leadership elections until Nov. 30. At least one member, Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, is considering running against Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader, as some argue that Democrats’ painful defeat should prompt a reconsideration of their strategies — and, in particular, their leader.
But on Wednesday, Ms. Pelosi sent a message to any House Democrats considering a challenge to her leadership: Bring it on.
Ms. Pelosi, who has been in charge since 2003, distributed a letter to House Democrats urging them to vote for her — and making it clear that any challenger will face an uphill battle.
“It is with both humility and confidence that I write to request your support for House Democratic leader,” she wrote. “As of this writing, I am pleased to report the support of more than two-thirds of the caucus.”
Sources: http://www.nytimes.com
