Asked if the current leadership should take the Dems into 2018, Rahm Emanuel refuses to back Pelosi & Schumer

By Robert Laurie —— Bio and Archives August 7, 2017

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In the last several weeks, we've seen a number of Democrats openly question their party's leadership. Nancy Pelosi may claim otherwise, but she and Chuck Schumer have got to be feeling the heat in the wake of the Dems' losing streak. This morning, former White House Chief of Staff (and current terrible mayor of Chicago) Rahm Emanuel appeared on CNN. Host Poppy Harlow wanted to know if he thought Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer were the right people to secure Democrat gains in 2018.

"You're the one who led the effort for Dems to retake Congress in 2006. Yes or no answer. Is this leadership, Pelosi-Schumer, the leadership to do that?"

Emanuel's non-answer was telling. "I don't think that's a good question?" Really? He tries to make nice by relying on the party-friendly idea that Pelosi and Schumer are fine, but he also claims it's not a relevant question. That's ridiculous. If you're a political entity looking to recapture power, your leadership absolutely matters. For Democrats, who find themselves at the lowest level of power in a hundred years, it's doubly so. The less influence you have, the harder it is to build. If the most prominent members of your organization are not just inept, but are actively despised by much of the country, that's a massive issue. In short, he knew he had to say something positive about the current leadership to get out of the interview, but it seems clear he's come to realize what several other Democrats have admitted publicly. Schumer and Pelosi are hanging on by their fingernails. The problem facing the Democrats is: "Who would replace them?" Given that Bernie Sanders is their "young, fresh, upstart," the Dem bench is shallow indeed.