'Schumerisms': How Harry Reid's likely successor will spar with Republicans
Schumerisms. Expressions of a frequent partisan bent used by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is poised to become the chamber鈥檚 鈥� and possibly the entire party鈥檚 鈥� most powerful Democrat in 2017.
Lovers of vivid political language will miss Senate minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who announced his retirement last week. Senator Reid is infamous for his searing, pointed comments about conservatives 鈥� and his of those outbursts. But the loquacious Senator Schumer, who is to succeed Reid as Democratic leader, has developed his own brand of bombast that relies less on Reid鈥檚 personal taunts and more on sweeping indictments of his opponents鈥� purported political sins.
Schumer, who served 18 years in the House before joining the Senate in 1999, is fond of labeling Republicans 鈥渙ut of the mainstream鈥� on any number of issues. It鈥檚 his way of portraying left-leaning Democrats as being in the political center 鈥� a tougher case to make, since Republicans just romped to a Senate majority in the midterm elections. Schumer is second only to Orrin Hatch (R) of Utah in invoking the 鈥渕ainstream鈥� declaration, according to聽聽tracking Congressional Record usage.
Schumer did so with gusto during last year, when he conservative Rep. Steve King (R) of Iowa for being instrumental in preventing the House from taking up the Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill. 鈥淭he record on Republican immigration reform is clear,鈥� Schumer said. 鈥淪teve King, a far-right, way-out-of-the-mainstream outlier, does not just spew hatred, he calls the shots.鈥� After the 2013 government shutdown, he 鈥渢hese tea party folks who are so out of the mainstream.鈥�
Schumer also is a fan of summing up complex issues with 鈥渢he bottom line is very simple.鈥� It鈥檚 a rhetorical cousin of the common-for-Capitol Hill sentence opener, 鈥渓et me be clear.鈥� It surfaces a lot in Schumer鈥檚 longtime, if largely futile, push for gun control laws. 鈥淭he bottom line is very simple,鈥� Schumer said earlier this month in aimed at tightening loopholes allowing people on terrorist watch lists to legally buy firearms. 鈥淲ith the new danger we have with terrorism, we have to close every loophole.鈥�
On a similar Republicans-as-extremists theme, Schumer often invokes the Almighty in describing what he contends would be dire consequences resulting from GOP proposals. In late January 2011, weeks after Republicans took control of the House, Schumer that if tea party-fueled members there held up passage of a budget, it could send the United States into 鈥淕od forbid 鈥� a depression.鈥� But Schumer doesn鈥檛 just use the phrase to attack Republicans. In January, he sought to prod the Federal Aviation Administration for putting in lighting systems at New York airports. 鈥淕od forbid a crash occurs on a runway with planes hurtling in two different directions hitting one another and it still isn鈥檛 installed,鈥� .
A final well-known Schumer verbal tic isn鈥檛 an assertion 鈥� it鈥檚 a question. During the skirmishing in February over Homeland Security Department funding and immigration, Schumer told reporters to watch what happens when Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky tried to meet the 60-vote margin needed to move the bill forward. National Journal鈥檚 Sarah Mimms 鈥淲hen asked to clarify, Schumer grinned, offering a typical Schumerism: 鈥榃hat do you think?鈥� "
Chuck McCutcheon and David Mark write their "Speaking Politics" blog exclusively for Politics Voices.
