Liberals are so crazed about Donald Trump that they can no longer tell friend from foe. On Tuesday night, thousands protested outside of New York Senator Chuck Schumer’s apartment, in a “What the F*ck, Chuck” rally.
“Senator Schumer needs to know we’re watching him,” Brad Wolchansky, a 40-year-old soccer coach from Flatbush carrying a cardboard cutout of a giant eye, told the New York Post. “He works for us. We need him to be bold. We need him to stand up to Trump and oppose his picks.”
Schumer has publicly announced his opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration order, and eight of his cabinet nominees: Rep. Mick Mulvaney (Office of Management and Budget), Rep. Tom Price (Health and Human Services), Steve Mnuchin (Treasury), Scott Pruitt (Environmental Protection Agency), Andy Puzder (Department of Labor), Betsy DeVos (Department of Education), Rex Tillerson (Department of State), and Sen. Jeff Sessions (Attorney General). Oh, and he has promised to lead the Democrats in a filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Nevertheless, he did vote in favor of three of Trump’s nominees: CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. These previous confirmations explain why the liberals in New York were protesting their senator.
"What the Fuck, Chuck?" Rally to Be Held Outside of Senator's Park Slope Home Today – https://t.co/yAHKmAE6uN pic.twitter.com/IvT3VC48W6
— FREEwilliamsburg (@freedubya) January 31, 2017
The Post said that roughly 3,000 protesters gathered at Grand Army Plaza around 6 p.m. Tuesday before marching to Schumer’s building at 9 Prospect Park West. As they marched, the protesters waved signs reading, “Resist Trump,” “Show Some Spine Schumer,” “No Seat is Safe Schumer,” and “Inaction Is Collaboration.” They also chanted, “Stay strong, Chuck,” and “Shut it down, shut it down, New York is an immigrant town.”
Here are more of the signs designed for the event.
At the @nycDSA beerhall event to make signs for tuesday's 7pm protest outside Schumer's house https://t.co/nliltSklFp pic.twitter.com/uRLcZNoDEe
— John Leavitt 🌹 (@LeavittAlone) January 29, 2017
“He’s talking the talk on social media, but is he walking the walk?” asked Cambra Moniz-Edwards, a 35-year-old Brooklyn resident. She added, “What the f*ck, Chuck?!”
That slogan was also the name of the event on Facebook, which 4.4K people say they would attend. Set up by the group “Resist Trump New York,” which describes itself as “a group of concerned citizens, union affiliated activists, democratic socialists and community activitis [sic] and we are turning election angst into action and we will resist Trump, his hateful agenda and his cabinet of horror!”
The event page promised, “We are coming out on Tuesday with boxing gloves, barbells, and a demand that Schumer strengthen his resistance and fight fight fight the horrible policies coming out of the Trump administration.”
“We need them to stand strong for all the battles coming down the pike: healthcare, immigrant rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, environmental rights, supreme court, workers’ rights, etc.” In other words, these protesters are calling on Schumer to lead the Senate Democrats into a full-throated obstinacy to the sitting president of the United States.
The event page also promised to “deliver protein bars and weights to Schumer, so he can regain his strength.” This group, which openly affiliates with “democratic socialists,” announced that families are welcome, promising: “We’ll keep the chants family friendly, despite the name of this rally.”
Here’s a video from the rally, which opens with a socialist spokesman who yells, “This sh*t’s got to stop!” a few minutes in. Is that family friendly?
20170131 – What the F Chuck Rally https://t.co/OTcYMpCDfK
— Lancecorp aka Thanks Democrats for #IMPOTUS (@Lancecorp) January 31, 2017
The protesters ranged from the profane to the petty. One woman quoted by the Post, 38-year-old Brooklyn resident Phoebe Damrosch, carried a sign with a pack of Kleenex tissues, saying, “It takes a real man to cry and lead.” Damrosh cited Schumer’s tears during a news conference about Trump’s immigration order. “His tears know what’s right,” Damrosh told the Post.
protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
Dara Barr, a 40-year-old acupuncturist, brought a black leather whip, to encourage Schumer to keep the Democrats in line. “I’m trying to whip Chuck Schumer into shape so he can whip those ‘no’ votes,” Barr told the Post.
Perhaps the most hilarious anecdote came after the rally, when Bloomberg’s Sahil Kapur posted a photo of leaflets from the protest.
These were handed out at a protest progressives held outside Schumer's Brooklyn home on Tuesday night, per a source. pic.twitter.com/J89cVd94Xe
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 2, 2017
To repeat, these liberals aren’t protesting President Trump — they’re protesting Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. They are turning on their own in their fury to oppose the president, by any means necessary. This is not a wise, step-by-step rejection of each of Trump’s nominees, either. They’re rejecting everything, and making themselves look foolish in the process.
When it comes to Gorsuch, this might be an electoral mistake on the Democrats’ part. Conservative groups have already launched 2018 campaign ads supporting the nomination of Trump’s Supreme Court pick. Many Democrats in the Senate up for re-election next year are fighting in states that Trump won last year. Senate Democrats have to pick their battles, and Gorsuch’s nomination might not be a sword worth dying on.
Worse, these protests don’t exactly make liberals look good. Violence has erupted at quite a few of them, and while the Tea Party may have helped conservatives return to power after years in the wilderness, that movement was peaceful and focused on electoral victories. It is far too early to tell whether these anti-Trump rallies can follow where the Tea Party led, but I wouldn’t count on it.
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