Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) on Monday night received backlash from liberal activists in Brooklyn after an equipment issue grounded his plane in upstate New York and he was forced to cancel his town hall.
This last-minute cancellation 90 minutes before the scheduled town hall prompted liberal organizers to scramble and pressure Schumer to reschedule rather than substitute the town hall with a hastily-assembled teleconference, Politico reported.
Several of the liberal activists in attendance chanted "don’t phone it in," which could signal trouble for Schumer as he asks his party’s fired-up base for help in backing Democratic leadership against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. While the minority leader urged unity during the teleconference, some skeptical activists believe Schumer isn't paying attention to all activists, and Politico noted, "he spent much of his time on the phone after his delayed town hall reassuring skeptical activists."
"There are thousands and thousands of people in this city who want to support him, so that he can win battles," said Liat Olenick, 32, a member of the liberal group Indivisible’s Brooklyn chapter who has personally been appealing Schumer to schedule an event for months. "But he’s not speaking to those people, and we want him to do that."
During his phone call to the liberal activists, Schumer urged them to stay active in fighting against Trump's soon-to-be-announced Supreme Court nominee.
During his remarks to constituents on the phone, Schumer tried to energize the Democratic faithful with a play for unity. The Democratic path to victory, he explained, is successfully making the case that Trump’s still-unnamed Supreme Court pick would roll back Roe v. Wade and Obamacare.
Schumer also asked activists to spend less time prodding Democrats to use their limited procedural power to delay a Supreme Court confirmation. Republicans last year did away with the filibuster for high court nominees.
"I’m willing to entertain using any of the procedural tools available at the appropriate time," he said on his Monday night call with New Yorkers. "But I think if we put all of our eggs in that basket, we’ll have less of a chance to focus on the substantive issues."
Schumer’s stance — that Democrats can’t realistically block a confirmation using Senate rules — received a boost last week when Indivisible warned its members on that "there is no procedural tool to stop this" Supreme Court confirmation process.
Schumer has not held a single town hall event during this session of Congress, according to the nonpartisan Legistorm database, which contrasts the multiple public meetings held by the state's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand (D.).
Lisa Raymond-Tolan, 44, another local Indivisible organizer, said that she is not ruling out a potential protest outside Schumer's house if he does not reschedule another town hall.
"It’s extra-important that he knows who it is he’s fighting for and what they want him to be fighting for," she said.
Schumer outlined his strategy to confronting Trump’s Supreme Court pick in a New York Times op-ed earlier in the day, highlighting abortion rights and health care arguments he made to the activists during his call. Indivisible organizers supported Schumer's arguments, but they told some of the activists before the call that they wanted the senator to twist some arms in his caucus.