Dems Win Big, Then Jeffries Says Voters 'Don't Want Us to Get Even'

The Victory Lap Lasted About Four Hours

The dust from Tuesday's midterm barely had time to settle before the calls started, according to The New Republic. Voices inside and outside Congress want Jeffries out as House Democratic leader and Schumer out in the Senate. Their complaints are a lack of vision, an unwillingness to go after Trump, the continued acceptance of corporate PAC money, and an extreme deference to the Israeli government.

That is a hell of a grievance list for a party that just won. Usually the winning coach gets a Gatorade bath. These two are getting a petition.

Schumer's Own Incoming Senators Are Already Shopping for a Replacement

The Senate side is where it gets truly awkward. Minnesota Senator-elect Peggy Flanagan declared on election night that it's "time for new leadership." Senators-elect James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed have also expressed doubt about Schumer's future as leader.

El-Sayed went further earlier this summer, introducing Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen as the "next Senate majority leader." Van Hollen, to his credit, did not immediately start measuring the drapes. He said on Wednesday that "no one should be committing to anybody as the next Democratic leader" without a conversation about a bold agenda. "It's not a time for incrementalism," he said. "It's a time to move forward a very bold kitchen table agenda."

Translation: nobody has even been sworn in yet, and the caucus is already giving its own leader the cold shoulder.

Half a Million People Want Jeffries Gone

Over on the House side, a Change.org petition demanding an open election for speaker has blown past 500,000 signatures. Actor Mark Ruffalo shared it. The petition argues that "the Speaker should represent the Democratic voters, not just the Democratic establishment."

Here is the mechanics part, because it matters. House Democrats first hold a party vote to pick their speaker nominee, and then the full House confirms that pick in January. So the fight that counts happens inside the caucus, long before any gavel changes hands.

The petition's creator, Nicole Whitted, is a Change.org ambassador who gets compensated for the petition. She told Newsweek her opposition goes beyond any single policy fight. She pointed to Jeffries's ties to corporate interests and pro-Israel lobbying groups, and to a private meeting he held with Jared Kushner, who is being investigated by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee.

"We Ran on Affordability" Is Not a Plan for Handling a Crime Spree

The accelerant was Jeffries's interview with MS NOW. Asked whether Democrats will go after the Trump administration's corruption and violence now that they hold a majority, he said, "The American people don't want us to get even, they want us to get things done on their behalf." He specifically ruled out impeachment as a top priority. "We ran on affordability, we won on affordability, and now it's our job to govern on affordability."

The internet had notes. Melanie D'Arrigo of the Campaign for New York Health put it simply: you can focus on affordability and hold criminals accountable. "When you don't hold criminals accountable, you're giving them a strategy to be more successful next time."

Texas Democratic Party adviser Kurt Bardella made the point that should be obvious to anyone who has held a committee gavel. Oversight to expose waste, fraud, abuse and corruption "isn't about getting even, it's about being watchful stewards of taxpayer dollars. It's the job." Writer Kylie Chueng said Jeffries "fundamentally misunderstands the moment & can't be speaker."

One large liberal account skipped the policy language entirely. Its list ran from fired employees to cut cancer research to kids in camps, and it ended with: "We better get fucking even." Not subtle. Not wrong about the mood, either.

The AIPAC Problem Won't Go Away

Then there's Israel. Jeffries is one of the strongest Democratic supporters of Israel and one of AIPAC's top recipients, even as most Democratic voters oppose sending more aid. A 2014 clip of him declaring "Israel today, Israel tomorrow, Israel forever!" is circulating again. The line echoes George Wallace's infamous 1963 segregation cry, which is the kind of overlap a speechwriter should catch before the cameras roll.

AIPAC made it worse. After the election, the group congratulated Schumer and Jeffries by name on the "resounding victories for their caucuses" and promised to keep funding candidates of either party who stay on Israel's side. Nothing says "independent leadership" like the lobby thanking you for your service in a press release.

And newly elected democratic socialist Representative Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania has already declined to endorse Jeffries for speaker. He wants Medicare for All addressed first, which Jeffries currently opposes.