On begin phony - Lulu Garcia-Navarro interviewing Chuck Schumer in NYT:

‘You just mentioned this idea of inauthenticity, and you wrote in the book, “Voters can smell inauthenticity the way bloodhounds track a scent.” And it did bring to mind the situation Democrats find themselves in at the moment. Do Democrats have an authenticity problem?

I don’t think we have an authenticity problem. We have a real direction now. I feel good about it. It’s this: First, you gotta look at who the Democratic Party is and who the Republican Party is. Who they really are. We are the party of working people. We feel that very, very strongly. That’s who we have always been. The Republican Party is a dramatic contrast to that. In the last 20 or 30 years, in my judgment, they have been taken over by a cabal of greedy, very wealthy people. And their whole goal is to cut their own taxes, even though they’re extremely rich, and get rid of any government regulation.
But you know that’s not how the American people view the Democratic Party right now. That’s right, and that’s where we’re moving. That’s where we have to move. So the contrast is real. What are we saying? It’s sort of a simple little phrase: Donald Trump is making the middle class pay for tax cuts for billionaires. And then you can add things to it: is making the middle class pay for tax cuts for billionaires by cutting your health care, your Medicaid. By adding in tariffs and raising your prices. By cutting education, so your kids don’t get an education. That has a number of virtues.
This isn’t new. It’s something that has always been the rallying cry of Democrats against Republicans. We lost it. Correct. We always cared about the working people. But in the last few years, while we did a lot for working people, here’s what we didn’t do: We didn’t tell people about it. We thought, just by legislating, people would know about it. They don’t!’

(…)

‘The Republicans would like to have some freedom from Trump, but they won’t until we bring him down in popularity. That happened with Bush in 2005. It happened with Trump in 2017. When it happens, I am hopeful that our Republican colleagues will resume working with us.’

(…)

‘I’m curious how you think about how protests should be addressed, considering the context of what you just said. The Trump administration just announced it’s pulling $400 million in funding from Columbia University, giving the reason as “relentless violence, intimidation and antisemitic harassment.” I’m wondering what you make of that. Columbia did not do enough. I criticized them. And believe me, I believe in free speech, I believe in the right to protest, as you read in my book. I started my career protesting the Vietnam War. I say to some people, “If I were your age, I’d be protesting something or other.” So I get that, and I love it, and it’s about America. But when it shades over to violence and antisemitism, the colleges had to do something, and a lot of them didn’t do enough. They shrugged their shoulders, looked the other way. Columbia among them. So what did they do? They took away $400 million. I’m trying to find out what they took away. Are they taking away money from cancer research, or Alzheimer’s? What is the $400 million? It could be hurting all students. Students who go there who have nothing to do with the protest, students who might have protested peacefully, or Jewish students who were victims of some of those protests. So I think we have to see. My worry is that this $400 million was just done in typical Trump fashion: indiscriminately, without looking at its effect.’

(…)

‘There is reporting that some Democrats are now privately urging Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to consider a primary run against you. It now seems very likely that she or someone else will primary you in 2028. Do you think the base has your back after this? Because ultimately they’ll decide who becomes New York’s next senator. That’s a long time away. I am focused on bringing Trump’s numbers down, his popularity down, exposing what he has done to America and what he will do. That’s my focus right now. You know, three years from now is a long way to speculate. I believe that my hard work against Trump will pay off.’

Read the interview here.

According to Salinger a voter ‘can smell a phony a mile away.’ (We are not far away from Holden Caulfield.

If they smell a phony a mile away they will smell Schumer a mile away I’m afraid.

He might be a decent person but the price you pay when you are too long in politics is high.

The Democratic Party, one van conclude, is waiting for Trump to self-immolate.
That might happen or it might nor, even after the implosion too many voters will interpret the implosion as a sign that America is being made great et cetera et cetera.

On the other hand, if the S&P500 keeps falling some voters will look for alternatives, even if they believe that Trump is the American extension of Christ.

Christ or no Christ, your wallet first and your credit cards first. Religion and pragmatism can go hand in hand, especially in America.