Party Seeks One Voice. Schumer Steps Forward.

[alp227]

Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, long admired, and reviled, for his uncanny ability to make it all about Chuck, has worked his way into the party’s No. 3 job in the Senate, where he puts his promotional talents to work on behalf of all his Democratic colleagues.

With his party still trying to regain its footing after big Republican gains in November, and with many of his fellow Democrats already worried about holding on to their seats in 2012, he has been given responsibility for sharpening the Democratic message from Capitol Hill and marrying it more effectively to the policies the party is trying to advance.

“Usually, things change when you don’t do so well,” Mr. Schumer said. “My job, our job as a caucus, is to focus on the average family, to show them we actually care about them.”

This will be accomplished, he contends, through the three P’s: “policy, politics and press.”

But leading a disparate group of Senate Democrats — a group at war with the emboldened House Republicans and in search of cover from the White House — is proving a challenge.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/us/politics/16schumer.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

[pscot]

1. I don't really trust

Schumer. He's to close to the bankers.

[Kall]

2. Focus on the average family?

The average family wants Wall Street heads on a pike and the bodies in jail. Have at it, Senator for New York.