For those of you who’ve been wondering what Senate Democrat leaders have actually been doing these past few weeks, since unlike the House they’ve refused to put forward their own funding resolution, New York Senator Chuck Schumer accidentally lifted the curtain today – it turns out that instead of working to negotiate in good faith with Republicans to avoid a government shutdown, Senator Schumer has been busy handing out election-cycle talking points to his Democrat subordinates. It sounds like Senator Schumer and Howard Dean have been in the same party strategy meetings.

· “Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line, Charles Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, began to instruct fellow senators on how to talk to reporters about the contentious budget process. “After thanking his colleagues — Barbara Boxer of California, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Tom Carper of Delaware and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — for doing the budget bidding for the Senate Democrats, who are facing off against the House Republicans over how spending for the rest of the fiscal year, Mr. Schumer told them to portray John Boehner of Ohio, the Speaker of the House, as painted into a box by the Tea Party, and to decry the spending cuts that he wants as extreme. ‘I always use the word extreme,’ Mr. Schumer said, ‘That is what the caucus instructed me to use this week.’” (New York Times, On a Senate Call, a Glimpse of Marching Orders, 3/29/2010)

Just a few examples of 2012 Senate Democrats following the marching orders of their liberal party bosses….. 

Claire McCaskill

McCaskill Insinuated That Speaker Boehner Was Posturing To “Extreme” Members Of His Party In Budget Negotiations. McCaskill: “We — we all want cuts. He is the one that’s saying that he won’t even do a week or two days or four days. It’s silly. . . . Now, if we don’t want to make political points and if we’re not posturing for the extreme elements of our party, we can all sit down and find those compromises, and that’s Boehner ought to be emphasizing, not saying I refuse anything. He should say, let’s negotiate and make some real cuts. We all want to do that.” (Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday,” 2/20/11)

Sherrod Brown

Sherrod Brown Attacks Republican Budget Proposals As “Extreme.” Brown: “But I was disappointed when I saw the proposals offered by congressional Republicans. Their approach isn’t just shortsighted — it’s a dangerous set of concessions to the most extreme right-wing members of their party. . . . It’s only the second month of the Republicans’ congressional majority, but it’s already clear that they’re more interested in currying favor with the Tea Party extremists than in finding smart solutions.” (Senator Brown Fundraising Email, www.sherrodbrown.com, Accessed 3/29/11)

Brown: “[T]he Republicans’ Proposal Is Too Extreme, Trying To Balance The Budget On The Backs Of Our Men And Women In Uniform.” (Senator Sherrod Brown, “Brown, Senate Majority Leader: Republican Proposal Could Undermine 10,000 U.S. Veterans Who Have Struggled With Homelessness,” Press Release, 3/16/11)

Debbie Stabenow

Stabenow: “Since Their Wins In November, National Tea Party Republicans Have Shown How Extreme They Really Are. In the first few weeks that they were in charge of the House of Representatives, they voted to repeal health care for millions of Americans. They voted to double prescription drug costs for seniors. And now they want to privatize Social Security and replace Medicare with a ‘voucher’ system with a fixed amount that seniors could spend on health care.” (Senator Debbie Stabenow Fundraising Email, Accessed 3/29/11)

· “But Now, Because They Know I’ll Stand Up To Their Extreme Agenda, The Tea Party Is Coming After Me. … We Can Do This Together. We Can — And Will — Stand Up To The Tea Party And Their Extreme Agenda.” (Senator Debbie Stabenow Fundraising Email, Accessed 3/29/11)