The Library Media — Opinion & Investigations · Editorial
The Majority Needs a Mandate: Endorsing Chris Van Hollen
By Catalina Clarke
Senate Democrats will choose their leader on December 1, behind closed doors, by secret ballot. It is the first contested race for the post since 1994, and it deserves to be treated as more than a formality — because the winner will lead a 55-seat majority, the largest either party has held in years, into a Congress that begins in January.
Chuck Schumer’s case is real, and it should be stated fairly. He has led the caucus since 2017. He can claim a genuine share of credit for the majority itself, won seat by seat across a hard map. He knows every senator, every procedure, every pressure point. When he says, “I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic leader,” he may well be right about the count.
But a count is not a program. The question before the caucus is not only who can hold 28 votes in a closed room. It is what a 55-seat majority is for.
Chris Van Hollen has answered that question out loud. He has named his tests: end the war with Iran, an aggressive kitchen-table agenda for working families, real investigation of alleged corruption in this White House, and an end to the filibuster that lets a minority veto the majority the voters just elected. Senators may argue with any one of those. What they cannot say is that he hasn’t stated them. That is what a leadership contest is supposed to produce — and until he stepped forward, there wasn’t going to be one.
The Library Media endorses Chris Van Hollen for Senate Democratic leader.
One condition, stated plainly, because our readers deserve it: Van Hollen is, today, the only challenger in the field. If another credible candidate steps forward before December 1, we will listen to them with the same attention and revisit this endorsement in the open. An endorsement made early in an unsettled field should carry its condition on its face. Ours does.
Majorities are not wasted by losing votes. They are wasted by never saying what the votes are for. On December 1, the caucus should choose the candidate who has said it.
Catalina Clarke
Editor-in-Chief, The Library Media
From The Library — the estate of our family.
