'Who Keeps Voting This Schmuck Back Into Office?'

Who keeps voting for this schmuck? The people of New York, of course. They have a chance to correct their mistake come 2010, but somehow I doubt they'll be bright enough.

Sen. Charles Schumer came under fire yesterday after saying on the Senate floor that "the American people really don't care" about unrelated spending items that were tacked onto the economic stimulus bill.

"Let me say this to all of the chattering class that so much focuses on those little, tiny, yes, porky amendments: the American people really don't care," Schumer said. "The American people care far more that there's a proposal in the bill, this one I pushed, that gives kids a $2,500 credit to families who pay tuition to put their kids through college," he said.

A few hours after Schumer finished his speech, a video clip of his remarks went "viral," with nearly 50,000 hits on YouTube.com

The reaction was overwhelmingly negative. "Who keeps voting this schmuck back into office?" asked one YouTube viewer.

More than a dozen viewers also posted his contact information so Web surfers could call him to give their opinions more directly.

Schumer spokesman Brian Fallon would not say if the office had heard from the angry viewers, saying only that they had received "no more calls than usual."

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said that the wasteful spending that Schumer talked about matters to Americans far more than he thinks.

"Sen. Schumer is wrong if he thinks taxpayers don't care about billions of dollars of earmarks and pork in the so-called stimulus bill. They do care, because it wastes their money," Kyl said.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the video "takes my breath away," and suggested it appeared to be a glimpse into the Democratic game plan.

"Frankly, it seems like they don't care what's in the bill . . . It's the height of arrogance to say, 'You know what? We won the election, and we can do what we want,' " Cornyn said.

Maybe it's the hubris that will lead to their downfall. Now, if only the GOP in New York could field a viable candidate next year.

Rudy Giuliani comes to mind.

Here's the schmuck in action.