A petition calling on House Democrats not to support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the next Speaker has hit 500,000 signatures, according to its creator.
It follows the Democrats’ dramatic midterm election victory that saw the party flip both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which will lead to a new Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the House.
The petition, which labels Jeffries part of the “Democratic establishment,” suggests Democratic leaders are likely to remain under pressure from their party’s left-wing over both personal and policy choices. It was created by Nicole Whitted, an author and Democratic supporting social media creator with over 210,000 followers on TikTok.
For those who don’t want to give newsweek a click: https://www.change.org/p/house-democrats-choose-a-new-speaker
If you’re going to do one thing, contact your Rep and Senator and tell them to change leadership. It’ll carry more weight than a change.org petition.
(Yes, I know that’s technically two things).
Yep - already sent this to my rep:
Now that the democratic party will have a majority in both houses of Congress, I and your constituents, along with democrats across the country, demand an end to the lackluster democratic leadership currently in place. We require new majority leaders that will actually hold Trump and his allies responsible for the many crimes that they have committed against this country and others worldwide. Please lend your support to candidates that will support action against this criminal behavior. Justice is what will ultimately help our nation to heal, not “moving on” or ignoring what has happened.
Contact your representatives and sign the Change org petition. It shows public pressure and only takes a few minutes, so why not?
Because nobody cares about change.org petitions except the people who sign them.
Big brain move, convince Democrat members of Congress to sign the petition so they care about it and then they will pick a new speaker.
If it’s truly a new political era, like the pundits have all claimed, then it stands to reason that we should embrace new leadership. I have very little faith in Schumer and Jefferies.
They let MAGA rise and re-rise, and they’ve done NOTHING since to demonstrate that they’ve earned or deserve a THIRD chance to fuck it up. It’s time for some competence in our government, and these two losers ain’t it.
I have very little faith in Schumer and Jefferies.
That’s still a little too much
Where do I sign?
Edit: never mind, found it and signed
I posted it!
The original concept of change.org was that average folks could petition leaders with the backing of many people. You didn’t earn money from petition-creation efforts.
According to the petition, “Nicole Whitted is a Change Ambassador who receives compensation in connection with this petition.”
I found myself wondering what a “Change Ambassador” was, search said, "Ambassadors receive a flat advance payment plus performance-based compensation—often ranging from $0.30 to $0.50 per signature collected over a specified period.
It seems that as of 2024, change.org has become a way to earn a small fortune. If she gets 50 cents for each signature, and this one hit half a million signatures, then she just made $250,000.
I really need to get into grifting. It seems very profitable.
I didn’t know this was a thing, gross.
But where does that moeny supposedly come from? Ads aren’t likely to generate that much per person signing.
I dunno. I could see campaigns being willing to pay a fair bit for a list of email addresses of people who care about a specific topic.
So this person made somewhere between $150-250k for posting this? How do I become a Change Ambassador?
e: You have to have a social following of >100k. You get an upfront payment based on audience size, then performance-based payouts for each petition on top of that.
You also may not have realized that you would be on their email list for the rest of your life.
If she gets 50 cents for each signature, and this one hit half a million signatures, then she just made $250,000.
That’s of course scummy as hell, but you know what?
If it leads to the permanent ouster from leadership of that corrupt demagogue with zero charisma or other redeeming qualities, I’d say she earned it and should get double if she can do the same thing to Schumer too 🤷🏻
I haven’t signed it, I have not decided that Jeffries is corrupt. I also find myself wondering about racism, whether that’s at play here. Further, republicans will now change their game, well come Jan 3, they’re lame duck now. Take down the democratic leadership?
I am seeing this petition being posted in a lot of threads I’m reading this morning. With 50 cents per signature, that’s a good incentive to spam it all over the place.
Well, corrupt or not, he has said he doesn’t support going after the corrupt individuals in the current administration. That is enough of a reason for me to not want him in that job.
if you haven’t made a decision yet about him being corrupted, you are either not paying attention or you are paying attention. either way your call that this is based on racism AND that we should not bother because republicans lost power anyways scream you are not being honest about your intentions.
I have not decided that Jeffries is corrupt
You haven’t decided that the Pacific Ocean is large either.
I also find myself wondering about racism, whether that’s at play here.
Fuck off with that bullshit. Jeffries is the hand picked protégé of Pelosi and in many ways is even more awful than her. His skin color and/or ethnicity has nothing to do with it.
republicans will now change their game
Bullshit. It’s not like they were passing much even WITH majorities in both chambers. Their main function was to not stop their Mango Messiah from constantly breaking the law.
In that aspect, ineffective and corrupt leaders like Jeffries and Schumer who haven’t ever met a fascist they don’t yearn to give concessions are not that different from the current fascists doing the same nothing because they support the crimes.
Take down the democratic leadership?
No. Replace them with others who actually represent the needs and wants of the majority of their constituency rather than the majority of donation dollars.
I am seeing this petition being posted in a lot of threads I’m reading this morning
Because a shitload of people agree that he’s an embarrassment in desperate need for replacement.
With 50 cents per signature, that’s a good incentive to spam it all over the place.
That’s only for the one who first posted it. Unless she’s illegally giving some posters a cut, nobody but she and the site are making any money from it being shared.
I was polite and respectful to you, and you tell me I’m full of bullshit, and don’t know the Pacific Ocean is large. That’s all I need to know I don’t ever want to see another post of yours. Adios.
I was polite and respectful to you
Not really, no.
you tell me I’m full of bullshit
Because you are.
and don’t know the Pacific Ocean is large
No, that was just my way of illustrating how obviously corrupt Jeffries is regardless of whether you’ve decided that it’s true.
That’s all I need to know I don’t ever want to see another post of yours. Adios.
I think I might manage to survive without your attention 🙄
I’d say that Ro Khanna or Pramila Jayapal in terms of seniority and experience and proven progressive streak should become Speaker.
For US Senate, I see nobody better than Senator Sanders who is actually the visionary who helped set this all in motion, unlike Schumer. It’s a perfect role and way to cement his legacy in a substantive way.
For both these positions, age is less of an issue and more respect, experience, and understanding of chamber rules matter more.
Being the Senate majority leader requires a different skillset than retail campaigning. We need a progressive in that role, though, definitely, someone who will take risks and bend only when absolutely necessary.
You also don’t want to put any potential presidential candidates in there–legislators have a lot of exposure to attack ads by voting for bills they don’t 100% agree with but are worth the tradeoffs and a majority leader is going to have less freedom to vote No.
I feel this is exactly why Sanders is perfect for the role, though.
- He’s worked on bipartisan legislation
- He’s one of the most experienced, longest-serving members of Congress.
- He’s by definition “Independent”
- He is a visionary, and fulfills precisely what is entirely lacking by way of Schumer in lack of passion and willingness to fight.
The mere signal this would send to say that progressives are here to stay for the Democratic party would be massive alone.
That said I’m open to other suggestions, but the options are somewhat limited for experienced progressives who understand Senate rules and decorum and have relationships with much of the Senate.
He’s 85. We wouldn’t let an 85-year-old manage an Arby’s. I love Bernie, but we gotta get off the gerontocracy.
But he’s already a US Senator, repeatedly elected, and part of the most powerful chamber. The US Senate Majority Leader role is all about age and wisdom, frankly and little different than the duties he’s already fulfilling effectively.
I can see this concern for the President, but in this case if the worst happens, Dems can just appoint someone else. It’s Low Risk / High Reward.
The real question is: What can you point to that has shown his age with respect to cognition or position on current-events?
The second question: If not him, then who?
The real question is: What can you point to that has shown his age with respect to cognition or position on current-events?
Pretty much everything he’s ever said about the AI bubble. He’s either drunk the fearmonger Kool Aid or some awful staffers. Either way, he’s dropped the ball entirely, up to going on stage with Steve Fucking Bannon to talk about a sci-fi concept that has nothing to do with LLM tech or the real stakes of the bubble. It’s been an awful show of face for him.
going on stage with Steve Fucking Bannon
I take issue with the way one framed this. It feels disingenuous.
He did not go on stage “with” Steve Bannon; he had a speech on the same stage that Bannon gave a speech on at the same event, detailing mutual if not tangential concerns about AI and its effect son humanity. That seems completely different than seemingly trying to imply they’re buddies or something.
Seems that while Bernie may be overextending the capacity for AI to be fluidly intelligent, I actually think he and his advisors are threading the needle very effectively in saying that, “Hey look, we know AI in some shape or form is likely here to stay. If it is, then it should be regulated, perhaps nationalized, and in the hands of public interests to be used for good – like combating disinformation or pursing advancements in healthcare, etc.”
Overall, across all issues, I think he and his team are pretty much on-point, and splitting hairs on AI is maybe a rare exception, not the norm – and certainly not an indication of declining cognitive capacity or age. But again, since our options are limited to 100 US Senators and non-freshman generally, I’m very curious who one believes the better pick would be.
He’s 85 years old. It’s safe to assume cognitive decline. We let people retire at 67 without an exam, and we should be able to retire our legislators the same way.
We don’t force them to retire at 67, though. There are a lot of morons in the world. I’d put Bernie at 10% decline against most people 40 years younger.
That said, I doubt he wants the job and I doubt the caucus as a whole would support an independent.
You’re right. I love Bernie, but he’s not a strategic thinker.
The current moment owes almost everything to Bernie’s first major campaign ten years ago, but he’s made some pretty big blunders recently. Going on stage with Steve Bannon to fearmonger about rogue AI, a complete sci-fi concept, WTF?
No real shade. He’s old, no one can turn the wheel forever and eventually someone’s gotta keep the momentum moving, and that’s exactly what I think has happened to Sanders.
Strategic aka always bending to the Republicans?
Bernie is not a Democrat, they’d never let him become Majority leader for their party. I’m not even sure if it would be possible unless Sanders switched from I to D
You’ve got me curious about what the exact rules of selecting the Senate Leader. I know in the House, literally anyone can be voted into Speaker of the House, they don’t even have to be in Congress.
Progressives don’t have enough clout yet to choose the speaker. A lot of the people who just won new seats are conservative to moderate Democrats.
At this point I just want a fighter who’s going to go after maga. I’m pretty progressive but we need to be realistic about how Congress actually works.
Being a realist will make you no friends here.
If being a realist means compromising your values before negotiations even begin and calling that strategy then yes that is going to be very poorly received.
No basically if you’re not cheering for your favorite manic socialist dream candidate then it’s going to be ill received.
Oh I’m well aware lol.
Bernie is a million years old let the poor man rest and get someone younger for that job man.
Bernie never does anything he doesn’t want to do. I’d let him speak for himself on that, not us.
Speaking for us is the role though.
Sort of, and to that extent Sanders is excellent at that!
But I’m confused. Is this about what Sanders wants to do with his remaining time here with us, or what you want?
It’s elder abuse to want an eighty-five year old to do that job when there are plenty of younger people who are willing and able to.
Isn’t it ageism to tell someone what they can and can’t do?
I’m pro-choice, which means letting him decide for himself.
And who?
I think the world should be ran by people under the age of sixty.
He gets to be the party sage telling people not to look in the mirror while they’re rolling.
I’m in favor of Elizabeth Warren. She can fight
Change.org is really annoying to use. You can’t just sign. You gotta sign, then click through donations and share requests, then click an email link, then skip through more upsells, THEN finally you have signed.
And then they sell your data to every spam list imaginable.
Oh yea then they recommend more petitions at the end.
Maybe it’s unlock origin but I just signed and that was it.
He’s not for the people first, we’re 2nd or 3rd in line. Schumer, you did a great job on the election and picking candidates. Please retire on a high note.
Schumer, you did a great job on the election and picking candidates.
With the exception of leaving Angie Nixon to fight alone in Florida. That was some grade A bullshit.
Just let him believe that he’s done well so he can fuck off and pass the torch. He can retire and go play bridge with the Baileys.
If you want to get him out of office, you have to offer him another enticing position, like New York Officer in Charge of Rating and Evaluating Bacon and Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches For Sale in State Diners.
Fuck that. Get him out, and if it hurts his feelings, he can go tell his troubles to the fucking Baileys.
Leaving voluntarily is always better. Ask any corporation.
Will never give up power willingly.
Look at Mitch and Nancy. And Diane Feinstein.
True, he made mistakes and was sucky about the progressives in the past, but we need to get him to retire. Let’s just focus on getting him out of there and get some of the fresher people in there. We could have a real candidate for 2028 that could get shit done.
Let’s just focus on getting him out of there and get some of the fresher people in there.
Completely agree.
She was too socialist for “Republican family in Kansas” Chuck.
We lost by a small margin because she didn’t get the funding
He has a lot more control over where the funding goes than this comment implies.
I wrote he instead of she, sorry a typo
Oh that makes way more sense!
What race are you talking about? Kansas governor still hasn’t been called but the Dem is in the lead by 0.6%
My bad I think it was about Angie Nixon
Ah sorry, I thought it was about Kansas. My bad
Schumer, you did a great job on the election and picking candidates.
Ah yes. Like Janet Mills, Andrew Vindman, Haley Stevens…
Great picks.
I found one for the Senate also:
https://www.change.org/p/replace-chuck-schumer-as-senate-majority-leader
Great, I’ll sign it.
Is there one for Schumer too?
Schumer: https://c.org/qdhyRNRFYX
Signed! Thank you.
Accountability is not revenge, it’s justice.
Jeffries gotta go! Chuck the cuck gotta go! Fire Fetterman into the sun!
signed. is there one for Schumer yet?
This dude is a traitor… he’s bros with Kushner.
Just keep in mind that online petitions are performative at best. At worst, they give people a false sense of accomplishment and they end up doing nothing else.
Go ahead and sign it, it never hurts, but then call, AND send an email to your Congressional Rep and Senator. That has a bigger impact.
It’s still something to give a reference of how voters feel and to be able to say “see, you are ignoring the will of your voters”
Can Mark Ruffalo be the speaker?
Yes, anyone can be nominated. It’s just always traditionally been a member of the House.
Sounds like it’s time to call in Barack Obama.
