Charles Schumer

Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer (b. 1950) is a liberal Democratic U.S. Senator from New York. He defeated incumbent Republican Senator Alfonse D'Amato in a nasty campaign in 1998 after serving in the House of Representatives for many terms. He is particularly vocal in supporting groups that perform abortions, such as Planned Parenthood.

United States Senate

In 2005 Schumer became chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and in November 2006, he was elected to the new post of Vice Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. Schumer has long been known in Washington for his hamming to television cameras. Majority Leader Bob Dole once quipped that "the most dangerous place in Washington is between Charles Schumer and a television camera." That criticism has not just been Republicans. David McReynolds, the Green Party candidate for senator, observed about Schumer, "People are saying he's a newshound, a camera hog, that he's someone who loses no opportunity to push into a picture."

DSCC Controversy

During the 2006 Senate election's, Schumer's Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee illegally obtained a copy of the credit report of the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Michael S. Steele, a Republican senatorial candidate, posing as him and using his social security number. They are currently under investigation by the FBI.