Chuck Schumer becomes first Libertarian US Senator

Sen. Chuck Schumer shocked Washington today, with his announcement that he would not be seeking the position of Senate Minority Leader following the resignation of Sen. Harry Reid, as widely expected. Instead, the senior Senator from New York announced that he is leaving the Democratic Party altogether, and has changed his registration to the Libertarian Party, becoming that party’s first member of the United States Senate.

Schumer says he made the decision after consulting with other politicians who have switched to the Libertarian Party, including Wayne Allyn Root and former Sen. Mike Gravel.

“At first I was worried I wouldn’t be a good fit for the Libertarians, but after talking to Rand Paul I was convinced the Libertarians are my kind of party.” said Schumer, who has been in Congress since 1981 and was elected to the Senate in 1998.

Following the announcement, Schumer filed several bills as the first to be introduced by a Libertarian Senator. The proposals include the prohibition of pay-day lending, nationalization of the mobility scooter industry, the reinstatement of the Sedition Act of 1798, and a permanent ban on caffeinated alcoholic beverages. Schumer proposed to pay for his proposals by increasing the top income tax bracket to 68.5%, and says he also hopes to build momentum for the repeal of the 21st Amendment.

Reactions from Libertarians were swift, and mostly positive. The 2012 Libertarian nominee for President, Gov. Gary Johnson (NM), reacted by offering to send Sen. Schumer a free sample of his company’s new lozenges, in the hopes that he will make more sense after consuming them.

Asked about the possibility of Schumer seeking his party’s nomination for President in 2016, the Chair of the Libertarian National Committee responded, through muffled sobs and a locked door, that he would not be leaving his motel room.