Progressive-Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen (MD) has decided to run for Senate Majority Leader in opposition to incumbent Progressive-Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer (NY).

A geezer looking to replace a geezer in a broad environment where so many voters and incoming politicians up and down the ballot are looking to replace the geezer leadership with more youthful, and so more fresh thinking (or so they hope) can make for interesting theater.

Van Hollen characterized his decision as an answer to what he claims is the demand evinced by the just concluded mid-terms:

reject the status quo, and to reject business as usual. And to do that, I think we need new leadership.

Schumer’s response:

I welcome any discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead.

To the extent that Van Hollen is right about the thrust of the mid-terms, both men are missing the point of that outcome. The demand for change is far broader than a Senate caucus; it’s about the future of the Progressive-Democratic Party as a whole. The rejection of the status quo and demand for new leadership is a rejection of the old guard Establishment and a demand for younger Party leadership as the only path for rejecting the status quo and replacing it with a nova status.

An empty gesture. ‘Course, Van Hollen is only 67 against Schumer’s 75, so there’s that.