77th District Assemblyman Brian Maienschein Defects From Vichy Republicans
Assemblyman Brian Maienschein joined the Democratic Party yesterday. He’s seen the handwriting on the wall and is getting out while the going is good.
Official Republicandom is predictably furious. County GOP Chairman Tony Krvaric called upon him to resign. Escondido Assembly member Marie Waldron called him a turncoat. Talk show host Carl DeMaio took time off from his daily histrionics to tell the world he wasn’t surprised.
(For those who might have ditched WWII history, referring to somebody or something as “Vichy” is to suggest they are collaborators with authoritarian rule. See Vichy France.)
The progressive Democrats who worked hard to almost unseat Maienschein in 2018 were uneasy, promising to watch his future behavior before passing judgement. Sunday Gover, the challenger who lost by six hundred or so votes, is keeping her future options open.
From Michael Smolens at the Union-Tribune:
“Clearly our campaign had a massive impact, and it’s good news that Mr. Maienschein has finally left the Republican Party, but simply switching parties doesn’t address the issues our community needs championed in Sacramento,” she said, leaving the door open for a rematch.
Gover’s supporters were less-than-thrilled about the tacit support given Maienschein in the last election by big-name Democrats like Assm. Lorena Gonzalez and State Senator Toni Atkins. For these elected officials, their ‘wink-wink’ support for a Republican willing to cross the aisle was a matter of pragmatic politics.
Back to the UT:
In December, Gonzalez explained that her stance in that race stemmed from her friendship with Maienschein, his votes and his views.
Then she added, “The demographics of his district have clearly changed, and I’m certain electing a Democrat there will be a priority in 2020 for all of us,” she said.
No doubt.
This leads me to the question of what kind of Democrat should we be supporting? Clearly people change their views in response to what they see going on in the world around them. And we should be happy about it when they do.
But… Doesn’t it make sense to ask them to pay some dues along the way to complete redemption?
This point of view was certainly true in the case of another Republican who made the jump, namely Nathan Fletcher. By the time he got around to running for Supervisor, he’d proven himself worthy of support from most of the activist wing of the Democratic party.
I’m not going to suggest that Maienschein should resign, wear a hair shirt, or self-flagellate. Sunday Gover is right to withhold judgement. Maienschein’s should communicate through words and deeds his commitment to Democratic ideals. His defection gave the party a public relations victory, trumpeted from coast-to-coast.
While he may have crossed the aisle some in the legislature along the path to switching sides, the efforts of those whose did hard work in the trenches of his district deserve recognition. An unknown candidate went door-to-door, built an impressive campaign, registered a lot of voters, and nearly won against a politician with almost two decades of incumbency.
If past history is any indication, nothing in the way of encouragement or reward for all this effort by Gover will happen. That sort of short-sightedness about what’s happening in the community is why Myrtle Cole is no longer on the San Diego City Council.
Maybe Maienschein is the right person for the 77th Assembly district as a Democrat. Maybe he’s not. He should know the Blue Wave sweeping Democrats into office around the county isn’t going anywhere.
There are candidates from the left willing to challenge party orthodoxy and incumbents already organizing for 2020. Todd Gloria/Barbara Bry’s path to the top job in the city has activist Tasha Williamson standing the way. (Cory Briggs is also running.) Social-justice activist Aeiramique Glass Blake is challenging Congressman Juan Vargas.
While not every challenger claiming to be a Democrat should get the party’s blessing, they should be heard. Taking the always safe path to winning elections with insider trading and gamesmanship is a shortsighted strategy.
The challenges we face as a nation mean it’s necessary to challenge conventional wisdom. And that starts by paying attention. There are plenty of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - types waiting in the wings.
Not the Onion.
Yes, this was this morning. I hope he's not planning on flying home for the weekend.
https://twitter.com/CraigCaplan/status/1088854902502244353
And who could forget this nugget from 2016?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/733974704445358080
h/t Brook Binkowski
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