California Senator Dianne Feinstein has been in Congress for more than 30 years.
Her career in politics is one for the record books.
The first woman to be president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The first woman to be mayor of San Francisco
the first woman to be elected to the Senate from California
Two years ago, she became the longest-serving California senator in history.
Last year, she became the longest-serving female senator ever.
Frank Bruni at the New York Times defended Feinstein’s legacy:
In March 2013, she fought successfully to push a reinstatement of an expired ban on assault weapons through the Senate Judiciary Committee. At one point Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican with a hoary and literalist interpretation of the Second Amendment, questioned her constitutional fluency. “I’m not a sixth grader,” she responded. “I’m not a lawyer. But after 20 years, I’ve been up close and personal with the Constitution.” That’s called experience. And that’s an example of the poise it engenders.
The next March, she took to the Senate floor to excoriate the C.I.A. as part of her long, dogged effort to hold the United States to account for its use of black sites, torture and the like after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Her impassioned speech — which would garner a standing ovation from fellow Democrats at a party luncheon later that day — cemented the role she seized, despite furious blowback, as the country’s conscience regarding the treatment of detainees in the war on terror. She was then, at 81, already the oldest serving senator. And that fit. That gave her the stature — and fearlessness — to buck the Obama administration and do what she felt she must.
Feinstein has always gone her own way, following her own compass, never nearly progressive enough for the left, not as predictably and consistently moderate as centrists wanted her to be, idiosyncratic, ornery.
She’s announced plans to retire in 2024, but for a growing number of politicos and talking heads that’s not soon enough. Yesterday, there were articles detailing reasons why she should retire now in 10 significant publications. Hmmmm. An organized campaign, maybe?
She has been on a leave of absence since early March due to an outbreak of shingles. That’s kept her from voting on 60 of the 82 Senate votes taken in 2023 so far. There has been no announcement as to when she plans to return
It’s her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee that has Democratic Senators worried.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin on Monday acknowledged that Feinstein's current absence is impacting the process of confirming judicial nominees. The committee is split 10-10 with Feinstein missing, with Durbin telling CNN that he currently cannot "consider nominees in these circumstances because a tie vote is a losing vote."
From Jezebel:
Questions about Feinstein’s fitness to serve have followed her for years now, particularly since an unsettling moment in 2020 when she embraced Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and seemed supportive of Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, prompting questions of whether she even knew what was going on. Shortly after, Feinstein was removed from her position as Chair of the Judiciary Committee—but a report from the time claimed Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had to twice inform Feinstein of her removal because she forgot the first time. Last year, a separate San Francisco Chronicle report citing unnamed senators and Senate staffers claimed Feinstein’s memory was “rapidly deteriorating,” and that she’s “mentally unfit” to continue serving. And back in February, Feinstein and her team struggled to even coordinate on something as simple as the timing of her announcement that she isn’t seeking reelection.
Feinstein represents 40 million Americans and serves on four Senate committees. It seems we can both thank her for her service and decades of blazing a path for women in politics and recognize that her remaining in the Senate past her ability to do her job isn’t exactly a feminist victory—not when women and pregnant people stand to be harmed the most by the stalled confirmation of liberal judges.
Doing something about a member aging out of enough cognizance to perform their duties is a sensitive subject, particularly in the Senate, some of who’s members’ functionality is alleged to be due to prescription drugs, including those used for treating Alzheimer’s. The median age (65.3 years) for Senators actually rose in the current session.
The current president, Joe Biden, is thought to be “too old for another term as president" by 65% of voters after being informed he'll be 82 at the start of a second term in 2025 and 86 by the end of it.
Despite the ambivalence about Biden’s age and persona, he stands a good chance of being re-elected because his competition is likely to be nearly just as old or tied to ideological stances perceived as regressive.
What is true about the age question in elected officials is their all-too-often awareness (or lack thereof) about changes in the world over the past few decades. Just watching some of these folks fumble about universal and simple technical matters in a committee hearing having anything to do with the internet should be a national embarrassment.
Dianne Feinstein’s reputation for being well-informed on issues has suffered in recent months and we’re expected to accept the word of her fiercely dedicated staff about her mental abilities.
Should she resign (Unlikely at this point, because of her comfort in the protective nature of the Senate.) Gov Gavin Newsom would appoint an interim replacement, a hot potato situation where everybody is likely to end up unhappy.
None-the-less, Senate Democrats can remove her from her committees. And they should, right now. Starting with Judiciary.
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The campaign to replace Feinstein in 2024 is ramping up, with Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee busily harvesting endorsements and funding. Republican Eric Early threw his hat in the ring yesterday in yet another indication of how starved his party is for talent. His track record includes losing several races in California, most recently in last year’s Republican primary, hoping to unseat Attorney General Rob Bonta.
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News You Oughta Know
Judge Limits Fox’s Options for Defense in Dominion Trial Via the New York Times. Get your popcorn ready! This trial, which begins Monday, will impact media news operations no matter what the jury decides. Along the way the documents already made public indicate Fox News hosts are going to have to walk through a “hall of shame” as they try to justify enabling lies and misinformation.
Political advice: Don't dismiss Michelle Obama in '24 race Via American Family News. A popularity poll by a right wing group says the former First Lady is in the running to be President in 2024. Further evidence of this ludicrous proposition (See: Just about any profile of her that asks about aspirations) comes from a policy director nobody ever heard of at a right wing organization.
Big McBucks Via an item in Politico California. In case you haven’t heard, the 2024 election in California will feature mega corporations pretending to be “family businesses” aiming to undo legislation aimed at addressing the ongoing exploitation of workers. Mickey D’s has created an independent expenditure committee with financial backing starting at $1 million. Trust me on this one, these bottom feeders are going to go all-in to attempt to emulate Uber, et. al.’s successful campaign to deny workers basic job protections. By the way, despite the promises made by the gig economy companies, workers now experience wage discrimination thanks to the algorithms used by the company, according to a column in the Los Angeles Times.
Beer Is Transgender Now, Because The Money Is In Transgender Beer Via Oliver Willis. The most ridiculous boycott campaign ever against Anheuser-Busch because they featured a transgender individual in a (limited) marketing campaign is underway, with macho men buying cases of Bud Light and shooting them up with guns. Wait a minute.. Did I say buy? Why, yes I did. Meanwhile AB’s stock is up, and while the company doesn’t give a hoot about what right wing culture clowns think, they continue to fund legislators writing hate laws.
San Diego sued for allowing developers to forego parking requirements, build higher, and construct backyard apartments Via Dorian Hargrove at CBS8. For once I’d love to hear San Diego’s NIMBYs articulate a solution for homeless humans that ultimately doesn’t involve concentration camp-style facilities.
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And it’s not just NIMBYs…
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I am thankful that you listed Ms. Feinstein's many tremendous accomplishments. She has been a wonderful boon to this country. Shingles are incredibly painful and we have no idea how serious is her case of them. Having said all that, I have been thinking for the past 2 years or so that she should resign.
Remove her from committee assignments. I'm a Katie Porter supporter and could very easily see Newsom appointing Barbara Lee in the interim which would give a leg up in the '24 election. I have always been an admirer of BL, but feel the vitality, intelligence, and spunk are with Katie for the long haul.