Global Courant 2023-04-18 17:00:49
Dianne Feinstein wanted to make a statement.
The former mayor of San Francisco ran for governor of California and, knowing she would never win the endorsement of the far left, chose to stab those activists in the eye.
“Yes, I support the death penalty,” Feinstein told his fellow Democrats at the party’s state convention. “It’s a problem that can’t be solved or covered up.”
A chorus of boos sounded like a clap of thunder. Feinstein stared straight ahead for nearly 30 seconds, unblinking, as anger washed over her. (Meanwhile, cameras rolled to capture the made-for-TV moment, intended to dispel the idea of Feinstein as some wacky liberal from San Francisco.)
That was in 1990. But for some Democrats, the anger never stopped.
And with Feinstein ailing, some of her ideological foes are hoping to exploit the moment by calling for the senator’s resignation and replacement with someone they like more, that is, further to the political left.
A favorite is Oakland’s Rep. Barbara Lee, a declared candidate to replace Feinstein – and it should be noted, not among those calling on the Senator to step aside immediately.
The time may soon come for 89-year-old Feinstein to call it a career, despite her profound reluctance. Governor Gavin Newsom, who would choose her replacement, would then have to resist attempts by the left to hijack the Senate seat by appointing Lee or another ultraliberal.
He would have to appoint a caretaker who agrees to complete Feinstein’s term, which expires in January 2025, and leave it to voters to choose from several candidates running to become her long-term successor.
Feinstein’s decline has been well noticed. It’s not cognitive problems, though, but a severe case of shingles that has kept her housebound in California, a continent away from her Washington responsibilities. Feinstein has not cast a Senate vote since mid-February.
Many senators have been absent for a long time. Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman, who was just elected in November, spent more than six weeks in the hospital being treated for severe depression. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate Monday after recovering from a fall for six weeks.
Feinstein’s absence has been felt more acutely because of her role on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Without her presence, Democrats have been unable to confirm a backlog of President Biden’s judicial nominees, an important part of his agenda and a high priority for the party, given President Trump’s right-wing reform of the federal courts.
In a concession — the latest, after refusing to seek re-election — Feinstein last week asked the Senate Democratic leader to appoint a temporary replacement on the committee until she can return to Washington. However, that would require the approval of a significant number of Republicans, which seems quite unlikely.
So Feinstein may be faced with a choice: go back to Capitol Hill, whatever physical challenges that entails, or continue to interfere with her party and president.
Even those sympathetic to the senator, who smell more than a whiff of ageism and misogyny in calls for her resignation, suggest that Feinstein cannot and should not try to sit out her San Francisco recuperation.
“We’re going to need her vote on the Senate floor eventually,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), adding that Feinstein’s return “certainly better happen before the debt ceiling vote.”
If Feinstein were to step down, it would leave Newsom in a quandary much of which he himself has experienced.
When Senator Kamala Harris stepped down to become vice president, the governor named Alex Padilla as her replacement. Newsom was criticized for failing to appoint a black woman, filling a void Harris had left with her departure, and so Newsom, in a trademark rash move, promised to do just that if Feinstein vacated her seat .
Lee fits the specs, as a black woman with deep political experience.
But things are different now with a hard-fought Senate campaign underway. Irvine Rep. Burbank’s Katie Porter and Adam B. Schiff are both strong contenders for the seat. The governor should not substitute his judgment for that of the voters by giving an advantage to Lee or any other candidate with less than a year of primaries.
Feinstein never found favor with the far left. Relatively too conservative. Too correct and prime.
But for much of her career, she was the most popular politician in California, her views — such as support for the death penalty — closely aligned with those of the state’s political mainstream.
Even as Feinstein sought re-election in 2018 at age 85, when her illness was no secret, she easily turned down a challenge from the more liberal Kevin de León.
So it’s no coincidence that the loudest voices now calling for Feinstein’s impeachment come from the left, including Rep. Ro Khanna, a Bernie Sanders Democrat and co-chair of Lee’s Senate campaign.
Much loved in her East Bay Area precinct, Lee is highly respected by the Democrats she has served with. However, it remains to be seen whether her will prove politically palatable to voters statewide.
When Newsom fought an attempted recall, Democrats were quick to condemn it as a power grab and an attempt by the Republicans to capture an office they would otherwise struggle to win under normal circumstances. It’s no different when liberal Democrats try to short-circuit the process.
Lee should do her best as a candidate for the Senate seat, without interference from the governor.
Then the voters can decide.
