Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California has become a by-word among conservatives for her extreme liberalism. And yet, she is not extremely liberal enough for the California Democratic party, which is refusing to endorse her for re-election, choosing instead to throw its weight behind the even-more-leftist Kevin de León.
De León, among other things, wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A congressional Democrat filed a bill to that effect, with somewhat comical results.
I’ll let The Daily Oklahoman editorial writers tell you both stories. From Oklahoma Scissortales:
California Democrats
If you aren’t among those who think the problem with California is that its Democratic leaders are too politically moderate, then that just means you’re not a Democratic activist in that state. The latest evidence of this trend was provided when the executive board of the California Democratic Party chose to endorse Kevin de Leon, who hopes to oust longtime incumbent U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in this year’s elections. Feinstein is no mushy moderate, and made national headlines for appearing to impose an unconstitutional religious test on judicial nominees when she suggested last year that Amy Coney Barrett wasn’t qualified to serve as a judge because she was a committed Catholic. Yet in her home state, Feinstein is attacked as being part of “politics as usual in Washington, D.C.” That’s in keeping with the crazy “politics as usual” of California Democrats and their sprint to the political fringe. . . .
Political games
The public wants Congress to address substantive issues, but too often lawmakers instead engage in pointless political games. That’s the case with the debate over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., filed legislation to abolish ICE without providing any way to handle future immigration enforcement issues. Republican congressional leaders threatened to hold a vote on the bill, which led Pocan and other Democrats to release a statement declaring “we plan to vote no and will instead use the opportunity to force an urgently needed and long-overdue conversation …” Then House Republicans announced they wouldn’t schedule a vote after all, because they worried Democrats would boycott it and Republicans would look silly. So Democrats supported a bill until the moment they could vote for it, and Republicans opposed the bill until the moment they could vote against it. And citizens are left shaking their heads.
This makes me think that Democrats, for all of their heady prospects at winning the House and Senate in November from the Republicans, may snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Sen. Feinstein has served in the Senate since 1992 and has amassed a great deal of seniority and the power that it brings. In 2012, she set the record for the most votes ever received by a Senator. I suspect she will win again no matter what the state Democrats do to defeat her in the primary. And yet, if California Democrats are going to be so impractical, so doctrinally pure, that they will throw over a party icon in the cause of leftist zeal, they may well go off the deep end, with voters being reluctant to jump with them.
Photo: Official Senate photograph of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) by United States Congress, US Senate Photo/Becky Hammel [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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