I actually think it’s possible for Feinstein to be primaried out. She’s old and senile and people are starting to recognize that. Any primary opponent just has to keep saying “91”, and there are lots of ambitious politicians in California. There have only been four Senators ever who were over 90 while in office, and I think only Thurmond was actually elected while over 90. (Byrd was 89 when elected to his final term.)
California is a jungle primary. It’s hard to imagine Feinstein still not finishing in the top 2, even if we’re at Weekend At Bernie’s stage by 2024. But I don’t think she’s running again, either.
One thing: Democrats will want to find someone(s) who might have some heft. I know the temptation is to think of California as a progressive wonderland of delights…but there’s a fairly significant faction of California liberals who like their establishment Democrats a whole lot. Katie Porter might be the perfect candidate to fill that bill, honestly. She’s well-liked across most factions of the Democratic party.
An up-and-coming CA Democrat to watch is newly elected San Diego mayor Todd Gloria. He’s been Council President here, served as interim mayor when Filner resigned, and has spent four years in the CA Assembly serving as Majority Whip. He’s relatively young, charismatic, ambitious, very popular, and is known and liked among CA Dem pols. He’s also gay and Latino(ish), which can help here.
Oh, yeah! I’ve heard his name mentioned as someone in the state to keep an eye on.
Is she ACTUALLY senile? I’m wondering how much of that is real, and how much is a narrative constructed by folks on the internet. Is this something that’s been reported by actual news outlets?
Well there was at least one reported incident where she asked a witness the same long complicated question, complete with reading a lengthy quote, twice in row, apparently oblivious to the fact that she was repeating herself.
Will, we also saw an OAN reporter do the same thing, and she wasn’t senile.
But many others familiar with Feinstein’s situation describe her as seriously struggling, and say it has been evident for several years. Speaking on background, and with respect for her accomplished career, they say her short-term memory has grown so poor that she often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have. They describe Feinstein as forgetting what she has said and getting upset when she can’t keep up. One aide to another senator described what he called a “Kabuki” meeting in which Feinstein’s staff tried to steer her through a proposed piece of legislation that she protested was “just words” which “make no sense.” Feinstein’s staff has said that sometimes she seems herself, and other times unreachable. “The staff is in such a bad position,” a former Senate aide who still has business in Congress said. “They have to defend her and make her seem normal.”
Schumer had several serious and painful talks with Feinstein, according to well-informed sources. Overtures were also made to enlist the help of Feinstein’s husband, Richard Blum. Feinstein, meanwhile, was surprised and upset by Schumer’s message. He had wanted her to step aside on her own terms, with her dignity intact, but “she wasn’t really all that aware of the extent to which she’d been compromised,” one well-informed Senate source told me. “It was hurtful and distressing to have it pointed out.” Compounding the problem, Feinstein seemed to forget about the conversations soon after they talked, so Schumer had to confront her again. “It was like Groundhog Day, but with the pain fresh each time.” Anyone who has tried to take the car keys away from an elderly relative knows how hard it can be, he said, adding that, in this case, “It wasn’t just about a car. It was about the U.S. Senate.”
I think there should be upper limits on age for office. At a certain point, you’ve had your time, senile or not. With no limits we end up with the gerontocracy of the current senate and supreme court.
You have my vote.
Portman: It’s hard to find common ground across parties.
Also Portman: The Constitution doesn’t allow for impeaching a president after he’s out of office, and we should all just move on to heal the country.
Fuck this guy with a rake. Sadly, I expect his replacement to be worse.
What Portman means is that it’s a tough time to be a non-insane Republican.
And yes, given that this is Ohio, I would expect an insane Republican to take his place.
Yeah; I think he’s sadly a slam dunk. The Dems have a really weak bench for Ohio Senators for some unknown reason (imho). That’s not to say there aren’t good candidates, but they rarely run (or rarely run well).
I don’t know that Jordan will do as well in a state wide race, compared to his ultra gerrymandered district.
The Dems need to hyper-focus on his insanity and past issues and then put forth a legitimately engaging option. I’m not holding my breath, but here’s hoping.
Or maybe they’ll pul a Cal Cunningham again and nominate a bland centrist who can’t keep his dick in his pants for 4 months in order to win the Senate/save America.
I’m not still insanely bitter. Nope.
LMFAO
In advance of @triggercut’s certainly superior deep dive, here’s some more info on what to expect in 2022.
The tl;dr is
Cook Report predicts 50D/48R with 2 tossups
270 predicts 49D/48R with 3 tossups
Tossups are:
270 - Georgia - Warnock - makes sense. The entire Georgian Republican apparatus is going to mobilize to make sure Democrats don’t win this seat. They are going to make voting very hard and given how close the race was, it’s not going to take much. Of course there’s no Republican candidate right now so who knows.
Both - North Carolina - Richard Burr - Burr is retiring and his last election was close - 51.1% voted for him.
Both - Pennsylvania - Pat Toomey - Toomey is also retiring and PA is a swing state, so it’s anyone’s ballgame. I imagine this will be a tentpole race for both parties. Lots and lots of money is going to go into this one.
I’m a little surprised to see Ron Johnson’s seat in Wisconsin staying “Lean R” given that he only won 50.2% of the vote. That could be a stretch goal for Ds.