By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--February 27, 2018
American Politics, News | CFP Comments | Reader Friendly | Subscribe | Email Us
Dianne Feinstein is nothing if not a staunch left-winger. Yes, every now and then she might express an idea that the radical base is uncomfortable with but, by and large, she toes the Democrat line. Still, she has a problem. "Toeing the line" is no longer good enough.
These days, if you want the support of the Democrat party, you must parrot every, single, crackpot position - no matter how utterly insane you sound doing it - and you must do so with 100% conviction. You need to spout their platitudes at the top of your lungs from the highest rooftop. There is no stance too far to the left, no opinion too radical. If anything they want you to say makes you uncomfortable, tough. Shut up and say it. Fail to meet this standard and you're out.What happens when a blue wave crashes into one of the bluest states in the union? Ask Dianne Feinstein. The long-time California Democratic senator failed to secure her own party’s endorsement, coming in nearly 20 percentage points behind her primary challenger among delegate votes at the state party’s annual convention in San Diego over the weekend. State Senate leader Kevin de León, who is challenging Feinstein from the left, won the support of 54 percent of the Democratic delegates, compared to 37 percent support for Feinstein. Both fell short of the 60 percent needed to secure the party endorsement, but the shock result served as a jolt of energy for the state’s progressive base as well as a clear warning shot for Feinstein, a prominent figure been in California politics since she was first elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the 1970s.
Democrats for months have pointed to California as the driving force in the anti-Trump resistance movement. But according to 538’s "Trump score," which determines how often a member of Congress has voted with the president, Feinstein is the most out of step with her constituents of any Democratic senator. Although Feinstein has notably shifted toward the left of the Democratic caucus on issues involving the status of the "Dreamers," undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, de León's long-term support of immigrants was one of the biggest issues that propelled him ahead of Feinstein among party’s activists. Her harsh rhetoric about "illegal" immigration from the 1990s is currently being used by right-wingers in national campaigns against immigration reform.In other words, Feinstein is on board with the Dems' illegal agenda, she just hasn't been quite as vitriolic as they'd like. We've heard an awful lot about this alleged "blue wave" that's approaching from the Pacific Coast. It's clear there's a lot of fervor among the Trump haters, but whether a wave materializes remains to be seen. However, if you're trying to generate sweeping electoral gains, eating your own seems like a bad way to start.
Support Canada Free Press
View Comments
Robert Laurie’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain.com
Be sure to “like” Robert Laurie over on Facebook and follow him on Twitter. You’ll be glad you did.