California’s Dianne Feinstein
Watching the pundits and other news oriented shows it becomes apparent that California politicians are carrying much of the weight for the Democratic Party. There is always, of course, political maneuvering behind the scenes and away from the cameras, but that’s not what shapes public opinion. It’s what happens out in front of the cameras that causes most people to remember and react, and out there in the limelight, in the heat of the moment, Californians like Ted Lieu, Maxine Waters, Jackie Speier, Barbara Lee, Dianne Feinsten and Adam Schiff, are shining stars. I’m not including Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer on the list, because for the most part they have been out of sight, apparently playing duck and cover somewhere, and are nothing close to the firebrands the Dems currently need to lead them out of the patch of tangled weeds they’re in.
Dianne Feinstein, is turning out to be the party’s iron lady, leaving her spot on the Senate Intelligence Committee for only days after a brief absence to have a pacemaker implanted. This might be unremarkable except that Feinstein is 83.
A few others, like Al Franken of Minnesota, pop up now and then, only to disappear for weeks or months at a time, and that’s not what’s needed right now. What’s needed are talking heads that are available to go on camera even when it’s inconvenient, like over this current holiday weekend, to continue holding the Trump Administration’s feet to the fires of Russiagate, Trump’s taxes, North Korea, diversionary bombings and all the other unacceptable issues of this erratic presidency.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are tireless warriors for the left, but beyond them mostly it’s the Californians who are picking up the slack for a Democratic Party that needs to be making a lot more noise. The country needs at least two viable parties. Three or four would be even better. Unfortunately the idea of a proportional government has not yet caught on in the U.S., leaving millions of Americans left out and feeling alienated from the process.
In the meantime, California rocks. If the party can just come up with some way to bring the progressive heat of the California sun together with the more moderate climes of the Middle West and elsewhere – then they’ll really have something.