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Weekend at Feinstein's

Skeptic Ginger said:
That's a given. Have you found the protocol for replacing a committee member mid-session? I apologize for not looking into it.
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Here is the protocol for replacing a committee member:

Vacancies
In filling vacancies that occur on standing committees after their initial organization, Senate Democrats follow the same procedure used for each new Congress. Committee vacancies may occur during the course of a Congress because party leaders decide to change a committee’s size or party ratio, or because Members die, change parties, or resign from the Senate. A new Senator replacing a late or former Senator may be chosen to fill the vacated committee seats. However, if the new Senator is of the opposite party from the departed Senator, adjustments in sizes and ratios often are needed to make slots for the new Senator. Moreover, incumbents also might seek to
compete for the newly open committee seats, especially if they occur on one of the more prestigious panels, such as the Appropriations Committee or the Finance Committee. When an incumbent is chosen to fill a committee vacancy, that Senator often gives up an existing assignment to comply with party or chamber assignment limitations (although a waiver might be granted.) This may cause a chain reaction involving a series of shifts of committee assignments.
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The major problem, AIUI: Gov. Newsom would likely appoint Rep. Barbara Lee to replace Feinstein. But, Pelosi et al are backing Rep. Adam Schiff for DF's seat. If Lee is appointed, that gives her an advantage over Schiff and Katie Porter, who is also running, when the next election is held.
 
It's now been confirmed that Feinstein also had encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and Ramsay Hunt syndrome which were the "complications from shingles" that was earlier reported.

The oldest member of the US Senate contracted encephalitis, a brain inflammation, her office has said, after a bout of shingles that left her unable to sit on key committee.

Dianne Feinstein, 89, also developed Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which can cause facial paralysis, her office said.

The encephalitis resolved itself, but she continues to deal with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, the statement said.
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Her aide's statement contradicted the senator's own remarks on Thursday, according to CNN. The network quoted Ms Feinstein as denying she had encephalitis, saying "it really has never been diagnosed properly" and "it was really a bad flu".

Encephalitis can result in symptoms including personality changes, seizures, confusion and problems with sight or hearing, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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Upon her return, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave her a standing ovation, and confirmed three of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees.
Her absence had delayed the committee's efforts to confirm federal judges as it has only a slim one-seat Democratic majority.

Members of her own party have led calls for her to resign, saying she is no longer fit to serve constituents.
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I Am The Scum stated:
She's not voting. Judicial nominees are being held up because she's not voting.
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Not entirely accurate as highlighted above, but she has also missed some votes since her return to the Senate.
IMO, she needs to resign. I think the Lee/Schiff/Porter advantage problem could be resolved if Newsom assigned none of them and appointed a Dem who does not intend to run for the seat in the next election.
 
I Am The Scum said:
Wouldn't this mean that those calling for her resignation are not using a GOP talking point?
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That's not how it works. It's a negative talking point to hit the evil Democrats over the head with.


Until we see the results it's too soon to be whining how she isn't representing her constituents.
 
Stacyhs said:
It's now been confirmed that Feinstein also had encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and Ramsay Hunt syndrome which were the "complications from shingles" that was earlier reported.







I Am The Scum stated:


Not entirely accurate as highlighted above, but she has also missed some votes since her return to the Senate.
IMO, she needs to resign. I think the Lee/Schiff/Porter advantage problem could be resolved if Newsom assigned none of them and appointed a Dem who does not intend to run for the seat in the next election.
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So who's more dysfunctional. Feinstein or the Dems with their infighting?
 
novaphile said:
Oh. That one's easy. The parties are there to prevent you from getting local candidates who will represent the local community.

(In theory, the parties are there so that you can tell how the candidate will vote on a given issue, but the world is full of examples where that just isn't true.)

In Australia, candidates are 'parachuted in' over local representatives all the time. At best they make some token commitment to the electorate, for example buying a rental property in the electorate so that they can claim to be a rate-payer...
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As abundantly demonstrated here in NC, where an allegedly moderate-to-progressive Dem changed parties to become a Repugican in mid-term, giving them a veto-proof super-majority which they have immediately started using to pass the most right-wingnut bills they can come up with. Bills which polls clearly show that the majority of voters (and most especially her constituents) do not want.
 
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Skeptic Ginger said:
That's not how it works. It's a negative talking point to hit the evil Democrats over the head with.


Until we see the results it's too soon to be whining how she isn't representing her constituents.
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The fact that her staff are acting in her stead without her knowledge establishes that she isn't representing her constituents.
 
theprestige said:
The fact that her staff are acting in her stead without her knowledge establishes that she isn't representing her constituents.
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In your mind I can see how it does. In my mind you have tunnel vision.
She hired those staff members. They are likely very loyal and in substituting for her during her absence (physical or mental absence) they are representing those constituents.

I saw something recently (I can't recall where so I'll have to look for where I saw it) that the staff did all the real work and the politician had less of a role than people believe.

I would be fine with it if I still lived in CA.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
In your mind I can see how it does. In my mind you have tunnel vision.
She hired those staff members. They are likely very loyal and in substituting for her during her absence (physical or mental absence) they are representing those constituents.

I saw something recently (I can't recall where so I'll have to look for where I saw it) that the staff did all the real work and the politician had less of a role than people believe.

I would be fine with it if I still lived in CA.
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Haha oh wow.

For those of you wondering why the party can't replace her: Exhibit A.
 
Haha oh wow. Your assessment of me doesn't bother me, if you hadn't already noticed. If you disagree with my assessment of your post you could provide some evidence that either Feinstein's constituents are angry and want her to resign. Or, lacking that you could try to counter my claim the staff do all the work.

Not what I recently saw but it does nonetheless suffice as supporting my claim:

Roles of Congressional Staff Members
Chief of staff or administrative assistant
This staff member reports directly to the member of Congress and usually has overall responsibility for evaluating the political outcomes of various legislative proposals and constituent requests. The chief of staff or administrative assistant is usually the person in charge of overall office operations, including the assignment of work and the supervision of key staff.

Legislative director, legislative counsel, tax counsel, or senior legislative assistant
The legislative director is usually the staff person who monitors the legislative schedule and makes recommendations regarding the pros and cons of particular issues. Legislative analysis responsibilities are assigned to staff, tax counsel, or legislative assistants with particular expertise in specific areas. Depending on the responsibilities and interests of the member, an office may have separate legislative assistants assigned to health issues, environmental matters, taxes, etc.
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I welcome the robo-gerontocracy.

This is a false choice — because we can give both sides what they want. We can make sure California is always represented in the Senate, while Feinstein can remain in the body for as long as she likes.

How?

Artificial intelligence.

Yes, we could create an artificial intelligence based on Feinstein. Call it DiFi AI.

And it could handle all the tasks of a senator’s job.

Fundraising? DiFi could reach more people in more places faster — and write less annoying email spam.

Legislation? An algorithm could introduce sensible gun-control legislation that doesn’t pass and do it faster than the human Feinstein.

Voting the party line? Your 12-year-old could build an AI to do that.

But why stop at handling official duties? A DiFi AI could solve political problems that elude the living, breathing Feinstein.

Right now, Gov. Newsom has to worry about the tricky politics of whom he might choose to replace Feinstein if she leaves early or dies; the AI spares him that choice.
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https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/dinanne-feinstein-resign-difi-ai-18107088.php

My man is smoking some grade-A loud.
 
I'm actually surprised that Newsom is being public with the fact that he doesn't want to be put in the position of nominating a black woman to the Senate as he promised. If he wants to run for the Presidency (next year or in 2028), he's going to have to do some bridge-building to Blacks, and this would be a perfect opportunity. Granted it will piss off Schiff and Porter, but he has the fallback that it was a pledge he made (and with California's jungle primary system, one of them at least will make it to the general election).
 
Sen. Dianne Feinstein told to 'just say aye' in awkward Senate committee moment
Feinstein began delivering a speech in support of a bill during a vote Thursday, instead of the expected response of "aye" or "nay."


Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., appeared confused during a vote on a defense appropriations bill Thursday, which prompted a fellow Democratic senator to step in.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee markup of bills Thursday morning, Feinstein seemed to stumble on a vote. Instead of saying the expected response of “aye” or “nay,” Feinstein began delivering a speech expressing her support of the measure: “I would like to support a ‘yes’ vote on this. It provides $823 billion...”

About 15 seconds into Feinstein’s speech, an aide whispered in her ear. Committee chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., then told Feinstein: “Just say aye.”

“Aye,” Feinstein said.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-dianne-feinstein-told-just-say-aye-awkward-senate-committee-moment-rcna96697

Watching this lady's brains drip out of her ears down onto the carpet on CSPAN.
 
I'm hoping more than a few of our well-past-prime politicians are watching this disgraceful and humiliating end to Feinstein's long career and thinking more seriously about planning their retirement.

Retiring with dignity is entirely their prerogative.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
I'm hoping more than a few of our well-past-prime politicians are watching this disgraceful and humiliating end to Feinstein's long career and thinking more seriously about planning their retirement.

Retiring with dignity is entirely their prerogative.
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I am actually unsure why some of our aged politicians hang on for so long... is it just vanity? They have a pretty damned good pension plan after all.
 
Real America Moment, a nearly trillion dollar budget to our war industry being approved by a 90+ year old who doesn't know where she is.

Pure, high-test suicide fuel. Truly a doomed society.
 
lobosrul5 said:
I am actually unsure why some of our aged politicians hang on for so long... is it just vanity? They have a pretty damned good pension plan after all.
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Power. The kind of person who successfully claws their way into one of the most powerful clubs on the planet isn't the kind of person who resigns their club membership voluntarily.
 
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