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Feinstein not liberal enough for Cali dems - Cal Dem Party endorses Kevin de León in Dem Senate primary Login/Join 
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Infighting among dems is a good thing.



Feinstein gets progressive smackdown

California Democrats, torn by infighting between moderate and progressive factions, rebuked Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s bid for a fifth term — for the second time this year.

The state party’s executive committee voted Saturday to endorse progressive state Sen. Kevin de León in the general election, signaling what many fear will be a divisive Democrat-on-Democrat battle going toward to the fall in California, where the party hoped to put the focus on a host of crucial congressional races that could determine control of the House of Representatives.

The endorsement delivers a lifeline to de León’s struggling campaign — and the party’s imprimatur, which is accompanied by valuable access to slate cards, email lists and voter outreach machinery that will allow him to reach an estimated 2 million Democratic voters. And he could also get an infusion of federal campaign cash shared with the party, party officials said.

Feinstein, who was also snubbed in February at the annual state convention where party activists declined to endorse her bid for re-election, had pleaded for party unity prior to Saturday’s vote. She asked the executive committee of the California Democrats, the nation’s largest state Democratic Party, to choose “no endorsement’’ — what many saw as a strategic defense to head off an aggressive challenge for the party’s endorsement by de León.

And in an effort to frame the endorsement clash in the context of the national political landscape, the senator’s team circulated a “no-endorsement” plea signed by a half-dozen Democrats whose campaigns in contested California districts are a linchpin of the national party’s strategy to retake the House.

The final vote gave de León 217 votes or 65 percent — beating the 60 percent required threshold — versus 94 (or 28 percent) for the “no endorsement” urged by Feinstein, and 22 votes, or 7 percent, for the senator herself.

The Senate contest pits two contrasting pols: Feinstein — at 85, the oldest member of the Senate — and De León, 51, a former state Senate pro tem and son of a single immigrant mother. She is a centrist long at odds with her state party’s leftist activist grassroots, while he is a progressive who has called for new “bold leadership” from Democrats unafraid of confronting President Trump head-on.

“I think it’s always good to have younger generations rise up and assume positions of leadership,’’ de León told POLITICO Saturday.

His fight, he said, was not about “a gender issue...it’s not an age issue.’’ Pointing to progressive icons Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, de León said, “it’s about the right values.”

The weekend’s Senate nail-biter over the party’s Senate general election endorsement underscored the depths of the bitter divisions still lingering from the 2016 battles between more progressive backers of Sanders’ presidential bid and the more centrist faction of Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters in the nation’s most populous state.

While the endorsement involved just a small circle of the most activist voters — a 313-member executive committee in a party that represents 7.4 million voters — many Democratic insiders said it carried potentially dangerous implications for the party beyond the state’s borders.

Not only did the internal battle it threaten to extend the rift among Democrats in California — a traditional mother lode of campaign contributions — many Democratic leaders, like former state chair Art Torres, worried about the prospect of a circular firing squad.

“We have the opportunity to change the nature and the control of the House,’’ said Torres, a Feinstein backer, adding that a de Leon endorsement threatened that Democrats “won’t have enough federal money to put into those congressional campaigns.’’

“Federal money is the hardest to raise,” he said, “and if the party is going to spend money on a U.S. Senate campaign — why do it?”

For de León’s campaign, snagging the party’s endorsement was widely seen as his last shot at making a serious run at Feinstein. California’s senior senator pummeled him by 32 percentage points in the June all-party primary, winning more than 70 percent of the Democratic vote in a contest in which 32 candidates competed.

She has also dramatically outraised him: Feinstein reported $10.3 million cash on hand at the end of March, compared with $672,330 for de León, according to campaign finance reports.

But de León has gained traction among the party’s far left as the author of the controversial SB54, the California Values Act, also known as the “sanctuary state” law. The legislation, aimed at curtailing the cooperation of local law enforcement with federal immigration officials, was recently largely upheld by a federal judge’s ruling.

De Leon has also called for abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and impeaching Trump — a position that is shared by his friend, wealthy Democratic activist Tom Steyer.

In making the rounds this weekend in caucus meetings at Oakland’s Marriott Hotel, Feinstein repeatedly reminded Democrats of her seniority in Washington, her legislative leadership on issues like the assault weapons ban, and of what she vowed will be her pivotal role as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee — which will weigh Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Feinstein on Saturday downplayed the symbolism of a de León endorsement and her difficulty with the party’s grassroots, insisting it would have no effect on her campaign. “This was not a close primary election, and there were 32 people on the ballot,’’ she said of the June contest. “I take nothing for granted...we work hard.”

“I think people understand I’m now ranking on Judiciary, going into one of the biggest moments that this party has — the decisive Supreme Court justice,’’ she said. “This is a very big deal because this affects the life of every American going forward. So who that Supreme Court seat goes to is all important.”

Asked why her decades of accomplishments in public office haven’t earned her an easy endorsement from her party in her bid this year, Feinstein jokingly shrugged: “Well, that thought occurred to me — but I wiped it out of my mind completely.”

In a measure of the contest’s intensity, party members said they were inundated with appeals from both camps in recent days, and Feinstein’s call for neutrality irked some pro-de León inhabitants of the party’s progressive wing.

“Delegates are very angry at the constant barrage of emails we’ve gotten from people who have endorsed Dianne Feinstein telling us not to endorse,” said R.L. Miller, a prominent environmental activist who was wearing one of a profusion of “United4KDL” stickers.

In caucus meetings and in hallways where he made the rounds, de León argued that Trump’s recent actions on immigrant family separations, the Supreme Court and environmental policy demanded unfailingly tough action and confrontation from Democrats in Washington. And — without ever naming Feinstein — he repeatedly drew a sharp contrast with her centrist approach and more conciliatory style on Capitol Hill.

“We need bold leadership in Washington today,’’ de León told a meeting of the Women’s Caucus. “Brett Kavanaugh is in a position to take away the rights of every American...That’s why we have to shut the Senate down — and never allow this individual to come to the Senate floor,’’ he said to cheers. “This is where you need the courage of your convictions — to not be on the sidelines, but on the frontlines....because what’s at stake is a generation of power.”

Steyer also drew cheers from the Democratic crowd in Oakland when he delivered a similar message to Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill: “If you don't have what it takes to lead now, when we are totally under the gun, then don't come asking for support later,’’ he said. “Lead, follow, or get out of the way."

Feinstein has appeared to respond to progressive pressures as the campaign has unfolded. She moved left on a pair of issues where her moderation has long stood out in California: she endorsed legalizing marijuana, reversing her longtime opposition, and renounced her prior embrace of the death penalty.

Bill Carrick, Feinstein’s campaign strategist, downplayed the importance of this weekend’s vote, saying that the opposition of the party’s far left to Feinstein is “not a surprise, we’ve been through this in the past.’’

Carrick noted that de León “got the lowest total of any candidate” ever in a top-two primary race, while “she won every county, 70 percent of the Democrats, every congressional district of every kind of demographic that exists in California. So I think we’re in good shape.”

Still, he acknowledged that it would have been “much better for the Democratic Party” to present a unified front as the November election approaches, and to have avoided an endorsement fight.

Despite the passion of progressive voters, he said, a political reality exists even in solidly blue California. “We can’t be naïve about these swing districts,” he said. “The idea that suddenly we vaporize the Republicans in these districts and just walk in, is just crazy. They’re all going to be very, very close districts.”



“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
- John Adams
 
Posts: 29408 | Location: In the red hinterlands of Deep Blue VA | Registered: June 29, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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If you guys like Kamala, wait till KDL makes the national stage. So far left he makes difi look like a raging right winger.
 
Posts: 4739 | Location: Florida Panhandle  | Registered: November 23, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Now in Florida
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This open embrace of socialism by the Democrats is the best thing that could happen to politics in this country these days. The Dems have long resisted the label and the far left ideology, insisting that they love this country, support capitalism and law enforcement . People suspected the opposite was true, but the Dems always had plausible deniability.

Now that they are becoming an open and proud socialist party, the will lose the trust of a lot of Democrats who are much close to the middle. Once that trust is gone, it will never come back.

The Democrats think they've found the right moment in history to take down the US once and for all. I think they will find instead that there are a lot less people than they think who share their vision for the country.
 
Posts: 6061 | Location: FL | Registered: March 09, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Drill Here, Drill Now
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It saddens me that there are people more fucked up and left of Feinstein, and even worse people fucked up enough to vote for them.



Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
 
Posts: 23102 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Raptorman
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quote:
Originally posted by tatortodd:
It saddens me that there are people more fucked up and left of Feinstein, and even worse people fucked up enough to vote for them.


They are angry that they are being denied to their entitled luxurious lifestyle they promised themselves.

They are hoping for the days of the guillotine to who they consider the bourgeois.


____________________________

Eeewwww, don't touch it!
Here, poke at it with this stick.
 
Posts: 34084 | Location: North, GA | Registered: October 09, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by ChicagoSigMan:
This open embrace of socialism by the Democrats is the best thing that could happen to politics in this country these days. The Dems have long resisted the label and the far left ideology, insisting that they love this country, support capitalism and law enforcement . People suspected the opposite was true, but the Dems always had plausible deniability.

Now that they are becoming an open and proud socialist party, the will lose the trust of a lot of Democrats who are much close to the middle. Once that trust is gone, it will never come back.

The Democrats think they've found the right moment in history to take down the US once and for all. I think they will find instead that there are a lot less people than they think who share their vision for the country.
Very well put. As the Dem's continue their open embrace of socialism they will drive anyone who doesn't identify as an open Leftist away from the party. And without those folks and some of the independent vote, the Dem party will continue to disappear as a national party. All good things in the long run for America, but in the short run, its going to be ugly.


-----------------------------
Guns are awesome because they shoot solid lead freedom. Every man should have several guns. And several dogs, because a man with a cat is a woman. Kurt Schlichter
 
Posts: 33845 | Location: Orlando, FL | Registered: April 30, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Pinch me, I must be dreaming. They don't realize democrats in flyover country aren't like them and they are just as disgusted by their tripe as we are. They may win some seats in coastal cities, but at the detriment many other seats. Not just for these mid terms but years to come and in state offices too.

Keep driving away your base and firing up the opposition. #walkaway

To summarize their platform:

*Higher taxes
*Open boarders
*Abolish ICE
*Reduced punishment for crimes
*Identify politics
*Hierarchy of perceived oppression
*Suspension of 1st Amendment
*Higher taxes

Even democrats look at what the left is proposing and saying this does not represent my values and beliefs.



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 20758 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:

...To summarize their platform:

*Higher taxes
*Open boarders
*Abolish ICE
*Reduced punishment for crimes
*Identify politics
*Hierarchy of perceived oppression
*Suspension of 1st Amendment
*Higher taxes

Even democrats look at what the left is proposing and saying this does not represent my values and beliefs.


You forgot one.

*Elimination of the 2nd Amendment
 
Posts: 15899 | Location: Eastern Iowa | Registered: May 21, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by ElToro:
If you guys like Kamala, wait till KDL makes the national stage. So far left he makes difi look like a raging right winger.


That explains why the LA Times said it as a sign that the left in Calu are tired of her 'pragmatism and bipartisanship'.

I almost choked myself...
 
Posts: 3468 | Registered: January 27, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Now in Florida
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quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:
Pinch me, I must be dreaming. They don't realize democrats in flyover country aren't like them and they are just as disgusted by their tripe as we are. They may win some seats in coastal cities, but at the detriment many other seats. Not just for these mid terms but years to come and in state offices too.

Keep driving away your base and firing up the opposition. #walkaway

To summarize their platform:

*Higher taxes
*Open boarders
*Abolish ICE
*Reduced punishment for crimes
*Identify politics
*Hierarchy of perceived oppression
*Suspension of 1st Amendment
*Higher taxes

Even democrats look at what the left is proposing and saying this does not represent my values and beliefs.


Here's a nice summary of the platform provided by the Democrat Socialist Party itself....

 
Posts: 6061 | Location: FL | Registered: March 09, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Gracie Allen is my
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Just for the record, it's not a primary. California's got something weird they call the 'jungle primary'; essentially the top two vote-getters (regardless of party affiliation) run against each other for the office in the actual election.

That means that the punchline to this pathetic joke is that Feinstein actually won the Democratic Party primary (by 32%, no less)! It's the California Democratic Party telling the Democratic Party voters in California that they're not leftist enough!!
 
Posts: 27291 | Location: Deep in the heart of the brush country, and closing on that #&*%!?! roadrunner. Really. | Registered: February 05, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Telecom Ronin
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Great this will only strengthen STrump's connection with the Reagan (Trump) democrats.

Communism does not play well away from the coasts....

Keep it up progs...pretty please
 
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Ammoholic
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Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
Just for the record, it's not a primary. California's got something weird they call the 'jungle primary'; essentially the top two vote-getters (regardless of party affiliation) run against each other for the office in the actual election.

That means that the punchline to this pathetic joke is that Feinstein actually won the Democratic Party primary (by 32%, no less)! It's the California Democratic Party telling the Democratic Party voters in California that they're not leftist enough!!


It's so freaking awesome I can't contain myself. The elite bourgeoisie telling the people who they get to vote for. They're even fucking up socialism.

Power to the People Powerful!



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 20758 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Gracie Allen is my
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Oh, after having spent some years in the Bay Area I'd bet a hundred bucks that there's something even funnier going on. There have been strong leftward trends in the national party, and the most dynamic part of the Democratic Party these days is the far left. I think the California Democratic leadership has noticed all of that and decided that they have to push hard to the left just to get out in front of the curve - IOW, just to make sure that they remain 'leaders' within the state party.
 
Posts: 27291 | Location: Deep in the heart of the brush country, and closing on that #&*%!?! roadrunner. Really. | Registered: February 05, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:
Pinch me, I must be dreaming. They don't realize democrats in flyover country aren't like them and they are just as disgusted by their tripe as we are. They may win some seats in coastal cities, but at the detriment many other seats. Not just for these mid terms but years to come and in state offices too.

Socialism is the opiate of the stupid and lazy, the very ones who support candidates like KDL.

Keep driving away your base and firing up the opposition. #walkaway

To summarize their platform:

*Higher taxes
*Open boarders
*Abolish ICE
*Reduced punishment for crimes
*Identify politics
*Hierarchy of perceived oppression
*Suspension of 1st Amendment
*Higher taxes

Even democrats look at what the left is proposing and saying this does not represent my values and beliefs.
 
Posts: 4472 | Registered: November 30, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
delicately calloused
Picture of darthfuster
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:
Pinch me, I must be dreaming. They don't realize democrats in flyover country aren't like them and they are just as disgusted by their tripe as we are. They may win some seats in coastal cities, but at the detriment many other seats. Not just for these mid terms but years to come and in state offices too.

Keep driving away your base and firing up the opposition. #walkaway

To summarize their platform:

*Higher taxes
*Open boarders
*Abolish ICE
*Reduced punishment for crimes
*Identify politics
*Hierarchy of perceived oppression
*Suspension of 1st Amendment
*Higher taxes

Even democrats look at what the left is proposing and saying this does not represent my values and beliefs.


*Suspend 2nd Amendment
*Suspend 4th Amendment
*Suspend 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th Amendments



You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier
 
Posts: 29609 | Location: Highland, Ut. | Registered: May 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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How do they keep calling themselves "progressive" with a straight face?




You can't truly call yourself "peaceful" unless you are capable of great violence. If you're not capable of great violence, you're not peaceful, you're harmless.

NRA Benefactor/Patriot Member
 
Posts: 2857 | Location: Peoples Republic of North Virginia | Registered: December 04, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
delicately calloused
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quote:
Originally posted by fpuhan:
How do they keep calling themselves "progressive" with a straight face?


Alinsky



You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier
 
Posts: 29609 | Location: Highland, Ut. | Registered: May 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of fpuhan
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quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:
quote:
Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
Just for the record, it's not a primary. California's got something weird they call the 'jungle primary'; essentially the top two vote-getters (regardless of party affiliation) run against each other for the office in the actual election.

That means that the punchline to this pathetic joke is that Feinstein actually won the Democratic Party primary (by 32%, no less)! It's the California Democratic Party telling the Democratic Party voters in California that they're not leftist enough!!


It's so freaking awesome I can't contain myself. The elite bourgeoisie telling the people who they get to vote for. They're even fucking up socialism.

Power to the People Powerful!


Victor Davis Hanson summarizes this so well (as usual): "The implementation of a social welfare state seeks to provide cradle-to-grave support for a static underclass in exchange for its political support for an entrenched elite. The expensive social project squeezes the middle class, as taxes rise to pay for entitlements for the poor and to subsidize the lifestyles of the mandarins of the administrative state."




You can't truly call yourself "peaceful" unless you are capable of great violence. If you're not capable of great violence, you're not peaceful, you're harmless.

NRA Benefactor/Patriot Member
 
Posts: 2857 | Location: Peoples Republic of North Virginia | Registered: December 04, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
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As a Californian, I heartily endorse Kevin de Leon. I endorse him to be use as a wheel chock, a gallows tester, a guillotine tester, a crash test dummy, or any other vital job where he can be useful. I do NOT endorse him for any political position whatsoever.
 
Posts: 6872 | Location: Lost, but making time. | Registered: February 23, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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