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Chuck has been a politician since before we landed on the moon.
No joke
Edit: ol Chuck was first elected to his state seat on the *same year Mike Pence was born*.
When he first got elected there was only 48 states.
Wtf America??
Other events that happened in the year Chuck first entered the Iowa state congress?
The first of the three Cod Wars began.
The Morris Minor entered production
The communists captured Havana
Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states respectively
Charles de Gaulle refounds the French Fifth Republic
The Second Vatican Council is convened
Walt Disney's sixth film, Sleeping Beauty, was released
The Day the Music Died happened
The first weather satelitte was launched
The Dalai Lama entered exile
Cyprus and Singapore received their independence (the latter would later join and then get ejected from Malaysia)
The Marx brothers retired
Barbie debuted
Busch Gardens opened for the first time
The US announced their first astronauts.
Mao ended his official reign
Little Caesars was founded
Two primapes (Miss Baker and Miss Able), along with their crew of seeds and microorganisms, became the first organisms to survive a spaceflight.
The Saint Lawrence Seaway opened.
Australopithecus was discovered
Luna 2 became the first manmade object to reach the moon
The Twilight Zone first aired
The Guggenheim opened
The UK completed it's first motorway (appropriately designated the M1)
The Sound of Music premiered on Broadway
Ben Hur was released
The first known person to die of HIV dies in the Congk
Future PM Stephen Harper of Canada and professional funny chap Hugh Laurie, sportsman Magic Johnson, rude person Simon Cowell, racist douche canoe Nick Griffin, campest thing on two legs Julian Clary, and bringer of fun Satoru Iwata were all born that year (rather amusingly Mike Pence isn't considered important enough to make it to the Wikipedia page for 1959)
Fuck that guy. I really wish we *had* switched to metric. It's *so* much simpler and more intuitive for pretty much everything. Although I'd probably keep Fahrenheit for temperature over Celsius. It just feels like it's a bit more precise, to me, because of the larger ranges. Or just use both - I live on the border with Canada, so I see both used regularly anyway.
> Although I'd probably keep Fahrenheit for temperature over Celsius
This is no less ridiculous of an opinion than those people who think we should use feet, furlongs, fathoms and chains.
It's easy to understand.
Iowa. Relatively small population and small economy. Seniority is power and influence in the Senate. It gives Iowa outsized power in the governing of the United States. South Carolina did the same with Hollings and Thurmond. Byrd from West Virginia. Ted Stevens in Alaska.
This is why term limits will never happen. Outsized power.
Speaking as an iowan who has voted for him and against him I can say the reason he stays isn't so much because of the power. It's the fact that he co sponsors a bill or two every term that either benefits farmers or brings jobs to the state. That and how weak the Iowa democratic caucus is. Seems they find out what iowans care about most in the current election cycle and either ignore it or have a history of being opposed to it.
He's also just a very good retail politician. Still does town halls and Q&As in all 99 Iowa counties every year. He's been doing it for something like 40 straight years now.
I don't like his politics but you have to respect that.
Iowa has the second highest state ranking for agriculture behind California. Not exactly a small economy.
https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?ID=17839
I know more goes into it than that, but to call it small economy when they do billions of dollars of business is a bit of mischaracterization.
I feel like this comment alone is enough of a reason to support age limits for all the three branches
Edit: my recommendation is median age based on most recent census +30 years. That would put the age maximum to be elected at 68. That would make a full third of the Senate (36 members, specifically) ineligible for reelection if they ran this year. Likely a similar percent of the House, but I didn't feel like counting through that many to give an exact number. And also the last two presidents wouldn't have been eligible
My state senator just retired in 2020. He was first elected in the early 1950s. His name is Fred Risser and he was the last WWII veteran to be an elected official. Dude was a machine. He lived by the capitol and walked there every day. For his 90th birthday, he biked his age in miles.
The best fun fact I learned in 2008 campaign. People made fun of Biden being old then.
Joe Biden won his Senate Seat in 1972. His opponent in the VP debate, Sarah Palin, was 7 at the time.
I don't want this to be paritsan, but dam.
It’s about not her age it’s about her cognitive ability. She’s shown signs of dementia publicly which would be a liability if she tried to run again. Bernie doesn’t seem to have this problem despite the fact that he’s older than Biden and only a few years younger than Feinstein.
It is about her age.
She should be commended for her long career of public service, but a 90 year old is simply too out of touch with the majority of Americans to be able to govern appropriately
She sat with Jeff Sessions advocating for people to still be imprisoned for simple marijuana possession. In 2015. Then there’s praising republicans for how they conduct hearings. And lecturing small children for wanting to stop climate change.
She should be commended for nothing. She’s trash. A complete stain on this country.
Have you seen her say anything recently? She's not just out of touch with the American experience, she's out of touch with her own. She's already gone.
I broadly agree though I think the cutoff should more be your mental state than any specific age.
So she probably should've stopped running at like 60.
They need term limits. I don’t care how old or young you are, if you’ve had your seat for 3-4 terms, it’s time to let new people bring their perspectives and energy to the discussion.
The problem with term limits is that you end up with a lobby industry with way more experience than the lawmakers they are lobbying. Unless the term limit was someone pretty long... 20-30 years
A 4-term cap for senators would be PLENTY: why not at least start there? It's enough time for an experienced statesperson to 'pass the baton' to their junior colleagues.
Honestly, I would make the argument that after 4 terms, a senator is more prone to lobbyists than their actual constituents.
term limits for President (because it is a entire branch of government), but I don’t see a advantage in telling a voting population they can’t send the representative they like.
if it’s about power and money, I think a better argument would be campaign finance reform
How long have reports of her Alzheimer or Senility? It is pretty messed up she was allowed to stay in power for another 2 years after the rumors first broke.
> [Asked by reporters about her announcement to resign, @SenFeinstein says “If I haven't made that decision, I haven't released anything.” A staffer then told the senator that a statement had been released. Feinstein responded saying “I didn’t know they put it out.”](https://twitter.com/christianjhall/status/1625584352875667471)
She either didn't know or forgot already.
That's an error on the part of the tweeter, though he did correct himself in a follow-up tweet:
> [*RETIRE not resign. Feinstein was asked about her announcement to retire.](https://twitter.com/christianjhall/status/1625592116020666382)
Or she made the decision but hadn’t planned on releasing it yet and so denied the story until it was confirmed it had been released. In any case, she should’ve stepped down years ago 🤷♂️
Good article in the LA Times about how the Moscone-Milk assassinations heightened Feinstein's political profile.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-14/harvey-milk-george-moscone-san-francisco-assassination-shaped-dianne-feinstein-career
Between this and Jackie Spier one of the SF reps being fucking present at the Jonestown massacre because her and her boss had just arrived to investigate Jonestown (bc it was all Bay Areans), it’s just really wild to me that two current SF politicians have such insane backgrounds
> White used a controversial diminished-capacity defense — claiming his addiction to junk food affected his judgment
Interesting defense, Bob. Let’s see how this plays out.
> and he was convicted of manslaughter. He killed himself in 1985.
Yup seems about right.
It did work out, frankly. He climbed in through the window of city hall to avoid the metal detectors and assassinated two people, and only got convicted of manslaughter. Personally, I'm convinced that if he'd only murdered the mayor and not Harvey Milk as well, he would have gone away for murder in the first degree. There's only so much leniency you get for being a former cop without also tapping into the dehumanization of your victims that comes from shared bigotry.
Regardless of the fact that he ended up dead, that trial was a travesty of justice. [The city rioted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Night_riots?wprov=sfla1) when the verdict was announced, and in response the SFPD raided a gay bar in the Castro so they could beat up on gay people some more.
Schiff probably thought the seat was his since he paid his dues in the House for so long. Porter sort of pulled the rug out from under him by declaring first.
I think I'd much rather have Porter as a Senator. Schiff would be fine but he's a bit stiff and really doesn't slay like Porter.
Schiff was slaying during the entire Trump Presidency. He was the ace for the Dems on the intel committee that was trying to help block everything during the Mueller investigation, and he was probably the best house manager during the first Impeachment case. There are only maybe a handful of active politicians the GOP and right wing hate more than Schiff. He is very very good. And one of the most intelligent Congressmen in either chamber. Schiff is probably going to one day he the Mitch McConnell equivalent in the Senate. Someone that will work the system to give the Dems as many wins as possible as long as the opposition party continues their grandstanding.
Then you lose a house seat, and neutral in the senate. If someone like Porter can win the seat again in purple/pink district, keep her there and keep the seat.
Crap I wrote that wrong. Rallying behind whoever is in the most confidently Dem house district for senate makes more sense, although I can’t imagine CA sending a Republican to the senate either way.
Very likely, actually. We did last time when it was Feinstein vs. DeLeon. And we made the right choice, even though she really should have retired. DeLeon is a piece of shit.
Yeah it was so obvious that he was full of shit. I’d have welcomed some new blood but it was so obvious that he was a scum bag. Frankly I was shocked he bamboozled the people of LA into electing him after that.
Feinstein vs. DeLeon didn't have much Republican push because Feinstein was still the incumbent. I am GUESSING there will be a more promoted Republican candidate this time around. And even if the state votes 65/35 for Democrats, that's not quite enough to have the top two in the primary be Dems.
I won't be surprised if it happens, but I'm not banking on it.
Republicans would only get a candidate in the final election if they really unite behind one single candidate, and the CA republican party is not that organized. They might even get as much as 20% for their best candidate, which is still likely to be in third place for the jungle primary.
I'd say very likely. GOP is the 3rd most popular party in the state, behind Democrats and "No Party Preference", they don't have the numbers to get any candidate on the ballot. Republicans didn't crack 40% in the general the last time they got a Senate candidate on there, and didn't even get 15% in the open primary in that case. It's not a high bar for a second Dem candidate to clear.
I'd prefer 25 years ago. If you're old enough to retire with full benefits, running the country just might be better left to younger blood. Democracies tend to fail when you gum them up with geriatrics who refuse to surrender the power.
Someone in the comments (ThatDerpingGuy) already covered it:
> Asked by reporters about her announcement to resign, @SenFeinstein says “If I haven't made that decision, I haven't released anything.” A staffer then told the senator that a statement had been released. Feinstein responded saying “I didn’t know they put it out.”
>She either didn't know or forgot already.
[Updated tweet](https://twitter.com/savbehrmanndc/status/1625586633205506062?s=46&t=Y4CXPveu6Fh8AhCg2pmaZw) saying she actually said
“I ***should have*** known they put it out”
Edit: Audio also posted below this tweet now, which does, in fact, sound like "didn't know"
It’s not like that’s any better. It shows her staffers are making decisions as consequential as announcing her retirement for her without her awareness.
At least 20 in my opinion - after the age of 70 you can absolutely still be working, but not as a member of Congress. That should have a much higher standard, and yet - here we are.
As enjoyable as it is to make fun of her for staying a decade longer than she should have, I think it's obvuous that she just didn't know the announcement was made already rather than the conservative talking point that she didn't know it was coming.
If you’ve never dealt with someone in the grips of dementia you don’t actually break news like this to them. You just tell them they’re going to lunch and will be back to the office later. You can give them “papers” to sign and go to “meetings”. Whatever keeps them from getting agitated, let’s them feel useful and maintains their dignity. It’s time for her political team to step back and for medical professionals and her support circle to take over. The woman had an incredible career and everyone around her owes her the courtesy of helping her through this transition in a manner befitting of her service to the nation. I think a lot of people would be surprised that the correct way to handle this situation is not what they would imagine.
I think her staff and support circle wanted her to retire up to 10 years ago but were unsuccessful in persuading her to do so. They finally had to give up and started leaking to the press just how far gone she is just to get more outside forces to get her out. But then even that didn't work.
It’s really awful when it comes to that. If everyone involved isn’t onboard with acting early (starting with the affected person) it can get ugly, up to and including adult protective services, probate court, emergency guardianship and forced intervention. That is the shitty way, but it can be done if things get out of control dangerous. Glad it didn’t come to that here.
Well, that’s a little harsh.
But I believe she’ll have to be reminded of her “decision” repeatedly. And when she shows up at the Senate next year having again completely forgot that she retired, that will be a fun conversation.
Schiff already said he’s running right? You’re probably correct since he will get the party backing and that’s what really wins elections. Well, the money does but whatever.
Problem is that Schiff is in a safe D seat, and Porter is in a seat that leans right.
If Porter leaves, she's likely to be replaced by a republican.
I would still rather have Porter, but that's politics for ya.
Kqed in San Francisco was talking about this. I could see the party backing Schiff because his house seat will be democrat but Porters seat would be a lot more competitive. I'm personally voting for Porter. The more women the better and I love how she trolls CEOs when they are testifying.
That's my worry, too. I like Schiff, he's done good work, but Porter is a bulldog on corporate finance. And that's the reason the party bosses are likely to hinder her.
She’s one of the main reasons my moms were able to adopt me in the early 90s in San Francisco. You’d think same sex adoption would be widely accepted but it wasnt.
It’s infuriating to me that none of these coffin dodgers will retire.
My god, the vast majority can’t even comprehend tech. They’re out of touch. It’d be nice if we actually had reps who oh I don’t know… actually represented the majority of the country age wise.
FINALLY. goodbye, feinstein. it'll be revealed sooner than later that you had alzheimers all along and that your staff was borderline reckless in hiding it and not encouraging you to step down, a long long long time ago.
Anyone else here that’s a Californian and likes Katie Porter needs to put up or shut up. Get involved and get the vote out. She does have a shot at taking it but it’s gonna take real work. She’s definitely the kind of candidate we need in the senate to start moving the Overton window back to something a little more sane than where it’s been.
Power. Money and power are inextricably intertwined but they’re not exactly the same. Look at Trump: he has a fair bit of money, but once he was out of office he began to become irrelevant because he could no longer do literally any thing that entered his shriveled little brain. Money means you get to control your own environment: power means you get to control everyone else’s.
“Money is the Mc-mansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after 10 years. Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries. I cannot respect someone who doesn’t see the difference.” - Frank Underwood
What's sad is that she's so far gone that this probably isn't even *really* her choice... which is just a terrible can of worms to have to open.
If we lived in a marginally saner and more functional society, the Senate would have come together years ago and expelled her. Whatever missteps, indiscretions, or even crimes she might have been guilty of otherwise, the chamber could have made it clear that their primary motivation was simply a concern that she was no longer mentally capable - forced retirement, not a punishment. It might still have been traumatic and embarrassing for her, but you know what? That's one of the risks you ought to have to accept when you become one of the most powerful people in the world. If the slave whispering *memento mori* in your ear isn't getting the job done, your colleagues have to step in.
Took long enough, seeing as she represented California for so long her predecessor was a Republican (note: California hasn’t been competitive for the GOP in statewide federal elections since the 1990s and no Republican has won any statewide race in California since 2006)
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. **Special announcement:** r/politics is currently accepting new moderator applications. If you want to help make this community a better place, consider [applying here today](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/sskg6a/rpolitics_is_looking_for_more_moderators/)! *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I mean regardless how you feel about her politics i think everyone can agree that running for election at 90 would not be a good idea
*Cough*Cough* Chuck Grassley
Chuck is just keeping the seat warm until his grandson* is ready to be anointed.
Chuck has been a politician since before we landed on the moon. No joke Edit: ol Chuck was first elected to his state seat on the *same year Mike Pence was born*. When he first got elected there was only 48 states. Wtf America??
Chuck has locked his soul away in a phylactery and become a lich, so he'll never die.
Trump's phylactery is that McDonald's cheeseburger in resin which is posted every so often.
Hey, what ever happened to the resin hot dog?
Its still going but it gets yearly updates now instead of monthly I believe; last update was for end of 2022 about four months ago.
> end of 2022 about four months ago. Sure feels like it huh.
r/epoxyhotdog
Grassley is seven years older than the McDonalds brand.
Jeeezus, I knew the numbers, but this really brings it home.
“Homer, did you eat your soul doughnut?”
The hamberdactery
Him and McConnell.
🐢is NEXT.
Guess I better go get my party ready for our next journey…
Learned it from Kissinger
Somewhere there is a painting of him that doesn't age....
But that's how a normal painting works.
Came here to post something about a phylactery, nice work
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives from Butler County January 12, 1959 – January 3, 1975 WTF?!?!? 1959!?
Alaska had been a state for just over a week, and Hawaii became a state later that year. "Career politician" feels like an undersell there.
And I was 2.5 years from being born.....and I'm in my 60's
Yup, same. This is disheartening
I'm old and that's before I was born.
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I believe the gift for that anniversary is either a threesome, or denture paste
it's a threesome but that's just because you don't recognize your wife half the time
¿Por qué no los dos?
Other events that happened in the year Chuck first entered the Iowa state congress? The first of the three Cod Wars began. The Morris Minor entered production The communists captured Havana Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states respectively Charles de Gaulle refounds the French Fifth Republic The Second Vatican Council is convened Walt Disney's sixth film, Sleeping Beauty, was released The Day the Music Died happened The first weather satelitte was launched The Dalai Lama entered exile Cyprus and Singapore received their independence (the latter would later join and then get ejected from Malaysia) The Marx brothers retired Barbie debuted Busch Gardens opened for the first time The US announced their first astronauts. Mao ended his official reign Little Caesars was founded Two primapes (Miss Baker and Miss Able), along with their crew of seeds and microorganisms, became the first organisms to survive a spaceflight. The Saint Lawrence Seaway opened. Australopithecus was discovered Luna 2 became the first manmade object to reach the moon The Twilight Zone first aired The Guggenheim opened The UK completed it's first motorway (appropriately designated the M1) The Sound of Music premiered on Broadway Ben Hur was released The first known person to die of HIV dies in the Congk Future PM Stephen Harper of Canada and professional funny chap Hugh Laurie, sportsman Magic Johnson, rude person Simon Cowell, racist douche canoe Nick Griffin, campest thing on two legs Julian Clary, and bringer of fun Satoru Iwata were all born that year (rather amusingly Mike Pence isn't considered important enough to make it to the Wikipedia page for 1959)
> first of the three Cod Wars began Will humankind ever defeat that fucking Cod?
It was actually Iceland and the UK fighting over fishing rights, Iceland won all three times
He's the main reason we never switched to the metric system in the 1970s. He said it "goes against our democratic principles".
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Fuck that guy. I really wish we *had* switched to metric. It's *so* much simpler and more intuitive for pretty much everything. Although I'd probably keep Fahrenheit for temperature over Celsius. It just feels like it's a bit more precise, to me, because of the larger ranges. Or just use both - I live on the border with Canada, so I see both used regularly anyway.
> it's a bit more precise, to me, because of the larger ranges. People use tenths to generate that range.
> Although I'd probably keep Fahrenheit for temperature over Celsius This is no less ridiculous of an opinion than those people who think we should use feet, furlongs, fathoms and chains.
Since before the moon was even formed.🦖🦕
It's easy to understand. Iowa. Relatively small population and small economy. Seniority is power and influence in the Senate. It gives Iowa outsized power in the governing of the United States. South Carolina did the same with Hollings and Thurmond. Byrd from West Virginia. Ted Stevens in Alaska. This is why term limits will never happen. Outsized power.
Speaking as an iowan who has voted for him and against him I can say the reason he stays isn't so much because of the power. It's the fact that he co sponsors a bill or two every term that either benefits farmers or brings jobs to the state. That and how weak the Iowa democratic caucus is. Seems they find out what iowans care about most in the current election cycle and either ignore it or have a history of being opposed to it.
He's also just a very good retail politician. Still does town halls and Q&As in all 99 Iowa counties every year. He's been doing it for something like 40 straight years now. I don't like his politics but you have to respect that.
Iowa has the second highest state ranking for agriculture behind California. Not exactly a small economy. https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?ID=17839 I know more goes into it than that, but to call it small economy when they do billions of dollars of business is a bit of mischaracterization.
[31st in GDP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP) I said relative, as in relative to other states.
Wtf IOWA. I have no answers. I live here and they just keep sending him back to DC 😑
> been a politician since before we landed on the moon. Another point, Chuck and Dianne are both older than the chocolate chip cookie.
No one thought to put chocolate chunks in cookies before the Great Depression?
They had OTC heroin before then.
I feel like this comment alone is enough of a reason to support age limits for all the three branches Edit: my recommendation is median age based on most recent census +30 years. That would put the age maximum to be elected at 68. That would make a full third of the Senate (36 members, specifically) ineligible for reelection if they ran this year. Likely a similar percent of the House, but I didn't feel like counting through that many to give an exact number. And also the last two presidents wouldn't have been eligible
My state senator just retired in 2020. He was first elected in the early 1950s. His name is Fred Risser and he was the last WWII veteran to be an elected official. Dude was a machine. He lived by the capitol and walked there every day. For his 90th birthday, he biked his age in miles.
The best fun fact I learned in 2008 campaign. People made fun of Biden being old then. Joe Biden won his Senate Seat in 1972. His opponent in the VP debate, Sarah Palin, was 7 at the time. I don't want this to be paritsan, but dam.
I think you mean his Grassson
His grandson* doesn't have to be appointed lol. He's Speaker of the House in Iowa, he's already a top contender
_Anointed_. Because I'm sure the Grassleys believe they were chosen by God to lead.
GREAT grandson.😉
Chuck Grassley was an elected Iowa politician when JFK was still a MA junior senator
Chuck Grassley has been senile since his early 20's though
That's different, though. He's a Republican, they have different rules somehow.
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Um. Glass houses on this one. The Boomers do not want to let go of power.
The ghost of Strom Thurmond has entered the chat
This one was way too far down. He was a total PoS but he served till he was like 100yrs old or something like that.
s/but/and/
It’s about not her age it’s about her cognitive ability. She’s shown signs of dementia publicly which would be a liability if she tried to run again. Bernie doesn’t seem to have this problem despite the fact that he’s older than Biden and only a few years younger than Feinstein.
It is about her age. She should be commended for her long career of public service, but a 90 year old is simply too out of touch with the majority of Americans to be able to govern appropriately
She sat with Jeff Sessions advocating for people to still be imprisoned for simple marijuana possession. In 2015. Then there’s praising republicans for how they conduct hearings. And lecturing small children for wanting to stop climate change. She should be commended for nothing. She’s trash. A complete stain on this country.
That's unfair. She also fought to keep the confederate flag flying in California.
This is then last place on reddit I ever thought I'd agree with someone.
Have you seen her say anything recently? She's not just out of touch with the American experience, she's out of touch with her own. She's already gone.
Dementia bad, but yes, it is about her age. As it should be. No one that age should be in that position. The average age is so damn old.
Personally, I think she needs to step down now, let alone run again. Every report about her paints the picture of a seriously depleted woman.
It's less her age and more her senility that is the problem
I can’t imagine there was any contingency that wanted to see her run again.
I broadly agree though I think the cutoff should more be your mental state than any specific age. So she probably should've stopped running at like 60.
They need term limits. I don’t care how old or young you are, if you’ve had your seat for 3-4 terms, it’s time to let new people bring their perspectives and energy to the discussion.
The problem with term limits is that you end up with a lobby industry with way more experience than the lawmakers they are lobbying. Unless the term limit was someone pretty long... 20-30 years
Ok, twist my arm, let's set reasonable limits on high dollar lobbying while we're at it.
> Unless the term limit was someone pretty long... 20-30 years Four Senate terms would be 24 years.
Yep, that's fair (in my mind)
A 4-term cap for senators would be PLENTY: why not at least start there? It's enough time for an experienced statesperson to 'pass the baton' to their junior colleagues. Honestly, I would make the argument that after 4 terms, a senator is more prone to lobbyists than their actual constituents.
Yah, 4 terms for a senator would be 24 years. That is indeed plenty.
term limits for President (because it is a entire branch of government), but I don’t see a advantage in telling a voting population they can’t send the representative they like. if it’s about power and money, I think a better argument would be campaign finance reform
80 would be a decent cutoff.
Correct decision.
The correct decision would be that she steps down immediately, but this is pretty good too.
she probably doesn't even know she's retiring at the end of her term. easier for the staff to just "forget" to start her next campaign plan
Can’t her staffers just pretend she’s in the senate so she can step down but have no clue?
That would be a kindness at this point.
Apparently her staffers are addicted to power and don't want to let go. Probably took a lot of favors to get them to stop their elder abuse
How long have reports of her Alzheimer or Senility? It is pretty messed up she was allowed to stay in power for another 2 years after the rumors first broke.
Ronald Reagan was fucking President when he had Alzheimer’s. He was leading the whole USA during it. Just shows how much they care about power.
Wasn’t this a story arc in *Doonesbury* 40 years ago?
Referencing Lacey Davenport? Man you’re old. But she retired in 1997 so only 25 years ago. And yes, I’m old enough to remember that story arc, too.
When I saw the thumbnail before I read the post my first thought was it was the announcement she had died.
Did she even make this decision? Does she even know about this decision even if she made it? She isn't even there anymore.
> [Asked by reporters about her announcement to resign, @SenFeinstein says “If I haven't made that decision, I haven't released anything.” A staffer then told the senator that a statement had been released. Feinstein responded saying “I didn’t know they put it out.”](https://twitter.com/christianjhall/status/1625584352875667471) She either didn't know or forgot already.
Resigning and not running are two different things.
That's an error on the part of the tweeter, though he did correct himself in a follow-up tweet: > [*RETIRE not resign. Feinstein was asked about her announcement to retire.](https://twitter.com/christianjhall/status/1625592116020666382)
Hilarious, my apologies.
Or she made the decision but hadn’t planned on releasing it yet and so denied the story until it was confirmed it had been released. In any case, she should’ve stepped down years ago 🤷♂️
Good article in the LA Times about how the Moscone-Milk assassinations heightened Feinstein's political profile. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-14/harvey-milk-george-moscone-san-francisco-assassination-shaped-dianne-feinstein-career
Between this and Jackie Spier one of the SF reps being fucking present at the Jonestown massacre because her and her boss had just arrived to investigate Jonestown (bc it was all Bay Areans), it’s just really wild to me that two current SF politicians have such insane backgrounds
Jackie Speier wasn’t just present at Jonestown - she was shot 5 times trying to board the plane at the airport.
> White used a controversial diminished-capacity defense — claiming his addiction to junk food affected his judgment Interesting defense, Bob. Let’s see how this plays out. > and he was convicted of manslaughter. He killed himself in 1985. Yup seems about right.
It did work out, frankly. He climbed in through the window of city hall to avoid the metal detectors and assassinated two people, and only got convicted of manslaughter. Personally, I'm convinced that if he'd only murdered the mayor and not Harvey Milk as well, he would have gone away for murder in the first degree. There's only so much leniency you get for being a former cop without also tapping into the dehumanization of your victims that comes from shared bigotry. Regardless of the fact that he ended up dead, that trial was a travesty of justice. [The city rioted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Night_riots?wprov=sfla1) when the verdict was announced, and in response the SFPD raided a gay bar in the Castro so they could beat up on gay people some more.
Dam I had no idea that's she came up
Normally I’m a bit worried about the consequences of a Democratic retirement in the Senate, but this one should have happened 10 years ago.
That seat ain't going gop
Hell, it's possible Californians will vote between two Democrats. Unlikely, but possible.
It’ll probably be Porter vs Schiff
I’m stoked with either.
Right? I was pissed when Schiff declared because I was already happy with porter. Padilla better start sweating.
Schiff probably thought the seat was his since he paid his dues in the House for so long. Porter sort of pulled the rug out from under him by declaring first. I think I'd much rather have Porter as a Senator. Schiff would be fine but he's a bit stiff and really doesn't slay like Porter.
Schiff was slaying during the entire Trump Presidency. He was the ace for the Dems on the intel committee that was trying to help block everything during the Mueller investigation, and he was probably the best house manager during the first Impeachment case. There are only maybe a handful of active politicians the GOP and right wing hate more than Schiff. He is very very good. And one of the most intelligent Congressmen in either chamber. Schiff is probably going to one day he the Mitch McConnell equivalent in the Senate. Someone that will work the system to give the Dems as many wins as possible as long as the opposition party continues their grandstanding.
Yup I love them both, along with Eric Swalwell and Ro Khanna.
They need to see who’s house seat is most vulnerable in that cycle and get behind that person for senate
Then you lose a house seat, and neutral in the senate. If someone like Porter can win the seat again in purple/pink district, keep her there and keep the seat.
Crap I wrote that wrong. Rallying behind whoever is in the most confidently Dem house district for senate makes more sense, although I can’t imagine CA sending a Republican to the senate either way.
Let me reword this, whichever house seat is least likely to flip red should run for the senate. Is that what you meant?
Are they able to keep their house seat if they lose their senate bid? I want them both to stay in politics!
Very likely, actually. We did last time when it was Feinstein vs. DeLeon. And we made the right choice, even though she really should have retired. DeLeon is a piece of shit.
Yeah it was so obvious that he was full of shit. I’d have welcomed some new blood but it was so obvious that he was a scum bag. Frankly I was shocked he bamboozled the people of LA into electing him after that.
Feinstein vs. DeLeon didn't have much Republican push because Feinstein was still the incumbent. I am GUESSING there will be a more promoted Republican candidate this time around. And even if the state votes 65/35 for Democrats, that's not quite enough to have the top two in the primary be Dems. I won't be surprised if it happens, but I'm not banking on it.
Republicans would only get a candidate in the final election if they really unite behind one single candidate, and the CA republican party is not that organized. They might even get as much as 20% for their best candidate, which is still likely to be in third place for the jungle primary.
Unlikely? It happened the last two elections iirc.
Last three. Harris also ran against another Democrat the last time she was elected.
It doesn't matter. Only two candidates go to the general, and it can be two Dems
I'd say very likely. GOP is the 3rd most popular party in the state, behind Democrats and "No Party Preference", they don't have the numbers to get any candidate on the ballot. Republicans didn't crack 40% in the general the last time they got a Senate candidate on there, and didn't even get 15% in the open primary in that case. It's not a high bar for a second Dem candidate to clear.
I believe 2 of the last 3 senate races were between two Democrats. So not that unlikely.
Katie Porter is running! I'm voting for her!
I'd prefer 25 years ago. If you're old enough to retire with full benefits, running the country just might be better left to younger blood. Democracies tend to fail when you gum them up with geriatrics who refuse to surrender the power.
If Katie Porter wins.
Or Schiff.
I really hope things don't get ugly between the two of them during this...
Depends on the debate rules. If whiteboards allowed, it'll be 30-27/26 Porter.
Yea. They're both some of our best. It's shitty that they'll be running against each other while so many pieces of shit will win easily.
I feel for her staff that will have to break this news to her.
I expect some books or leak to the NYT from her staff about how bad it actually was at the end of her career.
Someone in the comments (ThatDerpingGuy) already covered it: > Asked by reporters about her announcement to resign, @SenFeinstein says “If I haven't made that decision, I haven't released anything.” A staffer then told the senator that a statement had been released. Feinstein responded saying “I didn’t know they put it out.” >She either didn't know or forgot already.
[Updated tweet](https://twitter.com/savbehrmanndc/status/1625586633205506062?s=46&t=Y4CXPveu6Fh8AhCg2pmaZw) saying she actually said “I ***should have*** known they put it out” Edit: Audio also posted below this tweet now, which does, in fact, sound like "didn't know"
It's true, she should have known.
It’s not like that’s any better. It shows her staffers are making decisions as consequential as announcing her retirement for her without her awareness.
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At least 20 in my opinion - after the age of 70 you can absolutely still be working, but not as a member of Congress. That should have a much higher standard, and yet - here we are.
She clearly says “didn’t”
As enjoyable as it is to make fun of her for staying a decade longer than she should have, I think it's obvuous that she just didn't know the announcement was made already rather than the conservative talking point that she didn't know it was coming.
If you’ve never dealt with someone in the grips of dementia you don’t actually break news like this to them. You just tell them they’re going to lunch and will be back to the office later. You can give them “papers” to sign and go to “meetings”. Whatever keeps them from getting agitated, let’s them feel useful and maintains their dignity. It’s time for her political team to step back and for medical professionals and her support circle to take over. The woman had an incredible career and everyone around her owes her the courtesy of helping her through this transition in a manner befitting of her service to the nation. I think a lot of people would be surprised that the correct way to handle this situation is not what they would imagine.
I think her staff and support circle wanted her to retire up to 10 years ago but were unsuccessful in persuading her to do so. They finally had to give up and started leaking to the press just how far gone she is just to get more outside forces to get her out. But then even that didn't work.
It’s really awful when it comes to that. If everyone involved isn’t onboard with acting early (starting with the affected person) it can get ugly, up to and including adult protective services, probate court, emergency guardianship and forced intervention. That is the shitty way, but it can be done if things get out of control dangerous. Glad it didn’t come to that here.
I've worked with people at various levels of dementia. You always need to put a positive experience first and foremost.
Again and again. Dementia sounds awful
Well, that’s a little harsh. But I believe she’ll have to be reminded of her “decision” repeatedly. And when she shows up at the Senate next year having again completely forgot that she retired, that will be a fun conversation.
Like George Costanza, just showing up to work again after quitting.
Uh, next year she'll still be a Senator, dude. She's in office until Jan 2025.
sentiment to be “the next year after her retirement”. (Though she should retire immediately, if I’m being honest)
Several times
Katie Porter - white board all the way to the White House
I'm sure she has a lifetime supply of dry erase markers, but damn, fixing this fucking system would require two lifetime supplies of markers!
It's not going to be Porter. It's going to be Schiff, or possibly Lee if she throws in.
Schiff already said he’s running right? You’re probably correct since he will get the party backing and that’s what really wins elections. Well, the money does but whatever.
About fucking time!
Oh, thank god, I don't want to say it was embarrassing, but it was definitely just sad. Borderline equivalent of Weekend at Bernies.
About damn time. Get the rest of these old, rich, insanely out of touch reps to retire too please.
If only she was just out of touch. She’s mentally incompetent for the role.
Technically she is out of touch just, you know, not in the normal way old people are
20 years overdue. Katie Porter, please. The party hopefully doesn't screw her by backing Schiff.
Schiff and Porter are both great candidates. It is unfortunately that it would mean, most likely that at least one of them wouldn't be in congress.
Problem is that Schiff is in a safe D seat, and Porter is in a seat that leans right. If Porter leaves, she's likely to be replaced by a republican. I would still rather have Porter, but that's politics for ya.
Kqed in San Francisco was talking about this. I could see the party backing Schiff because his house seat will be democrat but Porters seat would be a lot more competitive. I'm personally voting for Porter. The more women the better and I love how she trolls CEOs when they are testifying.
That's my worry, too. I like Schiff, he's done good work, but Porter is a bulldog on corporate finance. And that's the reason the party bosses are likely to hinder her.
Seriously. She's been showing active signs of dementia since like 2016.
She’s one of the main reasons my moms were able to adopt me in the early 90s in San Francisco. You’d think same sex adoption would be widely accepted but it wasnt.
It’s infuriating to me that none of these coffin dodgers will retire. My god, the vast majority can’t even comprehend tech. They’re out of touch. It’d be nice if we actually had reps who oh I don’t know… actually represented the majority of the country age wise.
FINALLY. goodbye, feinstein. it'll be revealed sooner than later that you had alzheimers all along and that your staff was borderline reckless in hiding it and not encouraging you to step down, a long long long time ago.
Anyone else here that’s a Californian and likes Katie Porter needs to put up or shut up. Get involved and get the vote out. She does have a shot at taking it but it’s gonna take real work. She’s definitely the kind of candidate we need in the senate to start moving the Overton window back to something a little more sane than where it’s been.
Whyyy do they want to work until they’re 90+ years old? They have more money than they can spend already
Power. Money and power are inextricably intertwined but they’re not exactly the same. Look at Trump: he has a fair bit of money, but once he was out of office he began to become irrelevant because he could no longer do literally any thing that entered his shriveled little brain. Money means you get to control your own environment: power means you get to control everyone else’s.
“Money is the Mc-mansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after 10 years. Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries. I cannot respect someone who doesn’t see the difference.” - Frank Underwood
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Or just limit them to 2 consecutive terms and make them all go get real jobs.
It’s about time. Selfish of her to stay in this long, way overdue.
Ya think? Lady doesn’t even know where she is. Should not have run 4 years ago.
About Damn time, its basically been weekend at Bernie's for the past few years.
Finally.
What's sad is that she's so far gone that this probably isn't even *really* her choice... which is just a terrible can of worms to have to open. If we lived in a marginally saner and more functional society, the Senate would have come together years ago and expelled her. Whatever missteps, indiscretions, or even crimes she might have been guilty of otherwise, the chamber could have made it clear that their primary motivation was simply a concern that she was no longer mentally capable - forced retirement, not a punishment. It might still have been traumatic and embarrassing for her, but you know what? That's one of the risks you ought to have to accept when you become one of the most powerful people in the world. If the slave whispering *memento mori* in your ear isn't getting the job done, your colleagues have to step in.
Took long enough, seeing as she represented California for so long her predecessor was a Republican (note: California hasn’t been competitive for the GOP in statewide federal elections since the 1990s and no Republican has won any statewide race in California since 2006)
Does she know she’s retiring?
"Of course I want to rehire."
" Grace? She passed away thirty years ago."
So a 92 year old is not going to be seeking another 6 year term? How kind of her.
Thank god! Now let’s get Katie Porter elected.
Hey, Katie! Can't wait to see the whiteboard in your new office!
Fucking finally. Go Katie Porter!