dianne feinstein

We Apparently Have Dianne Feinstein's Attention

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Shane Goldmacher got someone at Dianne Lieberman Feinstein's office on the record about the anger in the Democratic grassroots over her continued efforts to undermine Democratic values in the Senate.  The leadership of the CA Democratic Party chimed in, as well.  See if you can spot the difference between the two statements.
Roger Salazar at the CDP:

"This party supports our Democratic senator and will continue to do so," said party communications director Roger Salazar. "Period."

Here's Scott Gerber for the Senator:

Scott Gerber, a Feinstein aide, defended the senator, saying she "has been an independent voice for California."

So one side says she's a Democratic senator and the CDP supports Democrats (no matter the policy or the principle, they just support Democrats, so shut up, grassroots!), while the other says she's an "independent voice for California."

Somebody better talk to somebody.

Then there's this howler:

"What people may not know is she was a strong leader in the fight against (now Supreme Court Justice Samuel) Alito and (Chief Justice John) Roberts," Gerber said, noting she opposed "more than a dozen" circuit court nominees from the Bush administration.

Hmm, I didn't know that!  I guess that's why Alito and Roberts were never confirmed to the Supreme Court, in the face of all that "leadership."  It must have been withering attacks like this that did the trick:

"Many of us are struggling with . . . what kind of a justice would you be, John Roberts," implored Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

She voted against Roberts in committee, but made no loud effort to filibuster.  And on Alito, she had this expression of leadership when it counted:

A Democrat who plans to vote against Samuel Alito sided on Sunday with a Republican colleague on the Senate Judiciary Committee in cautioning against a filibuster of the Supreme Court nominee.

"I do not see a likelihood of a filibuster," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "This might be a man I disagree with, but it doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the court."

She said she will not vote to confirm the appeals court judge, based on his conservative record. But she acknowledged that nothing emerged during last week's hearings to justify any organized action by Democrats to stall the nomination.

Fight, Dianne, Fight!

She actually ended up voting against cloture, but only after it was apparent that the filibuster wouldn't hold and after she undermined it with prior comments.

Unfortunately, Mr. Gerber, the Great Gazoogle is my friend, and your claim that she was a "strong leader" against Roberts and Alito rings hollow.

If anything positive comes out of this, it's that DiFi recognizes that a whole lot of Californians are upset with her, and she can no longer run and hide from them.  It may not change a lot, but it's a first step.

Senate Cloture Vote on Retroactive Immunity

by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Boy, lameduck CDP Chair Art Torres sure looks like shit. All that smoke he blew up the asses of the E-Board about how DiFi listens to him and so she shouldn't be censured -- well it was all crap. He stuck his neck out to vouch for DiFi on an issue as simple as upholding her oath of office and by doing so made an ass of himself and made himself look irrelevant at the same time. Didn't think it could get any worse than the scandal over the $4 million payola to Fabian Nunez, but Torres sure out did himself on this one.

Also not surprising, Senator Barbara Boxer fought to defend the Constitution against domestic enemies like Senator Dianne Feinstein. And fortunately for her, she's putting together a strong re-election campaign that won't rely upon the worthless CDP during the time we are recovering from the Torres dynasty.

Way to go Art! P.S. We were right about DiFi.

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Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

We've heard some pretty creative solutions for easing the budgetdeficit. Now, Governor Schwarzenegger has weighed in with another: lowering the number of annual inspections for smog tests and nail salons,among others, according to the Sacramento Bee. We could care less aboutthe salons, but the drop in smog checks seems troubling when we'retrying to cut back on emissions.

In a move that should raise more than a few eyebrows, the Ken CountyClerk has announced that she will stop performing all weddings on June17, which happens to be the first day same-sex couples can start receiving licenses,according to the Los Angeles Times. The clerk has claimed financialconstraints, but records show correspondence between her office and aconservative Christian legal defense fund. Coincidence?

Our senior Senator Dianne Feinstein was chief peacemaker this weekbetween Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, offering her Washington homefor a private meeting between the two candidates and helping to bringClinton's historic campaign to a close, the San Francisco Chroniclereports.

There's more... 

Big News in Today’s Field Poll: Boxer Positioned for Re-election

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

frankrusso-small.jpg By Frank D. Russo

The California Field Poll released today shows that Barbara Boxer enjoys a net positive 17 point rating from California’s registered voters on their approval of her job performance. Field has the numbers at 48% approval and 31% disapproval with 21% having no opinion. Looking at the breakdown by party registration, Boxer does well with Democrats (70% to 12%) and does poorly with Republicans (20% to 62%). Most importantly, she does well with “non-partisan/others”—independent voters by 44% to 24%.

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California's Democrats Go "Green" for Democratic Convention in Denver

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

California's delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August is leading the way in making the gathering the greenest in the party's history.California Democratic Party Chairman Sen. Art Torres (Ret.) today announced the delegation, comprised of delegates and alternates, standing committee members, staff, and all other official convention goers affiliated with the party (for a total of 844 Californians), will offset its carbon footprint at the convention thanks to the purchase of carbon credits by PG&E."This year's Democratic nominee will be committed to reducing global warming, so it's only natural that California's delegation to the convention do its part and lead the way," said Torres. "This will be the 'greenest' convention in history thanks in large part to our efforts and those of the Democratic National Convention to use carbon offsets, recyclable materials, and to reduce our impact on the environment.""California is America's trend-setter, so I'm very pleased our delegation is setting the pace by showing the rest of the nation that we recognize global warming is the greatest threat facing the environment," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Chair of the California Delegation. "The simple fact is that global warming can't be stopped, but it can be slowed, and every little bit helps."There's more...

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