Senator Dianne Feinstein's career was filled with firsts, including first woman mayor of San Francisco and one of two of the first women elected to the U.S. Senate from California.

Senator Dianne Feinstein’s career was filled with firsts, including first woman mayor of San Francisco and one of two of the first women elected to the U.S. Senate from California.

  • Fafner@yiffit.net
    0·
    1 年前

    This just in: It appears that while Laying in State, the deceased senator was seen rising from her coffin and returning to her seat. Sources in her office say this is a sign she has successfully completed her ritual to transform herself into a Lich.

    • lars@lemmy.world
      0·
      1 年前

      I assumed it would be a little like New York’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand? She was someone most New Yorkers had never heard of, but when Senator Hillary Clinton vacated the seat, Gillibrand was assigned to it by then-governor and thus has never, and will never, run in a competitive election.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        1 年前

        I thought you were going to talk about when Clinton wanted that seat so the party wouldn’t let any serious competitor run…

        The people running the parties in America don’t seem overly concerned with democracy or voters getting choices

      • Heresy_generator@kbin.social
        0·
        1 年前

        No, Newsom has said two things about the appointment: It’s going to be a black woman and it’s going to be someone intended to be a placeholder so as not to advantage one of the actual contenders (Schiff, Porter, or Lee) with incumbency.

        • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          1 年前

          Right. Whichever centrist he appoints is gonna decide they want to keep the seat, and the party protects incumbents from progressives challengers.

        • lars@lemmy.world
          0·
          1 年前

          Wow — congratulations to the people of California!

          Except the “placeholder”.

          • Heresy_generator@kbin.social
            0·
            1 年前

            I think the term of art he choose was “caretaker” come to think of it. But hell, they get to be a Senator for a year, something that they probably never would have gotten the chance to do otherwise. And it’s voluntary, of course, if someone doesn’t want the job temporarily they’re free to turn it down.

            • tburkhol@lemmy.world
              0·
              1 年前

              Caretaker is way better. “I’ll put a black woman in as a placeholder until a real senator can be elected” sounds horrible.

              I mean, it’s a very pro-democracy move to make an explicitly temporary appointment and not distort the election. It’s also a very progressive move to fill the seat with a highly qualified member of an under-represented group. High marks on both counts. It’s just hard to describe the coincidence of those goals in a way that doesn’t sound like tokenism.

          • Ertebolle@kbin.socialOP
            0·
            1 年前

            Placeholder Senate seat isn’t so bad, you still get to be a Senator even if only for a little while.

  • Ertebolle@kbin.socialOP
    0·
    1 年前

    I feel bad that she spent her final few years Weekend At Bernie’s-ing for her staff instead of getting to retire + relax a bit.

    • tburkhol@lemmy.world
      0·
      1 年前

      Watching my parents age, now into their 80s, they’re only just now starting to admit that, maybe, they’re not as smart, agile, and capable as ever. Chronic kidney disease, COPD, metastatic cancers… No blatant signs of dementia, but it’s a struggle to explain new concepts or devices to them. I think it’s just hard for people who’ve been strong, independent people all their lives to accommodate a world in which they can’t carry 25 pounds or deviate from habits engrained over 20 years. It’s got to be even harder for a politician or oligarch surrounded by sycophants. Harder still when the brain loses its capacity for logic.

      • GreenMario@lemm.ee
        0·
        1 年前

        Aging sucks… that’s why I plan to Kurt Cobain at 50. There is nothing good about being old. Only the healthcare Oligarchs benefit.

        • tburkhol@lemmy.world
          0·
          1 年前

          50’s fine, as long as you haven’t really abused your body or lost the health lottery. Can’t speak from experience, but 60 looks OK for the most part, although you’ll probably learn your doctor’s name around then. 70 is my current schedule.

    • chaogomu@kbin.social
      0·
      1 年前

      Dementia patients rarely admit they have dementia, even when they struggle to put a full sentence together. It’s depressing to watch.

  • Thunderdonk4444@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 年前

    I don’t understand why not retire. She held on to that seat till the bitter end, for what?

    She could have had time with her family and we could have had a seamless replacement. Instead, she got to die at work (basically) and there is a hole in representation right as the government is about to shut down.

    I wonder how this will impact the gov shutdown results

    • CmdrShepard@lemmy.oneEnglish
      0·
      1 年前

      Because of her senority, she was one of the leaders of the party. I agree these elderly politicians need to retire, but that means at best they get replaced by a freshman senator of the same party with no political power. It’s the same reason why McConnell hasn’t retired even though he can’t finish a speech without zonking out and being whisked away by his handlers.

    • DoctorTYVM@lemmy.world
      0·
      1 年前

      I don’t think she had full control of her faculties near the end. Her handlers and power of attorney should have forced her to retire but they didn’t.

      • jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de
        0·
        1 年前

        Yep, and now there are a bunch of parasites that are out of a job and pissed off most of the people that could hire them by trying to perpetuate a farce. I don’t understand what their endgame was.

      • Chariotwheel@kbin.social
        0·
        1 年前

        Yeah, she’s been clearly a barely functioning wreck, propped up by people who needed her power. It was quite sad.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        1 年前

        The party wanted it controlled, prop her up till a moderate could be appointed, because a progressive can win Cali.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            1 年前

            For Cali?

            Yeah…

            But regardless, the best thing for Cali that she’s gone, is they get a fucking choice in who replaces her. The party “picking” someone to hold that seat for the next couple decades and be more Conservative than Cali voters should be an obvious problem.

            But for some reason I doubt anyone will be able to explain that to you in a way you understand…

            • Cleverdawny@lemm.ee
              0·
              1 年前

              Gavin Newsome has gone on record stating he’s going to pick a placeholder to keep the seat warm instead of one of the major contenders for the seat, like Schiff.

              And I don’t see why you’re being a rude asshole. If you want, you can speak like an adult and we can have a decent conversation. But if you insist on being a prick, then I can just start insulting you right back if you prefer.

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
                0·
                1 年前

                Gavin Newsome has gone on record stating he’s going to pick a placeholder to keep the seat warm instead of one of the major contenders for the seat, like Schiff.

                Because in all likelihood he’s going to run for it…

                It’s not altruism, it’s selfishness.

                And I’m not even getting into the rest of what he said that made his statement problematic.

                But calling someone rude for being sarcastic and then going on a rant with personal insults…

                Yeah, you said like a neoliberal bud. Which explains why you don’t see any issues with what Newsome is doing

                • Cleverdawny@lemm.ee
                  0·
                  1 年前

                  Dude, you heavily implied I was an idiot. All because I came into this not having assumed the conclusion that Gavin Newsome is some evil, power mad puppet master.

                  You fucking people in the Always Online Lefty Left can be just so goddamn insufferable. It’s like you’re absolutely committed to ensuring that no one can reasonably talk to someone who has a mildly divergent opinion. God, imagine being such a tool that you can’t be comfortable in a political coalition with someone as progressive as Newsome. How the fuck do you clowns propose to win an election when you’re running around pretending he and anyone he agrees with is a “neoliberal”

      • winterayars@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        1 年前

        Her handlers were enjoying making all the decisions and running her Senate office for her, wheeling her around and playing weekend at Bernie’s. I’d say it was abuse but tbh it’s what she deserved and probably what she wanted anyway.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
      0·
      1 年前

      Senators don’t work that much. She had plenty of time with her family. She didn’t retire because she made lots of money being a centrist senator in a safe seat with enough seniority to do whatever she wanted.

      This won’t impact the shutdown at all, since the House republicans want a shutdown.

      Now Newsom will appoint a moderate black woman who will provide the optics without causing chaos. You might think that sounds cynical, but that’s exactly what Newsom already promised to do.

    • snooggums@kbin.social
      0·
      1 年前

      You mention family and smoother governance, but to some people their work connections are more important to them than their families and she could have thought that resigning would have been less smooth than trying to finish out the term.

      Those things are possible, but I really think that her identity was being a senator and she didn’t want to give that up.

      • Infynis@midwest.socialEnglish
        0·
        1 年前

        …her identity was being a senator and she didn’t want to give that up.

        Fuck her then. It’s the US Senate, not daddy’s law firm. No one should be in the Senate just because it makes them feel important. The job is too important for that.

    • Refurbished Refurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org
      0·
      1 年前

      Nancy Pelosi wants someone to replace her, Gavin Newsom wants someone else. Nancy Pelosi wanted her to stay in office until the next election.

      It’s all just a game to these kinds of people.

      • Heresy_generator@kbin.social
        0·
        1 年前

        Newsom has been clear that he’s appointing someone as a placeholder so as not to interfere in next year’s Senate race by giving one of the actual contenders (Schiff, Porter, or Lee) the advantage of incumbency. But I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi, being Nancy Pelosi, would prefer the Party put their finger on the scale for the candidate leadership wants (which is probably 77 year-old Barabra Lee)

        • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          1 年前

          Schiff, Porter, or Lee

          Aren’t they all in the House right now? Appointing one of them is a mixed bag, because it also leaves their House seat vacant until a special election is held, and Democrats need every vote they can get there. House seats can’t be filled with temporary appointments like Senate seats can.

        • Refurbished Refurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org
          0·
          1 年前

          Pelosi wants Adam Schiff. Newsom stated he wants a black woman (bc ofc he cares about identity politics) in the interim, likely Lee. Pelosi doesn’t want Lee since she’s more progressive than Schiff.

          The temporary choice will have a massive leg up as an incumbent in the next election.

          • a lil bee 🐝@lemmy.world
            0·
            1 年前

            He wants a black woman in the seat because despite making up 15% of the population, there are zero black women in the senate. Why wouldn’t they deserve representation in our senate?

            • Refurbished Refurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org
              0·
              1 年前

              Race and gender should be irrelevant in politics. The only thing that should matter in the end are policies, since that is what affects the constituency.

              Race and gender now are used as distractions to make people think that someone is more progressive than they really are.

              You can still be corrupt if you are a black woman.

              • a lil bee 🐝@lemmy.world
                0·
                1 年前

                This viewpoint is simplistic to the point of losing all sense. As another commenter pointed out, representation is the entire point of a republic. Countries have split and wars have been fought over this exact point. Hell, the United States only exists at all because of it.

                Race and gender start to matter as soon as they become significant factors in our laws and that has been a constant from day one. I don’t care how much you think you know, you do not fully understand the perspective of someone with a radically different life than your own, because of what they have faced due to their race, gender, or any other distinguishing factor. They deserve representation so that their perspective is heard and factored into the laws that govern them.

                This is the basis of what a republic is. You can’t take race and gender out. You can only over represent your own and ignore others while patting yourself on the back like you solved it. It’s intellectual, moral, and legal cowardice.

                • Refurbished Refurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org
                  0·
                  1 年前

                  Yes, and race and gender don’t play a factor in the policies that are voted for.

                  You take money from big donors? You will represent those big donors regardless of race, gender, etc.

                • jscummy@sh.itjust.works
                  0·
                  1 年前

                  It’s a fair point to say race/gender aren’t the most important type of representation. There’s a whole lot of white men in Congress, and as a white man I don’t feel particularly “represented” by Tuberville or Gaetz

    • RelativeArea0@lemmy.ml
      0·
      1 年前

      I think the reason why US went with officials can still “serve” even dead is to avoid political killings (or to avoid a loophole in “justice system”, just like mitch mcconnell who is probably acting having a seizure on his live speeches to avoid heavy charges because he knows the fed knows he has a huge role with trump shenanigans annnnnd unfortunately, it is challenging to press charges against persons who has “mental” illness and stroke can be considered as one).

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      1 年前

      We need a complete overhaul of our political party system.

      Both parties decided that seniority = power, and if you’ll always have more next year, it’s never a good time to step aside.

      With a “bonus” that younger generations never get the experience till they’re also old as shit. The parties have no reason to change, because they’re ran by the most senior people.

      Parties have far too much influence considering they’re not officially part of the government. And the current state of shit is why a lot of founding fathers were against them. I think Jefferson or Franklin wanted to explicitly forbade them

  • galil3o@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 年前

    she voluntarily spent time with the likes of Ron Johnson and Ted Cruz rather than her grandchildren, for decades… So question is, how terrible are her grandchildren?