175 Comments

I agree that this is an unforced error on Newson's part. At the same time I feel that Barbara Lee at 77 was too old for the spot. At that age she should be passing the torch to younger politicians and not become another DiFi.

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I like all three -- maybe 4 -- of the top 2024 contenders. No reason at all to diss Adam Schiff, and certainly not because Nancy supports his candidacy.

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I really can't agree with you here, Stephen. Since a contested primary was already underway, it was entirely proper for Gavin to say he didn't want to influence that outcome by giving incumbency to one of the candidates. Having decided that he would only choose a "caretaker" for the spot, the choice he did make sounds like an excellent one to me.

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I know nothing about Butler, but given what I heard, I don't doubt she won't do well. Her running should be interesting but I don't see it. On the other hand, I see some discussion between Sen. Butler and Rep. Lee in the future.

That said, I won't nail Gov. Newsom for this, cuz it's certainly a situation I wouldn't want to have to preside over, and giving even a short-lived incumbency might be considered favoritism. I will nail Sen. Feinstein over not respecting her physical limits and the rest of the Senate Ds, but at the same time I can't hold it too hard against them since the situation in the Senate is tenuous *at best*, and the House is a complete clusterfuck.

Should have been done with far earlier....

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I like the Barbara Boxer idea, since she has experience in that position. Newsom definitely can't pick any of the 3 Senate contenders, for fairness reasons.

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Congrats to Laphonza Butler! I know little about her, but she seems satisfactory. I too wish our leaders would stop making pronouncements that a certain sex and a certain race will be appointed to a certain position. It’s kind of strange. No qualifiers needed.

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I think it belittles Schiff to say Pelosi favors him for ideological reasons. Schiff's performance in the impeachment showed his strengths as a manager and his oratorical skills that are fit for the Senate.

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Pelosi probably favors Schiff for his proven managerial and oratorical skills in pursuit of a shared ideology.

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Oratorical skills aside, the shared ideology is his prodigious fund raising ability......"It's the money Labowski"........

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Pelosi would have liked Schiff to succeed her as Speaker.

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I'd like a pony.

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I think that's fairer. They are not so far apart politically imo

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This makes me think less of Barbara Lee, who I previously admired. She is being arrogant, acting as if the job belongs to her; it doesn't. She is one candidate among a group of really good candidates. Newsom is doing right to appoint a placeholder. Choosing a black woman is symbolic; it's a good thing even if it is temporary. It doesn't mean a black woman won't win the job permanently. The voters, not Barbara Lee, should decide who becomes Senator.

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I think this is as good of an outcome as he could get. He shouldn't have made the initial remark, but once he was bound by it, he was right not to give it to someone who has already declared. If Ms. Butler decides to run for reelection, I think that should be her choice. Being the incumbent has advantages, but those would be offset by her having to catch up in building a campaign team and fundraising.

To me, though, Boxer was the obvious choice if that commitment wasn't out there on the Governor's part. She would have known the institution, would likely have been willing to step up, and wouldn't have had ambitions beyond the end of the term.

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I think the point being missed here is Newsom's "promise" was made at a point when there was not a set of declared candidates.

The comment was made more than two years ago in the context of Feinstein resigning mid-term. HAD THAT HAPPENED, there is no declared field of candidates for the seat.

Prior appointment opportunities have been due to 'unexpected' events, a death (of someone who has not declared resigning), a sudden resignation, or an appointment to a higher office.

In cases like those, Newsom's promise is reasonable.

In cases like this, where there already is a field, I have to ask the question: "Why should Newsom's choices be constrained by declared candidates?".

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It sounds like Newsom needs a female Roland Burris.

If you are understandably responding "who?", it's no compliment. Google it if you want, or just know that this is a man who not only had his mausoleum built ahead of time, but literally carved his entire resume -- including being an interim U.S. Senator (he replaced Obama) -- onto one side of it.

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Note to Chrome users and possibly others: An easy way to google is to select what you want to google--"Roland Burris" in this case--then right-click. This gives you a list of things to do, including to google the selection. Hope this is useful.

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It is to me!

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I guess "we'll see?"

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Much ado about nothing. This will all be forgotten two weeks.

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the road to hell is paved with good intentions

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Remember, Biden promised to pick a woman as his vice president and to pick a Black woman as Supreme Court justice when Breyer retired. Those picks had a two part objective, especially the VP pick. To help him politically and to address lack of equal representation in important federal offices. Of course those were not just place holder positions, one being a life long appointment. It does not look like he has plans to replace Harris either.

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Not to mention that Ketanji Brown Jackson is the awesomest supreme court justice since Thurgood Marshall!

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They knew she was a rock star. It's really why they elevated her to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals for a year, so she could have that on her resume when they nominated her for SCOTUS.

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I guess his binders weren't as full as he originally thought

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Wrong politician.

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