September 2, 2017

"It’s Dianne being Dianne, but it’s greatly out of step with where the base is, where most Democrats are, and where most California voters are."

"The base is on fire like we really have not seen in more than a generation.”

That was said about Dianne Feinstein by an adviser to California's other Senator, Kamala Harris named Sean Clegg, who is quoted in the L.A. Times in "Sen. Feinstein called for 'patience' with Trump. Now she faces a liberal backlash as she ponders reelection."

The Diane-being-Dianne meme was also present in a remark by Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a Feinstein confidante: “She was Dianne. She’s measured. She’s serious. That’s why she has so much respect, such gravitas, such seniority that she can leverage on our behalf.”

Feinstein will be up for reelection in 2018 if she decides to run. She is 84 years old and would be running for a term that would end when she is 91. She is 8th in seniority in the Senate. She's been there since 1992. There are 3 Senators who've held on since the 1970. But Feinstein is older than all of them.

What exactly did Feinstein say about Trump that brought this backlash? "I just hope he has the ability to learn and change — and if he can, he can be a good president."

A few days later, she responded to the backlash with more Diane-being-Dianne moderation: "While I’m under no illusion that [Trump's changing is] likely to happen and will continue to oppose his policies, I want President Trump to change for the good of the country."

75 comments:

rhhardin said...

Nothing about Democrats changing.

rehajm said...

The base is on fire like we really have not seen in more than a generation

Meltdown is more like it.

It's an upside down world when Diane is the voice of reason.

Bob Boyd said...

If she'd made those racist remarks in Berkeley she'd have been savagely beaten.

sunsong said...

There is nothing wrong with her statement. If Trump changes, we'll all be happy about it. What are the chances? Slim to none...

Michael K said...

The floggings will continue until morale improves.

rehajm said...

Other than party alignment it all has little to do with Trump. A president Romney would also be a Nazi. It would be more difficult to characterize him as unhinged but the leftie attacks would stick since he lacks the skill to defend himself politically.

MayBee said...

What in the world does "the base" mean, anyway? It seems to me to mean the lowest point in the party.

Oso Negro said...

The base was pretty fired up for Bernie, also. I hope he runs again.

tcrosse said...

I'm a man, but I can change if I have to, I guess.

MadisonMan said...

Why on Earth with people stick with such an ancient Senator?

Baby Boomers: Follow Althouse's lead and retire already. Jeeze!

California voters are just bizarre.

tim in vermont said...

They can go hard left. It's fine. I don't really care as long as Hillary is not president.

rehajm said...

What in the world does "the base" mean, anyway?

I always thought it meant people voting for you no matter what, so people you could ignore.

Curious George said...

"It’s Dianne being Dianne, but it’s greatly out of step with where the base is, where most Democrats are..."

So true. Because the left is fucking delusional. And because they shut themselves off from everything that is NOT delusional, they think their positions are "mainstream."

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Of the top 10 longest serving Senators 70% are Republicans.

vanderleun said...

"The base is on fire like we really have not seen in more than a generation.”

Always good to become ash before becoming compost.

rehajm said...

Of the top 10 longest serving Senators 70% are Republicans.

Since McCain is in there it's somewhere between 60% and 70%, depending on the day.

MadisonMan said...

If California (or voters in any other state) wants to elect Communists to the Senate, or People so wrapped up in Social Justice Warriorism that they send out Press Notices declaring what kind of pronoun they'd like to be referenced by, or John Birchers, that's a-ok with me.

California (or other state) lunacy will be balanced by the sensible voters of the rest of the country.

And maybe lunatic Senators will bring an idea or two that is actually useful. It takes all kinds.

Heywood Rice said...

Hey, how many therapists does it take to change a light bulb?

AllenS said...

"The base is on fire like we really have not seen in more than a generation.”

Then don't stand so close to the car you just set on fire.

tcrosse said...

Trump is unlikely to change into a money-grubbing, mendacious, corrupt, unpleasant old woman, which is presumably what the Base would prefer.

Etienne said...

Americans who elect people to the Senate, who will be 90 years old at the end of their term, and is currently using a wheel-chair and cane (and probably oxygen in tanks) actually kind of makes me sad.

It's sad that these people can even get elected. It's sad that Americans think the Senate can function with geriatric level 99 humans.

I'm so sad... But I understand money drives politics, so I don't really care, because being a peasant makes me happy.

I'm a happy peasant, sad about the swamp...

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The base is on fire with hatred, inspired by CNN and MSDNC-Liars.

MadisonMan said...

@Etienne -- at least she won't draw on her Govt pension for very long. I hope.

For all I know, she's already drawing on it, double-dipping, so to speak.

tim in vermont said...

Hey, how many therapists does it take to change a light bulb?

Oh yes, Trump needs a therapist to overcome his tendencies to reject unsupported left-wing bromides as Truth with a capital T. Notice how quick the left is to turn political disagreements into matters for psychiatrists? The Soviets used to do the same thing. Worked out great for them!

Bay Area Guy said...

The Democrat diktat: Anyone who does not sufficiently denounce Donald Trump will be denounced!

tim in vermont said...

Remember when two-minute hates only lasted two minutes? Now it's all hate all the time. What a chore to keep that up.

Greg Hlatky said...

Feinstein is another faux-reasonable Democrats, like Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who make pretty noises but in the end fall into the hard line.

cronus titan said...

California culture is a caricature of itself. Feinstein says something unremarkable (whic is her way for the most part) and is treated to stupid personal attacks and cartonish rhetoric. At this point, that is normal for California.

A shame really. It was not that long ago that California was an American dream. THeir zaniness is driving away good people seeking a better life elsewhere. It is ins a death spiral. As it depopulates its normal people, there are fewer and fewer voices of reason to check the excesses. Outsid California, few take it seriously anymore.

Fernandinande said...

Bill, Republic of Texas said...
Of the top 10 longest serving Senators 70% are Republicans.


I figure the longer they're there the further their snouts get into the trough, so I generally vote against incumbents.

Heywood Rice said...

Hey, how many therapists does it take to change a light bulb?

Oh yes, Trump needs a therapist to overcome his tendencies to reject unsupported left-wing bromides as Truth with a capital T. Notice how quick the left is to turn political disagreements into matters for psychiatrists? The Soviets used to do the same thing. Worked out great for them!

This is a much better punch line than the one I was going to use.

LilyBart said...

The left will not allow you to deviate from RightThink. Trump is double-plus-ungood and must be condemned and resisted at all times!

Pettifogger said...

MadisonMan speaks of the common sense of the rest of the country balancing out lunacy from a few states. I'm curious which country he's from.

Big Mike said...

@antiphone, how many antifa members does it take to change a lightbulb?

It'll change after they beat it enough with their clubs.

Mike Petrik said...

If a GOP Senator said the same words about our former President, the GOP base would have just shrugged. At most. But the MSM would have considered the words horribly disrespectful if not racist.

Earnest Prole said...

California's nonpartisan blanket primary system (the top two vote-getters advance to the general regardless of party) makes it virtually impossible for a Democrat to be "primaried," and in the general election an incumbent has all the advantages of incumbency. In other words, the chances of Feinstein losing (if she chooses to run) are slim.

Gahrie said...

As an illustration of just how bad California's senators have been for the last thirty years or so.....Feinstein's been the good one.

Michael K said...

"It's sad that Americans think the Senate can function with geriatric level 99 humans."

The Senate has always been a geriatric place, at least since 1900.

Ace is now on the Angelo Codevilla essay and likes it.

Watching Trump try to use the Establishment to further his goals is evidence, to me at least, that he is testing the Administrative State to see if it will cooperate or if it is an implacable enemy.

A lot will be revealed if the Congressional GOP tries to work with him or is determined to resist.

By contrast, however, the post 2016 Republican Party is perhaps even more wary than ever of embodying the socio-political identities of the people who have been voting Republican. Hence, with the Republican Party disqualifying itself from the battle that is actually taking place, there is no political vehicle that exists by which Americans may challenge the ruling class.

There is much demand for such a vehicle. How may the political marketplace supply it?

What now?

President Donald Trump is the obvious, first-order answer. Anyone possessed of the enormous institutional and political powers of the modern U.S. presidency is better placed to make victims than to be one...

Let us be clear: the 2016 electorate chose Trump and they saw Trump as the vehicle by which to challenge the ruling class.


"May you live in interesting times" is supposed to be Chinese curse.

Anonymous said...

rehajm said...
It's an upside down world when Diane is the voice of reason.


It's relative. Compared to Boxer or Harris, She IS the voice of reason.

Bob Boyd said...

Each party is now clearly showing itself to be just what the other always accused it of being.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Good luck on that "change" thingie. Even General Kelly couldn't make it happen.

iowan2 said...

DiFi is taking orders from the bosses. She is laying the ground work for the truth. The Truth that Thousands of pages of information exist that prove President Trump and his campaign never had communication outside of normal, customary contacts. She knows that President Trump, is once again right. This is a witch hunt. By next September you will never even know that the Democrats made the claim of collusion. Like a statue, it will be taken away out of sight, out of mind, never to be spoken of again.
And when Republicans pin the facts on the Democrats, they will mock them with smears of being conspiracy nuts.

traditionalguy said...

Trump being treated as a human being is an attack on 10 months of intense psyops by a cast of thousands . And she let it slip just when the hysteria was ripe for impeachment riots. That serious minded California Senator emerged like the British Navy coming ashore on Lord of the Flies Island.

What a waste of a pretended crisis.

Fernandinande said...

Is it legal to yell "Dianne Feinstein" in a crowded theater?

Clyde said...

The Democrat base doesn't care about "the good of the country." The Democrat base cares only about the good of the Democrat party and the Democrat base. Period. Full stop.

Bob Boyd said...

"Is it legal to yell "Dianne Feinstein" in a crowded theater?"

You can yell "Fire..." in a crowded theatre as long as you follow it with "...Diane Feinstein!"

AllenS said...

How quick do you think you could clear a theater, if you yelled VAMPIRE!?

MacMacConnell said...

When the media or political scientists say Presidents or Governors "change" or "grow in office" they mean one of many things, but mostly they mean became more liberal or gave in to the state Establishment.

Sebastian said...

I'm surprised Dems lash back at Feinstein mush, since I've been told on this very blog that "people" seek stability and convention.

Rae said...

Watching the left implode and immolate in this country was amusing, now it's getting disturbing. Without legit competition, the Republicans will be worse than they are now.

Big Mike said...

@Clyde, I beg to disagree. The Democrat base is all about raw, drooling hatred. Hatred for Donald Trump. Hatred for people who voted for Donald Trump. Hatred for people who work to earn a living. Just hatred.

LYNNDH said...

tcrosse, I and Red Green thank you for the morning laugh. Much appreciated. Now, hand me the duct tape.

Anonymous said...

Rae: Without legit competition, the Republicans will be worse than they are now.

If you consider "Globetrotters v. Generals" to be "legit competition".

(I guess they could be "worse than they are now" in the sense of "no longer able to fool anybody into believing they're an opposition party".)

David Begley said...

Could California be any more out of step with the rest of the country than it currently is? I expect the secession initiative to not only get on the ballot, but to win. Calexit

The age of the leaders of the Democrat party shows how barren and empty they are. Bankrupt of ideas. If California didn't have identity politics, it would have no politics at all.

And did you know that California has adopted a new primary system that saw two Dems running for the Senate seat Harris won? Rigged game.

chickelit said...

The one certain thing about California politics is that our Senators must be left wing women from the Bay Area. There is an unbroken streak going back for some time.

YoungHegelian said...

The base is on fire like we really have not seen in more than a generation.

Meaning, the left wing of the Democratic Party is bound & determined to get the Party car out of the ditch so that they can drive it off a cliff.

Ken B said...

She's one of the grown-ups. That's why she got flack. In today's party only children need apply.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

"The base is on fire like we really have not seen in more than a generation.”

But is it a controlled burn or a dumpster fire?


I'm betting on the latter.

fivewheels said...

Feinstein always seemed to me to be one of the biggest victims of the Hillary Clinton idolatry on the feminist left. Why was Feinstein never the poster child for feminist political power the last 20 years? She has a legit resume that she earned on her own, and not through nepotism via her husband. She has genuine areas of expertise and has significant executive experience from when she was SF's mayor.

I'd vote against her, but she would be a legitimate candidate and groundbreaker. Why did feminists pick Bill's wife, when there's a perfectly good, reliably liberal woman of competence right there? Occam's razor: I guess they're just idiots.

ALP said...

THIS is what fills me with despair. Politicians that are supposed to SERVE the people hoping that the other side in power fucks up so bad (and thereby fucking us) they will win the next round.

Fuck the people, its my job that's really important.

buwaya said...

Feinstein is a longstanding front for the Democratic party big money. Its not a coincidence she is married to a billionaire, Richard Blum, who came out of the old-school San Francisco property investment business thats been joined in mixed bloodstreams to the local Democratic party for over a century.

This is an interesting social dynamic here also, as this is really the "old-money" Jewish haut-bourgeois subculture of San Francisco, thats pretty much run the place, behind the scenes, since Adolph Sutro was mayor in the 1890's. Richard Blum came out of the old Sutro company, also not a coincidence.

To their great credit much of what is good and beautiful and worthwhile and sane in San Francisco came out of that Jewish upper class.

buwaya said...

Feinsteins political connections were always very specific and local.

And she did indeed benefit greatly from her connections. She was always the local establishment politician. She is not in most respects self-made, she really is a representative of her community (the old-school San Francisco powers-that-be).
Gavin Newsom (not Jewish) was their up-and-comer, groomed for high office.

buwaya said...

The CA Dem party is split in factions of course. Its always been extremely factional in San Francisco itself. Add in all the ethnic politics, much more of a factor now, and it can be pretty toxic.

Much of the fight these days is between the SoCal Chicano party (extremely corrupt) and the Sacramento party-of-government, which backs K.Harris, which is even more corrupt.

The "base" is largely the extreme left, which is mostly used by the Sac faction. They pander to them outrageously.

clint said...

The base isn't "on fire" they're setting things on fire. It's a bit different. Particularly in how it appears to the squishy middle voters.

Jupiter said...

Pettifogger said...
"MadisonMan speaks of the common sense of the rest of the country balancing out lunacy from a few states. I'm curious which country he's from."

Well, don't worry about it. Countries are like the weather. If you don't like this one, the Democrats plan to install a new one on the same territory in a decade or so.

Bilwick said...

" . . . I just hope he has the ability to learn and change--and if he can, he can become a good president."

Translation from the 'Liberal' BS to Plain English: "I hope Trump becomes as big a State fellator as I am."

Narayanan said...

After Calexit will they annex Baja for a more perfect union?

buwaya said...

Baja has almost nothing in common with California proper, other than the name.

Of course, the name alone would suffice for a Chinese territorial claim, so it might work.

Narayanan said...

Being majority leftist will they join China or Russia?
Trump - Russia will be irrelevant by then!

bgates said...

What in the world does "the base" mean, anyway?

It's the English translation of "al Qaeda".

cubanbob said...

A Liberal backlash is a gift to Conservatives. Can the GOPe manage to lose despite the Left doing its best to hand them victory in the majority of the States and in Congress? Its going to be hard for the GOPe and the nevertumper LLR to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but they are a very determined bunch so I give them 50/50 odds.

Michael said...

The Dems would be wise to ignore K Harris for the presidential and go with Gavin Newman. He is smarter and better looking and can be sold as a Kennedy- like savior. He is also white and pure bred p c. And as smooth as an eel.

furious_a said...

"The base is on fire like we really have not seen in more than a generation.”

...by which, if they meant "The party is going up in flames like 1968", then, yes, no Pinocchios.

furious_a said...

...and go with Gavin Newman. He is smarter and better looking and can be sold as a Kennedy.

"Newsom", but yes, and like a Kennedy he is a drunk who bangs his friends' wives.

Gahrie said...

The Dems would be wise to ignore K Harris for the presidential and go with Gavin Newman.

Newsome

But I agree..however they can't. There is no way the base or the MSM will stand for a White man instead of a bi-racial woman.

What could be interesting, if no one goes to Newsome and buys him off somehow, is if he gets in the race and tries to pull the Bernie Bros.

Ray - SoCal said...

Buwaya - how is the So Ca Chicano movement corrupt?

Interesting stuff in Ca I did not know.

My take on Ca - 5th generation:
- gerrymandered districts make for far left politicians
- Teachers Union most powerful in Sacramento
- Pensions due to Goverment Unions out of control
- SF area money also helps far left candidates
- aerospace is gone as a political force in Ca
- Many of most productive moving out
- insane housing prices
- Central Valley is another world
- agriculture hurt bad by $15 min wage
- lots of automation coming due to min wage
- GOP is clueless in Ca
- term limits have shifted power to lobbyists
- business also fleeing state. Silicon Valley is in a bubble, and when the bubbles pops it will be ugly.
- lots of Chinese money coming in
- Hollywood has been hemorrhaging jobs outside of ca.