Doesn't Matter

The following is a great tweet and can stand on its own- meaning, of course, that I'm going to take it a step further. This is ostensibly about one state, but with unintentional meaning for the Democratic Party.

Nine out of ten people with a pulse and a working brain stem agree that Katie Porter is a total badass.pic.twitter.com/tkZTE5BPTv

— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) September 26, 2022

 

In response, one individual tweeted "she's the best!"

She seems to be a badass and may be the best. But as California governor Gavin Newsom contemplates a run for the presidency (in 2024 or 2028), please understand that he doesn't care. In March, 2021 we read in Politico

California Gov. Gavin Newsom committed Monday to nominating a Black woman for the U.S. Senate should Sen. Dianne Feinstein resign from the seat she’s held for more than two decades.

Newsom made the comments to MSNBC host Joy Reid in an appearance on her show, saying he has multiple names in mind for the spot.

The governor’s surprise statement came as Reid asked Newsom if he would commit to naming a Black woman to the Senate if Feinstein steps down and whether he has thought of particular replacements.

Newsom told Reid, “I have multiple names in mind. We have multiple names in mind — and the answer is yes.”

There has been no indication that Feinstein will step aside, but a growing number of Democrats have raised the possibility in recent months after their displeasure with how she handled the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett, as well as damaging reports in POLITICO and The New Yorker about Feinstein’s age-related missteps.

Feinstein could face additional pressure to step down this year with the recall election expected to qualify. While California’s electorate gives Democrats an advantage in protecting Newsom’s governorship and avoiding a GOP replacement, the possibility remains that a Republican could take the seat and have nomination powers at least until January 2023.

Newsom won the recall election by a wide margin, which should have increased pressure on Feinstein to retire, but- no.  In his defense, Governor Newsom's pander originated when

The California governor faced lobbying after the November presidential election to name a Black woman to fill the seat of then-Sen. Kamala Harris — the only Black woman in the U.S. Senate when she was elected vice president. Newsom ultimately chose Sen. Alex Padilla, the state’s first Latino senator who was serving as California secretary of state.

Were Dianne Feinstein to leave the Senate, voluntarily or tragically (think RBG), while Newsom is still governor. he probably will fulfill his pledge to Joy Ann Reid.  Alternatively, he might decide to nominate Porter because Democratic badasses are uncommon and it might be nice to have in the US Senate fighting for the interests of the 99%.

But Gavin Newsom imagines himself as a Democratic presidential nominee some day, and he'll remember the heady, latter seven months of 2020, when the great evil among Democratic activists and voters was the inequitable treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement. A candidate proud that he was co-sponsor of a bill which many of them held responsible for mass incarceration pledged to nominate to the US Supreme Court a black woman. Not a badass, not "the best," but a black woman.

He then gained the support of House Majority Whip and South Carolinian Jim Clyburn and wiped the floor with his opponents among black voters, sweeping to the nomination. Clyburn also encouraged that presumptive presidential nominee, Joe Biden, to choose a black woman as his running mate. He did and won the election, though it had little or no impact on the outcome.

If Gavin Newsom gets to replace a United States Senator, he can select a total badass and arguably the best, whatever her race, in one fell swoop. He already has told us he will not.

 

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