"Just say aye". Embarrasing.
Dianne Feinstein has died
91–100 of 377 posts
Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
See also: Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. She threw her whole legacy into the garbage disposal just so she could cling to power for two more years.
This is a rewrite of history. She was basically trapped in the job when the Senate refused to appoint Obama's pick to fill the vacant seat of Scalia. If she had retired it would have just been two empty seats for Trump to fill quicker. People were actively asking her to stay in the job. Feinstein was a democratic senator in a democratic state with a democratic governor. She was actively being told she was unfit. She…
> This is a rewrite of history
Obama met her when Democrats had a majority, and IIRC obliquely inquired/suggested that she retire and she brushed it off.
Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
See also: Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. She threw her whole legacy into the garbage disposal just so she could cling to power for two more years.
This is a rewrite of history. She was basically trapped in the job when the Senate refused to appoint Obama's pick to fill the vacant seat of Scalia. If she had retired it would have just been two empty seats for Trump to fill quicker. People were actively asking her to stay in the job. Feinstein was a democratic senator in a democratic state with a democratic governor. She was actively being told she was unfit. She…
I wonder if the Justices themselves have accepted that they hold a de-facto partisan position and should act as such. I mean, the system clearly was not designed like it was one.
Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#94are senators in USA a lifetime position?
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Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#95I know the easy approach here is for people to want an age limit in Congress, but I've always been more partial to a term limit. I'm sure there are plenty of hypotheses as to why this happens, but whatever the cause elected officials seem to have an extremely easy go of getting re-elected these days. The increasing average age in Congress is just a side effect of that in my opinion.
The problem with term limits is that they don't apply to lobbyists. Lobbyists basically writing most of the legislation is already a major problem, and it becomes worse when all the representatives are new to the office.
Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#96So sad to lose such a great stock trader! - https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/as-feinstein... - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_congressional_insider_tra... - https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/14/dianne-feinstein-hu... etc.
All these senators that manage to make tens of millions of dollars on their $250k salary should really release personal finance books.
To be fair, Senator Feinstein was married to a guy who ran his own equity capital investment management firm so it's not like we can assume her personal wealth is all derived from investing her salary.
Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#97Ok, I think in light of this she should really consider stepping down.
Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#98Having seen Diane bootlick for the telecoms most of my life, good riddance.
Yes, you heard me. I am not even going to pause for a condolance or bite my tongue. I'm glad she's gone. She was 100% unfit for the position in the last few years of her life and nothing was done about it. This is a problem with US Politics, they are too fucking old to represent the actual population so they are pulled by SIGs and lobbyists. We are not accurately represented.
We need term limits in the Senate. She was part of the problem, and the problem needs to be fixed.
Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#99Let this be a lesson to all. Exit on a high note.
See also: Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. She threw her whole legacy into the garbage disposal just so she could cling to power for two more years.
I don't believe she threw away her WHOLE legacy, but she did not in fact end on a high note like the OP asked and sadly become a cautionary tale.
Re: Dianne Feinstein has died
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Between her and McConnell and the other gerontocrats in Washington, I’m really baffled. Why do these people grip the reins of power until their knuckles turn white? What is so important about political horse trading that they have to literally haul you out of office on a stretcher?
Why do they cling to power? I imagine the personality type that seeks political power in the first place tends to want to keep it. It's good to be the king. At the end of the day, the people continue to elect them. If voters were unhappy with Feinstein's performance (or that of her key aides), the solution was as simple as voting her out. Name recognition is powerful. Seniority leads to leadership of key committees i…
> Why do they cling to power?
Life or death. The mindset is that when they retire they have nothing to live for and will die soon after. The personality type required to get to a powerful position like Senator can also (frequently * ) not be able to conceive of a meaningful life after office. Quitting office is like giving up on life for these people.
*Jimmy Carter is a good counter example. He found a meaningful purpose after holding a powerful office.