This isn’t a new story. Since 2020, there have been reports of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) mental decline. It wouldn’t be shocking. She’s been in DC forever. She’s 88 years old. For years, there have been stories sprinkled in there about whether she should step aside. California’s far-left contingent certainly wants her gone. They tried to unseat her. They failed. Now, we’re back to more stories about the California liberal’s mental state, with anonymous Democratic senators saying she’s cooked (via The Blaze):
"It's bad, and it's getting worse," said one Democratic senator, who requested anonymity in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle to complain about their colleague. The senator related how Feinstein has difficulty keeping up with conversations and discussions.
Four U.S. senators, three former Feinstein staffers, and one California Democratic member of Congress spoke to the paper about Feinstein's reportedly declining memory and questionable mental fitness for office. These individuals say that at 88 years old, Feinstein is entirely dependent on her staff doing most of the work required to represent 40 million Californians in the Senate.
While she has good days, when she appears to be in command of herself and the issues — Democrats pointed to her performance during Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearings — there are bad days, when Feinstein reportedly does not even recognize some of her long-term colleagues.
One of the lawmakers recounted a recent conversation in which they had to reintroduce themselves to Feinstein several times, despite working with her for 15 years. The conversation reportedly prompted this lawmaker to ask colleagues if it were possible to stage an intervention with Feinstein and have her retire before 2024, when her current term expires.
“I have worked with her for a long time and long enough to know what she was like just a few years ago: always in command, always in charge, on top of the details, basically couldn’t resist a conversation where she was driving some bill or some idea. All of that is gone,” the lawmaker said. “She was an intellectual and political force not that long ago, and that’s why my encounter with her was so jarring. Because there was just no trace of that.”
“There’s a joke on the Hill, we’ve got a great junior senator in Alex Padilla and an experienced staff in Feinstein’s office,” said a staffer for a California Democrat.
Oh, that’s brutal—and sad. Look, Feinstein might be liberal but she’s not an insane Democrat. She was fair during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Justice Amy Coney Barrett which is why she was forced to step down from being the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Frankly, forget mental capacity, she’s 88 years old. Why would anyone want to remain in DC, especially now? She’s cut from the old cloth of ‘unwoke’ Democrat. Enjoy your golden years, lady. It’s not like your seat will go to a Republican. I would bolt, but it sounds like Joe Biden isn’t the only one suffering from a reduced mental capacity.
In the meantime, Feinstein has pushed back against reports of her mental decline (via CNBC):
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is pushing back against a news report citing multiple anonymous colleagues questioning her ability to continue serving and voicing concerns that she is mentally unfit to serve.
Feinstein, 88, said that the record shows she is an effective representative for her state.
“I remain committed to do what I said I would when I was re-elected in 2018: fight for Californians, especially on the economy and the key issues for California of water and fire,” she said in a statement issued by her office. “While I have focused for much of the past year on my husband’s health and ultimate passing, I have remained committed to achieving results and I’d put my record up against anyone’s.”
Feinstein said that, in the last few months, she has led the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and secured additional funding to retain federal firefighters to help California prepare for the upcoming wildfire season.
“The real question is whether I’m still an effective representative for 40 million Californians, and the record shows that I am,” she said.
She seems cogent, but then again--is a lot of this smoothed over by great staff work?
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