As Leah wrote this morning, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) passed away at 90. She was a staunch liberal Democrat, though her personality was the salt of the Earth. She was a Democrat, one of the few nowadays whom you could work with or at least have a constructive conversation.
While her mental and physical abilities degraded rapidly in her final years in office, she was lethal when at the top of her game. It didn’t matter how old you were—if you came after her, she would slice you in half with a katana. In a viral moment back in 2019, Feinstein caught a little heat from liberals for shredding a bunch of kids on climate change.
Feinstein told these little green terrorists, who wanted her to back the Green New Deal that she knew what she was doing and that she doesn’t cower when threatened. It was a classic DC line, but it’s true here: I was elected, and you’re not. The best part was when the kids warned the California liberal about the 12-year timeline to turn things around, which Feinstein shrugged off, replying that nothing is going to get turned around climate-wise in 10 years (via CBS News):
Dianne Feinstein may be gone, but this clip of her dunking on a bunch of kids to their face will live on forever in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/GcqBzONTFB
— siraj hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) September 29, 2023
Sen. Dianne Feinstein had a heated exchange with a group of middle and high school students who asked her to sign the Green New Deal in a clip that went viral Friday. Activists from the Sunrise Movement, a youth climate-change advocacy group, posted video on social media of the confrontation, where Feinstein said, "I've been doing this for 30 years, I know what I'm doing."
"You come in here and say 'it has to be my way or the highway' and I don't respond to that," Feinstein told about 15 students at her San Francisco office. "I've gotten elected, I just ran, I was elected by almost a million-vote plurality, and I know what I'm doing."
Feinstein told the students she is opposed to the Green New Deal for several reasons, including "we can't pay for it" and she doesn't agree with what it says. The Green New Deal, championed by Democrats Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasico-Cortez, aims to convert the entire U.S. economy to renewable energy within 12 years, while also sparking a massive burst of job-creation and technological innovation.
When the students told her "some scientists say we have 12 years to turn this around," Feinstein answered "Well it's not going to get turned around in 10 years."
The kids were outright overmatched by a politician who’s been doing this for a long time. This incident was turned into a skit on Saturday Night Live:
This is how I will remember her ♥️♥️♥️ pic.twitter.com/d0YPdV8fg2
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) September 29, 2023
Whether you agreed or disagreed with her politics, Ms. Feinstein was a fixture of the Senate with a long history of public service. Gov. Gavin Newsom must now decide what to do with her vacancy, which will likely cause a mini-civil war among California Democrats. Let them duke it out.