As Leah wrote this morning, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has passed away. She was 90. The California liberal was about to ride into the sunset in 2025. She won her last election in 2018 decisively, but her mental and physical ailments got the better of her in the final years of her life. The cognitive decline was an open secret, with many of her colleagues observing that the Golden State had an excellent senator in Sen. Alex Padilla and an exceptional staff with Ms. Feinstein.
In the final months of her life, an open mic caught Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) telling a confused Feinstein to vote ‘aye’ in a committee hearing. This year, before her death, she was out of the Senate for months, recovering from a bout of shingles that left her with partial paralysis in her face.
Yet, there were some weird descriptions about the political leanings of the late senator, notably that she was a “centrist” but also supported liberal causes. Well, that would make her a liberal. It’s also the truth—Feinstein wasn’t a centrist at all. She was a hard-core liberal (Via Associated Press) [emphasis mine]:
Feinstein was a passionate advocate for liberal priorities important to her state, including environmental protection, reproductive rights and gun control. She was also known as a pragmatic lawmaker who reached out to Republicans and sought middle ground. https://t.co/HhbVUzUzhm pic.twitter.com/TmrWxHSaKV
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 29, 2023
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a centrist Democrat and champion of liberal causes who was elected to the Senate in 1992 and broke gender barriers throughout her long career in local and national politics, has died. She was 90.
Feinstein died on Thursday night at her home in Washington, D.C., her office said on Friday. Opening the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that “earlier this morning, we lost a giant in the Senate.”
First sentence: “Centrist Democrat”
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) September 29, 2023
Second sentence: “Passionate advocate for liberal priorities” pic.twitter.com/Y7oz5NEQwD
And The Washington Post was no better, describing the late California liberal as a centrist. I don’t know if newsrooms are allergic to the word or that establishment media has become so inundated with far-left reporters that what was once considered progressive/liberal is now centrist. It would explain why this slice of the country has gone insane.
But no, this isn’t worthy of a fact check, but Ms. Feinstein wasn’t a stalwart of centrism in the Senate. She was an unabashed liberal whose professionalism and grace became qualities that irritated the more left-wing elements in the Democratic Party.
I never thought I'd say anything this nice about a Democrat, but here we are.