(Daily Caller)—After Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California passed away on Friday, the Daily Caller News Foundation compiled a list of politicians who may be appointed to her seat by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, in keeping with his pledge to name a black woman to the position.
Newsom pledged to nominate a black woman to temporarily fill a potential vacancy in Feinstein’s seat in March of 2021, when health complications had raised questions about whether she would complete her term. After Newsom updated his pledge on Sept. 10, saying that he would only appoint someone who isn’t currently a candidate for the seat, the DCNF compiled a list of Democratic black women politicians from California who may be appointed based on his requirements.
Breed is currently the mayor of San Francisco, a position previously held by both Feinstein and Newsom. She is also running for re-election to a second full term in 2024 but is facing primary challenges from Daniel Lurie, a philanthropist and an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. denim jeans manufacturing fortune, as well as Democratic San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, who represents the 11th district.
Breed has been heavily criticized by Republicans and some Democrats for homelessness, sanitation drug use and crime in San Francisco. The number of encampments in the city recently reached its highest level since 2020, while the number of opioid deaths also exceeded a previous record on Sept. 19.
From the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein: pic.twitter.com/rvcAmVk8O0
— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 29, 2023
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson shared a statement from Breed where she said that “this decision is the Governor’s responsibility and that conversation can be saved for another day.”
Wilson is currently the majority whip in the California Assembly as well as the chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, two high-ranking positions in the state’s Democratic establishment. She represents areas around the state capital of Sacramento and previously served as the mayor of Suisun City.
Wilson has recently criticized Newsom for vetoing Assembly Bill 957, a bill she had sponsored that would have threatened the custodial rights of parents who do not agree with their child’s transgenderism. “The veto … is a profound disappointment. Across this nation, transgender children are being targeted and erased,” Wilson wrote in a joint statement with the California Legislature’s LGBTQ caucus, adding “[t]his veto is a missed opportunity to remind the nation that California is a safe haven for transgender and non-binary children.”
Bass is currently the mayor of Los Angeles, having been elected to the role in 2022. She previously served for eleven years in Congress, which included two years as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as the Speaker of the California General Assembly from 2008 to 2010 while in the state legislature.
It is unclear whether Bass, who has served less than a year as mayor, is willing to relinquish her office for a temporary appointment to Feinstein’s former seat. A spokesperson for Bass said that she is not interested in the seat, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
“Senator Feinstein was a trailblazer on whose shoulders I, and women in elected office all across America, will always stand,” Bass wrote on Twitter regarding Feinstein’s death.
Price is currently the district attorney of Alameda County, which is adjacent to San Francisco and includes the city of Oakland. Price is currently facing a recall effort from business groups who allege that she has failed to combat crime in the city.
“District Attorney Pamela Price has absolutely failed the people of Alameda County. Crime is spiraling out of control. It’s time to stand up for victims of crime and their families to bring justice back to Alameda County,” said Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, who has endorsed the recall effort, to CBS News. Campaigners need to gather 73,195 signatures from Alameda County voters within 160 days to initiate a recall election, CBS reported.
Price’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Feinstein’s death or whether she was seeking Feinstein’s seat.
Vice President Kamala Harris, like Feinstein, is from San Francisco and served alongside her in the Senate from 2017 to 2021. She also served as the district attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011 and as the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.
Harris, who is the ex-officio President of the Senate and is running for re-election with President Joe Biden in 2024, is highly unlikely to resign from the vice presidency to fill Feinstein’s vacancy. However, she meets Newsom’s criteria of being a black woman who is not running for the seat in 2024.
“Senator Dianne Feinstein was one of the greatest public servants that California and our nation has ever known,” Harris wrote in a statement published on Twitter. “I will never forget how I felt in November 1992 as a 28-year-old prosecutor, driving across the bridge from my home in Oakland into San Francisco to celebrate her election to the United States Senate.”
Bonta serves in the California Assembly as a representative for the 18th district, which covers Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also the wife of Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta of California, who was previously appointed by Newsom to his role.
Bonta, a black woman and member of the state legislature’s Black Caucus, is not currently seeking election to the Senate. If appointed, she would also become California’s first Hispanic woman senator, having been born to Puerto Rican parents who are the descendants of Ghanaian slaves.
“[Feinstein was] a Bay Area native who paved the way for a new generation of women leaders in California and nationwide. Her presence will be deeply missed in #AD18 and throughout the country,” Bonta wrote on Twitter of Feinstein’s passing.
Lee, the Democratic congresswoman from California’s 12 district, which covers Alameda County, is currently running for Feinstein’s seat in 2024. Were Newsom to appoint her, he would break his vow of Sept. 18 to appoint someone other than a candidate for office to the role.
“I am troubled by the governor’s remarks,” Lee said following Newsom’s announcement that he would only appoint a caretaker to the role. “The idea that a Black woman should be appointed only as a caretaker to simply check a box is insulting to countless Black women across this country who have carried the Democratic Party to victory election after election.”
It is not certain whether, if appointed, Lee would win the election to a full term. She currently ranks third in polls, behind Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter, respectively.
“This is a sad day for California and the nation,” Lee wrote on Twitter of Feinstein’s death. “Sen. Feinstein was a champion for our state and served as the voice of a political revolution for women.”
Newsom, Harris, Wilson, Lee, Bonta and Price did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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]]>A lock-box with two registered firearms were stolen from Bass’s home Friday night. But as noted by Fox News host Jeanine Pirro appearing on The Five, something seems very off about the story:
“Let me tell you something. She’s got two guns that are registered for which she has no permits, okay? Only two guns are stolen, but they’re “safely and securely in a Brinks lock box.” How did the guy who allegedly is Hispanic that they’re referring to – they didn’t tell us how they got a description since no one was at home. Maybe they had a ring thing, or I don’t know. But how does a criminal not take cash?
“There’s no identification number, no fingerprints? Not take jewelry, not take anything other than a box that you hope two guns are in? There isn’t a glass cover on a Brinks locks box. She has some issues, okay? As it relates to the gun, she only has it registered, she doesn’t have a permit. She’s had it for 40 years and never bothered to get a permit. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll tell you what, all my antennas are up here. Something is totally off. No criminal goes in and doesn’t take cash.”
As John Petrolino noted at Bearing Arms, the segment on The Five included a leftist view that should raise even more alarm bells:
The panel wouldn’t have been complete without the 5th host, or liberal host, Harold Ford Jr. weighing in with some lightly veiled anti-gun rhetoric. Ford’s comment was in support of so-called “smart guns”. While Ford did not outright use the term “smart gun”, his sentiment was received loud and clear by me.
“[I]f we have technology to shut down people’s water and heat and air conditioning, these companies do, we ought to have the same kind of technology to make sure no one can use those guns, but for the person that owns the gun, if your guns are stolen. I mean something good ought to come out of this I hope all the facts come out. I take people at their word. I imagine the Congresswoman has not done anything here. No one is, I don’t think anyone’s suggesting that…”
Out of the entire exchange and story, this was Ford’s takeaway? A sales pitch for “smart guns”? Ford did ever-so-smoothly slip that bit of rhetoric in, and honestly it went either unnoticed or unacknowledged by the other panelists. No one popped up and said that the idea was malarkey.
The non-addressing of Ford’s comment, we don’t know if it was just an oversight or not. I’d like to hope that the “conservative” wing of the show would have picked up on the detail, but they did not utter a peep on it. I would also like to think the conservative pundits would point out how ridiculous and unconstitutional the notion of a so-called “smart gun” would be. The talking point could have been since Bass is of the anti-gun cloth, that’d be an option for her, but we all know that the anti-freedom caucus wants to mandate “smart guns” for all. If these panelists outright ignored the comment for some political reason, then shame on them.
The mystery of Bass’s missing firearms will hopefully be just a blip on the radar, with the absurdity of it being pointed out by her campaign and party before it becomes some further call to restrict rights. Does this have the stench of a publicity stunt? Maybe. Were her firearms actually stolen? Who knows. Regardless, the Five point out both the hypocrisy that Tom noted, the fishiness of the story, and of course the pinko got to slide in his anti-gun rhetoric.
There seems to be an agenda in play. Whenever Democrat lawmakers are involved, that’s never a stretch to believe. But in this case, the various stories being told and speculation being lobbed about what really happened and why it’s happening should make us question the entire narrative. According to ABC7, arrests have been made:
Police later identified the suspects as Patricio Munoz, 42, and Juan Espinoza, 24. They were located in a suspect vehicle in the area of Hazeltine Avenue and Sylvan Street in Van Nuys on Tuesday night, LAPD said.
Police say the suspect vehicle and its license plate number were seen outside Bass’ home during the burglary.
Both men were booked into jail for residential burglary. Munoz is being held on $500,000 bail, while Espinoza is being held without bail.
Even if we look past the hypocrisy of a gun-grabbing Democrat candidate owning her own firearms because she’s obviously above the people she wants to rule, we cannot get around the peculiarities in this case. Why was nothing else stolen? How did the suspects know they would find two firearms? Did they realize they were breaking into the home of a mayoral candidate? Is something very sinister taking place in Los Angeles surrounding a Democrat politician?
At least the answer to the last question is obvious. At any given moment, there will always be something sinister surrounding Democrat politicians.
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