4 ms·
I think the bit about the single vote was about her? Does it mean they had just one vote in the committee or a single person quashed the bill? Feinstein lives
by leokun 13y ago
I think the bit about the single vote was about her? Does it mean they had just one vote in the committee or a single person quashed the bill?
Feinstein lives in an ivory tower, completely isolated from the needs of ordinary citizens in California. She gets six years in office with every election, and was just recently re-elected. She's totally safe, like those tea-party republicans in gerrymandered districts. California is too big of a state for a grassroots organization to challenge her in a primary and she placates enough of various groups with the funds to start an astroturf war and so they leave her alone. She's pretty much untouchable. She often starts on the wrong side of many issues, a notable exception being LGBT rights (good for her and us), and only with intense pressure from public opinion does she bow for appearances only. For example she was for SOPA, against meaningful health reform, and she's been a staunch defender of the NSA.
Senator Feinstein is a defender of the status quo. She's a conservative. Not a social conservative or neo-conservative, but someone who fights progress. Her office is in an actual giant tower right outside of the Montgomery Street Bart station and she wouldn't even come down to visit protestors and talk to them when we were there on behalf of OFA and there quite a few of us. It might as well have been built in ivory. That was the only protest I have ever taken part in. It wasn't even really a protest, just a show of support for Obama's health care plan.
Politicians like Feinstein make me cynical about politics. I feel helpless to be able to contribute change, so I just don't want to care anymore. Whatever, she's the boss. Great. Could be worse I guess.
- dllthomas 13y agoIf she runs again in 2018, the best plan might be convince enough Democrats and Republicans to vote for an alternative Democrat in the primaries to make the general election Dem v. Dem. Then you'd get people actually considering the individuals... Of course, she's 80, so she might well not be running again anyway.
- leokun 13y ago> If she runs again in 2012 2012 was last year.
- dllthomas 13y agoRight, forgot to add 6. It's early... Fixed.
- leokun 13y agoIn five years she will have done so much more damage it's hardly fun to think about it.
- dllthomas 13y agoPlausibly. She doesn't individually have much power without cooperation from others, who could potentially stop cooperating, though. That is likely a better use of resources than railing against her individually.
- 001sky 13y agoThat is likely a better use of resources than railing against her individually. As the face of hypocrisy, its (perhaps) actually worth rallying against her individually. Does she really represent you (or by extension CA, SF, SV...etc?). Human nature has very strong instinctual aversion to public demonstrations of hypocrisy of one's own activity. This is true because political power is power rested in delegated authority. That is rooted in trust. And duplicity and hypocrisy mark such an agent as untrustworththy. This reduces their eventual political tenebility. Its one of those experiments, ironically derived from cognitve science about why people don't <change their mind> on a publicly revealed preference or bet. In this case, it (perhaps) makes sense to use the result in a constructive way.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- leokun 13y agoShe's not a hypocrite. She is very open and public about her positions. I do not think she is dishonest I just think she fights against progress.