Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) — yes, that Adam Schiff — is on track to become California’s next U.S. Senator.
He persecuted former President Donald Trump in an impeachment that broke all conventions of due process. He was kicked off the House Intelligence Committee for lying to Ameica about “Russia collusion.” And he’s a pale male in a majority-minority state.
But he’s the frontrunner to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
Seriously?
Yes, seriously. Schiff has now been endorsed by a majority of the Democrats in California’s congressional delegation. His main Democratic opponent is Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), who represents Berkeley and is, appropriately, one of the most radical members of Congress. Another rival is Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), who has been accused of abusing her ex-husband and has been in the news lately for trashing a female collegiate athlete.
Seriously?
Say what you will about Feinstein, who — like many in Congress — should have retired several terms ago. She developed a reputation for competence on both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees. She was one of the few members of her party still capable of working with Republicans. She was even open to helping the Trump administration, and committed the cardinal sin of hugging a Republican and praising a conservative judge.
Schiff has no such traces of collegiality.
During the impeachment investigation, he not only prevented the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee from asking questions about the so-called “whistleblower,” but also spied on some of his colleagues, using subpoenas to telephone companies. He insulted his would-be future colleagues in the Senate impeachment trial by suggesting they had been threatened by the president.
Schiff, a participant in the January 6 Committee show trial, has done more to damage civil liberties than anyone since Joe McCarthy. He held impeachment depositions behind closed doors, allowed false information to leak, then suppressed exculpatory witnesses.
He also lied about the “whistleblower,” falsely claiming his committee had no contact with that person and backtracking on a promise to have the “whistleblower” testify.
It would set a terrible precedent for California voters to reward Schiff’s lies and abuses of power by promoting him to the upper chamber of Congress, where he would have even greater power.
Already, his protégé, Rep. Daniel S. Goldman (D-NY), a wealthy heir and “Russia collusion” conspiracy theorist who won a House seat by spending millions of his own dollars, has continued his attacks on the Constitution from within the Capitol.
Perhaps that is not disqualifying to Democratic voters, who vastly outnumber Republican voters in California.
But they should consider how Republicans feel about him, because Senators who cannot maintain even basic relationships across the aisle cannot pull strings to benefit their home states when they are in the minority — as Democrats are likely to be after 2024, given the map. No Republican wants to be seen anywhere near Schiff.
California is the most populous and diverse state in the Union. It has a wealth of talented and creative people. Realistically, there is little prospect of a Republican winning Feinstein’s seat. But there must be someone on the Democratic side more qualified than Schiff — someone female, perhaps? And Latino, or black, or transgender, or Muslim, or something? Aren’t we overdue for a “first”?
Is Schiff really the best California Democrats can do?
Seriously?
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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