Diane Feinstein opposes public financing and free broadcast time for elections.
Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, is preparing a proposal for some form of public financing or free broadcast time for Congressional candidates to reduce their dependence on campaign donors. Common Cause says that 21 newly elected Democrats, more than half the class, and 68 incumbents have signed a pledge endorsing the idea.
That idea, however, has never gained much traction in Congress, in part because lawmakers balk at the idea of supporting challengers who want their jobs. “You use taxpayer dollars to finance people who may not only be fringe candidates but — I was going to use the term ‘nut’— may be mentally incompetent,” Ms. Feinstein said.
Diane Feinstein opposes an independent commission to enforce Congressional ethics rules.
Sweeping changes, however, may be a tough sell within the party. Representative John P. Murtha, Democrat of Pennsylvania, was embarrassed by disclosures last week that he had dismissed the leadership proposals with a vulgarity at a private meeting. But Mr. Murtha is hardly the only Democrat who objects to broad changes. Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who will oversee any proposal as the incoming chairwoman of the rules committee, for example, said she was opposed an independent Congressional ethics watchdog. “If the law is clear and precise, members will follow it,” she said in an interview. “As to whether we need to create a new federal bureaucracy to enforce the rules, I would hope not.”
Congratulations California Democrats!! You just gave this loser another six-year term in Congress and she just took over the Senate Rules Committee. Isn’t that great? Isn’t that just fantastic?
Feinstein is beginning to challenge Lieberman as the worst Democratic Senator. She’s absolutely dreadful. Awful. I’m tempted to use even stronger language. Send her a note and let her know how you feel about her attitude towards election reform and stronger ethical oversight.
We have a deep enough bench in CA, I would think, that we can primary her if we really wanted to.
I certainly understand your displeasure with DiFI but we did not have much choice this time around. At least she is on the right side of womens issues, unlike Bob Casey, Ford and others.
I too have a difficult time interpreting her. Overall, I am satisfied with the job she has performed, but she at times makes the most vacuous statements imaginable. She will most probably retire after 6 years. And at least she has to answer to a real progressive, Barbara Boxer.
Imho, DiFi has always been an embarrassment since she entered politics. It hasn’t gotten any better since she updated her resume. Call her the Hillary of the West Coast.
More like the Lieberman of the west coast. Feinstein is waaay worse than Hillary.
“You use taxpayer dollars to finance people who may not only be fringe candidates but — I was going to use the term `nut’– may be mentally incompetent,” Ms. Feinstein said.
But Ms. Feinstein, this is why political parties have primaries, for each party would prefer to not have the mentally ill or the insane representing them during an election. And Ms. Feinstein, public financing as it is practiced in Canada is contingent upon the number of votes a party receives. Moreover, many members of our society are clinically insane. They too deserve representation.
I think they’re way overrepresented at the moment.
Arnold and Feinstein. Two reasons I’m glad I no longer live in California.
BTW, Lieberman is no longer a Democrat. Like someone said, “I’ll consider him a Democrat when he wins an election as one.” And if we can turn one single Republican (although, afaik, there are few if any “moderate” republicans left) to caucus with the Dems, we can tell Holy Joe “go to hell, you prick”.
There was idle speculation last week that she might be persuaded to switch if offered the chair of Homeland Security — which would presuably otherwise go to Boltin’ Joe. I can’t think of who else might, though. Snowe, maybe. Chafee might have, but he’s out.
It’s pleasant to contemplate, but I’m not at all sure it will happen.
Yes, you do have a point. Thank you for making me laugh.
Damn skippy Booman.
Feinstein’s going to cause almost as many headaches in the next couple of years as Lieberman will. What an embarassment to California.