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☆ Why California Democrats Aren’t Voting for Rep. Barbara Lee - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Charles M. Blow | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

“The perspective, the lens, the representation, the experience of a Black woman from California is badly needed.”That’s what Representative Barbara Lee — a California Democrat vying for the Senate seat held for three decades by Dianne Feinstein — told a television reporter last month about why people should vote for her in the race. On Sunday, before a rally that evening outside a production studio in Los Angeles owned by the former N.B.A. all-star Baron Davis, I asked Lee what she meant by that, since Black people are only about 7 percent of the population of the state. She replied in a way that was both shrewd and true to her career in politics: “I’ve taken everything I know about what it means to be Black in America or brown in America or low-income in America or a woman in America and tried to turn it into policies.”

Persons: Barbara Lee —, Dianne Feinstein —, Baron Davis, Lee, “, ” Locations: California, Los Angeles, America

☆ Schiff and Garvey Advance in the California Senate Race for Feinstein’s Seat
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Shawn Hubler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Representative Adam Schiff, the lead prosecutor in Donald J. Trump’s first impeachment trial, and Steve Garvey, a former Major League Baseball star, advanced on Tuesday night to the California general election for a Senate seat, according to The Associated Press. Representative Barbara Lee, a Democrat and well-known Bay Area progressive, was in fourth place. The November general election will determine who will replace Dianne Feinstein, who held the seat for more than three decades until her death in September. During the campaign, Ms. Porter, 50, had accused Mr. Schiff, 63, and his supporters of engineering Mr. Garvey’s ascendance to set up an easier November election. Mr. Schiff, who had raised more than $30 million by last month, spent lavishly on statewide ads that compared Mr. Garvey to Mr. Trump, and that framed him as Mr. Schiff’s chief opponent.

Persons: Adam Schiff, Donald J, Trump’s, Steve Garvey, Schiff, Garvey, Katie Porter, Barbara Lee, Dianne Feinstein, Porter, Garvey’s ascendance, Mr, Trump, Schiff’s Organizations: Major League Baseball, Associated Press, Democratic, Orange County Democrat, Democrat Locations: California, Los Angeles, Orange

☆ Political Pressure Builds on Biden to Strike Iran After US Deaths
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

That allowed Biden the political space to mete out U.S. retaliation, inflicting costs on Iran-backed forces without risking a direct war with Tehran. Republicans accused Biden of letting American forces become sitting ducks, waiting for the day when a drone or missile would evade base defenses. In response, they say Biden must strike Iran. "The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran's terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East." "Unless the U.S. prepared for an all out war, what does attacking Iran get us," the official said.

Persons: Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali WASHINGTON, Joe Biden, he's, Biden, Tom Cotton, Mike Rogers, they've, Rogers, Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, Barbara Lee, Seth Moulton, —, Moulton, Jonathan Lord, Lord, Charles Lister, Lister, Israel, Qassem Soleimani, Simon Lewis, Paul Thomasch, Diane Craft Organizations: Republican U.S, Republican, U.S, Representatives, Tehran, Biden, Democratic, Iranian, Center, New, East Institute, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, United, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Israel, Jordan's, Tehran, United States, Gaza, New American, Washington, U.S, Damascus, Jan

☆ California's Newsom promoting Biden in '24 - and perhaps himself in '28
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It was an increasingly familiar position for Newsom, who has emerged as perhaps the Biden re-election campaign's most visible representative. Newsom is near the top of a list that includes Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, among others. Senator Dianne Feinstein's death meant Newsom will have the job of naming a replacement to help protect Democrats' slim Senate majority. "It benefits Biden, and it benefits Newsom." Jane Kim, the California director of the liberal Working Families Party, said Newsom deserves credit for many of his achievements.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, Ronald Reagan, David Swanson, Wednesday's, Joe Biden, Newsom, Biden, Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, Dianne Feinstein's, Harris, Steven Maviglio, Ron DeSantis, Sean Hannity, Jane Kim, We've, Representative Barbara Lee, Eric Schickler, Schickler, Joseph Ax, James Oliphant, Tim Reid, Jarrett Renshaw, Colleen Jenkins, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Republican, Ronald Reagan Presidential, REUTERS, Democratic, Fox News, Democracy, California's Democratic, Families Party, U.S, Representative, University of California, Thomson Locations: Simi Valley , California, U.S, California, Michigan, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Long Beach , California, Berkeley

☆ Feinstein's death poses two big questions for US Senate Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Filling the 90-year-old lawmaker's seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee touches one of the most critical levers of partisan power in Washington and will require cooperation from Republicans. "There is simply nobody who possessed the poise, gravitas and fierceness of Dianne Feinstein," Newsom said. JUDICIARY VACANCYFeinstein's death leaves a 10-10 deadlock on the Judiciary Committee, which is in charge of reviewing presidential nominations to federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. With the Republican-controlled House blocking most attempts at bipartisan legislation, the Democratic Senate has focused this year on approving Democratic President Joe Biden's judicial nominees. Senate Republicans said on Friday they do not intend to contest a move to replace Feinstein on the committee after her death.

Persons: Dianne Feinstein, Gavin Newsom, Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, Schumer, NEWSOM Newsom, Newsom, Representative Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Joe Biden's, Biden, That's, Donald Trump's, Republican Mitch McConnell, Barack Obama's, Antonin Scalia, Richard Cowan, Patricia Zengerle, Scott Malone, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: U.S . Senate, Capitol, California Democratic, Republicans, Democrats, Democratic Party, Democrat, Republican, Democratic, Liberal U.S, Representative, U.S, Committee, Supreme, Democratic Senate, Thomson Locations: Washington, WASHINGTON, U.S, California

Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Barbara Lee raised concerns on Sunday over the decision by President Joe Biden's administration to send cluster bombs to Ukraine to combat the Russian invasion. "Cluster bombs should never be used. That's crossing a line," she told CNN on Sunday, adding the United States risked losing its "moral leadership" by sending cluster bombs to Ukraine. He added that Russia is using cluster munitions in Ukraine and "indiscriminately killing civilians," while the Ukrainians will be using them to defend their own territory. U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said Ukraine's counteroffensive was going slowly and that the cluster bombs could be a "game changer" for the Ukrainians.

Persons: Gabriel Jenko, Tim Kaine, Barbara Lee, Joe Biden's, Antonio Guterres, Kaine, Biden, Lee, John Kirby, Kirby, Michael McCaul, McCaul, Kanishka Singh, Joey Roulette, Doina Chiacu, Scott Malone, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Munitions, U.S . Army, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democratic U.S, United, United Nations, Fox News, Senate Armed Services Committee, White, Cluster Munitions, CNN, White House, Democratic, Republican, U.S, Representatives Foreign, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Hovey, South Korea, Handout, Ukraine, Russian, United States, Russia, United

Last week, the Supreme Court said race-conscious policies adopted by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina to ensure that more non-white students are admitted are unconstitutional. Harvard College is the undergraduate school of Harvard University. The groups in Monday's complaint said the Supreme Court ruling had made it even more imperative to eliminate policies that disadvantage non-white applicants. Representative Barbara Lee, a Democrat from California, called legacy policies "affirmative action for white people" in a tweet. The lawyer, Seth Waxman, told the court that there was no evidence that ending legacy preferences would lead to a more diverse student body.

Persons: Ivan Espinoza, Madrigal, ”, Joe Biden, las, Barbara Lee, Michael Kippins, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Seth Waxman, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Leslie Adler Organizations: Harvard, U.S, Supreme, U.S . Department of Education, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard College, Lawyers, Civil Rights, Democrat, of Education, UNC, Conservative, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, Boston, California, Albany , New York

☆ Can the ‘California Effect’ Survive in a Hyperpartisan America?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Conor Dougherty | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For a while this winter, seemingly every text message that Buffy Wicks received asked if she was running for Congress. This decision by Lee, who is 76, created a rare opportunity for the next generation of California Democrats to vie for federal office. Soon enough, however, Wicks put out a statement that, humbled as she was by the suggestion, she wouldn’t be seeking the seat. “I pass big bills here,” Wicks told me. California has been so successful at bending national policy in its direction that academics have taken to calling the phenomenon the California effect.

☆ With Feinstein Ailing, Newsom’s Vow Looms Over Senate Race
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Fuller | Shane Goldmacher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vowed on national television that if Senator Dianne Feinstein stepped down early, he would appoint a Black woman to replace her. It was a promise that was only theoretical at the time even though questions were already emerging about the fitness of Ms. Feinstein, who turns 90 next month, to serve out her term. But after Ms. Feinstein contracted shingles earlier this year, was homebound and then returned to Washington frailer than ever, the contingency plan has become far more pressing — and more politically complicated. Now, if a vacancy comes, Mr. Newsom would have to decide whether to elevate Ms. Lee over her white rivals or find a caretaker who would agree not to seek a full term in 2024, presuming he keeps his pledge.

☆ U.S. Representative Schiff sets sights on fellow Democrat Feinstein's Senate seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Schiff joined other California Democrats aiming for the seat currently held by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. U.S. Representative Katie Porter launched her U.S. Senate campaign this month. The Washington Post has reported that Representative Barbara Lee was also planning to run for the seat. The new Republican House Speaker, fellow Californian Kevin McCarthy, has blocked Schiff from serving on the prestigious panel again. Schiff, a prominent House Democrat who was first elected in 2000, gained national attention for his high-profile role in the 2020 Trump impeachment trial.

☆ Congress treats the Congressional Budget Office like a crystal ball for legislation, but one economist says their models are built on flawed assumptions
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-12 | by ( Paul Constant | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In a recent episode, he spoke with economist Mark Paul about the role of the Congressional Budget Office. They run these economic models that I think are the most important policy models out there." The CBO's models are built from flawed assumptions that don't necessarily reflect how legislation might actually behave in the real world. "In the economics literature, what we find is that on average public investment is at least as productive as private investment — and often more so," Paul said. "In fact, there's this really well-known review that shows that public investment is 50% more productive on average than private investment."

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