Why people want Dianne Feinstein to resignstein

[Quixote1818]

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. We have a terrible way of looking at our politicians. They should never choose career or

whatever over country. And they wouldn't if the electorate made it god damn clear it would not be tolerated on election day.

But is is how WE act that gives them the idea that they can choose their own success or power over getting something done.

Not talking about the Senator necessarily, but all of them. As angry as I am at this not being resolved, who wants to be the first politician held to this standard that they all should already be held to?

[Irish_Dem]

15. Elected leaders working for the people and what is best for the country.

Quite a concept isn't it?

[Just A Box Of Rain]

2. This is a false frame by Vox.

With Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee Joe Biden has already set a 40+ year record in getting judges approved.

It is an insane and highly counterproductive strategy to throw one on the most capable Democrats on the committee under the bus because she's recovering from shingles.

We are better than that as a party. The attacks on Feinstein are grotesque.

DU being DU.

[jimfields33]

3. I couldn't agree more.

[brush]

5. She's no longer capable. She's already said she's not running in '24...

so why not move up her stepping down and let the judicial committee Dems have it's majority so work can continue?

Country over career. What a concept.

[BlueTsunami2018]

6. She's not recovering though.

She’s been out for nearly three months from an illness that has a four week max recovery time. I’m sorry if the facts are painful but she should have retired long ago. Some people can be old and hale and still kick ass and some become infirm and cognitively incapable. Unfortunately, she’s in the latter category. Thanks for the lifetime of service but it’s time to go and stop holding up the train.

Some things are more important than what is “seemly”. The Republicans would have forced her resignation long ago.

[inthewind21]

8. A 4 week

max recovery? Pretty sure there are NO illnesses that have an absolute date for recovering.

[BlueTsunami2018]

21. So if it takes a year, we should just wait?

Most people get over it in a couple weeks. There are, of course, outliers just as there are with anything. She’s not recovering quickly and she may never return at all. We don’t have time to wait around at the whim of a person who isn’t even going to be here for the damage that the inability to fill these seats will do.

I’m sorry but that’s just the way it is.

[onenote]

23. Should Joe Biden have resigned in 1988?

He was absent from February to September -- seven months, during which time he had surgery for two brain aneurysims (one in February and one in May).

I, for one, am glad that he had the opportunity to recover and return to work, even if he was absent for seven months.

[BlueTsunami2018]

24. Joe Biden wasn't 89 in 1988.

He was 45. His surgeries went very well and his prognosis at the time was for a full recovery. Obviously, he went on to do great things.

None of that applies to this situation.

[onenote]

26. Because you are her doctor and know her prognosis for returning?

Or are you making a Nikki Haley-like prediction on her longevity?

Why not give her the same seven months and if she isn't back by then, she should resign.

[BlueTsunami2018]

27. Come on.

Stop with this. She’s ancient, infirm and unlikely to return. One doesn’t need to be a doctor to see the writing on the wall.

[onenote]

28. You aren't a doctor. And yes, you need to be one to know at this moment what the future holds.

She's "ancient"? Well, she was just as ancient the last nine months of 2022, and she missed 3 of around 300 votes, way better than some of her colleagues (including the nearly as ancient Bernie Sanders). She introduced more bills and saw more of them through to enactment than many of her Democratic colleagues in the 117th Congress.

And, until she came down with shingles, she missed only one of the first 24 votes held this year.

You know who missed more? Schumer (2), Brown (3), Sanders (3). Bob Casey missed 14 of the first 24 votes, often at the same time that Fetterman was unavailable, meaning that Pennsylvania had no representation in the Senate for those votes.

But did anyone wring their hands over it? No.

Maybe Feinstein won't recover. Maybe she will. You don't know. I don't know. She might not know. But she's entitled to the same consideration that others who have missed months of service to see whether she will return.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

9. Two months. And who says she's not recovering? That assumes facts not in evidence.

Shingles is a tough illness, but people recover.

Do you have access to cognitive test results that back your claim that Feinstein is "cognitively incapable," because--if not--that's just the bashing of a Democrat figure, which is supposedly not allowed here on DU.

[Zambero]

17. Post-herpetic neuralgia

Severe nerve pain can persist indefinitely, even after the rash is gone. At any rate, given that Sen. Feinstein remains debilitated and unable to perform her duties, she should step down. There is too much at stake for her to do otherwise.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

29. You are attempting diagnose a condition w/o evidence.

That simply doesn't work.

There is too much at stake for Sen Feinstein to step down if she is capable of doing the job, as we have few greater talents in the Senate.

[Zambero]

35. Not attempting to diagnose anything

The previous post implied that shingles simply comes and goes. But in some instances, long-term debilitating complications can endure. I have no idea as to whether or not Feinstein is experiencing PHN. One certainly hopes not. What I do know is that she is unable to discharge her duties as a Senator, with a very real legislative impact. This cannot continue indefinitely, as long as saboteurs such as Manchin and Sinema throw in their lot with an inflexible GOP minority.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

37. If there is no evidence of PHN, then why engage in conjecture?

[Zambero]

38. No conjecture, No DU

Think about that for a moment. But I'm digressing. I have no idea as to what Sen. Feinstein's health issues are at the moment. Her staff is not volunteering much. Her committee absence is stalling key judicial appointments. I for one would be very happy if and when she returns. Republicans want her in office and absent. Not a good scenario.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

39. She's said that she's recovering and looking forward to returning soon.

Perhaps next week?

When to we treat Democratic stalwarts with such utter disregard???

Her absence has not "stalled" anything. Resigning would have far (far) worse consequences. Then we'd have real problems.

The attacks on a fine Democratic Senator here on DU are entirely counterproductive.

[Zambero]

40. Is Barbara Boxer an "attacker"?

For informing Sen. Feinstein that there is indeed life beyond the U.S.Senate? Maybe I've missed something, but I have not seen anyone here on DU attack Sen. Feinstein.

[Easterncedar]

12. You are mistaken about the recovery time

It varies A LOT. I had a relative whose eyes were involved and she was in terrible pain for close to a year.

[BlueTsunami2018]

22. In general, it's done in a couple weeks.

Of course not everyone recovers the same. Of course there are outliers. We don’t have time for this. It’s not like she’s going to come back and be a dynamic person if she ever comes back at all. Those days are long gone.

[Irish_Dem]

16. Inside the beltway gossip: Two US senators are much sicker than they are letting on.

[dsc]

18. Is she recovering though?

It would be one thing if she said I need to be out until date x but that isn't remotely what she is saying. In point of fact, by offering to temporarily step down from judiciary she is saying that she is likely to be gone for some amount of time. We have until Dec 2024 to approve judges. We are virtually certain to lose the Senate in 2024 even if Biden wins. Manchin is a goner with Tester and Brown in deep trouble. They only need to win two seats to get power if Biden wins. Every day without control of the judiciary panel is a lost day to appoint judges and get rid of blue slips.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

30. Supposedly returning next week.

We have greater opportunities to keep confirming judges at the near-record breaking pace (the best in over 40 years) with Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee in my estimation.

She is too valuable to throw under the bus because she got ill with shingles.

Support Democrats.

[onenote]

32. Durbin doesn't need a majority to get rid of blue slips.

It's not rule. It's a "courtesy" and it was unilaterally dropped for appeals court judges by McConnell.

[dem4decades]

19. Wouldn't "one of the most capable Democrats on the Committee" be voting as the deciding member?

Lets get these judges confirmed now.

[ismnotwasm]

36. Yup.

[Demsrule86]

41. So we just sit around and don't get more judges or legislation or anything...and their are

debt ceiling problems too...and for what so when we lose the Senate, the GOP gets our judges...so we can be nice to Sen. Feinstein or something. This is bigger than her or any politician.

[Zeitghost]

4. Some people want her to resign

[cough] Ro Khanna [/cough] so that they can install their preferred candidate as her replacement knowing they can't win an open election for the seat.

[themaguffin]

7. Why? I can't watch a video now. Elaboration would be great, thanks.

[Quixote1818]

10. Biden can't get Federal judges through without her vote

So his trying to out pace Trump, who appointed a record number of nut cases, has flat-lined.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

13. To date, Biden has already out paced Trump.

That's what's false about the report.

Feinstein's leadership is eminently helpful in getting justices approved.

[onenote]

20. Feinstein's absence hasn't stopped nominees from being confirmed

Even in her absence, we have a 50-49 majority. Moreover 109 of 119 Biden nominees have been confirmed by the full Senate with at least one republican vote (usually Collins, sometimes joined by Graham and/or Romney).

Thus, not surprisingly, notwithstanding her absence 16 nominees have been confirmed by the Senate, including one yesterday. There are 25 more nominees awaiting a floor vote, including 8 that were approved by the Judiciary Committee during her absence. That's actually two more than were confirmed before she became ill.

Also, during her absence hearings have been held on a half dozen nominees (a necessary predicate for being voted on by the Committee). And there are around 35 vacancies for which President Biden hasn't named a nominee yet.

In short, to the extent that vacancies haven't been filled, the failure to make nominations, the failure to consider them at the Committee due to Durbin's capitulation to blue slip objections by republicans (even where the Democrats have the votes to confirm on the Senate floor), and Schumer's deliberate pace in bringing nominations to the floor, not Feinstein's absence, is the cause.

Look, if people want her to resign because they don't like her and think her replacement will be more to their liking, they should say so. But they shouldn't make up false claims, such as the claim that Biden can't get judges through without her vote.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

11. The video is falsely framed. The truth is Joe biden has had 40+ year record numbers

for getting judges confirmed.

Feinstein says she will be back soon and with her expertise the committee will keep the work going.

This is an ideological hatch job on an outstanding Democrat.

[onenote]

25. Absolutely false framed. There has been no "flat line" period where judges aren't being confirmed

The Vox video shows a flat line suggesting no new judges are being confirmed, but to the extent there has been such a period during Feinstein's absence, it was during the roughly three weeks the Senate was in recess -- and if VOX didn't know that, they're absurdly ignorant, and if they did know it, they're simply dishonest hacks.

Since the 118th Congress took office in January, 23 judges have been confirmed (including one yesterday). Two more are probably going to be confirmed today. Fifteen of them have been confirmed since Feinstein became ill (a number that will grow to at least 17 by the end of the day). And eight judges have been approved by the Judiciary Committee during that time.

As pointed out in a separate post, keeping pace with Trump's nominations isn't dependent on Feinstein's presence -- it's dependent on Durbin deciding not to capitulate to republican "blue slip" objections even where Democrats have the votes to confirm, it's dependent on Schumer picking up the pace of bringing some of the 20+ nominations that already have committee approval to the floor for a vote (and with a 50-49 majority even with Feinstein unavailable, those are votes we can win), and it depends on President Biden moving to name nominees for the more than 30 vacancies for which no one has yet been nominated.

[demmiblue]

14. Barbara Boxer:

Sen. Diane Feinstein "either has to get back to Washington or really consider an early retirement. And as I have told her... there really is life after the Senate," former California senator Barbara Boxer tells me on the @MehdiHasanShow today.

Link to tweet

[NotVeryImportant]

31. She needs to go guys, she needs to go.

Feinstein needs to go!

[onenote]

33. I get it. You don't like her. But that's not a reason for her to resign.

[onenote]

34. I get it. You don't like her. But that's not a reason for her to resign.