Butler will be the only Black woman serving in the U.S. Senate, and the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the chamber.
The long-serving Democratic senator died last Thursday after a series of illnesses. Butler leads Emily’s List, a political organization that supports Democratic women candidates who favor abortion rights. She also is a former labor leader with SEIU 2015, a powerful force in California politics.
She seems like a good appointee, but honestly I’m just glad to have two functioning senators in my state now.
Yeah, let’s get back to appointing judges ASAP.
2nd quote speaks to experience, but the first is irrelevant. Sexuality, gender, and race have nothing to do with competency.
She seems like a good appointee
Hard to tell, but she does meet the only two qualifications that Newsom thought were important enough to mention.
She led the largest unions in California and ran Kamala Harris’ campaign. Those aren’t nothing.
Depends which campaign, if she ran Kamala’s presidential campaign then that isn’t a glowing statement.
She works for a PAC, it would be nice if she would say that she will not use her position as “incumbent” to gain an unfair advantage by deciding to run when the term is up.
She should stay out of the race and let it be between the currently announced candidates. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Pelosi’s pick, Adam Schiff as well as any others running currently.
The first is fair qualification, but idk if running the Harris campaign is a good one.
They are definitely something, but they were not the main qualities that Newsom repeatedly stated that he was searching for.
Be explicit. What are you trying to say.
It should be very obvious what I am saying.
In choosing Butler on Sunday, Newsom fulfilled his pledge to appoint a Black woman if Feinstein’s seat became open.
I am saying that it is morally wrong to choose a someone primarily based on their skin color and genitals.
I am further saying that if you are going to do it anyways, then you denigrate the person you are choosing by announcing it publicly.
Additionally, I will point out that, Asian, Hispanic, White, and mixed race peoples all significantly out number black people in California. It is bad enough to choose a Senator based on race and sex, but it is even worse to eliminate 97% of his state’s population before even considering their qualifications for the job.
Is it not conceivable that there are a number of well qualified black women?
If a race and gender is underrepresented in the Senate, then why wouldn’t it be a good thing to push a well qualified candidate that also represents underrepresented demographics?
The issue I take with this meritocracy take is it assumes that the best candidate wouldn’t be a black woman.
The issue I take with this meritocracy take is it assumes that the best candidate wouldn’t be a black woman.
That is odd. I see this exactly the opposite. To me it looks like Newsom assumed that the best candidate wouldn’t be a black woman so he had to eliminate 97% of the field before choosing.
The best candidate very well could have been Butler, but unfortunately we do not know that because Newsom discounted all of her skills and experience and chose race and sex as the most important qualifiers for the position.
Even if he planned to choose based off of race and sex, all he had to do to not undermine his future pick was keep his mouth closed about it.
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I understand why Lee is so incensed that Newsom isn’t putting her in the seat (which would basically guarantee her winning in 2024), but honestly why is she running for a six year Senate term in her late seventies?
She wants to be the next Diane Feinstein.
Nancy’s running for re-election as well. These old fogies just won’t step down.
Major props to Mitt for enjoying the later years of his life.
It’s American brain rot. We devote our lives to our jobs to the exclusion of everything else; family, friends, hobbies, personal projects, etc. If other jobs were as easy and fulfilling as being a Senator no one would retire.
No. They’re just selfish boomers who won’t let other generations have a seat at the table. Judy like housing.
lol you think younger people will be any different?
This is American, not generational.
I think young conservatives are more likely to believe in climate change. Fox brought it up during the first debate. They may be nuts, but they are more realistic than many of those who have no skin in the game.
I think they’re going to turn into ecofascists. Solar panels, electric cars, border walls, eugenics, and genocide.
I’m more willing to forgive members of the house running despite their old age than I am senators.
Representatives only serve two years, so they’re making a shorter commitment. It’s substantially easier for someone to think they can keep doing something for another two years than it is for them to think they can do it for another six years. Especially on health matters. But also, individual representatives are simply just less important. In our current political environment, an individual senator leaving office is going to be a huge disruption for any balance of power that’s less than 54-46, with another critical point reached at the 60-40 balance. In the house it won’t matter for any caucus that’s ahead by ~5+ seats. Even in today’s razor close house, it was elected as 222-213 seats — a nine seat gap.
There’s a decent number of older representatives out there. I wouldn’t have minded Lee sticking around there for a bit longer. The only real issue with older representatives is that by staying in office they block the pipeline for new blood and building a bench for future offices. Running for senate in her late 70s is ridiculous though, especially for a first term.
For Pelosi specifically, I’d put it at 50-50 odds that she retires shortly after the 2024 election. If it wasn’t for her personal feud with Hoyer I’d put it at near-certain. When she decides to retire, I expect she’ll stick around for one last campaign solely because it will improve her ability to fundraise for the DCCC. She’s a team player through and through.
While I agree in the lesser of two evils kind of way, meaning its better than they are in the House rather than Senate or President, I still think it is pretty shameful. If they just can’t let go of politics it is time to go back home to city and state legislative bodies.
Still, it is wonderful to read an actually well-stated view point in this post. Seems that most of the thread has devolved to name calling and verbal diarrhea.
Have an upvote for some quality content!
Because these people are addicted to power
It can also be simple egotistical narcissism, not that that’s any better.
I did not know she was in her 70s 😳
Yeah see that’s why I think ages of candidates should be listed on the ballot.
The irony is that it very well could have been a disadvantage for her to get picked. The incumbent advantage isn’t really a thing for people appointed to the seat, and she’d be stuck doing Senate things for the next year instead of campaigning.
It’s insane that a terrible candidate had to literally die of age for this to happen.
But TMZ said it would be Meghan Markle!
😂
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Gavin Newsom will name Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a spokesman in his office said Sunday.
Butler leads Emily’s List, a political organization that supports Democratic women candidates who favor abortion rights.
A quick appointment by Newsom will give the Democratic caucus more wiggle room on close votes, including nominations that Republicans uniformly oppose.
Emily’s List, the group Butler leads, focuses on electing Democratic women who support abortion rights.
It was one of a string of appointments Newsom made in late 2020 and early 2021, a power that gave him kingmaker status among the state’s ambitious Democrats.
Democrats in the liberal-leaning state have not lost a statewide election since 2006, and the party holds a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans.
The original article contains 576 words, the summary contains 143 words. Saved 75%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Count on Newsom to appoint the “former” labor leader - i.e. union-busting consultant over long-serving, popular Barbara Lee.
Ayyyyy
