California Politics: Madame Senator, this is a morgue

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > California Politics: Madame Senator, this is a morgue

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The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Badger of Basra posted:

De Leon won the vote 54% to 37%, so no endorsement for either of them.

https://twitter.com/GideonResnick/status/967776681950924800

Holy poo poo that's rad

# ? Feb 25, 2018 16:42

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# ? May 25, 2024 01:10

Smythe: Oct 12, 2003

Spicy

# ? Feb 25, 2018 19:43

Sydin: Oct 29, 2011; Another spring commute

Raskolnikov38 posted:

haha eat poo poo feinstein

Actually in fact empty quoting this.

# ? Feb 25, 2018 19:59

stone cold: Feb 15, 2014

goddamn if de le�n wins i�ll be so happy

# ? Feb 25, 2018 20:07

Instant Sunrise: Apr 12, 2007; The manger babies don't have feelings. You said it yourself.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

haha eat poo poo feinstein

nice

# ? Feb 25, 2018 20:32

FilthyImp: Sep 30, 2002; Anime Deviant

Her campaign has been sending a bunch of emails lately so I wonder if she felt the winds changing.

Though, I have to say, it's something that her go-to legislation (gun control) is finally getting traction and she won't be around to help push it.

# ? Feb 25, 2018 20:38

Zwabu: Aug 7, 2006

Is she (Feinstein) likely to lose her primary?

# ? Feb 25, 2018 22:36

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Zwabu posted:

Is she (Feinstein) likely to lose her primary?

It's not a party primary; it's a jungle primary. The top 2 vote-getters (of any party) in the primary are the candidates in the general election.

Feinstein is pretty much a lock for making the top 2, so the real test will be the general election.

# ? Feb 25, 2018 22:49

Duckbox: Sep 7, 2007

Yeah a non-jungle might actually have given De Leon a better shot. Historically, jungles that produce two same-party candidates favor the centrist one. We'll see though.

# ? Feb 25, 2018 23:59

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

Badger of Basra posted:

https://twitter.com/GideonResnick/status/967776681950924800

Good.

# ? Feb 26, 2018 01:01

stone cold: Feb 15, 2014

Duckbox posted:

Yeah a non-jungle might actually have given De Leon a better shot. Historically, jungles that produce two same-party candidates favor the centrist one. We'll see though.

harris beat blue dog sanchez

# ? Feb 26, 2018 03:12

Pinky Artichoke: Apr 10, 2011; Dinner has blossomed.

stone cold posted:

harris beat blue dog sanchez

That was a polished, high-profile candidate from a state-wide office vs. a Congressperson who was basically unknown outside of her district and came off like a flake in their debates.

# ? Feb 26, 2018 03:38

Sydin: Oct 29, 2011; Another spring commute

Yeah De Leon faces a pretty significant uphill battle, AFAIK Feinstein is still polling significantly ahead of him. Hopefully this will at least raise his profile a bit and make your average rank and file dem poke around and check out who De Leon is and what he represents vis-a-vis Feinstein.

# ? Feb 26, 2018 03:53

ProperGanderPusher: Jan 13, 2012

Willa Rogers posted:

It's not a party primary; it's a jungle primary. The top 2 vote-getters (of any party) in the primary are the candidates in the general election.

Feinstein is pretty much a lock for making the top 2, so the real test will be the general election.

A lot of people don�t know this and only vote for Feinstein because they�re afraid the GOP will squeak out a victory if a solid leftist gets more votes.

# ? Feb 26, 2018 04:03

Arsenic Lupin: Apr 12, 2012; This particularly rapid💨 unintelligible 😖patter💁 isn't generally heard🧏‍♂️, and if it is🤔, it doesn't matter💁.

So how did the jungle primary get started, anyway?

# ? Feb 26, 2018 04:05

Grand Prize Winner: Feb 19, 2007

Prop 14 a few years back. Can't remember which election.

# ? Feb 26, 2018 04:25

Instant Sunrise: Apr 12, 2007; The manger babies don't have feelings. You said it yourself.

Grand Prize Winner posted:

Prop 14 a few years back. Can't remember which election.

2010 election. Arnold pushed hard for it on his way out.

# ? Feb 26, 2018 06:45

Anza Borrego: Feb 11, 2005; Ovis canadensis nelsoni

Winter Rose posted:

Any San Diegans in this thread? I just moved from the east coast and feel super ignorant about local and state politics here.

Read Voice of San Diego, it�s the best journalism outfit down this way.
https://www.vosd.com

# ? Feb 26, 2018 07:43

Waltzing Along: Jun 14, 2008; There's only one
Human race
Many faces
Everybody belongs here

Diana Feinstein should run for president. It's her turn.

# ? Feb 26, 2018 07:49

incoherent: Apr 24, 2004; 01010100011010000111001
00110100101101100011011
000110010101110010

Waltzing Along posted:

Diana Feinstein should run for president. It's her turn.

Women running for president is our way of sending a judge to retirement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmxd7GWWP_k

# ? Feb 26, 2018 09:20

RevKrule: Jul 9, 2001; Thrilling the forums since 2001

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/968204539693322240

Getting kicked off of Fox makes you do crazy things (although if you got kicked off of Fox, you're probably pretty crazy already)

# ? Feb 26, 2018 22:25

Burning_Monk: Jan 11, 2005; Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to know

RevKrule posted:

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/968204539693322240

Getting kicked off of Fox makes you do crazy things (although if you got kicked off of Fox, you're probably pretty crazy already)

Ha, I still remember the one interview with her about how you have to pull yourself up with your bootstraps and then within two minutes about how she was living with her boyfriend and he just kinda payed for everything, which was great!

# ? Feb 26, 2018 22:35

Instant Sunrise: Apr 12, 2007; The manger babies don't have feelings. You said it yourself.

RevKrule posted:

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/968204539693322240

Getting kicked off of Fox makes you do crazy things (although if you got kicked off of Fox, you're probably pretty crazy already)

This is the district she's running in btw:

In 2016 the house race was a D vs D general election. Hillary won this district by 70.7 points.

Since the redistricting following the 2010 census, no Republican has made it to the ballot.

2012 was D vs D
2014 was Democrat vs Peace and Freedom Party
2016 was D vs D

# ? Feb 26, 2018 22:52

jeeves: May 27, 2001; Deranged Psychopathic
Butler Extraordinaire

1. seconding, thirding, and fourthing, the gently caress FEINSTEIN thing.

2. Having conservatives flee to deep red states would be great if we lived in a country with real voting. We don't. Those people get way more voting power by moving to a place like that than they ever should. For example, the House not properly being representative and the senate having an absurd amount of power for just two people per state regardless of size. For second example: Senator Feinstein. gently caress Feinstein.

# ? Feb 27, 2018 19:14

The Glumslinger: Sep 24, 2008; Coach Nagy, you want me to throw to WHAT side of the field?; Hair Elf

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/968959019460243456

# ? Feb 28, 2018 22:21

paranoid randroid: Mar 4, 2007

Duckbox posted:

Yeah a non-jungle might actually have given De Leon a better shot. Historically, jungles that produce two same-party candidates favor the centrist one. We'll see though.

in CA134 Gomez beat a guy who was pretty much a midwestern blue dog

# ? Feb 28, 2018 23:00

Xaris: Jul 25, 2006; Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

jeeves posted:

1. seconding, thirding, and fourthing, the gently caress FEINSTEIN thing.

2. Having conservatives flee to deep red states would be great if we lived in a country with real voting. We don't. Those people get way more voting power by moving to a place like that than they ever should. For example, the House not properly being representative and the senate having an absurd amount of power for just two people per state regardless of size. For second example: Senator Feinstein. gently caress Feinstein.

While yes, congressational representative is broken. It�s still better for them to flock to Idaho or Utah or something where it�s never going blue anyways which is what a lot of ca gop are doing. The worse part is people fleeing their Midwestern states and coming here because they actually could make a difference in Iowa or Wisconsin (I know so many Winsconsin transplants it�s crazy). But still good for them for trying to make a better life outside places that are actively hostile to women, lgbtq, etc

# ? Mar 1, 2018 03:33

Badger of Basra: Jul 26, 2007

https://twitter.com/dillonliam/status/968990561095970816

:jerkbag:

https://twitter.com/dillonliam/status/969015454055374848

Can you imagine? A tall building next to a short one?

# ? Mar 1, 2018 03:37

Colin Mockery: Jun 24, 2007; Rawr

I like Scott Wiener a lot more now that he�s pissing off NIMBYs and conservatives over state-level stuff instead of pearl-clutching about naked people and homeless people in San Francisco.

# ? Mar 1, 2018 03:49

Pinky Artichoke: Apr 10, 2011; Dinner has blossomed.

Xaris posted:

While yes, congressational representative is broken. It�s still better for them to flock to Idaho or Utah or something where it�s never going blue anyways which is what a lot of ca gop are doing. The worse part is people fleeing their Midwestern states and coming here because they actually could make a difference in Iowa or Wisconsin (I know so many Winsconsin transplants it�s crazy). But still good for them for trying to make a better life outside places that are actively hostile to women, lgbtq, etc

I consider moving back to Wisconsin from time to time, but it's strictly a Bring Your Own Job zone.

# ? Mar 1, 2018 04:29

Duckbox: Sep 7, 2007

paranoid randroid posted:

in CA134 Gomez beat a guy who was pretty much a midwestern blue dog

Yeah most of the historical data on jungles comes from Louisiana where it was a massive boon to conservative democrats. Modern California is a lot less tolerant to that breed, but Feinstein isn't a blue dog just "establishment" we'll see how much difference that makes.

# ? Mar 1, 2018 06:02

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

jeeves posted:

1. seconding, thirding, and fourthing, the gently caress FEINSTEIN thing.

2. Having conservatives flee to deep red states would be great if we lived in a country with real voting. We don't. Those people get way more voting power by moving to a place like that than they ever should. For example, the House not properly being representative and the senate having an absurd amount of power for just two people per state regardless of size. For second example: Senator Feinstein. gently caress Feinstein.

Reminder that feinstein flew the confederate flag over San Francisco in the 80's, prompting an American hero to climb up and take it down for her.

El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Mar 1, 2018

# ? Mar 1, 2018 07:21

Rah!: Feb 21, 2006

El Mero Mero posted:

Reminder that feinstein flew the confederate flag over San Francisco in the 80's, prompting an American hero to climb up and take it down for her.

and then, she put it back up

:heritage:

# ? Mar 1, 2018 07:38

FRINGE: May 23, 2003; title stolen for lf posting

Has anyone reposted the info about Feinstein and her criminal husband scamming funds from the UCs using his for-profit colleges lately? Of the various disgusting things associated with Feinstein this one is usually easy to get people to "get" what a piece of poo poo she is.

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/8589-bipartisan-political-elite-implicated-in-for-profit-education-fraud
http://www.metroactive.com/bohemian/06.30.10/news-1026.html

quote:

A year ago, Richard C. Blum, then chairman of the regents of the University of California, spoke at the Milken Institute's Global Conference 2009, held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. The corporate confab was hosted by Michael Milken, the "junk bond king" who went to prison in the aftermath of the savings and loan fiasco in the 1980s. Milken, who is barred from securities trading for life by federal regulators, has since re-created himself as a proponent of investing in for-profit educational corporations, an industry that regularly comes under government and media scrutiny in response to allegations of fraud made by dissatisfied students.

At the conference, Blum, who is the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and a professional Wall Street speculator, sat on a panel called "The New University and Its Role in the Economy." The panel focused on how universities can best serve the corporate jones for tech-savvy employees by recruiting smart freshmen with scientific talent. One panel member urged treating universities as "laboratories of business ideas and products."

As someone who oversees investment policy decisions for the University of California's $63 billion portfolio, and as the largest shareholder in two for-profit corporate-run universities, Blum had a unique perspective to share at the conference. "It's like anything else," he said. "It's how you market it."

Marketing strategy aside, Blum has taken on two seemingly disparate roles�one as an advocate for a nonprofit university and the other as an owner of two for-profit educational corporations. However, as a regent, Blum has taken actions that, intentionally or not, have enhanced the value of his vocational schools. Are his loyalties conflicted?

For several years, Blum's firm, Blum Capital Partners, has been the dominant shareholder in two of the nation's largest for-profit universities, Career Education Corporation and ITT Educational Services Inc. The San Francisco�based firm's combined holdings in the two chain schools is currently $923 million. As Blum's ownership stake enlarged, UC investment managers shadowed him, ultimately investing $53 million of public funds into the two educational corporations.

...

Due to serial tuition hikes by the UC regents, their gutting of many classes and educational programs, and the imposition of a 15 percent reduction of in-state admissions to the university, the gateway to higher learning in California has seriously narrowed. As a UC regent, Blum voted in favor of all of these measures, and such actions have indirectly benefited his corporate colleges. But his schools are not the only ones profiting from the financial disaster that besets many public universities.

On March 13, the New York Times summed up the situation, reporting that many chain schools, including ITT Educational Services and Career Education Corporation, "have exploited the recession as a lucrative recruiting device while tapping a larger pool of federal aid . . . selling young people on dreams of middle-class wages while setting them up for default on untenable debts, low-wage work and a struggle to avoid poverty." The Times noted that for-profit schools are directly benefiting from cuts in education, especially in California where state-funded universities and community colleges have been "forced to cut classes just when demand is greatest."

...

Regardless, the bottom line is that UC is investing tens of millions of public dollars in two for-profit school chains largely controlled by a regent and Wall Street arbitrager who sits on UC's investment committee.

For some reason nothing ever happened to Blum. :iiam:

His finance "not"-crimes go on. And will go on as long as his criminal wife is a Senator.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/21/senate-husbands-firm-cashes-in-on-crisis/

quote:

Mrs. Feinstein and Mr. Blum, a wealthy investment banker, are a power couple in both Washington and California who sat behind President Obama during his inauguration in January. Mrs. Feinstein also is mentioned as a candidate for California governor.

The FDIC contract �highlights the problem of a senator with a spouse who has extensive business interests that intersect frequently with the federal government,� said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

...

Mrs. Feinstein, who declined to answer detailed question about the steps she takes to avoid conflicts, is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, mainly from Mr. Blum�s holdings. Together, they are worth at least $52.3 million, according to her 2007 personal financial disclosure forms filed with the Senate and analyzed by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors money and politics.

No response. Surprising!

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Army-contract-for-Feinstein-s-husband-Blum-is-a-2621196.php

quote:

Army contract for Feinstein's husband / Blum is a director of firm that will get up to $600 million

The award to help with troop mobilization, weapons systems training and anti-terrorism efforts is the latest in a string of plum defense jobs snared by URS. In February, the firm won an army engineering and logistics contract that could bring in $3.1 billion during the next eight years.

Government contracting has come under increasing scrutiny by Congress and citizen groups, with critics decrying the political connections of firms winning lucrative jobs. Richard Blum, Feinstein's husband, serves on the company's board of directors and controls about 24 percent of the firm's stock

...

A Feinstein spokesman Monday declined to comment on the contract.

NO COMMENT

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/dianne-feinsteins-husbands-real-estate-firm-poised-make-1-billion-selling-post
https://theintercept.com/2015/05/05/watchdog-slams-company-part-owned-feinsteins-husband-abusing-huge-post-office-contract/

quote:

Dianne Feinstein's Husband's Real Estate Firm Poised to Make $1 Billion Selling Post Offices

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is back in the news as the giant real estate investment firm run by her husband, Rich Blum, is possibly poised to earn as much as $1 billion in commissions from selling U.S. Postal Service buildings across the country.

...

Feinstein dismissed the conflict of interest allegations at the time, which were followed by numerous investigative reports criticizing the deal. The USPS Inspector General issued a report saying the contract was not how it previously sold properties and was unlikely to reduce USPS costs. California-based investigative reporters found that CBRE was selling properties below market value to clients, which means those buyers could likely profit if they resold them.

... But now, new reports are saying that CBRE�where Blum was a member of the board and chairman from 2001 to 2014�stands to make possibly $1 billion in commissions from the sale of 56 buildings across the country that are expected to yield upwards of $19 billion.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/21/senate-husbands-firm-cashes-in-on-crisis/

quote:

On the day the new Congress convened this year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to route $25 billion in taxpayer money to a government agency that had just awarded her husband�s real estate firm a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms.

Mrs. Feinstein�s intervention on behalf of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was unusual: the California Democrat isn�t a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with jurisdiction over FDIC; and the agency is supposed to operate from money it raises from bank-paid insurance payments - not direct federal dollars.

Spokesmen for the FDIC, Mrs. Feinstein and Mr. Blum�s firm told The Times that there was no connection between the legislation and the contract signed Nov. 13, and that the couple didn�t even know about CBRE�s business with FDIC until after it was awarded.

...

Mrs. Feinstein, who declined to answer detailed question about the steps she takes to avoid conflicts...

Feinstein is a tier of political garbage rarely seen outside the likes of Clarence Thomas*, Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld. The only difference is scale.

*Thomas's wife directly profits off of his SCOTUS decisions, and he refuses to recuse himself. Because of course.

# ? Mar 1, 2018 08:38

Waltzing Along: Jun 14, 2008; There's only one
Human race
Many faces
Everybody belongs here

Years ago, I worked delivery in SF. Blums office was one of our clients so I often went back and forth from the Feinstein house and his office.

Her housekeeper was really nice. The house was really cool. I'm sure you could google it.

And I wanted to gently caress the receptionist at Blums office.

Somehow I never ran into either of them on the multitude of deliveries.

That is my story.

# ? Mar 1, 2018 16:23

Anonymous Zebra: Oct 21, 2005; Blending in like it ain't no thang

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/03/01/california-ranks-last-quality-life-new-report/384853002/

I'll post more in depth when I'm not at work, but in general, as someone that moved here from out of state fairly recently and has lived in several other states ( including New Jersey, LOL), I don't necessarily find myself disagreeing with some of the conclusions made in the report that's being talked about. Despite the very vocal social progressiveness of a lot of people here, it's still seem like it was easier to make a living in some of the red States I've lived in than here.

Anonymous Zebra fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Mar 1, 2018

# ? Mar 1, 2018 21:06

Raskolnikov38: Mar 3, 2007; We were somewhere around Manila when the drugs began to take hold

southern california continues to drag down the state and should be destroyed

# ? Mar 1, 2018 22:26

FCKGW: May 21, 2006

so cal is cool and good and still has affordable areas tyvm

# ? Mar 1, 2018 22:56

Trabisnikof: Dec 24, 2005

Well if the consultants at McKinsey and Company say California ranks last in quality of life, why would I have any reason to suspect bias in their measures?

# ? Mar 1, 2018 23:00

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# ? May 25, 2024 01:10

The Glumslinger: Sep 24, 2008; Coach Nagy, you want me to throw to WHAT side of the field?; Hair Elf

The Glumslinger posted:

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/968959019460243456

https://twitter.com/ciccmaher/status/969227986984755201

# ? Mar 2, 2018 00:13

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > California Politics: Madame Senator, this is a morgue

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