THE SENATOR FROM CALIFORNIA, OR AT LEAST VISITED:  The governor of our largest state has brought forth a new senator to replace the late Dianne Feinstein.   And a fine example of Democratic values she is.  She is a woman.  She is black.  She is gay.  She is head of a pro-abortion organization.  She is a trusted adviser to Kamala Harris.  She checks off five – count 'em five – boxes on the Democratic Party wish list.  In that alone she may hold a record worthy of Guinness. 

There is one box she doesn't check.  She doesn't live in California.  But in the elite world of Democrats that matters not.  A mere filling out of a form today made her a registered voter in the state she'll represent, or misrepresent, in the United States Senate.  From Newsweek: 

California Governor Gavin Newsom's pick to replace recently deceased Democratic senator Diane Feinstein has raised eyebrows after it emerged that she resided with her family in Maryland until recently.

Late on Sunday night, his office announced he had chosen Laphonza Butler, president of EMILY's List, which works to elect women in favor of abortion to public office, to fulfill the remainder of the late senator's term. Feinstein died, aged 90, on Thursday following a period of ill health.

"A trusted adviser to [Vice President Kamala] Harris and leader of the nation's largest organization dedicated to electing women, Butler will make history as the first Black lesbian to openly serve in Congress," Newsom's office said.

I'm sure the Chinese army is terrified.

California law permits the governor to appoint a senator until the next election, due to take place in 2024. Butler previously worked in California on the presidential campaigns of Harris and Hillary Clinton.

However, questions have been raised over the choice after mention of Butler's residence in Maryland was scrubbed from her biography on the EMILY's List website. Archives of the site show it was still mentioned as recently as September 14, but now appears to have been deleted.

COMMENT:  Whether one agreed with her or not, and I disagreed most of the time, Dianne Feinstein brought great dignity to the title "U.S. senator from California."  She was respected on both sides of the aisle.  One would have thought that the governor of California could find a replacement with the stature needed to succeed Senator Feinstein.   He apparently thought that the Democratic obsession with identity politics was more important.  Checking off the boxes is more important than serving the state and the nation.

Oh, did I mention that there's one other box Senator-designate Butler didn't check off?  California is our largest state, and has the largest economy of any state, larger than many countries,  California dominates our Pacific coast.  We are now involved in a major confrontation with China, and what happens in this struggle will have a dramatic impact on California.  And yet, the new senator has not a single day of experience in foreign policy, defense policy, or economic policy. 

I don't know Ms. Butler.  She may well be a fine and respected woman.  But she has not come close to earning the title "U.S. senator from California."  Her appointment is an insult to the millions of Californians who care little about checking boxes and a great deal about protecting their state and nation. 

October 3,  2023