Adam Schiff Wins, Shouted Down By Protestors
California's next Senator had his night spoiled.
California Congressman Adam Schiff’s strategy of running ads to boost Republican Steve Garvey‘s support paid off, knocking Katie Porter out of the race.
The Sacramento Bee (“Adam Schiff, Steve Garvey will face each other for California’s U. S. Senate seat this fall“):
Adam Schiff, the veteran congressman who led the impeachment of Donald Trump, and Steve Garvey, the former all-star baseball player, won the top two spots in California’s U. S. Senate primary and will battle for the seat in November’s general election.
Schiff, a Los Angeles area congressman, got the race he wanted, as polls show him defeating Garvey in the fall by double digits.
Garvey barely campaigned in the runup to the primary, while Schiff and his backers ran millions of dollars in ads reminding voters Garvey was a diehard conservative. California hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 1988.
The strategy worked. Republicans rallied around Garvey, pushing Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee to third and fourth place Tuesday in a race where only the top two finishers advance to the general election.
Garvey and Schiff will vie for the seat now held by Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom named her last year to fill the seat of the late Dianne Feinstein, who died in September.
But the victory was at least temporarily overshadowed by abysmally poor security.
WaPo (“Protesters shut down Schiff’s victory speech and call for cease-fire in Gaza“):
Protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza interrupted a speech by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Tuesday night — loudly shouting him down and forcing him to truncate his remarks, as he was attempting to claim victory in the California primary contest to determine who will replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate.
Schiff had taken the stage to greet a packed and elated crowd at the Avalon event venue in Hollywood shortly after networks announced that he and Republican Steve Garvey would advance to the general election in California’s Senate race. But tensions erupted almost immediately in the crowd as the protesters repeatedly shouted “Cease-fire now!” and “Let Gaza live!” — drowning out Schiff’s remarks. Security removed some of the protesters, but they were scattered throughout the audience and a fight broke out in the crowd at one point just below the stage.
As tensions built, a security guard approached the Burbank congressman to urge him to leave the stage, but Schiff motioned him back — signaling that he intended to finish his speech.
Thanking his supporters as he tried to continue through his speech over the shouting, he made a point of stating that Americans are “lucky to live in a democracy where we all have the right to protest.”
But some of Schiff’s supporters angrily confronted the protesters both while the Congressman was still speaking and after his remarks — one man stood inches from a protester’s face as he raised both middle fingers at her. Eventually, security escorted the remaining protesters from the room, but the crowd of Schiff’s supporters — who had been ebullient and eager to celebrate as they waited for him to speak — also quickly fizzled.
Schiff had been the strongest defender of Israel among the top three Democratic Senate contenders. Rep. Barbara Lee has long called for a cease-fire and Rep. Katie Porter shifted her position during the race, calling for a “bilateral cease-fire” in December under certain conditions.
Schiff recently told reporters that he had the same position as the Biden administration, “which is there needs to be a deal to release the hostages and have a pause in the fighting.” He added that “the obstacle to getting that temporary cease-fire is Hamas.”
The eruption of tensions at Schiff’s victory party on Tuesday night exemplified the problems that Democrats are confronting in races all across the country, as pro-Gaza protesters increasingly show up to disrupt their events and demand a cease-fire. The strength of those sentiments, particularly among younger voters, has become a major hurdle for President Biden’s reelection campaign.
I continue to have my doubts that this issue will have much resonance at all in November. With rare exceptions, Americans simply don’t vote on foreign policy. And, if anything, Trump and the Republicans are stronger backers of Netanyahu and considerably less sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than Biden and the Democrats.
I’m surprised that Schiff’s team didn’t have better security screening in place. Americans have a right to protest but not inside a private event. This could easily have turned violent.
Adam Schiff was the first Congressperson to call me. We had just reached the point where we could afford to make political contributions, and saw a list of hopeful new candidates, so we sent some money to Schiff. We were living in Evanston, IL at the time. I was on my way out when the phone rang.* He asked me if I had any special areas of focus. I said, nope, just be a good Democratic Congressperson. He has over-performed.
But that said, kinda of a tacky move to squeeze out Katie Porter.
*For the youngsters, this was the ancient phone with a cord.
Democrats, and their college professor useful idiots, train up cadres of young college students to create unrest on command. But seem their creation seems to be commanding their own protests now. Ruh-roh.
And the largest cadre Millennials in college ten, twenty years ago are now moms showing up at school board meetings. The thing about the young and dumb is that none of them stay young and a lot of them don’t stay dumb as they face the reality of life off campus.
Somebody needs to point out to these protestors that Trump finally weighed in, and said Israel needs to “finish the job”. Doesn’t sound like he’s down for a ceasefire, go protest at his rallies now and quit eating their own.
@Jax: When you scratch the surface, you quickly find a significant chunk of Uncommitted didn’t support Biden in 2020 or Hillary in 2016.
So they don’t see it as eating their own, and many of them were never gettable voters. Some of this stuff is cosplay, performance, and astroturf punching above weight. Democrats should not overreact.
@JKB:
Exactly. Most disruptors now are MAGA-nauts who show up to disrupt schoolboard meetings and city council meetings. Not to mention the seditious disrution of January 6th.
@JKB: Wow, as far as I can tell, nobody teaches people to protest. It just sort of comes naturally. You know, like you’ve been doing on this blog for a long, long time.
FWIW, I saw some cease-fire protest banners on an overpass as I was driving to work yesterday. I am sympathetic to some degree (which is why I think Schiff didn’t work very hard to shut down the protests, because he is, too, and knows these are fellow Ds).
I do wish that the situation with trans people, who are in this country, who are the neighbors, got even ten percent of the energy, though.
I’m disappointed that we lose Katie Porter from the House as a result of all of this. She’s young-for-politics, progressive, and seems to know her stuff.
I blame Gavin Newsom for not just picking one of the leading contenders for the seat as interim Senator, and giving them the advantage of incumbency. I don’t really care whether he picked Schiff or Porter — either would have been fine and the other is good in the House. Flip a coin. Have a wrestling contest (Porter looks scrappy). Whatever.
Barbara Lee is 77 and really had no business running for Senate because of that. I tend to think that she should have retired at some point, but am quite definite that starting a Senate career at that age is setting up the risk for another Feinstein situation.
And, yes, I would like our Presidential candidates to be younger, and maybe start culling ancient Supreme Court justices Logan’s Run style to get around that lifetime appointment thing.
@Jay L Gischer:
I kind of wish people were taught how to protest. So much protest on the left is wildly ineffective and counterproductive.
@Jay L Gischer:
Its a function of conservatives not being able to understand agency. When JKB is told to get on his knees and lick boots, he gets on his knees and licks boots. Ergo, when other people are engaging in an action its because they were commanded to do so by, erm, professors I guess. But someone protesting because they believe passionately in something, because they are guided by their moral compass? His brain just cannot compute that.
@Gustopher:
“maybe start culling ancient Supreme Court justices Logan’s Run style to get around that lifetime appointment thing”.
If Trump wins his immunity case before the Supreme Court, we may soon see that /sarcasm.
@Gustopher:
Steve Garvey is 75. Both should be spending their time playing bingo.
I wrote a long comment to this post, but lost it. It involved Garvey, Alan Wiggins- the only MLB who died of AIDS and what baseball author Bill James wrote in his 1986 Baseball Abstract* concerning the two when they with the San Diego Padres. It intimated in a sarcastic piece on Wiggins release from the Padres after he returned from drug hab, that John Birchers in that team’s clubhouse couldn’t have Wiggins, Garvey, and God on the same team.
On the other hand, when Wiggins died only two former major league teammates came to his funeral. One of them was Garvey.
*- I still have that book I bought almost 40 years ago.
I have a Palestinian American facebook friend who I met when working in Mashreq but she has returned to USA land. And is posting pro-Trump msgs around Palestinians getting a new deal with Trump.
I always thought she was dim – she also believes in horoscopes and other such woo nonsense. Sad to see this confirmed. Pity
Of course the Palestinians would get a new deal with Trump, but new is not better to be certain….
@Gustopher:
Does Katie Porter lack agency?
I’m sad Katie Porter is leaving the House. For that, I blame Katie Porter.
@Michael J Reynolds:
The only congress critter of mine I met while he serving was Dan Mica. We had a mutual friend and we all bumped into one another at a Boca Raton Denny’s. Robert Wexler was outside my polling place greeting voters in the early 90’s but he wasn’t a member of Congress yet.
While blogging at the 2007 ADT Championship for OTB Sports, I was a very short stone’s throw from DT. The tournament was being played at his golf course and Trump was helping himself to some of the food in the press tent.
@Bill Jempty: Schiff didn’t (apparently successfully) maneuver Garvey into the second slot on the ballot so that Garvey could win. In any event, the same type of thing happened in my Congressional district the previous primary cycle as what happened for Democrats here: The Democratic candidates captured only 32% of the vote, but because the Republican pool was split among 6 MAGAt candidates (well, 5 and a more or less sane incumbent) Republicans lost the chance to have both spots in the jungle-style primary. Happy day, my district ended up with a sane, though less effective, Democrat because the most whack jobby of the MAGAts won the Republican spot (by a fraction of a percent). Democrats, Republicans, MAGAts, whatever, in a jungle primary it’s unwise to run two (and especially more than two) viable/ideologically selected candidates and split your constituency. In a race between only Schiff and Porter against Garvey and whatever other also ran whack jobs were representing the GQP, Schiff probably wouldn’t have been able to get Garvey the other spot.
@DK:
I blame Katie too.
I cannot believe she chose to give up her seat to battle Schiff in the primary. Very poor decision.
@Bill Jempty:
Except Garvey has no chance of ever being elected, assuming Schiff doesn’t become a Democratic Roy Moore level embarassment. Running a doomed campaign for Senate might make a fine hobby for the 75 year olds.
@al Ameda: Schiff is my official congresscritter, as I am domiciled on the left coast when not in Berlin or suburban Atlanta. He is adored in this district, where most activists are to his left. His decision to run for Senate set off a furious battle here, as it was a foregone conclusion in California that if he ran he’d win.
No, Newsom should not have short-circuited that process by appointing him — instead of a black woman placeholder per his (errant and unwise) pledge. No, it’s not Newsom’s fault that Katie Porter and Barbara Lee were blind to the writing on the wall seen clearly by most.
It’s the fault of Katie Porter and those around her that she was unaware Schiff’s ascendance was a fait accompli the moment he indicated interest. California is proudly woke and absolutely right to champion diversity and identity politics: representation of women and minorities is important and tangibly beneficial to institutions.
But those valid concerns do not trump all other concerns all the time. Despite its progressiveness, California also has a strong libertarian streak leftover from its Wild Wild West past, not as inhospitable to moderation as believed.
Very much looking forward to Schiff’s future in Senate leadership, defending our democratic republic’s values and unapologetically antagonizing the fringe right.
@DK:
Yes.
Ok, seriously, she is also to blame, but Newsom could have headed it off. And probably should have. It’s a bit of a culling of the left in the house that was entirely foreseeable and didn’t need to happen.
We can also blame Barbara Lee for running despite being 3.8 billion years old, and splitting the vote on the left.
Lots of blame.
Perhaps the new representatives who replace Porter and Lee will turn out to be great.
@Bill Jempty:
Also, I kind of don’t care what Republicans do. They’re awful people who will fail to attempt to solve any of America’s problems that aren’t taxes on the wealthy.
I would encourage them all to die in office, and to be quick about it. 😉
@Gustopher:
Good luck to them. Big heels to fill. Porter’s district could flip red. If so, this rockstar will be back in the House. Orange County Democrats are not happy about losing her.
@DK:
I’m from the Bay Area, and I can remember when moderate Republicans could be elected around here. Those days are now gone. The Republican brand has made it nearly impossible to vote for such a politician because the widespread feeling is that even moderate Republicans will fall into line when the chips are down (like Susan Collins …)
Adam Schiff isn’t exciting, he’s competent. Reminds me of Feinstein in that way.
If the protests against Democrats continue, it will be interesting to see the many remembrances of the 1968 Democrat convention in Chicago.
And it is going to happen. The 2024 convention is in Chicago, in August. A last bit of nostalgia for septuagenarians and octogenarians in the electorate before the 1960s fade into the history books and out of living memory.
@JKB:..before the 1960s fade into the history books and out of living memory.
If you remember the ’60s you weren’t really there…
@al Ameda:
Yup, that’s because moderate Republicans are extinct, they’re mostly Independents now. What passes for moderate Republican these days is someone who is all in on Trump’s racist, neofascist MAGA extremism — but wants it sold with genteel platitudes and weasel words that provide plausible deniability.
So your old Nor*Cal neighbors are smart to stiff arm the phony Susan Collins Is Very Concerned show. The moderation Californians remain open to is the ‘cut a deal, get things done’ pragmatism practiced by Schiff, Feinstein, Pelosi, Newsom et al.
@JKB: “ Democrats, and their college professor useful idiots, train up cadres of young college students to create unrest on command.”
Republicans, with the help of right wing media useful idiots, train up cadres of geezers to create unrest on command.
@JKB:
When you are recycling Bithead’s material, you are basically lower than whale shit.
@anjin-san:
I’m pretty sure that you meant no disrespect to whale guano.