The New Yorker dropped a bomb on Dems last night with this piece by Jane Mayer alleging that California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 87, is suffering from major memory issues:
.@JaneMayerNYer "they say her short-term memory has grown so poor that she often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have. They describe Feinstein as forgetting what she has said & getting upset." https://t.co/nAQAF7CFFg
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) December 10, 2020
So, this has been going on and no journo happened to notice until now?
One aide to another senator described what he called a “Kabuki” meeting in which Feinstein’s staff tried to steer her through a proposed piece of legislation that she protested was “just words” which “make no sense.”
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) December 10, 2020
There’s no shame in having these issues at her age. But she should not be a senator:
Feinstein’s staff has said that sometimes she seems herself, and other times unreachable. “The staff is in such a bad position,” a former Senate aide who still has business in Congress said. “They have to defend her and make her seem normal.”
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) December 10, 2020
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“It’s been a disaster,” they say — anonymously:
A stickler for detail, she demanded to see every page going out of her office with her name on it. But with her diminishing capacity, this has become increasingly difficult. The former Senate staffer who still works with Congress declared, “It’s been a disaster.”
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) December 10, 2020
You know, we keep hearing about how Republicans are afraid of Donald Trump. Why won’t Dems speak up?
As the ranking Democrat, Feinstein ordinarily would be expected to run the Party’s strategy on issues of major national importance, including judicial nominations. Instead, the committee has been hamstrung and disorganized. very different mode now.”
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) December 10, 2020
It sounds like Gov. Gavin Newsom is going to pick a new senator soon:
“Other members were constantly trying to go around her because, as chair, she didn’t want to do anything, and she also didn’t want them doing anything,” the former Senate staffer said.
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) December 10, 2020
She’s served her state well, now it’s time to retire:
A current aide to a different Democratic senator observed sadly, “She’s an incredibly effective human being, but there’s definitely been deterioration in the last year. She’s in a very different mode now."
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) December 10, 2020
But the other story here is journos and Dems not doing their jobs in covering this or pushing her out:
I know that some Hill reporters have written some about the relative states of dementia among many members of Congress, but we need to hear more of it. Reporters need to be more straightforward in covering what is right in front of them. https://t.co/2NZ89T2sno
— Neil King (@NKingofDC) December 10, 2020
Do better.
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