The Institutionalist and the Lit Bomb
June 6, 2022 8:57 AM Subscribe
It's a good day for longform political profiles: Dianne Feinstein, by Rebecca Traister for New York magazine, and Steve Bannon, by Jennifer Senior, for The Atlantic.
I was in California when Feinstein was elected to the Senate. I was never especially enthusiastic, but I'm frustrated with her now, both for her institutionalist temperament and her obvious mental lapses. OTOH when I brought this up with a relative who remembers her from the '70s, boy did I get an earful on how inspiring, groundbreaking, brave, etc. she was.
This piece helped me understand the parts that actually were inspiring to my relative, so I appreciate that. I knew the basic outline, but not a lot of the details. But also:
“She’s like Charlie Brown and the football,” said Dahlia Lithwick, Slate’s senior legal analyst, describing Feinstein’s unstinting belief that her institution is still functional. “But she doesn’t see that the whole football field is on fire.”
[ . . . ]
But American government has become less democratic in the same years that she and her peers have risen to lead it. A majority of Americans want gun control, but the Senate, whose arcane rules Feinstein still submits to, will not allow it. They want abortion rights, but the Court, which was stolen by Feinstein’s Republican friends, is poised to ensure that those rights are erased.
I guess I wouldn't call it forgiving; it just doesn't lead with it's chin.
It does bring up the question of whether Feinstein is more deserving of anger than many other old senators and politicians. One point I'd make is that Feinstein's replacement would be a more progressive Democratic senator; she's not a moderate out of deference to her constituents. For 30 years we've had a centrist locking up a seat that could be a safe spot for a far more progressive voice.
posted by mark k at 9:51 AM on June 6, 2022 [17 favorites]
This piece helped me understand the parts that actually were inspiring to my relative, so I appreciate that. I knew the basic outline, but not a lot of the details. But also:
“She’s like Charlie Brown and the football,” said Dahlia Lithwick, Slate’s senior legal analyst, describing Feinstein’s unstinting belief that her institution is still functional. “But she doesn’t see that the whole football field is on fire.”
[ . . . ]
But American government has become less democratic in the same years that she and her peers have risen to lead it. A majority of Americans want gun control, but the Senate, whose arcane rules Feinstein still submits to, will not allow it. They want abortion rights, but the Court, which was stolen by Feinstein’s Republican friends, is poised to ensure that those rights are erased.
I guess I wouldn't call it forgiving; it just doesn't lead with it's chin.
It does bring up the question of whether Feinstein is more deserving of anger than many other old senators and politicians. One point I'd make is that Feinstein's replacement would be a more progressive Democratic senator; she's not a moderate out of deference to her constituents. For 30 years we've had a centrist locking up a seat that could be a safe spot for a far more progressive voice.
posted by mark k at 9:51 AM on June 6, 2022 [17 favorites]
Snopes:
"Did Dianne Feinstein Repeatedly Reinstall a Confederate Battle Flag in San Francisco?:
Rating: Unproven
posted by eye of newt at 10:16 AM on June 6, 2022 [7 favorites]
"Did Dianne Feinstein Repeatedly Reinstall a Confederate Battle Flag in San Francisco?:
Rating: Unproven
posted by eye of newt at 10:16 AM on June 6, 2022 [7 favorites]
One thing that bugs me about attempting genuine criticism of powerful women is the whataboutism. Here, it's the notion that it's unfair to criticize Feinstein for holding office too long because Strom Thurmond held office too long.* Well, it was wrong when he did it too! How we can balance the concerns about gerontocracy vs. the risk of ageism, I don't know, but we have got to do it. The planet is at stake, if it hasn't already been lost. Women's rights would have been assured for a generation at least if RBG had taken a few years off to sleep in and work on some books.
Although she does appear to be suffering from cognitive losses, she is not gone, and her philosophy is coherent. It's just that it is literally from the past. One from the vaults. From the time of Tip O'Neill and the Capitol Steps. I often think about how when people lament that such-and-such a politician from the past isn't living right now, they are assuming that the person belongs here today, in the forefront of public life. Some of us barely belong where we're at as it is. It's not just that Feinstein is unwell, it's that she's a Betamax player in a streaming world.
----
* Accepting, of course, that any amount of time he held office was too long, but you know what I mean.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:45 AM on June 6, 2022 [29 favorites]
Although she does appear to be suffering from cognitive losses, she is not gone, and her philosophy is coherent. It's just that it is literally from the past. One from the vaults. From the time of Tip O'Neill and the Capitol Steps. I often think about how when people lament that such-and-such a politician from the past isn't living right now, they are assuming that the person belongs here today, in the forefront of public life. Some of us barely belong where we're at as it is. It's not just that Feinstein is unwell, it's that she's a Betamax player in a streaming world.
----
* Accepting, of course, that any amount of time he held office was too long, but you know what I mean.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:45 AM on June 6, 2022 [29 favorites]
Thanks for the post. The Feinstein profile looks to be quite thoughtful and in depth. I like long-form essays and I can see why folks would want to learn what makes these people tick. It seems like there's an important topic to explore here of the Democrats failed belief in institutionalism. So not a critique of your post, but a question about how profiles of politicians generally reflects the ways we think about power and change:
I've grown inpatient with profiles, as if personality is the key to power. Change doesn't happen because the right person is voted in or out - the inverse is true: when power is mobilized we can change who is in office or change the behavior of the people who are already there. Policy matters more than the person and power is what determines policy.
I was listening to John William interview James Kirchick about Secret City, his book about the secret gay history of Washington DC politics, and although I enjoy his interviews I found it pretty frustrating how he kept asking about whether Regan etc were homophobic "in their hearts" or simply taking politically expedient actions that harmed gay people. Like, who fucking cares who these political figures are in their hearts? When you have the power to determine who lives and who dies on a mass scale, your personality and intent are pretty irrelevant.
Also, no way am I reading a fucking Steve Bannon profile at this point.
posted by latkes at 10:50 AM on June 6, 2022 [12 favorites]
I've grown inpatient with profiles, as if personality is the key to power. Change doesn't happen because the right person is voted in or out - the inverse is true: when power is mobilized we can change who is in office or change the behavior of the people who are already there. Policy matters more than the person and power is what determines policy.
I was listening to John William interview James Kirchick about Secret City, his book about the secret gay history of Washington DC politics, and although I enjoy his interviews I found it pretty frustrating how he kept asking about whether Regan etc were homophobic "in their hearts" or simply taking politically expedient actions that harmed gay people. Like, who fucking cares who these political figures are in their hearts? When you have the power to determine who lives and who dies on a mass scale, your personality and intent are pretty irrelevant.
Also, no way am I reading a fucking Steve Bannon profile at this point.
posted by latkes at 10:50 AM on June 6, 2022 [12 favorites]
Oh yeah, me neither. I appreciate the link, and I may come back to it when Bannon is put out of politics on a permanent basis. But then, it's hard to imagine how that could be. Manson never really got out of the cult business, and I can't see Bannon doing any less.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:57 AM on June 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 10:57 AM on June 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
It does bring up the question of whether Feinstein is more deserving of anger than many other old senators and politicians. One point I'd make is that Feinstein's replacement would be a more progressive Democratic senator
Yeah my reaction to that question is - does that question matter? We (re)elect politicians to represent us, not to thank them for their service. Not that there can’t be an upside to having a representative with a lot of seniority and institutional standing but those are the kind of factors to consider in her favor. Her past is historically noteworthy but has little bearing on whether she should get yet another term now.
posted by atoxyl at 11:04 AM on June 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
Yeah my reaction to that question is - does that question matter? We (re)elect politicians to represent us, not to thank them for their service. Not that there can’t be an upside to having a representative with a lot of seniority and institutional standing but those are the kind of factors to consider in her favor. Her past is historically noteworthy but has little bearing on whether she should get yet another term now.
posted by atoxyl at 11:04 AM on June 6, 2022 [9 favorites]
Jones arrived to find City Hall in chaos. “Dianne came rushing past me,” he said, “and I could see her hands and sleeves were stained with blood, and then I saw Harvey’s feet sticking out of Dan White’s office. It was the first time I’d ever seen a dead body.” Jones added, “There were many times when she and I disagreed, but I’ve always felt I share a bond with her that kind of transcends all this other stuff, because of what we both witnessed and how that day completely and absolutely transformed our lives.”
Feinstein, her tan suit covered in Milk’s blood, composed though in obvious shock, told the crowd at City Hall that Moscone and Milk had been killed and that the suspect was former supervisor Dan White. As the head of the Board of Supervisors, she then became San Francisco’s first female mayor.
For all of Feinstein's (many, many, many) faults and failures, reading this in tandem with the other piece on Bannon is an important reminder that his vision for the United States is a nation of Dan Whites, standing over the bodies of their victims:
He goads his followers into action with a combination of praise, flattery, and drill-sergeant phrases he repeats like a catechism: Put your shoulder to the wheel! Be a force multiplier!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:55 AM on June 6, 2022 [21 favorites]
Feinstein, her tan suit covered in Milk’s blood, composed though in obvious shock, told the crowd at City Hall that Moscone and Milk had been killed and that the suspect was former supervisor Dan White. As the head of the Board of Supervisors, she then became San Francisco’s first female mayor.
For all of Feinstein's (many, many, many) faults and failures, reading this in tandem with the other piece on Bannon is an important reminder that his vision for the United States is a nation of Dan Whites, standing over the bodies of their victims:
He goads his followers into action with a combination of praise, flattery, and drill-sergeant phrases he repeats like a catechism: Put your shoulder to the wheel! Be a force multiplier!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:55 AM on June 6, 2022 [21 favorites]
Dianne Freestein and Freeve Bannon [Unpaywalled versions]
posted by chavenet at 2:02 PM on June 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 2:02 PM on June 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
Astonishing to think that Jello lost to her.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:32 PM on June 6, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:32 PM on June 6, 2022 [10 favorites]
It's not just that Feinstein is unwell, it's that she's a Betamax player in a streaming world.
Tons of people are like this, even without age-related mental slow-downs. It's not just the music you listen to at 18 that freezes, ideas about how things should be do too, whether that's environmental concerns, crime, art, hobbies, whatever. Not everyone, but plenty of people.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:44 PM on June 6, 2022 [6 favorites]
Tons of people are like this, even without age-related mental slow-downs. It's not just the music you listen to at 18 that freezes, ideas about how things should be do too, whether that's environmental concerns, crime, art, hobbies, whatever. Not everyone, but plenty of people.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:44 PM on June 6, 2022 [6 favorites]
One point I'd make is that Feinstein's replacement would be a more progressive Democratic senator
The baseball stat geeks have the right lens for looking at this. Does having Feinstein in the Senate give Democrats Wins Above Replacement or wins below replacement? I would submit that, for the deep blue state of California, Senator Feinstein fits in the latter category more comfortably than she does the former.
posted by jonp72 at 4:35 PM on June 6, 2022 [5 favorites]
The baseball stat geeks have the right lens for looking at this. Does having Feinstein in the Senate give Democrats Wins Above Replacement or wins below replacement? I would submit that, for the deep blue state of California, Senator Feinstein fits in the latter category more comfortably than she does the former.
posted by jonp72 at 4:35 PM on June 6, 2022 [5 favorites]
I mean it kind of doesn't matter - finally: she is definitely not running again so who cares. She will live out this stupid term blocking progressive policy reforms. Then we'll fucking finally be rid of her. Worst case scenario honestly, and least democratic, is she does abdicate before her term is out because then Gavin replaces her and that person is a shoe-in for the win in the next round. Because that's such a shitty proposal I suppose that's what she'll actually do. I do like the idea of Moneyballing politics a bit more. So much stupid mythologizing about people's supposed ineffable qualities.
Wow that photo is mean.
posted by latkes at 5:43 PM on June 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Wow that photo is mean.
posted by latkes at 5:43 PM on June 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
...It's not just the music you listen to at 18 that freezes, ideas about how things should be do too, whether that's environmental concerns, crime, art, hobbies, whatever. Not everyone, but plenty of people.Othering people enmass is so every century.
...They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
posted by y2karl at 8:36 AM on June 7, 2022
Othering people enmass is so every century.
That's just what humans do. Not all humans, of course, but most of them.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:56 AM on June 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
That's just what humans do. Not all humans, of course, but most of them.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:56 AM on June 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Every day we’re othering
posted by Apocryphon at 6:19 PM on June 7, 2022
posted by Apocryphon at 6:19 PM on June 7, 2022
I guess I feel like most of us, me included, have an inherent conservatism and bias toward sameness/the known, and it's valuable to actively question that instinct in ourselves as we are confronted with new things that we feel suspicion and negativity toward.
posted by latkes at 9:26 PM on June 7, 2022
posted by latkes at 9:26 PM on June 7, 2022
You don't need to generalize the negative qualities us older people have to be concerned about the overrepresentation in political leadership. Like any diversity issue, you want a range of views and we're missing young--heck, even early middle aged--people. The senate makes this worse by rewarding long service, so not only are younger voices underrepresented in general, those we have are in positions of a lot less influence. There's the added organizational issue that we are simply not training a new generation of leaders to step up.
The Democratic leadership--President, Speaker, House Majority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, and Senate Whip are 79. 82. 82. 71, and 77 respectively. Kamela Harris comes in at a youthful 57, meaning she might get the nomination for president in her mid-60s. Early today I voted against my own 79 year old representative in a primary in a futile gesture.
One illustration of the current state is that Al Gore ran against George W. Bush back in 2000 and both are long since out of politics--despite being younger than either candidate last election.
I find it especially depressing that Feinstein is clearly struggling to keep up with the job, and the advantages of seniority and incumbency are so much she breezed to re-election. (Full disclosure: I did not vote against her in 2018--I admit I mostly just wasn't paying enough attention, but also the set up means she didn't attract a strong challenger.)
posted by mark k at 10:20 PM on June 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
The Democratic leadership--President, Speaker, House Majority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, and Senate Whip are 79. 82. 82. 71, and 77 respectively. Kamela Harris comes in at a youthful 57, meaning she might get the nomination for president in her mid-60s. Early today I voted against my own 79 year old representative in a primary in a futile gesture.
One illustration of the current state is that Al Gore ran against George W. Bush back in 2000 and both are long since out of politics--despite being younger than either candidate last election.
I find it especially depressing that Feinstein is clearly struggling to keep up with the job, and the advantages of seniority and incumbency are so much she breezed to re-election. (Full disclosure: I did not vote against her in 2018--I admit I mostly just wasn't paying enough attention, but also the set up means she didn't attract a strong challenger.)
posted by mark k at 10:20 PM on June 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
You don't need to generalize the negative qualities us older people have to be concerned about the overrepresentation in political leadership.
Yeah, but seniority aside, generalizing about the negative qualities of older people have, is so much fun and so baked into MetaFilter from the git go. It's not for nothing the second quote in my previous comment came from Donald J. Trump. Because as any stable genius knows, we olds all think alike, so use his level of logic and mealy mouthed well, maybe not all of themism. Olds. Biden, Trump, Sanders -- what's the difference? So, tar away with the broad brush. Remember -- there's no ism like ageism here. Now if the hive mind can come up a way of stop us older people from voting so much more in proportion to our numbers than those under 50... oh, wait, the Republicans are already on it: Voter ID laws. So, thanks McConnell, Abbott, De Santis, et al! -- remember they've been on the young uns's side the whole time.
posted by y2karl at 9:16 AM on June 8, 2022
Yeah, but seniority aside, generalizing about the negative qualities of older people have, is so much fun and so baked into MetaFilter from the git go. It's not for nothing the second quote in my previous comment came from Donald J. Trump. Because as any stable genius knows, we olds all think alike, so use his level of logic and mealy mouthed well, maybe not all of themism. Olds. Biden, Trump, Sanders -- what's the difference? So, tar away with the broad brush. Remember -- there's no ism like ageism here. Now if the hive mind can come up a way of stop us older people from voting so much more in proportion to our numbers than those under 50... oh, wait, the Republicans are already on it: Voter ID laws. So, thanks McConnell, Abbott, De Santis, et al! -- remember they've been on the young uns's side the whole time.
posted by y2karl at 9:16 AM on June 8, 2022
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