Last night's Democratic debate puts me in mind of a little electoral history. I have to admit I didn't watch the South Carolina show; I was busy. But bad news leaks through ...
Let's see ... apparently Mayor Mike blurted that he'd "bought" Democratic Congressional victories in 2018 -- then quickly tried to walk that bold claim back. He's pretty tone deaf. Observers commented on the size of his cheering section in the audience -- which makes sense when you learn that tickets cost $1750. Just when Elizabeth Warren was beating him up again, they'd take a break -- and go to another paid Bloomberg ad. It seems it was that kind of night.
We've seen something like this before. Nineteen ninety-four in California was a terrible election if you cared about equity, justice, or simple human decency. A very white (Trumpish?) electorate re-elected GOPer Pete Wilson as governor, passed Prop. 187 which amounted to telling immigrants to go die, and voted down a single-payer health plan. The election was a wipe out for progressive values.
With one semi-exception: all that autumn, a still fresh-faced Diane Feinstein who had won a partial U.S. Senate term two years before, had been competing with a Republican twit named Michael Huffington. Huffington was a one term Congressman whose qualification for the Senate was that he had bundles of oil and gas money. Big bundles. The sums may seem trivial now, but back in the day the $28 million of his own money he spent trying to defeat Feinstein was thought gargantuan.
Democrats trailed the unfortunate Huffington around the state chanting "Make him spend it all, Diane!" Not perhaps her sort of joke, but on point.
Feinstein prevailed in a nail-biter by a mere ca. 150,000 votes out of some 8 million cast. She has never been so seriously challenged for office since.
Michael Huffington faded out of Republican politics and came out as gay. His wife, Ariana, divorced him and went on to found (and later sell) the internet news vehicle that bears the Huffington name. Life went on and eventually sanctuary for immigrants and the hope for a single-payer health system came to characterize the state.
Let's see ... apparently Mayor Mike blurted that he'd "bought" Democratic Congressional victories in 2018 -- then quickly tried to walk that bold claim back. He's pretty tone deaf. Observers commented on the size of his cheering section in the audience -- which makes sense when you learn that tickets cost $1750. Just when Elizabeth Warren was beating him up again, they'd take a break -- and go to another paid Bloomberg ad. It seems it was that kind of night.
We've seen something like this before. Nineteen ninety-four in California was a terrible election if you cared about equity, justice, or simple human decency. A very white (Trumpish?) electorate re-elected GOPer Pete Wilson as governor, passed Prop. 187 which amounted to telling immigrants to go die, and voted down a single-payer health plan. The election was a wipe out for progressive values.
Democrats trailed the unfortunate Huffington around the state chanting "Make him spend it all, Diane!" Not perhaps her sort of joke, but on point.
Feinstein prevailed in a nail-biter by a mere ca. 150,000 votes out of some 8 million cast. She has never been so seriously challenged for office since.
Michael Huffington faded out of Republican politics and came out as gay. His wife, Ariana, divorced him and went on to found (and later sell) the internet news vehicle that bears the Huffington name. Life went on and eventually sanctuary for immigrants and the hope for a single-payer health system came to characterize the state.
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2 comments:
I recall that election well. My impression was that Arianna was really the candidate, but his name was on the ballot — she was producing and promoting him.
It seems Bloomberg aspires to be the American Lee Kuan Yew.
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