Barbara Lee Of California

A Major Turnover In 119th Congress To Occur!

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A major turnover is coming in the 119th Congress, which will meet from January 2025-January 2027.

Already, eight Senators and 43 House members are not running for reelection, and turnover by defeat is likely in many other cases.

Among the US Senators who are retiring are the following:

Mitt Romney of Utah
Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona
Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Ben Cardin of Maryland
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
Tom Carper of Delaware

At least 11 Democrats and 14 Republicans are leaving the House of Representatives.

Additionally, a few well known individuals ran for the Senate and have been eliminated, specifically Katie Porter and Barbara Lee in California, while Adam Schiff is on the way to likely Senate membership after ending up first in the California Senate primary.

Dean Phillips of Minnesota chose to challenge Joe Biden in a lost cause, and is leaving the House as a result.

Elissa Slotkin in Michigan; Alex Mooney in West Virginia; Colin Allred in Texas; Andy Kim in New Jersey; and Ruben Gallego in Arizona are among those leaving the House of Representatives to run for the US Senate seats in their states.

A lot more turnover is likely, as many other incumbents face the possibility of defeat this November.

California Open Senate Seat Requires Having A Senator Who Will Have Longevity!

Ronald 3 Comments

Now that it is official that Dianne Feinstein is retiring from the Senate at the end of 2024 at the age of 91, it is urgent that the open Senate seat have a Senator who will have the opportunity to build seniority over time for the Golden State.

So Congresswoman Katie Porter (49), seen as a junior Elizabeth Warren in the sense of copying her strategy and tactics toward corporate monopolies; and Congressman Adam Schiff (62) who has compiled a wonderful record in more than twenty years in the House and was on the committee for the first Donald Trump impeachment trial, should be seen as sensible alternatives.

What is not sensible is that long term Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been in the House of Representatives since 1998, and has the distinction of being the only member of either house of Congress to vote against the authorization for use of military force against terrorists resolution (AUMF) after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, be elected to the Senate seat.

The question is why this author feels this way, and the answer is Lee will be past 77 if she took over the seat in January 2025, making her the oldest first Senator in history to have a full term. She has said she would only serve one term, but the concept of electing Lee is just one of ego, as this author sees it.

If however, Feinstein was to retire sooner, it would be perfectly fine for California Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint Barbara Lee to fill the seat, but with the understanding that she would not seek a full term in office.

Lee is a wonderful legislator, but what is needed is the potential of a new US Senator who could gain seniority if reeelected in the future. But my admiration for her as stated in an earlier article on History News Network on March 4, 2022 still stands! And if Lee chose to remain in the House of Representatives, and facing easy reelection every two years, that is perfectly fine!

The Upcoming California Senate Race 2024

Ronald Leave a comment

In 2024, California will have a US Senate race as Dianne Feinstein will be retiring, even though she refuses to address the issue until the Spring.

There is no possible way that Feinstein, who will be 90 in June, will run again, as there are many signs that she is in early stages dementia, and should not have run in 2018 at age 85. She seems often to be unaware of events around her and to have major memory problems regarding what she has been told by her staff or others. It is simply pride and stubbornness that has prevented her from resigning in dignity.

The refusal of older members of Congress to retire when in their 80s is a sign of ego winning out over reality, as for instance, Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley winning reelection at age 89 in November 2022. Yes, Grassley is still able to do pushups and other exercises, and for now, seems fit mentally, but the idea of a Senator being in office until past age 95 is ludicrous, and if he survives until the end of 2028, he will be the oldest ever Senator except for South Carolina Republican Senator Strom Thurmond, who was clearly in dementia, but remained in his Senate seat, being guided in every way by his staff, until past age 100!

California Governor Gavin Newsom has indicated that if a vacancy was to occur by Feinstein’s leaving earlier, that he would appoint an African American woman as her replacement, with the likely choice being California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been in the House of Representatives since 1998, and will be 77 this summer.

That is fine for the short term, but the idea that Lee plans to run for the open seat in 2024 when she would be past 78, and be serving until past 84, is NOT a good idea. She has said she would only serve one term, but who can say that would be fulfilled, as ego could come in the way, and she could decide to run again for a second term until age 90!

Barbara Lee has had an admirable record in the House of Representatives, but she should NOT run for a full term, and instead continue her service in the lower house, unless she is appointed, and then agrees NOT to run for the full term!

Instead, California has a choice of three Congressional members who have served well–Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Ro Khanna, all decades younger, and capable of gaining seniority and serving, in theory, for an extended period of years!