If you wonder why our nation seems to be starkly divided into two warring camps – and why civility has disappeared from the public forum — consider this.
At the conclusion of the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, California Senator and minority leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee Diane Feinstein offered her appreciation to Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham.
Specifically, she said:
“I just want to thank you. This has been one of the best set of hearings that I’ve participated in. And I want to thank you for your fairness and the opportunity of going back and forth. This leaves one with a lot of hope, a lot of questions and even some ideas. Perhaps some good bipartisan legislation we can put together to make this great country even better. So, thank you so much for your leadership.”
For sure it was an unusual show of civility in these starkly divisive times. Even more remarkable, Feinstein’s statement ended with an unmasked hug.
While most Americans may welcome such a bipartisanship display of comity, the obsessively Trump-hating Democrat base would have none of it. This was a violation of the left-wing’s #NeverTrump Resistance Movement that has demanded that President Trump should never be “normalized” – meaning never to say ANYTHING positive about ANYTHING Trump says or does. They are more likely to praise Hitler for the production of the Volkswagen than recognize anything good in Trump’s administration.
These crazies even hate anyone who does not hate Trump – and therein lies Feinstein’s problem. Once the icon of the feminist left, Feinstein was recast as a traitor to the cause – a Trumpian villain. Forget her decades of progressive leadership in the United States Senate. Forget her advocacy of abortion. Forget all the accolades and awards for left-wing organizations – and fawning praise from left-wing media. It is all washed away in a few seconds of human decency.
The Hill – the newspaper that keeps an eye on Washington infighting – reported that Feinstein’s compliment is stirring outrage on the left and prompting calls by prominent liberals for her to step down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
Feinstein was out of step with fellow Senator Amy Klobuchar, who called the hearings “a sham.” And Senator Kamala Harris, who described the hearings as “illegitimate and harmful to the country.”
Brian Fallon, head of Demand Justice – a group that fights against Trump judicial appointments – said, “It’s time for Sen. Feinstein to step down from her leadership position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. If she won’t, her colleagues need to intervene,”
Crooked Media’s Jon Lovett said that the fact that Feinstein “… can say this about this ongoing travesty is another sad statement about how poorly represented we are by Dianne Feinstein.”
Neil Sroka, spokesman for Democracy for America – a group that has opposed Feinstein’s re-election – said he “…can’t imagine very many Democratic voters in the state of California think the Republicans’ attempt to stick a far-right extremist on the court less than 20 days before the election is acceptable.”
National Democratic Committee strategist Adam Parkhomenko summed it up with, “Excuse me while I go punch a hole in the wall.”
Feinstein has now experienced the irrational and destructive hatred of the American left when even a modest compliment to a fellow Senator is viewed as a capital political crime. They assassinate the character of any and all who work for Trump, who support him, who offer any praise of his accomplishments – and now, even a dyed-in-the-wool liberal Democrat with better creds than her critics who had the audacity to compliment a Senator who supports Trump. She could not have been treated worse if she had endorsed Trump.
Feinstein’s most recent service to the nation may have been exposing the evil on the left.
So, there ’tis.