Senator Feinstein’s vote to sent the Southwick nomination to the Senate floor is not winning her any friends to her left. In The Hill , PFAW’s Ralph Neas says he is “deeply disappointed” in Feinstein and finds it “incomprehensible” that someone with Southwick’s record could make it out of committee. Meanwhile, over at Tapped, Scott Lemieux is writing Feinstein out of the Democratic Party:
AND THIS MONTH’S VICHY DEMOCRAT AWARD GOES TO…Diane Feinstein, who cast the key vote to let arch-reactionary Leslie Southwick out of the Judiciary Committee. Apparently, she saw the Roberts Court’s first term, liked what she saw, and figured that the federal courts could use yet another neoconfederate judge. This would be one thing if it was a Southern Democrat, as opposed to someone in a safe-as-milk seat in one of the most liberal states in the country. Well played! Not that this is shocking; she’s been an appalling wet for a long time. California really needs to get two Democrats in the Senate at some point.
“Arch-reactionary”? “neoconfederate”? Some folks need to get some perspective.