Barbara Lee

COMMENTARY: Ageism Behind Smear of Sen. Dianne Feinstein

The more senior you are, the more power your state has. In the Senate, where every state, regardless of size, has two votes each, those two votes backed by seniority are magnified. Feinstein, who has been in the Senate since 1992, is more powerful for all Californians and its 6 million Asian Americans than a rookie senator with blind ambition.

Published

3 years ago

April 25, 2022

Oakland Post

Senator Dianne Feinstein (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

By Emil Guillermo

So how would you like the idea of Barbara Lee, Oakland’s member of Congress, getting a bump up to the big house, the U.S. Senate?

Lee’s name has risen to the top of the list after some sitting members of Congress went to the San Francisco Chronicle to air concerns that Senator Dianne Feinstein is “mentally unfit” to do the job.

This is nothing less than a blatant smear of Feinstein by cowardly anonymous sources. Rumors about Feinstein’s memory lapses have been around for at least three years. That’s when I first heard them. But for some reason everyone has been civil about things until now.

The Chronicle didn’t have to publish the story. But knowing it would create a splash, it readily agreed to protect all involved. Except Feinstein.

The paper cited a Democratic member of the House, and four U.S. senators (three Democrats, one Republican). One of the Democratic senators said Feinstein’s memory is “rapidly deteriorating,” and that “it appears she can no longer fulfill her job duties without her staff doing much of the work required.”

This is serious stuff. But it was a mistake to not name all the sources. Every last one.

The Chronicle said the sources “who expressed concerns about Feinstein’s acuity said that doing so was painful because of their respect for the senator and her groundbreaking career. Each spoke on condition of anonymity, because they said they did not want to jeopardize their relationship with her and their mutual friends and colleagues.”

Those are backstabbing friends Feinstein doesn’t need.

Indeed, it would help to know who is sharing this information because one of them may be interested in running for Feinstein’s seat should this story generate the push that forces Feinstein’s resignation.

Think about this. The Chronicle is protecting those using innuendo of the possible medical condition of a sitting U.S. Senator. And then casting aspersions on her ability to govern.

That’s the cover. It’s a governance thing.

No. It’s a cheap shot, enabled by journalism’s use of the “anonymous source.”

The paper editorialized: “If Feinstein is mentally unfit, Democrats need to tell her openly. And she should resign.”

The conditional “if” is intended to make everything seem fair. But how fair is it after the Chronicle puts out a sensationalistic story and protects all the naysayers?

That’s just dirty. In the meantime, the scuttlebutt has already begun as to who will replace Feinstein. For what?

There is nothing in the Constitution that makes memory lapses illegal.

What you are seeing is unmistakable, unabashed AGEISM.

Ageism is a form of unfair discrimination and oppression toward older people based on stereotypical views.

It is a form of othering no less virulent than racism or sexism.

Yet society hasn’t quite come to terms with ageism, and it remains a disgusting form of discrimination that we allow to go unchallenged.

In response to the story, Feinstein issued a statement, but declined an interview:

“The last year has been extremely painful and distracting for me, flying back and forth to visit my dying husband who passed just a few weeks ago,” she said. “But there’s no question I’m still serving and delivering for the people of California, and I’ll put my record up against anyone’s.”

The fact is some impatient Democrats want Feinstein’s job, and they’re not ashamed of attempting to push her out this very minute and resorting to ageism.

This, unfortunately, has become standard practice.

I saw it happen before when Rep. Mike Honda, who succeeded Norman Y. Mineta in Congress and served from 2001 to 2017, was pushed out by Ro Khanna.

It’s a pure power grab by the upstarts. But no one ever stops to consider how the Senate actually works.

The more senior you are, the more power your state has. In the Senate, where every state, regardless of size, has two votes each, those two votes backed by seniority are magnified.

Feinstein, who has been in the Senate since 1992, is more powerful for all Californians and its 6 million Asian Americans than a rookie senator with blind ambition.

If there’s a problem with Feinstein, these things should be discussed in private among party leaders. We are talking about a health issue after all.

Ultimately, Feinstein, who has been a dedicated public servant from the time she was a San Francisco supervisor in the 1970s, deserves the right to decide when she steps down.

Feinstein is owed at least that. If she can do the job and deliver for the people of California, her seniority is a benefit.

Besides, ageism is not a good look in a democracy.

NOTE: I’ve known Feinstein since the 1970s and will talk about this column and other matters on my “Emil Amok’s Takeout” at 2 p. m. PDT. Livestream on Facebook; my YouTube channel; and Twitter. Catch the recordings on www.amok.com

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Oakland Post Endorses Barbara Lee

Barbara Lee will be able to unify the city around Oakland’s critical budget and financial issues, since she will walk into the mayor’s office with the support of a super majority of seven city council members — enabling her to achieve much-needed consensus on moving Oakland into a successful future.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo, Office of Rep. Barbara Lee.

Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo.

As we end the celebration of Women’s History Month in Oakland, we endorse Barbara Lee, a woman of demonstrated historical significance. In our opinion, she has the best chance of uniting the city and achieving our needs for affordable housing, public safety, and fiscal accountability.

As a former small business owner, Barbara Lee understands how to apply tools needed to revitalize Oakland’s downtown, uptown, and neighborhood businesses.

It is notable that many of those who fought politically on both sides of the recent recall election battles have now laid down their weapons and become brothers and sisters in support of Barbara Lee. The Oakland Post is pleased to join them.

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We Fought on Opposite Sides of the Sheng Thao Recall. Here’s Why We’re Uniting Behind Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor

Today, we are coming together to do all we can to make sure Barbara Lee is elected Mayor in the April 15 Oakland special election. Here’s why. Now more than ever, Oakland needs a respected, hands-on leader who will unite residents behind a clear vision for change. The next mayor will have to hit the ground running with leaders and stakeholders across our political divide to get to work solving the problems standing in the way of Oakland’s progress. Job No. 1: improving public safety. Everyone agrees that all Oaklanders deserve to feel safe in their neighborhoods. But sadly, too many of us do not.

Published

1 month ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

Robert Harris (left) is a retired attorney at PG&E and former legal counsel for NAACP. Richard Fuentes is co-owner of FLUID510 and chair of the Political Action Committee, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 57. Courtesy photos.

By Robert Harris and Richard Fuentes
Special to The Post

The City of Oakland is facing a number of urgent challenges, from housing and public safety to a pressing need for jobs and economic development. One of us, Robert Harris, supported the November recall vote that removed Mayor Sheng Thao from office. Meanwhile, Richard Fuentes believed the recall was the wrong strategy to tackle Oakland’s challenges.

Today, we are coming together to do all we can to make sure Barbara Lee is elected Mayor in the April 15 Oakland special election. Here’s why.

Now more than ever, Oakland needs a respected, hands-on leader who will unite residents behind a clear vision for change.

The next mayor will have to hit the ground running with leaders and stakeholders across our political divide to get to work solving the problems standing in the way of Oakland’s progress.

Job No. 1: improving public safety. Everyone agrees that all Oaklanders deserve to feel safe in their neighborhoods. But sadly, too many of us do not.

During her three decades in the state Legislature and Congress, Lee made public safety a priority, securing funding for police and firefighters in Oakland, delivering $15.8 million in community safety funding, and more. Today, she has a plan for making Oakland safer. It starts with making sure police are resourced, ready, and on patrol to stop the most dangerous criminals on our streets.

Oakland residents and business owners are feeling the impact of too many assaults, smash/grabs, retail thefts, and home robberies. Lee will increase the number of police on the streets, make sure they are focused on the biggest threats, and invest in violence prevention and proven alternatives that prevent crime and violence in the first place.

In addition, on day one, Barbara Lee will focus on Oakland’s business community, creating an advisory cabinet of business owners and pushing to ensure Oakland can attract and keep businesses of all sizes.

The other top issue facing Oakland is housing and homelessness. As of May 2024, over 5,500 people were unhoused in the city. Oaklanders are just 25% of the population of Alameda County, but the city has 57% of the unhoused population.

Unhoused people include seniors, veterans, single women, women with children, people who suffer physical and mental illness, unemployed and undereducated people, and individuals addicted to drugs. Some are students under 18 living on the streets without their parents or a guardian. Research shows that 53% of Oakland’s homeless population is Black.

Starting on her first day in office, Lee will use her national profile and experience to bring new resources to the city to reduce homelessness and expand affordable housing. And she will forge new public/private partnerships and collaboration between the City, Alameda County, other public agencies, and local nonprofits to ensure that Oakland gets its fair share of resources for everything from supportive services to affordable housing.

Besides a public safety and housing crisis, Oakland has a reputational crisis at hand. Too many people locally and nationally believe Oakland does not have the ability to tackle its problems.

Lee has the national reputation and the relationships she can use to assert a new narrative about our beloved Oakland – a vibrant, diverse, and culturally rich city with a deep history of activism and innovation.

Everyone remembers how Lee stood up for Oakland values as the only member of Congress not to authorize the disastrous Iraq War in 2001. She has led the fight in Congress for ethics reform and changes to the nation’s pay-to-play campaign finance laws.

Lee stands alone among the candidates for mayor as a longtime champion of honest, transparent, and accountable government—and she has the reputation and the skills to lead an Oakland transformation that puts people first.

The past few years have been a trying period for our hometown.

Robert Harris supported the recall because of Thao’s decision to fire LeRonne Armstrong; her refusal to meet with certain organizations, such as the Oakland Branch of the NAACP; and the city missing the deadline for filing for a state grant to deal with serious retail thefts in Oakland.

Richard Fuentes opposed the recall, believing that Oakland was making progress in reducing crime. The voters have had their say; now, it is time for us to move forward together and turn the page to a new era.

The two of us don’t agree on everything, but we agree on this: the next few years will be safer, stronger, and more prosperous if Oaklanders elect Barbara Lee as our next mayor on April 15.

Robert Harris is a retired attorney at PG&E and former legal counsel for NAACP.

Richard Fuentes is co-owner of FLUID510 and chair of the Political Action Committee, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 57.

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Faith Leaders Back Barbara Lee for Mayor, Criticize Candidate Loren Taylor for Dishonest Campaigning

Speaking as individuals, participants in the interview were Pastor Michael Wallace of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church; Pastor Mike McBride, Oakland resident and pastor of the Way Christian Center in Berkeley; Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Thompson of Allen Temple Baptist Church; Bishop Kevin Barnes, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church; and Bishop Keith Clark of Word Assembly.

Published

1 month ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

From left: Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Thompson. Bishop Kevin Barnes. Pastor Mike McBride. Bishop Keith Clark. Pastor Michael Wallace. Courtesy photos.

‘Barbara Lee has a proven track record of listening to the community and translating things into action, and not just talking about it, but doing it. And I believe that this is one of the qualities that will serve her well as being our mayor,’ said Pastor Kevin Barnes

The Black Church PAC, a national faith leaders initiative, will be posting its endorsement of Lee this week

Ken Epstein

Prominent local faith leaders held a telephone interview Thursday with the Oakland Post to express their concerns about the election and their support for former Congresswoman Barbara Lee for Mayor of Oakland.

“I feel that this is a critical election for the City of Oakland,” said Pastor Wallace. “Our city is in a crisis, and we need someone who has the experience to stabilize our city and to go beyond the borders of our city to bring resources to address the issues that we’re facing.”

The leaders also criticized another candidate, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor, for conducting a dishonest smear campaign against Lee and urged Oakland flatland residents to go to the polls and join efforts to actively encourage others to vote in the April 15 special election.

Pastor McBride said, “I believe Oakland needs to send a loud message that our city is not for sale. Barbara Lee is the epitome of ‘unbought, unbossed’ integrity and is someone who has brought results. It has been very offensive to listen to candidates in this race, particularly Loren Taylor, attempt to disparage her name and discredit her record.”

“I truly believe that Congresswoman Lee is the best-suited candidate” for the job, he continued, adding that it is “absolutely crucial that individuals in our communities, particularly in the flatlands, are encouraged to participate in this process because the stakes are high, and I don’t think we should surrender our city to special interests. We have to let (people) know that our city will not be seized without our voices being heard.”

Pastor McBride added, “The only way we can really ensure that we’re going to be able to do that is to make sure that Oakland does not fall into such dishonor is to vote with a level of turnout that ensures the election is not close.”

“Barbara Lee has spoken for us, not just through slogans and not just through rhetoric, but she’s bought billions of dollars just in the last two years, arguably in the worst era of pandemic suffering. She has helped to stabilize the city,” he said.

Pastor McBride said that this race has attracted a lot of outside “money and supporters who align themselves with the likes of [President Donald] Trump. Any candidate running for mayor of Oakland who can be attractive to MAGA ought to give folks a pause. Why is Barbara Lee not the candidate for MAGA but Loren Taylor seems to be?”

Rev. Thompson said, “I’m concerned about the tone and the tenor of the race. We have proof from Washington, D.C., that elections matter. It is not just a matter of that you are running, but it is also how you are running. So, the idea that there would be an attempt to castigate the character of a woman who’s been wholly committed, not just to her district but to her city, is concerning.

“The idea that misinformation and alternative facts would be allowed to be propagated, unchecked, without any attempt to correct it by someone who seeks to be our leader is challenging to me,” said Thompson. “I support Barbara Lee because Barbara Lee is a proven leader.

“She’s proven that she can bring people together,” she said. “She has also proven when she stood as the lone person against the vote for a blank check in times of war that she cannot be bought, that she will keep the needs of the people, not just the needs of those who are considered elite or up-and-coming, but the needs of the least and the lost and the ‘left out’ of this city.”

Dr. Thompson said, “I support her because has been faithful to this city, whether you have seen her or whether you have not seen her. The millions and billions of dollars that she has brought to our area is unquestionable.”

The Black Church PAC, a national initiative led by faith leaders including Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, will post its endorsement of Congresswoman Barbara Lee this week.

Bishop Clark said, “In times like these we need someone who can fix and build our city and communities, and I believe that Congresswoman Barbara Lee can do the job”

“Barbara Lee has a proven track record of listening to the community and translating things into action, and not just talking about it, but doing it. And I believe that this is one of the qualities that will serve her well as being our mayor,” said Bishop Barnes.