Rep. Adam B. Schiff turned 63 on Thursday. His birthday gift arrived a day early, courtesy of a vengeful House Republican.
Mr. Schiff was formally accused Wednesday of his role in holding the most immoral, self-centered and selfish rebel president in modern American history to account.
The only thing missing was wrapping paper, a shiny red ribbon, and a greeting card dotted with Xs and Os.
Former President Trump called Mr Schiff “a freak,” “sick” and “corrupt.” He also made lawmakers what they are today, a well-known politician and prosecutorial hero to millions of Democrats across the country.
A rebuke from House Republicans further boosted Schiff’s political standing, and the Burbank Democrats beat out minority party rivals and moved closer to their goal of becoming the next U.S. Senator from California to replace Diane Feinstein.
“I would say this is Adam Schiff propaganda,” said Bob Schram, a veteran Democratic strategist and professor of political science at the University of Southern California, after a partisan censure vote. “Provided by the MAGA caucuses of the Republican House of Representatives.”
In today’s nihilistic political climate, what a candidate achieves is less and less important to a party than who they run against along the way.
With enemies like Trump and his followers, Schiff may ask who needs friends.
Wednesday’s vote was a monumental exercise in political complacency. The move had no practical impact and was purely symbolic, apart from cheapening America’s already degraded image. House asylum run by inmates.
Impeachment, which has been held in the House only 25 times, is usually a punishment reserved for criminal conduct, ethical violations, or serious violations of conduct.
Schiff, who led the prosecution in Trump’s first impeachment over attempted bribery and Ukraine, was reprimanded for, among other things, helping expose Russia’s covert interference in the 2016 election in support of the Trump campaign.
Contrary to Trump’s allegations, an investigation by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III found no evidence of criminal conspiracy, but exonerated Trump and campaign strategists from charges of encouraging Russian interference. did not
Mueller made a strong case of obstruction of justice, but said Justice Department policy does not allow criminal prosecution of a sitting president.
But in the Republican show trial, none of that mattered, the verdict was predetermined, and all that mattered was to satisfy the animal spirits of the Republican constituency.
Mr. Schiff’s actions “ripped American families across the country,” declared Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna, the lead sponsor of the denunciations, with great exaggeration. He had “permanently destroyed family relationships.”
And you thought fighting over the remote control was a problem.
When it came time to formally reprimand Mr. Schiff, as I stood in front of the House floor as Speaker Kevin McCarthy read out the censure resolution, my fellow Democrats swarmed over Mr. Schiff’s back. I hit
“Shame on you,” they shouted, “Shame on you,” “What about George Santos?” — An annoyed McCarthy started and stopped.
Meanwhile, a fundraiser from Schiff bounced around the internet.
Attempts to censure Schiff fell through last week as some Republicans opposed a proposed $16 million fine.
In a fundraising email, Mr. Schiff lamented, “I have to go to the House floor again to hear the MAGA Republicans press false and defamatory lies about me.”
But after the proceedings were over, the senator, who had just been admonished, had a big smile on his face.
Before Trump came on the scene, Mr. Schiff was largely unknown outside his constituencies in Southern California.
His fame can be attributed to being elected to the House of Representatives in 2000, once the most expensive election in U.S. history.
Congress then launched a separate investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election campaign, separate from the Mueller investigation. As the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, the studious Mr. Schiff became a pursed face at the congressional inquisition, making him a target for Mr. Trump.
Mr. Schiff has been elevated by a number of insulting presidential tweets and has become a TV staple, putting Mr. Schiff in a hot race for Feinstein’s Senate seat in 2024. The two main Democratic rivals are Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine and Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland.
The substantial difference between the three is relatively small. But Mr. Porter and Mr. Lee are pushing leftward to target the party’s liberal base, implying that Mr. Schiff, a favorite of former chairman Nancy Pelosi and other party establishments, is somehow not a Democrat.
It gets even harder when Republicans treat him as public enemy number one.
Bay Area Democratic activist Cather Hartley was outspoken in the hours after the censure vote.
She is the former president of the Rossmoor Democratic Club, a must-see for political hopefuls. Schiff, Porter and Lee all traveled to audition in front of hundreds of members of the 55+ community.
“He’s a symbol of what lies between MAGA and our democracy,” Hartley said of Schiff. “He tells them that. He points out what they’re doing. It’s an honor for him to be condemned.”
She declared Wednesday to be “Victory Day” for recognized congressmen, and despite wanting a woman to take the place of Mr. Feinstein, she said, “My intuition is to vote for Adam Schiff.” I am telling you that I will,” he said.
He can thank House Republicans for that.
