A smart but stinky strategy in the California Senate race

The race for the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Dianne Feinstein for 30 years involves an old saying.

Proverb: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Consider Roosevelt and Churchill's support of dictator Stalin in defeating Hitler in World War II. Or the Reagan administration, which supported Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein in the anti-American war against Iran in the 1980s.

To be sure, a Senate race is not the same as a shootout. Not exactly. But as the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz said in the early 1800s, “Politics is war without bloodshed, but war is politics with bloodshed.”

The old saying, “Do whatever it takes to eliminate the greatest threat,” speaks to similar tactics in war and politics.

In the race to fill Feinstein's old seat, the biggest threat to the Democratic front-runner is not a leading Republican candidate but another Democrat. Democrats have a nearly 2-1 advantage in voter registration, making it virtually impossible for Republicans to win a California Senate seat in a state where the Republican Party has collapsed.

That's why Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the front-runner based on polling and campaign finance, is backing Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey in the March 5 primary. I'm doing my best for this.Mr. Garvey, name identified.

ID

Among older baseball fans, he has little money in the campaign kitty and has no political experience, so he will easily lose in the November general election.

As such, Schiff is focused on promoting Garvey, his November opponent. It's a reminder that gerrymandering, where politicians choose their own voters through redrawing of legislative and congressional districts, still occurs in many states, although it's currently outlawed in California. .

It makes strategic sense in California for politicians to help the weakest while making a stink. Our open primary system allows everyone to vote on the same ballot, regardless of party. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the November election. That would open the door for two Democrats to compete against each other.

Schiff's biggest political threat is fellow Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, who lives in Irvine. She could be a formidable contender in November. Porter is currently in a tight race with Garvey for the No. 2 spot in the runoff.

Therefore, therefore,

Mr. Schiff's television ads tout Mr. Garvey among Republican viewers as a two-time Donald Trump supporter who could swing the Senate to Republican control. Although this is ostensibly a criticism of Mr. Garvey, it is intended to rally support for Mr. Garvey among Republican viewers. Garvey doesn't have the money to advertise on TV, so Schiff does it for him.

Meanwhile, from what I can see in Schiff's latest TV ads, he also appears to be subtly promoting Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), who is trailing in fourth place. That's another way to help Garvey.

Schiff

Of course

Mr. Lee hopes to draw liberal and female votes away from Mr. Porter. The majority of Democratic voters are women.

Schiff's new TV spot uses footage from the first debate between the four candidates, which took place last month.

Narrator begins: Democrats agree. Conservative Republican Steve Garvey is the wrong choice for the Senate.

The camera then cuts to Lee, who looks and sounds solid. My Republican opponent on this stage has voted for Donald Trump twice.

Schiff doesn't do that.

use

Spend more time on yourself: Mr. Garvey, you voted for him twice.

Then Porter appears. Schiff's ad makers couldn't have picked a worse clip of her. She looks upset and awkward, and she's probably waving her hand at Garvey. And she doesn't understand because someone is talking about her.

According to a copy of the blurb distributed to reporters, Porter made the following confusing comment about Garvey: “As your own man, what is your decision?” Perhaps this was a response to his refusal to say whether he would vote for Trump a third time. However, advertising has no such background. The viewer has no idea what she's saying anyway.

It's a really clever ad, said Rob Stutzman, a Republican consultant. Lee appears prominently. And Porter, you can barely see her face. It's three-dimensional chess.

A spokesperson for Schiff's campaign denied that supporting Lee was part of the plan. Anyway, it might work. And it's likely to hurt Porter.

In the interests of good government and democracy, I'd like to see either Porter or Lee take on Schiff in November. Mr. Garvey has little knowledge of national issues and appears to have no policy agenda. He is emerging in a contest regarding name identity and Republican brand that remains among Republican voters. Either Porter or Lee would make for a more interesting matchup and give voters a credible choice.

After Schiff began promoting Garvey on television, Porter wrote to X, “I know Adam Schiff will lose to me in November.” That's why this brazenly cynical ad promotes a qualified Democratic female candidate and promotes his own political career. What we need is honest leadership, not political gamesmanship.

But now, Porter has stepped off the royal road.

playing the same political game

She initially accused Schiff of hiring her. She is running online ads aimed at boosting Republican candidate Eric Early, who is virtually unknown among Republican voters. Her goal is to help Mr. Early draw Republican votes away from Mr. Garvey. MAGA Republican Eric Early proudly supports Donald Trump, while Steve Garvey refuses to reveal who he supports, Porter's ad says. Garvey claimed he might vote for Joe Biden. It is true that Mr. Garvey has avoided answering who he supports in this year's presidential election. Schiff and Porter are both smart and play by the rules. It's not dirty. But as Porter originally said, it's blatantly ironic. Porter aired his own television spot, starting with a one-second snippet of Schiff's ad. This ad? “Typical,” says the narrator. politician. he is bad i'm good. Somehow, somehow. Let's change things up with Katie Porter. But Schiff is playing by the rules set by the system. Cynical and smart.

Gov. Gavin Newsom used the same tactic in his 2018 campaign against two prominent Democrats, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chan.

2018

Governor's primary election.

Mr. Newsom ran television ads promoting unknown Republican John Cox and pushing him into a November runoff.

Like Schiff and Garvey

Newsom publicly attacked Cox as a supporter of Donald Trump. That sold him to Republican voters.

Mr. Garvey, a Republican, was a close friend of Mr. Schiff, a Democrat, until he was snubbed on March 6. Mr. Garvey, a Republican, is now a close friend of Mr. Schiff, a Democrat, and Mr. Early is Porter until both Republicans were snubbed on March 6.