Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away at her home, at the age of 90

Gosh, I feel so bad about this. Senator Feinstein has passed away at the age of 90. The poor woman literally worked until she died – she was still a sitting senator, although she was clearly in very poor health for the past year of her life. She didn’t know what she was doing in committee meetings or hearings, and she basically stayed in office so that President Biden could get judges confirmed in the Senate. The Feinstein family knew this was coming, and Sen. Feinstein had gotten her affairs in order in recent months.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the trailblazing Democratic power broker who served in the Senate for 30 years, died on Thursday night, according to a family member.

In recent years, Ms. Feinstein, 90, had suffered from frail health and memory issues that made it difficult for her to function alone and prompted calls for her to step down, which she consistently rejected.

Her condition had grown more acute over the past several months, after a bout with shingles that caused serious complications, including a case of encephalitis, and prompted her to begin using a wheelchair in the halls of the Capitol.

Ms. Feinstein’s long and very public decline shone a spotlight on the advanced age of members of Congress and particularly the Senate, where many continue to serve long after retirement age.

[From The NY Times]

Imagine writing “Ms. Feinstein’s long and very public decline shone a spotlight on the advanced age of members of Congress” and not mentioning Mitch McConnell, that vile turtle who is literally having mini-strokes at every press conference. Should there be an age limit for senators? Eh. Of course there should be, but I just don’t think it will ever happen.

So, what happens now? I assume Governor Newsom will get to appoint the interim senator for Feinstein’s seat? There’s such a deep bench of quality California Democrats, but I’d love to see Newsom appoint a woman.

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90 Responses to “Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away at her home, at the age of 90”

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  1. MaryContrary says:

    She was a remarkable woman. I was in middle school in the SF Bay Area when Dan White killed Harvey Milk and George Moscone, and Dianne Feinstein became mayor. She served her city and then her country well. I’m sorry that the last few years when she’s been in obvious mental and physical decline she did not retire.

    • maisie says:

      @MaryContrary I was 19. I walked down Market St that night with more than 10,000 fellow San Franciscans. Those events have been more real and more impactful on my life than 9/11 ever was.
      Dianne Feinstein was a trailblazer, a passionate advocate for women, for the gay community, and for victims of gun violence. May her memory be a blessing.

      • Bee (not THAT Bee) says:

        Her memory is certainly a blessing to SF developers. That’s my issue with DiFi. She did a lot of good but she also let developers trample all over San Francisco, and now look at it.

      • Miss Melissa says:

        She left the mayorship in 1988. It’s been 35 years.

        Looking at city now tells you what the six men and one woman in the three and half decades since have allowed.

        Particularly the abject failure of London Breed, who has let crime and homelessness trample everything in sight.

  2. Bettyrose says:

    Been refreshing the page for this post. Term.limits.now. Stop treating the senate like a convalescent home. Phew! Been holding that in. Look, Newsom will appoint someone more progressive than Feinstein. This is not a catastrophe of RBG proportions. I’m still reeling from that.

    • Josephine says:

      She didn’t evolve, and that was a problem. The real problem isn’t age so much as being a senator or even rep means nonstop access to easy, easy money. They get to keep what they raise, no restrictions at all, and they ALL pay themselves handsomely.

    • Twin Falls says:

      Same. I get the committee placement argument but if you saw any of the chaos come out of the house yesterday, you know points for following procedure doesn’t exist right now. Having more energetic, engaged and educated elected officials (moskowitz, AOC, jasmine Crockett, summer lee) is what this country desperately needs.

    • Ameerah M says:

      Except it is. And its puzzling to me that people don’t get that. Feinstein’s seat is now vacant on the Judiciary Committee – and Republicans have stated they will not allow it to be filled by a Dem. So literally ANY Judiciary pick of Biden’s will not be confirmed. You know, the Judge’s who are making decisions state by state regarding abortion access, voter’s rights, civil rights, etc.?? We now have to pray and do the work to make sure he wins in 2024 and that we flip enough seats in the Senate and House because otherwise – it’s game over. So we can be glib about term limits but her death will have an enormous impact on this country. Just like RBG’s did.

      • Bettyrose says:

        This is a term limit issue. If Feinstein had retired ten years ago we wouldn’t be facing this committee blockade now. Waiting to die in office or in the Supreme Court destroys a legacy of good works.

      • Ameerah M says:

        @Bettyrose – and none of that changes the reality of where we are now. So like I said – her death does in fact have the impact that RBG’s did.

      • Kitten says:

        Which is why she should have retired 15 years ago and made room for someone younger to fill one of the safest Dem seats in the senate.

        And “the reality of where we are now” is largely in part because of the issue of term limits. These things do not exist in a vacuum as much as some on this thread would like to believe.

      • Twin Falls says:

        https://www.acslaw.org/judicial-nominations/on-the-bench/

        The Senate is bogged down almost to the point the House is. At the pace they were approving judges, there’s not much difference with a complete block.

        We need real leadership from our elected officials.

      • Ameerah M says:

        @Twin Falls – sorry but this is hyperbole. Biden has appointed a RECORD number of Judges. And that impact is already being felt by how certain states are being able to side step their Republican majorities when it comes to abortion access and voting rights. That IS leadership.

      • Twin Falls says:

        That link is from The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. Those are the actual statistics. And if you check, 2023 has seen the lowest number of confirmations since Biden has been in office. I’m not a Biden hater. I understand the importance of the judiciary. I’m also paying attention to what else is happening.

      • Ameerah M says:

        @Twin Falls I wasn’t speaking about the link. I was speaking about your comment “We need real leadership from our elected officials” being hyperbole. Which it is. Because leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Leaderships happens in real time dealing with where we are in the moment. Leaderships comes from deciding how to best use/overcome the hand you have been dealt.

      • Megan says:

        Republicans refused an interim appointment to the committee while DiFi was in the hospital. They will be able to seat a replacement. The immediate crisis is the government shutdown. Democrats need all 50 votes in the Senate to pass a CR and we don’t have that now.

      • Ameerah M says:

        @Megan – they refused an interim appointment and have stated – numerous times- they will not seat someone at all if it is left vacant by Feinstein’s passing. Which it now is. And yes – the government shutdown is the immediate crisis. And Feinstein’s death impacts that. Which is why I keep stating that we need to focus on the REALITY of what the current situation is.

      • Carrie Williamson says:

        Except Feinstein hasn’t been on the Judiciary Committee committee since 2021. She stayed because Newsom pledged to put a black women in as her replacement, and they are worried it will be Barbra Lee. The DNC wants Adam Schiff, who is much more conservative.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Carrie Williamson, Newsome continues to say (I just read an article) that he will appoint a black woman. He has already said that he will not be appoint Rep. Barbara Lee.

        I feel certain that Newsome already knows who he will appoint. The question is does he wait until after the funeral (IMO). Does the Senate have that much time when you look at a government shut down. I hope Newsome talked to the family about the appointment. He’s not in an enviable position.

      • Juniper says:

        The Republican opposition was if she retired and left her assignment. Since she died, the Republicans can’t oppose the appointment. Terrible loophole but it works, I guess.

    • samipup says:

      Ageism. They should test for mental, physical acuity at all ages. Though yes, mental and physical abilities do decline as the years collect, it is not a total decline at a specific year. Aging is individual.

    • Barb Mill says:

      I live in Florida with term limits and I can tell you they are the worst thing that happened to politics in FL. I blame a lot of the fricking crazy going on in FL to term limits.
      Mandatory voting would be a better solution to term limits.

  3. ThatsNotOkay says:

    RIP, Senator Feinstein. RIP, US democracy.

  4. Tulipworthy says:

    This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I think she tainted her legacy by not resigning years ago.

    • Bettyrose says:

      Very popular opinion actually. Boxer’s retirement made way for Senator Harris who some may recognize as our *Vice President*. Hoarding political power is selfish.

    • Amy Bee says:

      Agreed. She should’ve stepped down a long time ago.

    • Kitten says:

      Exactly what my brother said and I wholeheartedly agree. She served her seat well for decades but it was MORE than clear the past 5 years that she was progressively unable to do the bare minimum of what was required of her. Yet people STILL voted for her and people in this very forum vociferously defended her current tenure, despite what was clearly evident to all of us.
      And Bettyrose is correct that this was all about hoarding power. If it was about the greater good for the party and democracy writ large, she would have stepped down years ago. The egos of politicians smdh…

      • Brassy Rebel says:

        The very qualities which made her so problematic these past few years, namely stubbornness and tenacity, are what made her so formidable and effective in her prime. Of course, she should have stepped aside for someone younger a few years ago, but she didn’t. So we are where we are. We’ll have to go from here. And, in her prime, she was a hell of a great woman. Her legacy is set in stone, especially on issues of gun safety, women’s rights, reproductive rights, and gay rights.

      • Kitten says:

        Agree that she was tenacious and stubborn but I’m not convinced that those qualities are what fueled her decision to stay as long as she did. And I say this fully understanding that ego, pride and self importance are crucial qualities for anyone to run for office. Temerity and humility doesn’t get you very far in American politics. But we have to start electing people who don’t get in the way of the greater goals of the party and that requires a level of honesty and candor with one’s self and one’s abilities. This bizarre savior complex and desire to hang on forever really only hurts us all the end.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        “Yet people STILL voted for her” and why not? Did any Democrat EVER run against Me. Feinstein in a primary???

        Who else was one to vote for??? A republican???

        The rules are the rules. With this particular Senate seat, the holder (sitter) was always going to be and will always be a Democrat. However, that is NOt true for all Senate Seats.

        Who do you wanting sitting in Mitt Romney’s Senate Seat??? Mitt Romney or some insane right-wing MAGAt Trumpet nutjob? One thing I can tell you is that it will not be a democrat setting in Romney’s vacated Senate seat.

    • Lorelei says:

      It’s not unpopular with me! I’m truly sorry that her last few years were so rough, but she absolutely should have retired years ago and we wouldn’t have the extra mess that the state of the Judiciary Committee that this will now cause.

      It will have a different type of impact than RBG, but a very negative impact nonetheless. Right before a *crucial* election. RBG tainted her legacy by not retiring the FIRST TIME she had cancer, ffs, and Dianne’s is tainted now, too.

      Weinstein was certainly better than many others and her actions over the last 5-10 years certainly don’t take away all of her accomplishments, but her ego kept her there far longer than she should have been.

      And Kaiser is right, it IS gross that they leave Mitch out of this conversation, but it’s not surprising.

    • Christina says:

      Feinstein was such a trailblazer, but I agree with you that she should have resigned during the second Obama administration to allow someone else to ascend.

      The Democratic Party, of which I am a member, has a line of succession. They push folks in who are part of the machine. Diane Feinstein was part of the the machinery. They need to accept new ideas and blood. OAC won against the “machine” candidate in NY. We need more of that kind of disruption in the party to breath life into it.

    • Jason says:

      Agree 100% think about being so power hungry she wouldn’t retire.

    • bisynaptic says:

      I agree.

  5. Ameerah M says:

    Sad for her family and sad for this country. She was trying to hold on until the 2024 election. Now her Judiciary Committee seat is vacant and Republicans have stated they will not allow Dems to fill it. Which means Biden won’t be able to get any Judges approved until after the 2024 election. People talked a lot of smack about this woman in her final months about her refusal to step down. But there were legitimate reasons for it. And her death will have a lasting impact on this country. RIP Senator Feinstein and thank you for your years of service.

    • Josephine says:

      which is why she needed to step away many years ago, instead, she gambled huge and lost a huge and important position. it’s straight up greed.

      • Ameerah M says:

        Do you feel the same about RBG?? Because the exact same argument can be made about her.

      • Amy Bee says:

        @Josephine: Exactly. This RBG all over again.

      • Bettyrose says:

        I feel *exactly* the same about RBG. We lost Roe because she didn’t retire under Obama.

      • SarahLee says:

        Ameerah, I do actually feel the same about RBG. She should have retired after Obama won his second term. I think it was hubris from a lot of people – Obama and RBG included – that just assumed Hillary would win.

      • ChillinginDC says:

        What makes me laugh is that people like you and other users seem to think if she, RBG, and other women had just done some other thing, then the crappy white men and women in this country who happily voted for and continue to vote for the crap that happens on a daily basis would have magically disappeared.

        I think a lot of you want to blame her and RBG cause then you don’t have to think about how your friends, family, and heck maybe even you were instrumental for the country being the way it is now.

      • Ameerah M says:

        @ChillinginDC – Exactly this. And then everyone runs around screaming “term limits”!

      • bettyrose says:

        @ChillinginDC & @Ameerah
        Those creepy old white men are *exactly* why powerful women need to be cultivating more powerful women and allies. The Senate and electoral college are designed to give crusty white dudes more power than anyone else, but RGB and Feinstein had shattered ceilings and created legacies *decades* before they made the catastrophic decisions not to retire.

        You’re right. We wouldn’t need to pin so much of our hopes on the few powerful women if it weren’t a constant battle against hordes of crusty white men, but with more and more women primed for leadership, we need mentors and pathways more than we need individual stories of historical achievement. Acknowledging and discussing that is not a means to deny our own complicity, although I don’t have an issue with the conversation calling out white women to constantly review our privilege and how we use it.

    • Scm154 says:

      Thank you @Ameerah M. You’ve perfectly summarized Senator Feinstein’s life, career, and why she remained in office.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Ameerah, ITA. And I felt exactly the same way when it happened with RBG. Their egos will end up causing so much harm to so many people. They both ended up in the position of *needing* to try and hold on when things got so bad because they didn’t leave a few years earlier. It’s just frustrating because it was avoidable.

    • Lala11_7 says:

      @Ameerah THANK YOU FOR POINTING OUT THAT MOST IMPORTANT FACT! It is AMAZING how folks don’t see the STRATEGY of politics…what I am grateful for is that with Feinstein’s help…Biden was able to get a near RECORD amount of GOOD JUDGES APPOINTED!

      • Ameerah M says:

        People are often too caught up in ideological arguments to deal with the reality of where we are now. Like yes – I DO believe in term limits. I DO think RBG should have stepped down. But what does ANY of that have to do with where we are now?? How does that fix the CURRENT issues?? We can talk about term limits when we have the luxury to do so. And you won’t get anyone to vote on term limits right now lol. It literally would have no impact on the upcoming election except leave a giant power vacuum. Our entire democracy as we know it is on the line right now – let’s focus on THAT. You play the cars you are DEALT. Simple as that.

    • North of Boston says:

      Yeah people talked smack about her.

      But then are those same people holding McConnell and the rest of the Republicans accountable to the same extent for refusing to allow the Senate to take steps to fill her committee seats and proceed with dealing with judicial appointments and other Senate business?

      If a bunch of people are doing their damndest to knock over floodgates, and the people pushing back on them, trying to keep the gates standing eventually collapse under the effort, the people who were human and couldn’t push back indefinitely are NOT to blame for the flood and destruction that follows. Or for trying until they couldn’t try anymore

    • BayTampaBay says:

      “People talked a lot of smack about this woman in her final months about her refusal to step down. But there were legitimate reasons for it.”

      THIS! 100%!

      • Barb Mill says:

        Exactly. If she had resigned the republicans would not have allowed her seat on the judiciary committee to be filled and Biden would not have been able to appoint as many Federal judges as he has. Gov Newsom will replace her so we will get another Dem. She cast her final vote on the day she died.

  6. lucy2 says:

    Our government is such a mess. She was basically forced to stay in her seat to get judges approved, which I’m glad has happened, but it shouldn’t be this difficult, and a 90 year old ill woman shouldn’t be the only thing making that happen.
    I’m sorry for her loved ones. Hopefully it was a peaceful passing.

  7. Amy Bee says:

    Congress was established when people died at age 40. It’s time for term limits and age limits. The same goes for the Supreme Court.

  8. FancyPants says:

    We would never be able to set an age limit, because there are too many variables, but we could absolutely set term limits. Nothing in America should be a lifetime appointment, and nobody should be serving as representative/senator/governor/judge for life. Congress was not intended up to be a career, it was set up so that average citizens could serve their country for a few years and then go home. People will argue that nothing would ever get done because it takes that long to learn how everything works, but I think incoming Congresspeople should have mandatory legislation education as well and eventually it would simplify the process.

    • Bettyrose says:

      I would never advocate for age limits. If someone (cough, Biden, cough) is mentally acute and viable to serve at 80, have at it. But not holding a death grip on an office you held at 50.

      • ChillinginDC says:

        It’s ageist and I am sure against many laws right now to say someone must step down when someone deems them too old.

        And also, Congress doesn’t work that way. Nothing would get done if we actually had an age limit. You would get even more lobbyists mess than we do now.

  9. Lala11_7 says:

    Yea…I think term limits on ELECTED officials is undemocratic…ESPECIALLY since I’ve seen elected politicians DESTROY EVERYTHING in one term …i.e. Trump or Rahm Emmanuel in my hometown…and I need my Senators to be seasoned & do not MIND if they serve until their 100 as LONG as they evolve socially & politically & are effective…it takes time to build the type of power base to be an effective Senator…especially in a state that has one of the BIGGEST economies in the 🌎…my issue with Finestein is that politically…she was frozen in amber and that freeze happened in 1990…but she served her constituents which is why she kept getting re-elected

    • Ameerah M says:

      @Lala I believe in term limits for SCOTUS Judges. As for politicians…I’m on the fence about it. Because I agree with everything you said. Because despite her age – her constituents kept ELECTING her. SO people can scream “term limits” all they want but voters had other options and kept choosing HER. But also I do think if we can get to a place in this country where we aren’t literally fighting for our democracy – because now is NOT the time for this BS – we should explore what term limits can look like. I mean we place term limits on our President AND our Governors, Mayors, etc. And there are reasons for this.

      • Bettyrose says:

        Ameerah – I’m agreeing with you at this point that this is equally as catastrophic as RBG, but not that voters had other options. A mainstream Dem couldn’t have run a successful campaign against her. In a rubber stamp Dem office, what was the option? A Green challenger?

      • Ameerah M says:

        Green is a joke. And the fact that a mainstream Dem couldn’t beat goes right back into what Lala and myself are saying: people kept electing her! Her constituents didn’t find any other options appealing enough to vote her out. It’s a s simple as that.

      • Kitten says:

        They kept choosing her for all the reasons I said below: entrenched power, name recognition, political capital (yes she had an important position on judiciary committee) and undeniably, an amount of respect–mostly rooted in nostalgia–for her political skills. If there had been term limits, she wouldn’t have even been a contender and maybe we’d have de Leon or someone that CA likes even better. We’ll never know, sadly. Either way, we wouldn’t be in the predicament we are currently in if we had term limits. These politicians have these cake-ass gigs for years, enriching themselves financially, and forming deep connections with influential, powerful people who will continue to ensure that they are re-elected. It’s a rigged system IMO.

        Again, the politician who wins their seat isn’t always the one that voters want the most, but risk-averse voters will choose the devil they know almost every effin time. I see it ALL the time in MA on the local side and it drives me nuts.

      • Lucky Charm says:

        Most people won’t run against an incumbent. If there were term limits, her constituents couldn’t have “kept electing her” because there would have been an option.

  10. Barbara says:

    So could Newsom appoint Katie Porter or Adam Schiff then appoint another Democrat to their Congressional seat?

    • Lau says:

      According to the Guardian “The Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has promised to install a Black woman in any vacant seat”, let’s wait and see.

      • Bettyrose says:

        Barbara Lee is still a contender although Katie Porter is the favorite in an election at this point.

      • ChillinginDC says:

        Schiff is going to win in CA and it sounds like maybe the Secretary of State is who Newsom will appoint.

      • bettyrose says:

        Weber is a solid choice, but I gotta say, having always been suspicious of Newsom for building towards his future run for the big office, I kinda think he’s doing well in his role as the Queen maker. History may remember him as the man behind the women who broke the the hardest ceilings of all.

      • brighidg says:

        Some on Twitter (or X) are saying it should be Meghan Markle.

    • Paisley25 says:

      I don’t think Newsom wants to appoint someone who is already running for the seat as it would tip the scales in that person’s favor. I expect him to appoint a caretaker who will not be in the 2024 ballot.

      I’d personally like him to appoint Barbara Lee if she agreed to pull out of the 2024 senate run. She’s already 77 and I’m not voting for another potential senator that old again.

      • Ameerah M says:

        And if Barbara Lee is the only Dem option on the ballot then what?? You don’t vote?? These unrealistic absolutes are utterly ridiculous to read.

      • ChillinginDC says:

        I just laugh at people like this. I think that Black, LGBTQ and other POC just live in the real world and some others like you do not. It’s baffling to me.

      • Ciotog says:

        Barbara Lee wouldn’t be the only Dem on the 2024 ballot. California no longer recognizes partisan primaries. The last Senate race featured two Dem candidates.

  11. Lizzie Bathory says:

    I have no interest in term limits for non-executive office since I’m not convinced they serve the interests of democracy.

    But at a human level, I really feel for Sen. Feinstein & her family. This week I attended a party for a founding partner of my law firm who is retiring after his 50th year of practice. He’s been so anxious & upset about not coming in to the office every day but he also wants to spend time with his family. It’s a very real emotional struggle for some people. I hope Sen. Feinstein had some peace these last few years after a long career of dedicated service.

    • Kitten says:

      I really don’t understand the argument that term limits don’t serve democracy. It’s the opposite. Term limits help electorates register their democratic preferences. Term limits make it easier for young candidates who might not have the political power/branding/funding needed to enter into political markets–it reduces that barrier. MANY voters don’t like who’s politically representing them and would prefer someone different but when they aren’t presented with an alternative, they vote for the same pol of their preferred party. Term limits help to remove representatives who are deeply entrenched in politics and have nontransferable political assets, which a newcomer will likely not posses. It doesn’t serve democracy if the same old white dude continues to get elected simply because he knows all the union leaders, has special interest funding, and all the political resources to guarantee a win.

      We HAVE to get away from this idea that having more political capital makes you a more effective politician. That reductive notion makes it nearly impossible for new politicians to succeed. I want more nurses, teachers, activists, scientists in government and fewer lawyers, hedge fund managers, and bankers.

      • ChillinginDC says:

        If we lived in the utopia you talked about it would. But we most definitely do not.

      • Kitten says:

        LOL by “utopia” do you mean a parliament? Like, I love how people always scream “this can’t be done!!!!” when we have countries that have done this exact same thing for centuries to point to as an example of “YES actually it CAN be done”.
        Hey guess what–we could have universal healthcare too, guys!!! *shocked face*

      • Ameerah M says:

        @ChillinginDC – EXACTLY

      • Ameerah M says:

        @Kitten – we could have had universal healthcare back in the 1930s. You want to know why we didn’t get it? Because racist white folks were angry that it meant that Black folks would get free healthcare as well. We could have had it in the 90s as well. Want to know why we didn’t? Same issue – except by that point the Republican party had also allowed insurance companies to dictate policy. And so the idea was squashed. A parliamentary government isn’t going to happen . Let’s deal in the reality we live in.

      • Kitten says:

        Here we go again with the “let’s deal with reality”. Let’s never strive for something better, let’s shut down any conversation that might even attempt to address our broken political system. *YAWN*

        The “reality we live in” is because so many folks in this thread and elsewhere just accept things how they are. We don’t get change because you folks don’t want it. It really is that simple and it’s why I think in some ways, moderates are the most dangerous political faction—because of that incessant shoulder shrug, that almost compulsive need to uphold the status quo. It’s sad as hell but I’ve seen this so much from the Dem party and it’s why I always refuse to change my independent designation. The Dem party might get my vote but the Dem party in it’s current incarnation will never, ever represent my interests.

      • Lizzie Bathory says:

        It’s in no way obvious that term limits would be better for democracy than just letting the electorate choose at regular intervals whether to elect whom they choose. I’d argue that limiting who I get to vote for based on an arbitrary timeline isn’t democratic. And what should the limit be? Joe Biden was in the Senate for 36 years–surely that’s longer than most people would set a term limit. Yet I’m happy he had that career so I could vote for him to oust Trump in the 2020 election. Lauren Boebert was a scrappy newcomer without brand/backing & my elderly cat would better serve the interests of democracy than Boebert does.

        Discussions about term limits have literally been happening since before the US Constitution was adopted. The GOP started the “modern” conversations about term limits in the 1980s because they were popular with voters–not because they ever intended to enact them. Congress has never & will never enact term limits, which (aside from their arbitrariness) is why I find the discussion unserious.

      • Ameerah M says:

        @Kitten – I’m a Black woman who has voted in EVERY Federal and local election since the age I was legally able to. I am in my 40s. Black women have CONSISTENTLY held this democracy together – we don’t “shrug our shoulders”. We show up. White apathy and complacency in the voting booth along with folks voting for Trump got us into this mess. And now we have to deal with the reality of what that looks like going forward. I resent the implication of apathy because I have never been apathetic. What I had HAD to be is realistic. Something that a lot of folks have had the luxury of NOT having to do. Until now.

      • Ameerah M says:

        @ Lizzie Bathory – thank you. There is a lack of historical political knowledge to this conversation that is incredibly unserious. Term limits don’t magically fix anything. The idea that members of Congress would vote (and it would have to be a super majority btw – which means both Dems and Repubs would have to agree) to fire themselves is unrealistic. Even people’s progressive faves aren’t going to do that. Mr. Progressive himself Bernie Sanders is a LIFER.

      • ChillinginDC says:

        Black woman living in DC, I don’t get the luxury to hope that utopia comes. I got to play with the hands I got. Term limits in Congress would actually make things worse because you are in essence in our country than giving up everything to the lobbyists.

        And I am going to say again, things in this country would not be as terrible as they are if we had people consistently freaking vote, and not vote for men/women who are racist as heck and then shrug about it when things fall apart.

        And voting for younger people equals nothing to me since Lauren Bobert is young, Matt Gaetz is young, George freaking Santos is young.

      • Ameerah M says:

        @ChillinginDC- exactly. Youth doesn’t equal anything but just that – youth. Guess who else was young? Madison Cawthorne.

      • bisynaptic says:

        @Lizzie: This. Term limits.

  12. Grandma Susan says:

    Oh, the pictures of her when she was young…and the contrast of her latest photos.
    I’m almost 80 and I’m sure nobody from my youth would recognize me now because I look so different. Age sure beats the hell out of us.

  13. andrea says:

    I was a high school student volunteer for her Mayoral and Senate campaigns in the 80’s. So sad to hear this, back in the day the was a song call the Real Roxanne Rowe did a weird al spoof called the Real Dianne, those were the best days in the City, Joe Montana, Dianne Feinstein, definitely peak SF

  14. AC says:

    I’m a lifelong Californian, it is very sad losing Feinstein. She did a lot of good things for our state(I don’t care what the GOP says). She will be missed.

  15. GeriDoc says:

    May she rest in peace. She was a pioneer in a time when women did not have a presence in political leadership. An observation. Men stay in power (Mitch McConnell, Strom Thurmond, Clarence Thomas, among many others) and are not blamed for the failure of their party/the avarice of the other political party after their deaths. I’m tired of powerful women being scapegoated after their deaths. This is how the historical accomplishments of women are erased.