I was very surprised to see some people on that blind hearing aid users' list
who post only occasionally, but who, I had no idea, had hearing difficulties. I
developed, what was diagnosed as a minimal hearing loss, back in the 90's. The
doctor said that I didn't need a hearing aid at the time, and he didn't explain
the cause. It gradually increased over the years. I would become dizzy
unexpectedly, an inner ear thing. I'd hear ringing in my left ear sometimes. My
hearing loss increased. The person who'd driven me to do errands for years, had
been born with a hearing impairment. She kept urging me to do something. But I
waited until I was living with a sighted person who could help with cleaning
the aids or find them quickly if I dropped them. And anyway, when you live
with others, it helps if you can hear what they're talking about. But although
I need them, the aids are one more nuisance to be dealt with.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey
(Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2020 10:26 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't Handle Supreme
Court Battle
Not that it's all that closely related to the discussion, but I thought I would
mention that I think I am detecting that I am developing a hearing problem
myself. I seem to have lost the ability to tell the difference between an S and
an F. I find myself having to frequently stop my screen reader to spell a word
phonetically. If a word is pretty familiar and is used in context I can tell
what it is without even thinking about it. However, if the word is out of
context I can't tell the difference between fox and socks.
___
Robert G. Ingersoll
“Progress is born of doubt and inquiry. The Church never doubts, never
inquires. To doubt is heresy, to inquire is to admit that you do not know—the
Church does neither.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll,
On 9/27/2020 7:21 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Frank,
There's an email group for blind hearing aid users and most of them
use hearing aids and travel independently. They're very tech savvy and
somehow, they seem to get those aids to help them with directions. I'm
using hearing aids now and although I'm not traveling anywhere, I can
hear what direction things are coming from.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2020 6:43 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't Handle
Supreme Court Battle
Miriam, understood about the hearing. I don't like to wear my hearing
aids because when I use them I can't tell which direction sound is voming
from.
Being totally blind that is an important thing. My wife says I miss
about half of what is being said and I can only take her word for it.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2020 5:05 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't Handle
Supreme Court Battle
I, also, have hearing loss and people don't realize how much more
difficult it is to communicate with people who have accents if you
can't see and have a hearing impairment. There's also a difference in
culture which means that there's a difference in expectations. This
matters when someone is involved with one's daily life on an intimate
basis. All of those difficulties are just glossed over when people
discuss this issue. One can talk on a political, social, theoretical level. I
can do that with the best of them.
However, it's a whole different ballgame when it's one's own personal
life that's involved. I know that if we welcomed immigrants, offered
education, paid people fairly, if we didn't have an under class, all
of us would benefit. However, things are what they are and unless we
are truly wealthy, when illness strikes or we become old and infirm,
our society shunts us to the side. We all just do the best we can.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy Baracco
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2020 4:13 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't Handle
Supreme Court Battle
In our case I received a phone call from a nearby nursing home. I
paid a friend's driver to take me there to tour it. He didn't say
much, said it looked okay. it didn't smell, and it seemed like they were
always cleaning.
I think that they were plagued by the same kinds of things that all
nursing homes are plagued by, namely staff shortages and perhaps using
illegal immigrants as staff. One big problem was that it seemed that
few people there spoke understandable English and we both have hearing losses.
She can't come home because we live in a town home with a lot of
stairs inside the home.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2020 12:24 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't Handle
Supreme Court Battle
It is a God awful, brutal system. And when someone we love is sickNLS.
and damaged, we're so vulnerable that we often can be talked into
things that are absolutely the wrong choices for us to make. One of
my problems is that my older daughter is accustomed to submitting to
what the system provides,
at least when it comes to me. Several years ago, she had hip
replacement
surgery. She was told that she would need to go to a nursing home for
rehab after the surgery. The hospital routinely provides the names of
three nursing homes with available beds when someone is about to be
released. I told her and her husband that her husband had to check
out the three nursing homes and pick the best one. They wouldn't
listen because her husband is an ignorant know-it-all. So they just
accepted the nursing home that the hospital sent her to after the
surgery, and that night, she called me in panic because it was a
filthy smelly place and she was terrified. My advice was for her
husband to take her home and for them to get a nurse temporarily and
look into physical therapy at home. But they were too frightened to
do that. He did get her transferred to a much better nursing home
but it took several days. My daughter is a lawyer. Her husband is
part owner of a business. But their judgment, is terrible. So I'm
wondering, is it not possible for your wife to be cared for in your
home by a home health aide with visits from a nurse? Wouldn't she be
happier at home or is she too sick?
Miriam
Miriam-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy Baracco
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2020 2:40 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't Handle
Supreme Court Battle
The knee surgery was successful, but the post surgery infections and
pneumonia caused some kind of brain insult. imaging was done, and
there was no sign of stroke. For a while, she had dimentialike
symptoms and had difficulty swallowing. This is why the doctor said
that she may be long term in a nursing home and a feeding tube. When
I got her out of the nursing home and plugged in new doctors, they
changed the meds that the other doctor prescribed and the dimentia
and swallowing issues cleared.
They thought that her physical abilities would then return, and they
have to a certain extent, but she still has balance issues that are
affecting her ability to walk. When she was in the nursing home, the
social worker wanted me to get her on MediCal, but I would have had
to divest and restructure my assets and I didn't want to do that.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2020 6:49 AM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't Handle
Supreme Court Battle
Andy,point.
That's a terrible story. But you are lucky that you found a good
board and care home. There's a podcast called Reveal and a while
back, they did an expose on board and care homes in California,
homes run for profit by people who hired untrained undocumented
immigrants and had them working 24 hours a day for little pay. The
employees couldn't complain because they were undocumented. My
income wouldn't cover that kind of care, but we do have community
Medicaid here. I tried it briefly. I had to legally hide all my
assets which are now in an irrevocable trust and I'm not happy about that.
But it cost a lot of money, besides the legal fees. The agency that
handles one's case, makes a fortune, and the care is poor, under the
control of home health agencies who are obligated to no one except
huge private not for profit agencies regulated by the state. A
patient and family have no control because we are not paying the
bills. There is a program to pay a care giver chosen by the family.
The pay, last time I checked, was $10.50 an hour.
Theoretically, what one has to do is to find someone who wants the
job and then supplement that salary. It is an absolute nightmare.
I had a hip replacement done in 2005. I was living in my house back
then with a partner. I refused to go to a nursing home. They sent a
physical therapist to my home several times a week. My partner was
blind, by the way.
He moved the furniture out of my den and a hospital bed was set up
there where there was also a half bathroom. Before I left the
hospital, the physical therapist there, taught me how to go up and
down stairs. I had a walker downstairs and one at the top of the
stairs. I had a grab bar in the shower, and I managed. After a few
days, I was able to get into my home office which was converted from
a double garage and was down a few steps, so I could begin working.
But one hip is not nearly as disabling as two knee replacements.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy Baracco
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2020 12:05 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
Last October my wife underwent knee replacement surgery. The
surgery was successful, but she suffered a series of complications
that resulted in her being transferred to a nursing home. The
nursing home doctor unexplainably changed long standing medication regime.
Her condition worsened. i had great difficulty finding out who the
doctor was, and was never able to make contact with him. in early
February she developed viral pneumonia and ended up in the hospital.
To my dismay, the nursing home doctor, who also had privileges at
the hospital was in charge of her case. I was unable to change this.
This doctor told me that she would always require nursing home care,
and would require a feeding tube. Fortunately, she recovered to
some extent and didn not need the feeding tube, but even though she
recovered from the pneumonia she was unable to return home because
she still had some physical issues and needed more care than could
be provided at home. I located a board and care home, where she now
resides. it is a 4 bedroom home, and there are two care givers, who
lprovide good care. She was receiving in-home PT and OT through a
home care agency. In March COVID happened, and the house was locked
down. i have not been able to visit her since March 23rd. Also,
the PT and OT were suspended, and she basically laid in bed with
little activity for 3 months. All of the gains she made were lost
and she was back to square one. Because of our self advocacy, the
PT and OT were restarted in the beginning of july, but because of
Medicare limitations, they were recently stopped again. She has an
appointment for PT and OT evaluation for outpatient services at a
local hospital for october 5th.
The board and care home is not covered under Medicare or insurance.
Perhaps
LTC insurance would pay if we had it. It is costing me $4300 per
month to keep her there. Hopefully she will be able to return home
at some
The point of all this is to suggest that if you find yourself
needing to move to a care facility, if you have funding, you should
seek a board and care instead of a nursing home. I believe that
there are B an Cs that accept Medicaid if you have that.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 6:41 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
Well, that's what I've told my daughter, over and over again. But
nevertheless, I suspect I'll end up in one because in order for
that not to
happen, she and my son-in-law would have had to have bought a more
adequate house for me to rent and someone who is competent and
caring would have to be available to check on the person who is
hired to care for me.
It
is much easier for adult children with busy lives to hand their
aging sick parents over to nursing homes and to believe, or
pretend to believe, the lies they are told about the care that is provided.
My mother was in Calvary Hospital, a facility dedicated to the care
of terminally ill cancer patients. But she took more than a year to die.
She was receiving medicare.
Calvary didn't accept medicaid and the medicare funding for
hospitalization ran out at the end of a year. They transferred her
to a nursing home. I chose, what was reputed to be one of the best
available to us. The first thing the nursing home doctor did was to
change her pain medication, the formula which Calvary had found to
keep her free from pain as she was dying from cancer, because he
thought the drugs were too addictive. He reduced the amount of pain
medication and the pain returned. I had this terrible argument with
him to convince him to restore the levels she had been on, and he did.
But she was miserable and alone there and frightened. She asked me
if I could hire an aide just to stay with her. But before I could
figure out how to do that, within about 2 days of her request, she died.
But I can also tell a horror story about a doctor at Sloane
Kettering Memorial Center where my husband was as he was dying of
brain cancer, and that was a high quality cancer hospital. The
medical profession has turned into a nightmare.
It has changed radically from what it was like back in the seventies.
But so has everything else.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy Baracco
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 6:49 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
My mom died a few days before her 77th birthday of uterine cancer.
She also had diabetes and heart problems.
She spent the last 3 years of her life in a nursing home, due to
the effects of her illnesses. I am not a fan of nursing homes. i
told my wife that I would rather die than be in one of those places.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 3:41 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
My father was 56 when he died of colon cancer. He'd been a factorysenators.
worker and had to stop working several years before he died due to
a heart attack.
My mother was 84 when she died of cancer, but she'd been ill for
several years before her death.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy Baracco
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 6:03 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
My dad died at age 47. My mom was never able to get to the point
where she would consider a new relationship, and she became more
lonely and depressed as she grew older.
Very sad!
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 2:48 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
If that's what seems important, finding a new partner, thanimpossible.
you're correct.
And for people in their sixties and seventies, people who are
physically healthy, that might be important. If you're a woman in
your eighties with health issues, physical disabilities, finding
a partner is hardly a priority. I think that losing someone with
whom one has had a longterm, intimate relationship, is very hard.
Replacing such a relationship, really replacing it with something
similar, is close to
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy Baracco
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 5:37 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
The one advantage that old men have is that women tend to outlive
men, so if an older man happens to be single, he would have an
easier time finding a female companion. I remember when my mom
lived in a senior mobile home community. They had a singles
club, which might as well have been a single women's club,
because there was never more than one man at any of their functions.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 2:26 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
Yes, I read Mary Trump's book and a number of others and I know
that Trump had issues from toddlerhood on. But people who know
him have also written about how some of his capabilities have
waned in the past few years, and that probably has to do with
aging. It's certainly true that people would become upset at
age limits being set for people holding political office.
At
the same time, our society is very comfortable segregating the
elderly and consigning their care to under paid, under educated
caregivers in largely profit making institutions where they are
warehoused, victims to infections due to lack of proper sanitary
conditions, and to abuse and, at the moment, a pandemic. And
while Diane Feinstein is permitted to stay in her position where
she might inadvertently harm our nation, most of us old women,
are treated with a kind of gentle disregard by everyone,
including our loving children who do not see us as the fonts of
wisdom due to our experience, but as old fashioned, forgetful
nuisances. The position of old men is somewhat better.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy Baracco
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 5:10 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
I agree with what you say about aging politicians but if an age
cap were even to be suggested, you would hear the cries of age
discrimination loud enough to wake you from your sleep.
Donald Trump's issues have little to do with aging. He is at
best a narcissist who was both enabled and abused by his father,
but the real family tragedy was how Fred Trump Sr. treated his
oldest son Fred.
Usually
the oldest son get favored treatment in families, but in this
case Fred Jr.
was the child singled out for the worst abuse.
Even though she obviously has an agenda, mary Trump's book is a
good case study of the Trump family dynamic.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 1:48 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
Andy, if only that were true. My short term memory is like a sieve.air.
And names and words disappear when I need them, just fly off
into thin
Aging is very weird. I haven't lost my intelligence, but my
capabilities are disappearing and my mind isn't as alert and
quick as it was. These people, judges, politicians, who refuse
to retire at a reasonable age, as far as I'm concerned, they
just aren't admitting to themselves that they are incapable of
functioning adequately enough to remain in their jobs. And they
have people around them who enable them to continue. But it's
dangerous. Biden is a perfect example. I'm in better mental
shape than he is, even if he's younger than I am, and everyone
is pretending that he's capable of being President. Trump had
mental problems before he was burdened with aging difficulties.
We have all these Supreme Court Justices in their eighties,
along with a bunch of congress people and
insane!It's
MiriamJapan.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy
Baracco
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 3:54 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
WOW!
And your mind has the agility of someone in their 20s.
I hope that i have those capabilities in 10 years.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 12:38 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
I'm certainly dating myself. I'm old. There aren't many people
on this list who remember the day when our country dropped the
first atom bomb. I do. I also remember the day our country
declared war on
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy
Baracco
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 3:18 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
Miriam, you are dating yourself when you refer to that book.
i believe it was written in the 1960s.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 6:49 AM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
Frank,
I read that book about 50 years ago so I don't remember the
details.
But the point was, I think, that the blindness system was
inefficient and it benefited the people who worked in it more
than the people whom it served.
It was rigid and institutionalized. On the other hand, rehab
of blind veterans was flexible and focused on the needs of
the individual, and its goals were to get the client
functioning fully as soon as possible and as independent from
the system as he could be. I'm sure the book still exists and
is accessible, and you can read it for yourself. It was
produced by
rights issues.majority.Ginsburg.I read it in braille.model for them.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Frank
Ventura
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2020 4:44 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein
Can't Handle Supreme Court Battle
Miriam, what was it about the VA that was different?
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam
Vieni
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 9:39 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein
Can't Handle Supreme Court Battle
Way back, there was a book called, The Making of Blind Men.
The author's thesis was that most agencies for the blind were
doing a terrible job and that the V A was doing a really good
job and should be a
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy
Baracco
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 6:14 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein
Can't Handle Supreme Court Battle
I retired in 2016 from my job as a rehabilitation counselor
for the VA in West LA working specifically with vets who were
homeless, and who had MH and/or SA issues.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 2:43 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein
Can't Handle Supreme Court Battle
I know that there are some really exceptional old people
like Noam Chomsky with his photographic memory and Daniel
Ellsberg, (who is beginning to sound to me like he's
slowing down a bit), and 2 or
3 more whose names escape me right now because I'm slowing
down a bit, but really, I think there should be an age
limit for public office, probably eighty, possibly seventy five.
What CA facility are you referring to?
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy
Baracco
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 4:46 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democrats Worry Feinstein
Can't Handle Supreme Court Battle
Here in CA many Dems regard Feinstein as a do nothing
senator who should have been a Republican.
I had the opportunity to meet her in 2014 when she visited
our VA facility.
The one thing she was passionate about was veterans issues,
and she visited our facility because she didn't think we
were doing enough to help homeless veterans.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 1:25 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't
Handle Supreme Court Battle
Democrats Worry Feinstein Can't Handle Supreme Court Battle
By John Bresnahan and Marianne LeVine, POLITICO
25 September 20
s the Senate prepares for yet another brutal Supreme Court
nomination fight, one particularly sensitive issue is
creating apprehension among
Democrats:
what to do with 87-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the
ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein, the oldest member of the Senate, is widely
respected by senators in both parties, but she has
noticeably slowed in recent years. Interviews with more
than a dozen Democratic senators and aides show widespread
concern over whether the California Democrat is capable of
leading the aggressive effort Democrats need against
whoever President Donald Trump picks to replace the late
Justice Ruth Bader
POLITICO.platitudes.majority.The Judiciary Committee is the critical battleground in the
Supreme Court confirmation process. At stake, her own
Democratic colleagues worry, is more than just whether the
party can thwart Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.) in his rush to fill the seat. Some Democrats
privately fear that Feinstein could mishandle the situation
and hurt their chances of winning back the
Feinstein sometimes gets confused by reporters' questions,
or will offer different answers to the same question
depending on where or when she's asked. Her appearance is
frail. And Feinstein's genteel demeanor, which seems like
it belongs to a bygone Senate era, can lead to trouble with
an increasingly hard-line Democratic base uninterested in
collegiality or bipartisan
Just this week, Feinstein infuriated progressives after
declaring her opposition to ending the Senate's legislative
filibuster - a top goal of party activists if Democrats win
full control of the Congress and White House in November.
Some on the left called on her to resign over the comments,
although other Democratic moderates have expressed similar
views.
In a phone interview, Feinstein pushed back hard against
suggestions she could no longer effectively serve as
ranking member of the Judiciary panel or is incapable of
handling the upcoming nomination fight.
"I'm really surprised and taken aback by this. Because I
try to be very careful and I'm puzzled by it," Feinstein
told
questions."My attendance is good, I do the homework, I try to ask
hard
hearings.I stand up for what I believe in."
Feinstein relies heavily on her ever-present staff to deal
with any issues, frequently turning to them for help in
responding to inquiries. Feinstein had to be coaxed into
wearing a mask around the Senate during the early days of
the pandemic, despite being part of the most vulnerable age
groups for the disease. She's only made two floor speeches
in the last nine months, her last being in early July,
although she remains active in committee
fight.And then there's the lingering fallout over Feinstein's
role in the hugely controversial Judiciary Committee
hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, an issue that
factors deeply into the questions about her suitability for
this latest nomination
seats.Feinstein waited for several weeks before disclosing
allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh had
sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. The
bombshell accusations nearly sank Kavanaugh's nomination,
and senators in both parties questioned why Feinstein
didn't move more quickly to disclose Blasey Ford's statement.
A Democratic senator, speaking on the condition of
anonymity, said a group of Feinstein's colleagues want Sen.
Dick Durbin
(D-Ill.) or Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) to serve as the top
Democrat on the Judiciary panel for the upcoming nomination
hearings, which are expected to be extraordinarily contentious.
This senator is worried that potential missteps by
Feinstein could cost Democrats
result.""She's not sure what she's doing," the Democratic senator
said of Feinstein.
"If you take a look at Kavanaugh, we may be short two
senators because of that. And if this gets [messed] up, it
may be the same
"I think it could impact a number of seats we can win," the
senator added.
Another Democratic senator said party leaders were "in an
impossible position," pointing out that Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer
(D-N.Y) and other senior Democrats can't replace a female
senator for hearings on an expected female nominee to
replace a deceased female Supreme Court justice.
However, the senator said there have been discussions among
some Democrats about making changes to the seniority system
next year due to their concerns over Feinstein. The
California Democrat would be Judiciary chair if Democrats
win the
Republicans.age 85.A third Democratic senator put it this way: "She can't pull
this off."
Other Democrats privately said there have been complaints
to party leaders that Feinstein is not capable of handling
the Judiciary post in the current situation. Some of these
senators said Feinstein should have retired rather than run
for reelection in
2018 at
Feinstein's age was an issue in that campaign and was
raised repeatedly in news reports, but she defeated
Democrat Kevin de Leon by almost 10 points.
Feinstein has already stumbled once in tangling with Amy
Coney Barrett, who is widely seen as the frontunner to be
Trump's Supreme Court nominee. At a
2017 hearing for an appeals court seat, Feinstein told
Barrett that "the dogma lives loudly within you" - a remark
that was instantly seized upon as anti-Catholic bias by
together.Senate.Schumer declined to comment on Feinstein or her role on the
Judiciary Committee.
To Feinstein, her work on the panel is comparable to what
she's seen from other Democratic ranking members across the
puzzling to me.""And so it's difficult for me to see, I don't know what
people expect,"
Feinstein said. "I've been on the committee for a while.
I've seen how the committee works and I've seen how other
chairs on our side of the aisle work. I don't see, to be
very blunt and honest, I don't see a big difference. I'm
prepared, so that's
Feinstein also pointed out that as the minority, Democrats
only have limited weapons to wield in any nomination fight.
McConnell eliminated the filibuster for Supreme Court
nominees, so Democrats can slow the confirmation process
down, but they can't stop it as long as Republicans stick
"Let me say this - I know it's going to be a fight, I
understand that."
Feinstein said. "I don't have a lot of tools to use, but
I'm going to use what I have. We can try to delay and
obstruct but they can run this process through. That
doesn't mean that we won't fight tooth and nail."
Feinstein - the first woman to serve as ranking member on
Judiciary
- has built a long record of legislative success since
becoming a senator. She authored the 1994 assault weapons
ban, pushed to increase automobile fuel-efficiency
standards, and has been a leader on environmental and civil
74.Commerce.torture report.Feinstein also led a long probe into the CIA's post-9/11
interrogation and detention programs that led to the
historic
2014
both positions.When asked whether Feinstein is still capable of doing the
job of ranking member, Durbin said, "I believe she is."
Durbin is next in line on the panel behind Feinstein. Sen.
Patrick Leahy
(D-Vt.) has served longer on Judiciary than any other
Democrat, but he serves as ranking member on Appropriations
and can't hold
Durbin said he wasn't aware of any discussion overSen.
replacing Feinstein.
And
as to suggestions from some of his colleagues that he
should take over the Judiciary post, Durbin added, "I'm not
going to get into that speculation."
Whitehouse, a former U.S. attorney, wasn't eager to discuss
the Feinstein situation either, offering only a terse
comment on the matter.
"She's a very distinguished lady for whom I have great
affection,"
Whitehouse said, declining to comment any further.
There is recent Senate precedent in both parties for
replacing senior senators who are seen as no longer capable
of handling the job.
The late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) was replaced as the
chairman of the Armed Services Committee during the late 1990s.
And in 2008, the late
Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) voluntarily gave up his role as
Appropriations Committee chairman. Over on the House side,
committee chairs have been forced out at several key panels
in recent decades, including Appropriations and Energy and
86.But Feinstein is also not alone when it comes to aging
lawmakers in powerful positions.
Feinstein is the second-oldest member of Congress behind Rep.
Don Young (R-Alaska), who is almost two weeks older. Sen.
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Finance Committee,
is also 87, while Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby
(R-Ala.) is
Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who is
seeking reelection this year, is 85. Among House leadership
- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn are 80
and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is 81. Former Vice
President Joe Biden will turn 78 shortly after Election Day
and Trump is
Some Judiciary Committee Democrats defended Feinstein and
said they see no reason to try to replace her as ranking member.
"She's an extraordinary person and I'm fully confident in
her leadership,"
said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
"Her leadership has been really steadfast and courageous,"
said Sen.
Richard
Blumenthal (D-Conn.). "She has extraordinary insights and
instincts based on her vast experience. I see no reason to
question this leadership."
