Adam Schiff – ‘sleazebag’, ‘low life’, ‘little pencil neck’, to use some of the sharp words ways Donald Trump describes him – takes the high road, turns the other cheek and is generally the better man for ignoring all that and promising to do whatever he can to work and thrive in a MAGA-fied Washington, DC.
Yes, California newly elected Democratic senator requires more security to get through life, thanks to the hostility and violent threats fueled by the vengeful president-elect.
No, his views on Trump and his rhetoric – “the hatred, the division and the bile,” as Schiff described it – have not changed.
Still, he insisted he would “focus on doing what my constituents elected me to do, which is to try to bring down the cost of living.” In particular, reduce the cost of housing and child care, build many more homes, address homelessness, address rising food prices, and address the struggles facing working and middle-class families.”
“These are partly the same issues that Republicans campaigned on and that Trump campaigned on,” Schiff said in his first interview since voters gave him a six-year lease on Tuesday for the seat once held by the late Senator Dianne Feinstein. “If they are serious, they will find a willing ally.”
Asked about Trump threats to target Californiaperhaps the beating heart of the resistance against TrumpSchiff pledged to “defend our state and our democracy and oppose any efforts to punish or deprive California of resources or to diminish people’s rights and freedoms.”
“But,” he said, “I’m going to start with the hope that there are broad areas where we can work together and move the state and the country forward.”
There is a history of futility among California House members attempting to transition from the House of Representatives to the U.S. Senate. The state was simply too big and too disparate – physically, psychologically – for a legislator representing a small slice of the landscape to make the leap to statewide success.
That changed in recent yearswith the advent of social media and especially cable television and its political chat shows, making Schiff a household name not only in California but also nationally.
It was his role, of course as lead prosecutor And Trump antagonist that made Schiff a hero among Democrats and led to his formal disapproval by the House of Representatives – a political gift as he ramped up his Senate bid a crowded Democratic field. The only thing missing was shiny wrapping paper and a bright red bow.
Schiff had reason to smile after he was formally censured by House Republicans, a move that gave a major boost to his U.S. Senate campaign.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Schiff made no mention of Trump in his victory speech Tuesday night. (He thanked former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was extremely helpful in pushing Schiff past fellow Democrats in the top two of the primaries, only leaving him to deal with the hapless Republican Steve Garvey in November.) During our conversation, Schiff spoke about the president-elect only when asked.
Some have speculated that Trump could use his second term as president to help recover the deep divisions he has created during the past stormy decade. In this rosy way of thinking, Trump will never run for office again and has a legacy to reckon with – a fanciful idea that is clearly a triumph of hope over experience. Think of the much anticipated ‘presidential pivots’ that did not happen during Trump’s first term.
Schiff, however, rhetorically shrugged.
“I don’t think we really know,” he said. Trump “doesn’t have much ideology other than his self-interest, so it probably depends on what he thinks is in his self-interest.”
Because there is no control over what Trump does, Schiff continued, “my focus is on what I can do, and what I can do is reach out to people across the aisle. Try to work like Dianne Feinstein did. Develop relationships with people. Get to know the Central Valley and the far north and far south of the state. Represent them well. Represent them aggressively.”
Schiff, recently returned from California, spoke via Zoom from his home office in suburban Washington. Behind him, on either side of a desk, were framed photographs of two sets of brothers: John F. and Robert F. Kennedy, and Schiff and his older sibling, Dan.
He said Trump’s victorywhile clearly disappointing, wasn’t shocking. It came down to deep-seated concerns about the economy, he said, and a sense that Trump and Republicans were offering voters a better solution than Democrats had over the past four years.
“You probably heard me talk a lot during the campaign about the fact that the problem today is not that people (don’t) work. Unemployment is very low. The problem is that they are working and they are still struggling to make ends meet,” Schiff said. “This problem has been a problem for decades. I think this situation has certainly been exacerbated by the pandemic, and you’re seeing a global backlash against the status quo and the incumbents everywhere.
“I find it a frustration that, despite all the promises that are made, people’s lives are still becoming increasingly difficult and challenging.”
The task for Democrats in the coming years, he said, will be to find better ways to talk to and address these nagging concerns.
When asked what his top priorities would be as a senator, Schiff responded:
“I think housing is at the top of my list. We need to build a lot more housing in California if we ever want to make it affordable for people to pay rent and buy their first home. And whether we are going to solve it the homelessness problemWe will have to build many more homes.”
Schiff then said, “I also want to expand child care and make it more accessible, and we will prioritize the child tax credit and financial support for people pursuing careers in child care, creating incentives for employers and for the federal government to provide child care facilities to build on the workplaces.”
He also mentioned “attacking food prices by pursuing some of these anti-competitive mergers… attacking climate change by continuing our investments in renewable energy, and also really diving into the water issue. No pun intended.”
Much of that is much easier said than done now that Republicans control the White House and possibly both chambers of Congress.
But Schiff said he’s not used to working from a defensive stance. He served in Sacramento, in the Senate, and said he had “a lot of my bills signed” by Republican Governor Pete Wilson. “Many of my bills have been signed by (Republican President) George W. Bush and have also advanced in Republican Congresses,” said Schiff, who has served in the House of Representatives since 2001.
Considering a 2030 re-election bid — that was your friendly columnist’s idea, not something Schiff is thinking about just yet — the senator-elect was asked what he thought a successful pitch would sound like six years from now.
“He really did something for the state,” Schiff replied. “Every part of the state. He got things done, found ways to work together among the minority and the majority, and delivered results.
“And,” Schiff added, “when the country needed it, he was there to protect our democracy, our rights and freedoms.”
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