[NOTE: The first session of the bipartisan Congressional hearing on the January 6th riot (watch on CSPAN) happened too late for today’s newsletter.]
***
It was inevitable that in the wake of the recall of San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin there would be an outpouring of analyses from national press outlets stating the obvious.
That the city of St. Francis may not be the far-left enclave they thought it was.
Welcome to reality. I lived in San Francisco for 50 years and it never seemed like much of a left-wing enclave to me. In head-to-head battles, the most progressive candidates for mayor over the years, like a Matt Gonzalez or an Art Agnos, usually lost.
What the city was, and to a certain extent still is, has been a place with a relatively high degree of tolerance for alternative lifestyles, personal experimentation and creative thinking. It also is very much a center of innovation, which contributes to a certain diversity of political opinions.
Like most big cities it skews heavily Democratic but also has many independents and small-L libertarians. And though it is only the fourth-biggest city in California and 17th-biggest in the country, it has produced an impressive list of mainstream Democratic politicians with national clout.
Most of them — Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Jerry Brown, Willie Brown — would be labeled centrists in the rest of the hemisphere or in Europe.
The problem actually is that America as a whole is a center-right country that is deeply divided socially over such non-brainers as abortion rights, same-sex relationships, marijuana use, seasonal diets, disability rights, multilingual services and diverse gender identities.
Not in San Francisco, which is socially tolerant. Newsom’s big political breakthrough came when as mayor he started blessing same-sex marriages before the rest of the country caught up to reality.
Personally, I would’t call that a leftist decision but a long overdue, humanistic act. Besides, when it comes to politics, the real issues are not social in America but economic and geopolitical — wealth inequality and the drift toward authoritarianism. Maintaining a large prison population of the poorest people is key. Controversies like opposing abortion and gay marriage are simply useful tools for those who support an authoritarian future.
As a region, the Bay Area attracts leaders who are not afraid to serve as role models and speak out on natters of conscience like gun violence and racism. Steve Kerr, head coach of the Warriors is a current example, or Gabe Kapler, manager of the Giants. And don’t forget Colin Kaepernick — yep, he was a San Francisco 49er when he took that knee.
So you can use whatever label you prefer for them. I prefer bravery — people of courage, conviction, and who are committed to making a difference for those who need help the most.
Those same descriptions fit Chesa Boudin. Additionally, he understands and opposes the dangerous drift toward authoritarianism. I guess that makes him a leftist. Thanks largely to a $7.2 million campaign of fear funded by billionaires and conservative carpetbaggers, he is temporarily out of office. But he also made some serious strategic errors, perhaps out of political naiveté, like underestimating how angry residents are about car break-ins, homelessness and drug use, which have little to do with his job, but were pinned on him anyway.
Think about it. If San Francisco were actually a hotbed of left-wing voters he would still be in office. Right?
Case closed.
The good news is that although the truly idealistic leaders who believe in trying to make our society a better place for everybody can easily be knocked down by fear-mongers in one election, they’ll be back. More importantly, the principles they stand up for, like criminal justice reform, will be back as well.
And you can count on San Francisco for that.
TODAY’s LINKS: (6/10/22 — 45 stories from 30 sources)
A Capitol Police officer injured on Jan. 6 recalls the chaos and carnage (NPR)
Jan 6. Hearing Live Updates and Analysis: Committee Lays Out Case Against Donald Trump (WSJ)
Jan 6 hearings: Furious Trump responds after violent video, Ivanka, Kushner and Barr used to skewer him (Independent)
Bennie Thompson says Jan. 6 was the 'culmination of an attempted coup' (NPR)
"I was slipping in people’s blood": Eyewitnesses testify at Jan. 6 hearing (Axios)
U.S. Capitol riot hearing shows Trump allies, daughter rejected fraud claims (Reuters)
How a documentary film-maker became the January 6 panel’s star witness (Guardian)
Zelenskyy says Severodonetsk battle may determine fate of east Ukraine (CNBC)
Russia Is Racing to Cement Its Control in Southern Ukraine (NYT)
Ukrainian troops claimed to have pushed forward in intense street fighting in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, but said their only hope to turn the tide was more artillery to offset Russia's massive firepower. (Reuters)
Ordinary Ukrainians wage war with digital tools and drones (Financial Times)
Where did it go wrong for Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s ousted progressive DA? (Guardian)
Progressive Backlash in California Fuels Democratic Debate Over Crime (NYT)
Were The California Primaries A Blow To The Progressive Movement? (538)
SF Mayor London Breed addresses Chesa Boudin recall (KRON)
Chesa Boudin supporters react to San Francisco district attorney recall outcome (Fox)
DA Chesa Boudin recalled. San Francisco voters’ message to America: This is us. (Mission Local)
Why San Francisco fired Chesa Boudin (New Yorker)
Dems confront criticism on crime after San Francisco defeat (AP)
What California District Attorney Chesa Boudin's recall means for Democrats (NPR)
What Chesa Boudin’s successor will have to do (SFC)
Election 2022: Primary results compound Democrats’ fears they are losing ground on crime (WP)
What’s the deal with California’s low voter turnout? (Politico)
As Survivors Demand Action, House Passes Gun Bill Doomed in the Senate (NYT)
Suspect held as Brazil steps up search for missing British journalist and researcher in remote Amazon (CNN)
Threats, Then Guns: A Journalist and an Expert Vanish in the Amazon (NYT)
We Don’t Know Neptune at All (Atlantic)
Facebook pages for local Republican Party groups saw greater engagement over local Democratic Party pages as news of a Facebook algorithm change came to light in 2018, according to new research. [HuffPost]
First hearing for Jan. 6 committee will focus on far-right groups (WP)
What we know about Trump’s actions as insurrection unfolded (AP)
FBI arrests Michigan gubernatorial candidate on charges related to involvement in January 6 riot (CNN)
Discovery of second repeating fast radio burst raises new questions (Space.com)
The U.S. plans to turn a huge underwater canyon into a marine sanctuary.
— The Hudson Canyon, about 100 miles off the coast of New York City, rivals the Grand Canyon in size and is home to hundreds of species including sperm whales and deep-sea turtles. (WP)
65,000 year-old ‘Swiss Army knife’ proves ancient humans shared knowledge, research says (Guardian)
Europe's 'largest ever' land dinosaur found on Isle of Wight (BBC)
Beefalo, a bison-cattle hybrid, is being touted as the healthy meat of the future (NPR)
A 'dangerous and deadly heat wave' is on the way, the weather service warns (CNN)
Small cancer drug trial sees tumors disappear in 100 percent of patients (WP)
Shanghai and Beijing went back on fresh COVID-19 alert after parts of China's largest economic hub started imposing new lockdown restrictions while the most populous district in the Chinese capital shut entertainment venues. (Reuters)
What Is Stagflation? What to Know About the World Bank’s Global Economic Outlook (WSJ)
Foster Farms: The poultry giant based in Livingston announced Tuesday that it’s been sold, marking the end of 83 years of family ownership. (Modesto Bee)
The Mars rover accidentally adopted a pet rock (Salon)
Golden State Warriors in wait-and-see mode after Stephen Curry caught up in scrum in Game 3 loss (ESPN)
Grandfather Clock Does Loop-The-Loop With Pendulum When No One Looking (The Onion)
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