Imagine that a CEO announces that a top spot in the company is open. That spot’s power is enormous, nearly everyone who holds it becomes much wealthier, and the job requires showing up only an average of 164 days per year.
But the only people who can be considered are Black women.
Why should immutable qualities about you from birth define your qualification for an important position where race or sex are not qualifications for anyone in that position?
That scenario actually happened in 2021 when MSNBC host Joy Reid asked Gov. Newsom: “If Diane Feinstein were to retire, will you nominate an African American woman to restore the seat that Kamala Harris is no longer in the United States Senate, and do you have a name in mind?” Newsom responded: “I have multiple names in mind, and the answer is yes.”
Fast forward two years. Feinstein was set to retire next year and the main contenders for her seat are Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee. All are far-left members of congress, but only one is a Black woman (Lee).
Newsom told Meet The Press weeks before Feinstein’s unexpected death that he would make an “interim appointment” if Feinstein did not finish her term. Lee pushed back immediately, saying: “The idea that a Black woman should be appointed only as a caretaker to simply check a box is insulting to countless Black women across this country who have carried the Democratic Party to victory election after election.”
In response, Newsom’s rep called it a “hypothetical on top of a hypothetical.” Well, it’s real now that Sen. Feinstein has unexpectedly died. And Newsom’s unseemly racializing has come back to bite him.
Even the LA Times ran an op ed this weekend titled: “Newsom’s cynical pitch: Hey, you there, Black woman. Can you keep Feinstein’s seat warm?” Ouch.
Shortly after being roundly criticized, Newsom made an official announcement last night to stem his political bleeding. He’s nominating Laphonza Butler, a Maryland resident – seriously – who runs a major pro-abortion PAC, was public policy director for AirBNB, and helped run presidential runs for Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
Councilman Will O’Neill represents District 7 on the Newport Beach City Council.
