Party that doesn’t know how — Dems in disarray
The special election to fill a vacant House seat in Georgia shows, once again, how out of touch the Democrats are these days.
They spent something like $30 million campaigning for a candidate who didn’t even live in the district.
As bright as Jon Ossoff might be, he was a dead duck the minute he found himself in a one-on-one runoff with Republican Karen Handel.
All Handel had to do was ask him, “Who are you going to vote for in the election?”
The answer was deadly, because Ossoff couldn’t vote in his own election. He lives in the district next door. It’s legal, but it doesn’t look good.
Ossoff ’s profile and image didn’t help. Demo-
crats need a “blue dog” moderate, or better yet Marine war hero, if they’re going to have a chance in a historically Republican district like the one where Ossoff was running. Preferably one who wears a baseball cap and overalls.
Ossoff is a young, liberal documentary filmmaker. He might be an ideal candidate for the Marin County Board of Supervisors. But for the voters of Georgia’s Sixth District, he was “San Francisco values” in a suit.
The Democrats’ second mistake was promoting the race as a referendum on President Trump and a kickoff for a take-back of the House in next year’s elections.
Boy, did that backfire. This is the district that produced the original Republican bomb-thrower, Newt Gingrich. It was Tom Price’s district before he became Trump’s health and human services secretary. The Democrats might win it in a “wave” election that drowns Republicans from coast to coast. But it’s not a good bet.
Democratic leaders are now trying to make lemonade out of the disaster, spinning the idea that Ossoff’s 48 percent showing in such a heavily Republican district was in itself a “win.”
Are you kidding? With that kind of money, Gomer Pyle would get 48 percent.
Come to think of it, if Gomer Pyle lived in the district, he probably would have won.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is catching unholy hell from her Democratic colleagues over the Georgia debacle.
I know, because I’m getting their calls.
The line in each call is pretty much the same — that the Democrats will never regain control of the House or even the Senate if Pelosi remains the “face of the party.”
They tell me it’s time to move on to someone new.
I tell them they’re dreaming. The most likely replacement, if Pelosi should walk or take a fall, is Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland.
The 78-year-old Hoyer is no new face or change agent, and neither are any of the other Democrats in the leadership line.
Pelosi has never been one to seek the spotlight, but these days she’s the only Democrat in the House who can command national attention.
And you’d be hard-pressed to find any Democrat who can match her work ethic or fundraising prowess.
So Democrats, be careful what you ask for. You might wind up with even less.
The picture of Vice President Mike Pence giving blood for shooting victim Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., prompted me to reach out to my friends in the Congressional Black Caucus and urge them to do the same. It would dramatically demonstrate how we are all one family.
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin has turned into one of the best political prognosticators in the city. Over breakfast the other day, he said he doubts Jane Kim will run for mayor, as some have speculated. He thinks that instead, she’ll keep an eye on running for Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat, if and when she decides to retire.
All I can say is that the city is full of people who have waited, and waited, for that to happen. And they’re still waiting.
Peskin also asked what I thought of repealing rankedchoice voting.
I’ve never been a fan of ranked choice, because it forces everyone to run in a passive pack and robs the public of a defining one-onone debate.
“It would be the best thing this city has seen in some time,” I said.
Peskin left it at that, but I took it as a trial balloon. And now I’m sending it up to see what happens.
San Francisco’s center of economic gravity continues to move South of Market, with the hotel business being the latest to make the shift.
Tuesday night I went to the opening of the Via, a “beyond boutique” hotel on King Street. It’s all very modern, with 150 or so rooms and a rooftop bar that looks over the ballpark and Mission Bay.
It’s almost tailor-made for the tech world. You can get everything in advance, including an electronic key to your room on your smartphone, so you don’t even have to bother with the check-in desk.
The Via was built by David and Gerald O’Keefe, brothers who came here 20 years ago from Ireland with next to nothing, scored a killing during the live-work loft boom and are now making claim to the city’s new tech core.
And they’re not alone. There’s another hotel going up in China Basin, just two blocks from the Warriors’ new arena. It will open by the end of the year.
And there’s another one under construction on Third Street where the McDonald’s used to be.
It’s a far cry from towering grand hotels on Nob Hill, but that’s the new city.
Movie time: “The Mummy.” It’s an hour and 50 minutes. If they cut it to 30 minutes, they’d have a good movie.
Tom Cruise is getting a little long in the tooth for this kind of role. He’s run out of surprises as an action hero.
Father’s Day turned out to be quite a hoot. My children and grandchildren took me to Original Joe’s for a fabulous two-hour-plus brunch.
At the end, I thanked them all and asked if there was anything I could do to show my appreciation.
It was as if I had queued up the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
“Yes,” they responded in unison.“You can pay!”