Patriotic Millionaires’ Statement on Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Abdication of Moral and Constitutional Duty as Ranking Member of Senate Judiciary Committee during Illegitimate SCOTUS Hearings
Washington, DC – This week, as Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California failed to fulfill her most sacred duty to defend American citizens’ right to self-determination and to protect their ability to choose their own government.
As such, the Democratic Caucus must immediately remove her from her position as Ranking Member of the Committee.
Senator Dianne Feinstein had a critical responsibility to lead the opposition to the Republicans’ blatantly anti-American effort to push forward with a lifetime appointment of a far-right ideologue to the Supreme Court mere weeks before a national election, while millions of Americans are already in the process of voting.
She abdicated that responsibility entirely.
Senator Feinstein was unwilling to lead her Senate Democratic colleagues in a unified condemnation of this illegitimate process. During the hearings, Senator Feinstein repeatedly showed deference to Chair Lindsey Graham, thanking him and complimenting him on his leadership. Sen. Feinstein went so far as to call the corrupt process, “One of the best sets of hearings that I’ve participated in.” Her enthusiasm for him is a particular embarrassment given that Senator Graham flagrantly committed a crime by using the nomination process to fundraise for his own Senate seat.
Additionally while the Covid-19 death count continues to rise, Senator Feinstein openly hugged a mask-less Senator Graham after the hearings were completed. In doing so, she became complicit in what can only be characterized as a wildly dangerous COVID-19 denial strategy. Senate Republicans have potentially exposed hundreds of people who work in the Senate to the lethal Coronavirus by refusing to wear masks in the chamber. A well-publicized outbreak in Republican circles is currently underway and they are continuing to double down on their anti-scientific dogma at the cost of hundreds of thousands of American lives.
Liberty through a representative government is the beating heart of American citizenship. Hundreds of thousands of people of every shape, size, color, and political party affiliation, have fought and died to protect the right of our citizens to determine their own fate and that of their country. Our elected leaders have a moral responsibility and a constitutional duty to protect that right.
Judge Barrett’s nomination was an anti-America fraud from day one. It represents a desperate power grab by Senate Republicans (and their financial backers) to enshrine illegitimate minority rule into our country’s foreseeable future. Senator Feinstein clearly failed to understand the gravity of this moment in our history. We are in a new day in America with enormous challenges, and it’s more important than ever that we have leaders who are up to the task.
For further comments or questions, please contact Sam Quigley at sam@pm-mig.test.
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About the Patriotic Millionaires
Proud “traitors to their class,” members of the Patriotic Millionaires are high-net worth Americans, business leaders, and investors who are united in their concern about the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in America. The mission of The Patriotic Millionaires organization is to build a more stable, prosperous, and inclusive nation by promoting public policies based on the “first principles” of equal political representation, a guaranteed living wage for all working citizens, and a fair tax system. You can find out more at http://pm-mig.test/about/
The Patriotic Millionaires have appeared on hundreds of media outlets here and abroad, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the PBS NewsHour, The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and many others. You can find more coverage at http://pm-mig.test/media
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