CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2024, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“SCHIFF
STILL LOOKS LIKE A SENATE SHOO-IN”
Adam
Schiff counted on this back in February, when he blasted out TV commercials
designed to promote former baseball all-star Steve Garvey to Republican voters
just as millions of Californians were filling out mail primary election
ballots:
Garvey,
the GOP’s U.S. Senate candidate for the seat long occupied by the late Democrat
Dianne Feinstein, looks like a green rookie as he campaigns – when he even bothers to
campaign. (He didn’t bother showing up for his party’s spring state
convention.)
Not only does Garvey duck questions of many types, but when
he does talk, he can look plain silly.
One recent example came when Garvey was asked by a television
host about homelessness.
He said he’s been “stunned” as he travels the state by the
extent of homelessness he’s seen.
It’s true this is a ubiquitous and massive phenomenon that no
amount of money has seemed to resolve. But it’s one that has gathered steam for
many years, and you would need to look hard to find anyone in this state who
has not seen at least one of the sad-looking tent cities sprouting under
freeway bridges and along sidewalks in virtually all parts of California.
To be “stunned” by this, as Garvey described himself,
indicates he simply wasn’t looking as the unhoused multiplied.
While studies have shown everything from mental illness to
ever-rising rents, from drug addiction to post traumatic stress disorder has
contributed to the problem, Garvey ascribed it to “a lack of oversight,” adding
that “Obviously, it’s because the weather in California, it’s good.”
Yes, it often is. But not during the torrential rains of the
last two winters, which brought the misery index in homeless encampments to
unprecedented levels.
The homelessness issue is but one that Garvey views
simplistically, figuring an audit “will get to the bottom of this.”
As he spoke, Garvey’s lack of exposure to a phenomenon that
most Californians have watched grow for decades became obvious. He also has
said little or nothing about rapidly rising utility rates and other aspects of
inflation, nor offered solutions to any other California problems. He says he’s
pro-life, but would not vote to restrict abortion rights, and pledges to fight
“out-of-control inflation,” but gives no indication of how he might do this.
It would be difficult to find a candidate proffering fewer specifics,
and while Schiff struggled to keep a straight face during the primary season’s
candidate debates, there were times it was plainly difficult for him to seem
anything but eager to run against Garvey.
All that’s without much mention so far in the campaign of
either Garvey’s admitted past marital infidelities or his back taxes.
But there likely will be little mercy from Schiff once the
fall campaign begins. With at least three times as much cash on hand as Garvey
entering the summer, count on a barrage of Schiff advertising centered on early
and mid-October, when mail ballots for the November general election will reach
most California mailboxes.
Schiff advertised heavily against Garvey last winter, calling
him a devoted MAGA Republican in ads that seemed to blast him, but actually
made him more attractive to Republican voters.
The purpose was to knock Democratic Orange County
Congresswoman Katie Porter out of the runoff, and it worked. Porter finished a
distant third after gambling her career on getting a top-two primary finish and
a chance to contest Schiff. Instead, she’s serving out her third term in the
House and headed back to teaching law.
But the Schiff ads against Garvey will surely become more
biting in the fall. They may show the ex-slugger with the Popeye-like biceps
shyly avoiding answering questions every other candidate in the winter debates handled
easily.
For sure, Schiff will be no softer on him than he was when
leading two impeachments of former President Donald Trump.
So far, Garvey lacks not only the money to seriously contest
Schiff, but the depth of knowledge about the state that Schiff absorbed while
in the Legislature and Congress.
Schiff wanted a sure thing when he placed the ads that let
Garvey beat out Porter. Barring a remarkable comeback, that’s what he’s got.
-30-
Email Thomas Elias
at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It" is
now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns,
visit www.californiafocus.net
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