Well, at least we got the initials right.
Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newson tapped Laphonza Butler to fill Dianne Feinstein’s senate seat.
Butler, 45, is currently a resident of Maryland but plans to register to vote in California – where she already has a home – before taking office.
Per Newsom’s pre-appointment vow, Butler is a black woman. She is also a lesbian, an identity politics bonus, and leader of EMILY’s List, a fund raising and advocacy political group that exclusively backs pro-abortion candidates, another progressive feather.
Additionally, she is a former union organizer, having led California’s 400,000-member SEIU Local 2015, the union compromised of nursing home, assisted, and home health care workers. If the state is paying you to stay home to take care of grandma, that’s the union you have to join.
It is quite possible Butler’s appointment was in some manner tied to Newsom’s vetoes over the weekend of two bills near and dear to Big Labor – paying strikers unemployment benefits and making every household that employs domestic helps subject to CalOSHA regulation.
In other words, he was able to veto those bills that would damage his not-running-for-president presidential campaign because he was literally appointing a union boss to the United States Senate.
Butler has close ties to Newsom politically, having worked as a partner at the political consulting firm that has run Gavin’s campaigns in the past.
And she even has ties to Vice President Kamala Harris, ties she might not want to be reminded of. Butler helped guide Harris’ disastrous 2020 presidential run, which saw her leap out of the gate with scads of money and happy press only to drop out before even a single vote was cast.
While Harris is a terrible candidate and reportedly abusive to her staff, Butler playing an important role in that debacle does raise concerns about her political acumen.
She does have other California roots, though – Jerry Brown made her a regent of the UC system and she worked for Uber and Airbnb as a consultant in the past.
X (formerly known as Twitter) exploded with Newsom’s announcement, with many asking how he could appoint a resident of Maryland as California’s newest U.S. Senator.
While Newsom kept his promise to appoint a black woman to fill Feinstein’s seat, he may not have stuck by his plan to appoint a “caretaker” for the seat. In making the announcement, the Governor’s Office made it clear that Butler is perfectly free and able to run for now re-election to the seat, a statement that has to rankle Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff – the top three current candidates in the race.
Butler has – at most – about two months to decide if she will throw her hat in the ring, though if she does – considering her union, Silicon Valley, and pro-abortion movement connections – she will be able to raise piles of money in nanoseconds.
Butler, it seems, is a central casting modern woke Democrat: black lesbian union leader with deep tech world connections who helps guide pro-abortion campaigns.
It doesn’t get more diverse than that.
View Comments (36)
Interesting. Our boy governor couldn't find a single person in all California to do the job, he had to recruit from Maryland of all places.
You can only pull that off in a states with rigged elections. He basically told the black vote "you ain't black enough", lol. He just scuttled his presidential ambitions. "I could not find a more qualified person in California." Huh?
Newsolini is required to strengthen the uniparty. He had to go fishing in the deep state swamp known as Maryland. No better place to get a uber woke Senator. Washington DC may not be a state but they now have a Senator!! Think about that while you fill up your car!
Californians, please take notice you are not represented! Newsom “had” to go to Maryland to get a Californian representative!! We the people of California are not important but hey keep paying those high taxes to pump into a bloated, inefficient government.
Elections have consequences, corrupt elections have devastating consequences.
Btw, she has an impeccable swamp resume,
1. Former campaign advisor to a failed 2020 Kamala Harris presidential run.
2. President of Emily’s List which advocates for the murder of babies in the womb!
3. SEIU negotiator
4. Married to a current SEIU National Director.
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/02/laphonza-butler-bio-dianne-feinstein-replacement
If this rankled you, please get involved in election integrity investigations like those underway at Judicial Watch, Mike Lindell and The Heritage Foundation.
This crap would not have happened had he been recalled in a legitimate recall election that wasn't tabulated by an electronic voting system guaranteed to give dominion to the Democrat party...
Seriously....
And this little stunt should give DeSantis more ammo to shoot at this a-hole Governor in their "debate"...
But Ron has his work cut out for him because hearing Newsom spar with Hannity (not the sharpest tool in the shed) was like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall...
Out of a state with almost 40 million residents, Hairgel Hitler Newsom couldn't find a replacement that's from California? Maybe the Dems 2024 dream presidential ticket will be Big Mike Obama and Laphonza? How many diversity/victimhood boxes does that check?
This makes me wonder how many California tax dollars that Ms. Butler and folks that run in her circles have collected from California while residing in other states and working on liberal causes that beat up normal everyday working people. I'm sure that there is a cadre of folks like her that are beating us up on laws and regulations while living on the California taxpayer's dime.
I guess he could not find any Ukrainian Nazi's so he had to pick an out of state black lesbian abortion activist. I wonder why a lesbian would be so worked up about baby killing? Could it be that abortion is simply about evil?
"Is Senator-to-be-Butler Eligible to Represent California? - The Residence Question is Closer Than it May Appear"
https://reason.com/volokh/2023/10/02/is-sen-to-be-butler-eligible-to-represent-california/
Thanks for this, Showandtell. So, if Butler was not actually physically RESIDING in California when she was appointed, she may not legally be a Senator of this state, yet? I think the Senate Judiciary Committee should look into this. Of course, Butler could get on her private jet (not on our taxpayer dime) and do this, but Newsom would then have to re-appoint her afterwards as the article states. Very interesting.
Raymond - Because we've endlessly watched these people do WHATEVER they want no matter what, I suspect Newsom & Co. will find a way to slither out of this somehow. You know, the way their installed person, whoever it is, merely appears on the stage, gives "victory" remarks, and for the leftists that's the end of it; it's in stone. But we'll see what happens....