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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Barabak: Yelling, finger-pointing and cursing galore as California Democrats gather near Disneyland
It's not easy being a Democrat in these Trumpian times, as each day brings fresh tales of conquest and pillage. Still, despite all that, 4,000 stiff-upper-lipped partisans showed up in Anaheim over the weekend, seeking solace, inspiration and a winning way forward. As mouse-eared pilgrims plied the sidewalks outside, the party faithful — meeting several long blocks from Disneyland — engaged in their own bit of escapism and magical thinking. 'Joy is an act of resistance,' state party Chairman Rusty Hicks gamely suggested at a beer-and-wine reception, which opened the party's annual three-day convention with as much conviviality as the downtrodden could muster. That's certainly one way to cope. But the weekend gathering wasn't all hand-wringing and liquid refreshment. There were workshops on top of workshops, caucus meetings on top of caucus meetings, and speaker after speaker, wielding various iterations of the words 'fight' and 'resist' and dropping enough f-bombs to blow decorum and restraint clear to kingdom come. Read more: The California Democratic Party's premiere event will have two notable no-shows President Trump — the devil himself, to those roiling inside the hall — was derided as a 'punk,' 'the orange oligarch,' a small-fisted bully, the 'thing that sits in the White House' and assorted unprintable epithets. 'My fellow Golden State Democrats, we are the party of FDR and JFK, of Pat Brown and the incomparable Nancy Pelosi,' said a not-so-mild-mannered Sen. Adam Schiff. 'We do not capitulate. We do not concede. California does not cower. Not now, not ever. We say to bullies, you can go f— yourself.' The road from political exile, many Democrats seemed to feel, is richly paved with four-letter words. Two of the party's 2028 presidential prospects were on hand. (Another of those — Gov. Gavin Newsom — has fallen out of favor with many of his fellow California Democrats and found it best to stay away.) A highly caffeinated New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, of 25-hour filibuster fame, summoned past glories and urged Democrats to find their way back to the party's grounding principles, then fight from there. 'We are here because of people who stood up when they were told to sit down. We're here because of people who spoke up when they were told to be silent. We're here because of people who marched in front of fire hoses and dogs,' Booker hollered in his best preacherly cadence. 'We are here because of people who faced outrageous obstacles and still banded together and said we shall overcome." Tim Walz, the party's 2024 vice presidential nominee and the weekend's keynote speaker, was on hand after jetting from a morning appearance in South Carolina. He delivered the most thorough and substantive remarks. He began with a brief acknowledgment and thanks to his 2024 running mate, Kamala Harris. (She, too, stayed away from the convention while pondering her political future. The former vice president's sole presence was a three-minute video most noteworthy for its drab production and Harris' passion-free delivery.) By contrast, Walz gleefully tore into Trump, saying his only animating impulses were corruption and greed. He noted the callous hard-heartedness the president and his allies displayed during California's horrific January firestorm. 'They played a game, a blame game, and they put out misinformation about an incredibly tragic situation,' Minnesota's governor said. 'They didn't have the backs of the firefighters. They didn't hustle to get you the help you needed. They hung you out to dry.' Keeping with the weekend's expletive-laden spirit, Walz blasted Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bull—" legislation and mocked congressional Republicans as the 'merry band of dips—" who lend him their undying support. But much of his 30-minute speech was devoted to flaying his own party — 'like a deer … in goddamned headlights' — saying Democrats can blame only themselves for being so feckless and off-putting they made the odious Trump seem preferable by comparison. 'There is an appetite out there across this country to govern with courage and competency, to call crap where it is, to not be afraid, to make a mistake about things, but to show people who you truly are and that they don't have to wonder who the Democratic Party is,' Walz said to a roaring ovation. 'Are you going to go to a cocktail party with somebody who's super rich and then pass a law that benefits them?' he demanded. '[Or] are you going to work your ass off and make sure our kids get a good education?' And yet for all the cursing and swagger and bluster, there was an unmistakable air of anxiety pervading the glassy convention center. This is a party in need of repair and many, from the convention floor to the hospitality suites, acknowledged as much. Alex Dersh, a 27-year-old first-time delegate from San Jose, said his young peers — "shocked by Trump's election" — were especially eager for change. They just can't agree, he said, on what that should be. Indeed, there were seemingly as many prescriptions on offer in Anaheim as there were delegates. (More than 3,500 by official count.) Read more: Barabak: For Kamala Harris, it's not just whether to run for California governor. It's why Anita Scuri, 75, a retired Sacramento attorney attending her third or fourth convention, suggested the party needs to get back to basics by speaking plainly — she said nothing about profanity — and focusing on people's pocketbooks. "It's the economy, stupid," she said, recycling the message of Bill Clinton's winning 1992 campaign. "It's focusing on the lives people are living." Gary Borsos said Democrats need to stop dumbing-down their message and also quit harping on the president. "There's a lot of 'Trump is bad,' " said the 74-year-old retired software engineer, who rode eight hours by train from Arroyo Grande to attend his first convention. "What we're doing is coming up with a lot of Band-Aid solutions to problems of the day," Borsos said. "We're not thinking long-term enough." Neither, however, expressed great confidence in their party going forward. "I'm hopeful," Scuri said. "Not optimistic." Get the latest from Mark Z. BarabakFocusing on politics out West, from the Golden Gate to the U.S. me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
2 states, 1 tepid view of Kamala Harris and her political future
ANAHEIM, California — In South Carolina, influential Democrats this weekend were hardly talking about Kamala Harris anymore. In California, they greeted the thought of her political future with impatience and weary sighs. The former vice president has kept campaign junkies guessing as she contemplates running for California governor or taking another shot at the White House in 2028. But party members on opposite coasts, who gathered for simultaneous confabs this weekend, did not express much clamor for either iteration of a Harris candidacy. Some Democrats in South Carolina, girding for battle to retain their favored status on the presidential primary calendar, went so far as to suggest that a run for California governor could offer a graceful exit from the national stage. 'I think she should run for governor and be the best governor California has ever had,' said Amanda Loveday, a Democratic strategist and former executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party. And in her home state, some Democrats openly fretted that California was simply a fallback option for Harris after her presidential ambitions were thwarted last year. 'We haven't really heard from her on California issues since Trump's inauguration,' said Madison Zimmerman, a state party delegate from rural Shasta County. 'I feel like California isn't a consolation prize.' The gatherings in Anaheim and Columbia were separated by nearly 2,500 miles but could both be enormously significant to Harris' future — California as the state she may seek to govern and South Carolina as the early primary state that would loom large in any 2028 presidential campaign. Harris, one of the Democratic Party's best-known national figures after her whirlwind presidential run last year, remains a formidable figure in the party. She leads in polls for California governor and sits at or near the top of contenders in recent surveys of the nascent 2028 field. Even as she keeps a low-profile after her bruising loss to President Donald Trump, she has commanded attention for her sporadic speeches and cameos at cultural soirees like the Met Gala. That star power far outshines the declared candidates for California governor, and Harris, should she get into the race, would immediately catapult to frontrunner status, given her stature and fundraising chops. 'If you're doing the sports-betting analogy, the odds are in her favor, she's got the big point spread,' said Roger Salazar, a Democratic strategist who is unaffiliated with any gubernatorial campaign. 'The name ID, the fact she's won [multiple] times in California already — that track record is one that's hard to duplicate for others jumping into the race.' 'It really depends on — what is it she wants to do? Does she want to be governor?' he added. That was the immediate question that came to mind for Carol Weiss, a delegate from Sunnyvale, when assessing the potential governor's race field at this weekend's California Democratic Party convention. 'My concern about Harris is that she would be using the position, if she won, as a placeholder for a second run at the presidency,' she said. 'And that would make me feel like I'm wasting my vote. I want a strong governor for at least four years.' Harris, who was in Australia last week to speak at a real estate conference, did not appear at the convention. She sent in a brief video address which was greeted with warm, but not protracted, applause from the audience. A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Harris' shadow nevertheless loomed over the Anaheim convention center as gubernatorial hopefuls hoofed to various caucus meetings and grip-and-grins with 4,000 or so of the party's most dedicated activists and officials. Most attendees acknowledged that the contours of the governor's race will remain undefined until Harris makes up her mind: Major donors have stayed on the sidelines, most labor unions and interest groups are holding off endorsements and some candidates are quietly gaming out back-up plans to run for other offices if Harris decides to run. Amid that uncertainty, Democrats were perceptibly antsy for Harris to declare her intentions one way or another. 'You see the other candidates — they're here, they're talking, they're doing their thing. And I think that people are receptive to that because they realize that you really need someone who can jump in and is really interested in doing this,' said David Campos, vice chair of the state party and former chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. Campos, who has known Harris for years from the rough-and-tumble San Francisco political scene, predicted that Harris would be a 'formidable' contender. But among party faithful, he said, there was not a desire for any candidate to have a coronation. 'People want to have a campaign, an election,' he said. Lorena Gonzalez, who leads the powerful California Labor Federation, said she has also not heard much desire for Harris to clear the field, and she's detected a perceptible change among candidates the longer the vice president takes to declare her intentions. (Harris has given herself a deadline of late summer to make up her mind.) 'There's some frustration from both the candidates and activists: What's gonna happen? Is Kamala going to get in? Should I pick a favored candidate? Who's gonna stay in if Kamala gets in, who's not?' Gonzalez said. 'And I think that's shifting. More candidates are looking at staying in, and the longer that this waits, you'll see more candidates actually stay in the race.' There were still dedicated Harris supporters to be found in Anaheim, such as Ingrid Hutt, an entrepreneur and sister of Los Angeles City Councilmember Heather Hutt, who declared herself '10 toes down and ready to go' to support the former vice president. Hutt said she was eager for Harris, as a gubernatorial candidate, 'to have the respect that she should have had in the presidential race. [I'm ready] for her to come home and lead our state.' She added, 'Other Democrats in the state of California should get out of the way.' Still, others who professed fondness for the former vice president appeared queasy about the prospect of her having a glide-path to the governor's mansion. 'I'm really on the fence,' said Minola Clark Manson, a delegate from eastern San Diego County. 'I probably would vote for Kamala Harris but there would be an underlying discomfort.' The gatherings in Anaheim and Columbia featured at least one thing in common: appearances by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who appeared on the Democratic ticket with Harris last year and is widely seen as a potential presidential contender in 2028. Hitting both conventions in one marathon travel day on Saturday, Walz spoke glowingly in both states of his time campaigning with Harris, praising her as 'talented' and 'accomplished.' But in South Carolina, aside from a glancing reference from former Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison about the accomplishments of the previous administration, there was no mention of Harris among the Democrats in attendance without prompting. 'Does she want it?' Wayne Borders, a progressive activist based in Columbia, asked pointedly in response to a question about her 2028 prospects. A serious candidate, he said, would 'come tell me why' they were seeking the job. Sam Skardon, the former Charleston County Democratic Party chair, said he did not think voters in his party would hold Harris' loss last year against her. 'I think people understand that this was not a full and fair shot of hers at the White House, and if she wanted to take another one, I don't think we'd be mad at her for it,' he said. Skardon added that anyone who served in the Biden administration may be hampered by the former president's tarnished legacy. He said, 'I don't think anyone expects the party to clear the field for her in 2028. I don't think there's any thought that she has a right to the nomination above anyone else.' Some Democrats in the crowd said that if Harris did run, they would welcome it. Michelle Brandt, the former third vice chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said that a Harris presidential bid would be 'exciting.' But she said she was more concerned that Harris take time to regroup after her last campaign. 'I'm sure that it was extremely stressful,' Brandt said. 'So I just think of her well-being, not that she can't do it. I just want her to rest.'
Politico
2 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
2 states, 1 tepid view of Kamala Harris and her political future
ANAHEIM, California — In South Carolina, influential Democrats this weekend were hardly talking about Kamala Harris anymore. In California, they greeted the thought of her political future with impatience and weary sighs. The former vice president has kept campaign junkies guessing as she contemplates running for California governor or taking another shot at the White House in 2028. But party members on opposite coasts, who gathered for simultaneous confabs this weekend, did not express much clamor for either iteration of a Harris candidacy. Some Democrats in South Carolina, girding for battle to retain their favored status on the presidential primary calendar, went so far as to suggest that a run for California governor could offer a graceful exit from the national stage. 'I think she should run for governor and be the best governor California has ever had,' said Amanda Loveday, a Democratic strategist and former executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party. And in her home state, some Democrats openly fretted that California was simply a fallback option for Harris after her presidential ambitions were thwarted last year. 'We haven't really heard from her on California issues since Trump's inauguration,' said Madison Zimmerman, a state party delegate from rural Shasta County. 'I feel like California isn't a consolation prize.' The gatherings in Anaheim and Columbia were separated by nearly 2,500 miles but could both be enormously significant to Harris' future — California as the state she may seek to govern and South Carolina as the early primary state that would loom large in any 2028 presidential campaign. Harris, one of the Democratic Party's best-known national figures after her whirlwind presidential run last year, remains a formidable figure in the party. She leads in polls for California governor and sits at or near the top of contenders in recent surveys of the nascent 2028 field. Even as she keeps a low-profile after her bruising loss to President Donald Trump, she has commanded attention for her sporadic speeches and cameos at cultural soirees like the Met Gala. That star power far outshines the declared candidates for California governor, and Harris, should she get into the race, would immediately catapult to frontrunner status, given her stature and fundraising chops. 'If you're doing the sports-betting analogy, the odds are in her favor, she's got the big point spread,' said Roger Salazar, a Democratic strategist who is unaffiliated with any gubernatorial campaign. 'The name ID, the fact she's won [multiple] times in California already — that track record is one that's hard to duplicate for others jumping into the race.' 'It really depends on — what is it she wants to do? Does she want to be governor?' he added. That was the immediate question that came to mind for Carol Weiss, a delegate from Sunnyvale, when assessing the potential governor's race field at this weekend's California Democratic Party convention. 'My concern about Harris is that she would be using the position, if she won, as a placeholder for a second run at the presidency,' she said. 'And that would make me feel like I'm wasting my vote. I want a strong governor for at least four years.' Harris, who was in Australia last week to speak at a real estate conference, did not appear at the convention. She sent in a brief video address which was greeted with warm, but not protracted, applause from the audience. A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Harris' shadow nevertheless loomed over the Anaheim convention center as gubernatorial hopefuls hoofed to various caucus meetings and grip-and-grins with 4,000 or so of the party's most dedicated activists and officials. Most attendees acknowledged that the contours of the governor's race will remain undefined until Harris makes up her mind: Major donors have stayed on the sidelines, most labor unions and interest groups are holding off endorsements and some candidates are quietly gaming out back-up plans to run for other offices if Harris decides to run. Amid that uncertainty, Democrats were perceptibly antsy for Harris to declare her intentions one way or another. 'You see the other candidates — they're here, they're talking, they're doing their thing. And I think that people are receptive to that because they realize that you really need someone who can jump in and is really interested in doing this,' said David Campos, vice chair of the state party and former chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. Campos, who has known Harris for years from the rough-and-tumble San Francisco political scene, predicted that Harris would be a 'formidable' contender. But among party faithful, he said, there was not a desire for any candidate to have a coronation. 'People want to have a campaign, an election,' he said. Lorena Gonzalez, who leads the powerful California Labor Federation, said she has also not heard much desire for Harris to clear the field, and she's detected a perceptible change among candidates the longer the vice president takes to declare her intentions. (Harris has given herself a deadline of late summer to make up her mind.) 'There's some frustration from both the candidates and activists: What's gonna happen? Is Kamala going to get in? Should I pick a favored candidate? Who's gonna stay in if Kamala gets in, who's not?' Gonzalez said. 'And I think that's shifting. More candidates are looking at staying in, and the longer that this waits, you'll see more candidates actually stay in the race.' There were still dedicated Harris supporters to be found in Anaheim, such as Ingrid Hutt, an entrepreneur and sister of Los Angeles City Councilmember Heather Hutt, who declared herself '10 toes down and ready to go' to support the former vice president. Hutt said she was eager for Harris, as a gubernatorial candidate, 'to have the respect that she should have had in the presidential race. [I'm ready] for her to come home and lead our state.' She added, 'Other Democrats in the state of California should get out of the way.' Still, others who professed fondness for the former vice president appeared queasy about the prospect of her having a glide-path to the governor's mansion. 'I'm really on the fence,' said Minola Clark Manson, a delegate from eastern San Diego County. 'I probably would vote for Kamala Harris but there would be an underlying discomfort.' The gatherings in Anaheim and Columbia featured at least one thing in common: appearances by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who appeared on the Democratic ticket with Harris last year and is widely seen as a potential presidential contender in 2028. Hitting both conventions in one marathon travel day on Saturday, Walz spoke glowingly in both states of his time campaigning with Harris, praising her as 'talented' and 'accomplished.' But in South Carolina, aside from a glancing reference from former Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison about the accomplishments of the previous administration, there was no mention of Harris among the Democrats in attendance without prompting. 'Does she want it?' Wayne Borders, a progressive activist based in Columbia, asked pointedly in response to a question about her 2028 prospects. A serious candidate, he said, would 'come tell me why' they were seeking the job. Sam Skardon, the former Charleston County Democratic Party chair, said he did not think voters in his party would hold Harris' loss last year against her. 'I think people understand that this was not a full and fair shot of hers at the White House, and if she wanted to take another one, I don't think we'd be mad at her for it,' he said. Skardon added that anyone who served in the Biden administration may be hampered by the former president's tarnished legacy. He said, 'I don't think anyone expects the party to clear the field for her in 2028. I don't think there's any thought that she has a right to the nomination above anyone else.' Some Democrats in the crowd said that if Harris did run, they would welcome it. Michelle Brandt, the former third vice chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said that a Harris presidential bid would be 'exciting.' But she said she was more concerned that Harris take time to regroup after her last campaign. 'I'm sure that it was extremely stressful,' Brandt said. 'So I just think of her well-being, not that she can't do it. I just want her to rest.'
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Tim Walz claims Trump's 2024 victory was a ‘primal scream' from angry voters
Is this Tim Walz's cry for help? The Minnesota governor and Kamala Harris' 2024 running mate said President Trump's victory last year was a 'primal scream' from voters who were furious and alienated by the Democratic party. Walz said the loss of his Democratic ticket — which failed to win even one swing state — was emblematic of Democrats' hemorrhaging of working-class voters. 'The party of the working class lost a big chunk of the working class,' Walz said during an address at the California Democratic Party convention. 'That last election was a primal scream on so many fronts.' 'Some of it is our own doing,' Walz said. Over recent months, Walz has traveled around the country seeking to mobilize Democratic resistance to President Trump and has delivered some searing post-mortems over his loss in 2024. 3 Tim Walz urged Democrats to regain working-class voters. AP 3 Tim Walz admitted that Democrats deserve some of the blame for losing working-class voters. AP He admitted that he was likely picked as veep to 'code talk to white guys' and admitted that he and Harris were never really ahead of Trump in that election. Back in March, he argued there is a 'primal scream' from voters in the progressive base who want to see the party take a more adversarial approach to Trump during his second term in the White House. 'There's a responsibility in this time of chaos where elected officials need to hear what people are irritated about,' he said during a town hall of about 1,500 in Des Moines, Iowa. 'And I would argue that Democratic officials should hear the primal scream that's coming from America, (which) is, 'Do something, dammit! This is wrong!'' Walz conveyed a similar message to California Democrats on Saturday about the need to be more feisty. 'We've got to find some goddamn guts to fight for working people,' he contended. 3 The Minnesota governor suggested that Democrats need to get meaner against the Trump administration. AFP via Getty Images In a separate speech in South Carolina on Saturday, Walz issued a call for the resistance to Trump to be 'meaner' and 'bully the s–t' out of the 47th president, who is famously a brass-knuckled political brawler. 'Maybe it's time for us to be a little meaner, a little bit more fierce,' Walz suggested, electrifying the audience in attendance. 'The thing that bothers a teacher more than anything is to watch a bully,' the former educator and high school football coach said. 'And when it's a child, you talk to them and you tell them why bullying is wrong.' 'But when it's an adult like Donald Trump, you bully the s–t out of him back.' Since his loss last November, Walz has maintained a significant national profile, with treks across the country and various interviews, delivering tough assessments of the state of the Democratic Party. Walz's slew of appearances has sharply contrasted Harris, who has largely laid low and rarely made public outings during the months since her electoral defeat. Harris — a former California senator and attorney general — didn't even show up to the Gold State's Democratic Party convention in person, and instead delivered a video message to attendees. Harris is rumored to be debating whether to run for California governor in 2026 or try again for the presidency in 2028 — or whether to stay on the sidelines entirely.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Automotive
- New York Post
Sen. Cory Booker roasted by pundits who accuse him of making Nazi salute at political event
Right-wing pundits ripped New Jersey Senator Cory Booker for making a gesture that they likened Nazi salute at the conclusion of a speech Saturday night — and compared it to the move Elon Musk made that was ripped by liberals. The Garden State Democrat made the gesture at a Democratic convention in California — placing his hand over his heart and then gesturing to the crowd with a straight arm and an open hand above shoulder height. Internet influencers were quick to jump on Booker's salute, and wonder where the outrage is when there was so much criticism by Booker's fellow Democrats and others on the left of Musk. 4 Sen. Cory Booker speaks at the California Democratic Party's 2025 State Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calf. on May 31, 2025. AP 'If Elon Musk is a Nazi for doing this gesture.. Cory Booker is one too. Sorry, I don't make the rules,' one viral post read. 'Cory Booker did the thing. This is literally the Third Reich all over again. These are the darkest days ever. Democracy is doomed,' one user wrote sarcastically in a viral post. Some X users were more pointed in their criticism of the differing receptions Booker's and Musk's gestures each garnered from the pundit class. 'Same gesture. Different political party. Funny how that works,' Brandon Straka, founder of the Walk Away movement, wrote on X. 'This better be a national story for the next week!,' another X poster joked. 4 Booker makes the gesture, similar to the Nazi salute, during his speech. 4 Booker raises his fist in the air during his appearance in California. AP Former DOGE chief and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk infamously made a remarkably similar gesture at an inauguration celebration at the Capital One Arena back in January. 'Thank you for making it happen. Thank you, my heart goes out to you,' Musk said, placing his hand over his heart and then extending his arm to the crowd. Despite widespread public outcry over one-armed gesture's similarity to the Hitler salute, prominent figures in the Jewish community rose to Musk's defense. 'It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,' antisemitism watchdog the ADL wrote on X at the time. 4 Elon Musk gestures to the crowd during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on Jan. 20, 2025. AFP via Getty Images Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote supportively on X, '@elonmusk is being falsely smeared. Elon is a great friend of Israel.' Senator Booker's office did not respond to The Post's request for comment.
