Resistance to Trump fuels new generation of California liberals
BY REID WILSON - 10/17/17 06:00 AM EDT
For a quarter century, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) has built a career as an effective liberal legislator, the author of a federal assault weapons ban and a warrior for civil and gay rights who collaborated with Republicans on energy and health-care bills.But to a generation of ambitious California Democrats intent on challenging President Trump at every turn, her record is no longer sufficiently liberal.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León (D) has already said he will run against her, and wealthy environmentalist Tom Steyer is considering his own bid. Feinstein’s challengers offer a hint at the first wave of a coming generational change in California politics, as members of the older generation — led by the 84-year-old Feinstein, 79-year-old Gov. Jerry Brown (D) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, 77 — near the end of their careers.
The generation that will vie for the state’s top jobs is fashioning itself as decidedly more aggressive, if not notably more liberal. Those hoping to move up are appealing to a Democratic base that is as energized by the anti-Trump resistance as Tea Party voters were by opposition to President Obama.
“The last generation of Democratic leaders was liberal but practical,” said John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College and a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee. “The next generation is under pressure to be more dogmatic. The Democratic left shuns any accommodation with Republicans.”
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http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/355751-resistance-to-trump-fuels-new-generation-of-california-liberals