I’ve never heard a more pathetic group of pandering politicians in my life than the three Democrat candidates for U.S. Senate seat in their recent debate.

Three Democrats – Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee, Katie Porter – were all singing the same old song of more government and class warfare that has put us in the mess we are in. There is one Republican, former Dodgers baseball player Steve Garvey, who urged for less government.

It was an appalling dump heap of same old pandering to the base.

You’d think the candidates were running for governor the way they were all asked about problems that relate squarely on the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom. (This is the U.S. Senate seat of Dianne Feinstein they are seeking.) For instance, when a college student posed the question of what California can do to build the millions of housing units we are already short on, not one of them identified the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as the impediment for growth.

Schiff played Captain Obvious by spending minutes explaining that we need to build more housing. Thanks and duh. His only solution seems to be expanding the tax credit. Hmm, a Democrat admitting that taxation is an impediment? Schiff called for more Section 8 housing vouchers, and renters tax credit. For once I’d like to hear a Democrat encourage and find ways for people to be more empowered through their own hard work rather than government making them slaves to government handouts. But no, Schiff had to pander to the underclass because that’s his voter base.

Schiff stopped short after saying, “We’re never going to solve this problem if it takes four years to build affordable housing.” Why does it take that long to build anything in California, Mr. Schiff? Because of excessive environmental review, and government regulation with its burdensome costs.

Schiff might as well have donned a Santa Claus suit when he said: “I will bring back billions to California to build housing.” But I ask why should taxpayers in other states be forced to pony up for California’s mismanagement? Why not call out the Sacramento mob that has fostered this onerous anti-business climate?

Katie Porter acknowledged California needs millions of new housing units but gave no real answers, launching on a diatribe about how she fought against predatory lenders way back in 2008, and some esoteric statement about housing policy being written by career politician and Wall Street. 

Barbara Lee had no ideas either. She bragged about cosponsoring a bill calling housing a basic human right. So how does that exactly give builders an incentive to build? Her bill does nothing but make her feel good.

Lee went on to suggest that somehow housing will suddenly appear if we, the taxpayers, pay for everybody to go to college. I’m still trying to figure out how adding to the tax burden of average Americans who had to pay their own way through college will help them be able to afford housing that is in short supply to begin with.

Lee also boasted of supporting the “End the Homeless Act,” hinting she’d prevent evictions, which should be concerning to any property owner who isn’t getting paid a tenant’s monthly rent. Lee’s solution of passing bills is all about transferring wealth. “Transfer wealth” actually means stealing from the successful and giving it to those who aren’t or will never be.

The three Democrats believe government is the solution while Garvey believes our biggest problems are due to government meddling. He wants private industry do what it does best – produce for profit.

Porter, also intellectually impaired, said “our homelessness crisis is a direct result of Washington’s failure, decade after decade, to write housing policy … that is about us.”

What the hell does that mean? Sounds like the words of a true bureaucrat.

If national policies are to blame, why is California’s problem so much worse than Florida’s?

Both Porter and Schiff declared the homeless problem was solely a housing “supply problem.” Wrong.

If I was a candidate on that stage I would have responded like this: “America has a spiritual problem. Most of our homeless have drug addiction or mental illness, mostly caused by drugs. People are turning to drugs instead of God. They are becoming drug and alcohol addicts and they suffer from corresponding mental health issues. Their choices have led to their situation. We must offer compassionate programs to restore people physically and spiritually. I want to see the state divert billions of dollars on healthcare for illegal immigrants to work with private industry to develop comprehensive treatment centers that houses and gets the homeless free from the drugs that are causing them to be unable to hold down a job and support themselves. I also want to get the mentally ill off the streets. It’s not fair that we allow them to live and crap on sidewalks, wander in and out of traffic and cause problems for businesses. A humane approach would be housing them in treatment centers.”

Home building is not occurring in California because of the state’s draconian regulations, and fees, not to mention the requirement for solar which tacks on another $20,000 to the cost of a house! 

At least Garvey identified the need to end inflation by quit overspending in D.C, becoming energy independent and thus lower our energy costs, and quit regulating businesses out of California.

Garvey decried the concept of Medicare for all while the Democrats support it. Remember Democrats are the ones who are making us all pay Medicare costs for illegal immigrants.

Lee, who will never be called a genius because she is far from it, said “Healthcare should be a human right. It should not be driven by the profit motive. It should not be competitive. It should not be an industry.”

I wished to God the DMV and the postal service would be turned over to competitive industry because the government can’t run anything right.

Porter had to interject race into the discussion when she suggested “health equities are getting worse” and mentioned that black maternal health outcomes are getting worse. Why? Because we allow our health policy to be written by Big Pharma and Big Insurance.” Really? I didn’t know that health policy is based on skin color. Talk about pandering.

Why are black maternal health outcomes getting worse? Lack of education and poor life habits and not race is key factors. While black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women, the CDC says it’s due to many factors including underlying chronic conditions.

Retired registered nurse Karen Pennington, said this: “I worked as an OB R.N, I must say that I saw no difference in the medical care of black, white, or any other treatment or care of the mothers or babies. However, the majority of the black mothers were teenagers who did the typical teen life of smoking, poor eating habits. The baby’s father usually wasn’t involved and she was dating another guy. Most were having the second child by age eighteen. Who took any notice of the baby was grandma. It’s cultural.”

A question was thrown at the candidates – solely designed to create a ‘gotcha’ moment for Garvey – by a man who wanted them each to finish the statement, “If the American people should choose former President Donald Trump to return as commander in chief then…”

Garvey said the people should support that president and his office.

Adam Schiff – the guy who lied for years in claiming Donald Trump and Russia colluded in the 2016 election and it all turned out to be slanderous BS – wanted to use the words “we are screwed” but instead said it rhymed with crude. He gave the typical Democrat talking point that Trump is the “gravest threat to democracy in our history.”

He tore down our institutions, Mr. Schiff? Wasn’t it the Democrats who wanted to defund police agencies?

Trump incited a violent attack on our Capitol, Mr. Schiff? Three Pinocchio’s for that, sir because Trump asked the crowd to peacefully protest what he perceived to be election fraud.

We won’t be screwed if Trump returns to power. America was strong under Trump’s presidency – except for the continued harassment of Schiff and Nadler types. Our economy was roaring, gas prices were low, Russia stayed out of Ukraine and our leader exuded strength. Can you say that of Biden? 

Lee – she’s really not bright – said Garvey and Trump’s agenda was to destroy democracy.

Let’s be honest. None of us would be questioning the results of elections if we required all voters to physically show up at the polls with a valid ID in hand. No mail balloting except on rare occasion. Too many things can go wrong with vote-by-mail and ballot harvesting.

Porter said a Trump presidency would mean the U.S. loses credibility on the world stage. Has she seen how Biden is perceived on the national stage (the one he falls down on from time to time)?

The three Democrats tore into Garvey like a foaming pack of wild dogs, but he reminded the moderator that the economy was going well, more jobs created for minorities and the U.S. was secure. 

It’s rather ironic that Lee, after admitting she and her party are doing everything to prevent Trump from running – read that as lawsuits and removing him from the ballots – and goes on to say that Trump is the threat to democracy.

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According to Michael Knowles, a popular conservative social media figure, if you took all the illegal aliens that Biden has let into our country in just three years and made a new state out of them, that state would be the 18th largest state in terms of population. That state would be more populous than the combination of Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Trump won in 2016 on the issue of illegal immigration. Looks like he could do the same this November because most citizens are fed up.

This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation.  How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com