by As a member of the House of Representatives who led Trump’s first impeachment trial, who played a key role on the January 6 select committee and who served as one of Trump’s leading critics on cable news, Schiff has been vilified throughout the MAGAverse. He has earned no less than three puerile nicknames from the former president: Pencil Neck, Liddle ‘Adam Schiff and, my favorite, Shifty Schiff. More seriously, House Republicans kicked him off the intelligence committee early last year and then censured him for his role in the Russia investigation, alleging that he had advanced politically motivated lies about Trump that endangered security. national. All of this, in turn, has made Schiff a hero to the anti-Trump masses.
In fact, at multiple points along the parade route, people shout their gratitude and encouragement. “Keep it up!” urges Chris (just the name!), a tour guide visiting from Tampa, raising a fist in greeting.
When I ask what people like about Mr. Schiff, an overwhelming majority cite his fighting spirit. “He’s a trench warrior,” says Steven Alexander, a longtime local fan. “Adam Schiff stands up when many walk away,” he adds. Several supporters express special admiration for the fact that the congressman has been “willing to stand up” to fight Trump, despite the personal and professional consequences.
His reputation as a resistance leader may have cost Schiff a spot on the House committee. But he has given a big boost to his Senate bid, propelling him to a solid lead over the rest of the field. This includes in particular his Democratic colleagues in the House of Representatives, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, who, in various ways, would seem more representative of California’s Democratic electorate. (We’ll get to that a little later.)
After all, Schiff is a 63-year-old straight white man who, for much of his House career, identified as a centrist. In normal times, he would probably be dismissed as too conservative, too conservative, too conventional to represent California in all its unconventional glory in the Senate. (The last time the state elected a white man to the house was in 1988.)
