Yesterday, Adam Schiff was formally removed from the House Intelligence Committee by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, along with Eric Swalwell. Schiff lost no time complaining loudly, first in a press conference, second on… TikTok??

Yes, the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee decided to appeal to his fellow kids by going on the Chinese Communist Party spyware app. Stellar job, Schiff. Xi approves, you fool.

Lol. Upset about being kicked off the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff posts his grievances on a CCP spyware site. https://t.co/16qkti8wbW

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) January 26, 2023

Look, no one except Schiff himself has ever claimed that he is some kind of genius. After all, he claimed that it would do “grave damage to national security” if he didn’t get to sit on the Intelligence Committee. His opinion of himself is quite high.

So it was only to be expected that the day after he was denied the ability to keep leaking classified information, or imply that he knew things that other people didn’t know, that Adam Schiff, high on Eric Swalwell’s farts after that joint press conference yesterday, decided to announce that he was going to run for Senate.

I can’t run for U.S. Senate in California without you. Our campaign is people-powered, and we won’t accept a cent of corporate PAC $.

Your support allows us to organize and fight back. Chip in today, and show you’re with our team on Day One:https://t.co/s43pEy5FPu

— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) January 26, 2023

Since this is California we are talking about, this is a safe Democrat seat (I wish it wasn’t). And it is currently held by Dianne Feinstein, who will turn 90 this June. Compared to Feinstein, Joe Biden is a spring chicken. This is additionally complicated because it is painfully apparent that Feinstein is in a dramatic cognitive decline. Her third husband passed away almost a year ago (she had been divorced and widowed previously), and her loss of memory was becoming apparent even before that. The Democrat Party is desperate to get younger faces into key seats, and it’s clear that Feinstein is in her twilight years. Even though she hasn’t formally announced anything, having these younger politicians begin jockeying for position a full 21 months before the election is telling. Remember, Representative Katie Porter, who nearly lost her House seat, declared just two weeks ago that she’s running for Senate. At the time, Adam Schiff clutched his pearls and was shocked, SHOCKED, that Katie Porter would dare to declare herself a candidate before he did while California was having major storms. Now, Schiff claims to local media that he has Feinstein’s blessing to start his campaign.

He’s running for the seat that Dianne Feinstein has occupied since 1992. The 89-year-old Feinstein hasn’t announced publicly whether she plans on retiring in 2024 or running for another 6-year term.”

Schiff said he spoke to Feinstein about his plans before making them public.”

“She said she has not made a decision about her own plans. She would make the announcement when she was ready to do so. I think she’s earned the right to do that with her own timing. I wouldn’t be doing this without her blessing. I want to make sure everything I do is respectful to her.”

Schiff added that Feinstein has “been a giant in this state…she continues to show that.”

Naturally, Schiff is saying all the right things regarding Feinstein, and kissing her ring to boot. But the message is clear – Feinstein is in no position to run again, and so the battle for her seat has already begun.

Also notice how Schiff explains himself in the campaign video. MAGA MAGA MAGA, Trump Trump Trump, Danger Will Robinson, give me money. Without Donald Trump, does Adam Schiff even have meaning in life? So far, his entire pitch is “I hate Trump and Trump hates me, give me money and your vote.” Will this be a winning message if Donald Trump is NOT the nominee in 2024? Katie Porter, for her part, had a much broader pitch in her campaign launch video. And it’s not like the race is locked in between Schiff and Porter. There are plenty of other Democrats in California who are going to want to run for this Senate seat. Ro Khanna might jump in. Who’s to say that Gavin Newsom (who would definitely rather run for president, but won’t risk challenging Joe Biden openly) won’t decide to go national and take a crack at running for Senate? There a whole lot of time before this election cycle heats up, and a number of Democrats in California who would love to succeed Dianne Feinstein.

Adam Schiff thinks he should be that person. He’ll probably raise enough money to make himself a strong candidate, and he definitely has name recognition on the national level after claiming that he had the goods on Donald Trump for years and years and years. Whether that convinces the voters of California to mindlessly rubber stamp him into the Senate is another question. Schiff’s ego is due for a deflating, and a bruising primary campaign ought to help with that. There’s going to be no holding back between these Democrats once the race heats up. The knives will be out. Stock up on popcorn now, because those debates will be highly entertaining.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click