Relishing the royal treatment

By Jean Gillette

If I were King Charles, I would have been so tempted, just once, to shout, “Off with their heads!” No, it wouldn’t be nice, but it would be pretty funny. I had a jolly good time joining friends at 1 a.m. last Saturday morning to watch a lovely bit of history unfold.

It was particularly delightful because our host is something of an expert in British history.

She shared information about the traditions of the coronation that stretch back into the centuries. That kind of thing just knocks me out.

She also shared delicious scones, clotted cream, a Victorian sponge and some wonderful English breakfast tea. Did I mention we wore our pajamas, our best jewels and our tiaras? Oh yes, we did.

It made for some good fun, and I am grateful to have friends who do silly stuff like that with me.

I still can’t get over the ornate chair that dated from the 1300s, and I savored the ancient Episcopal litur- gy I grew up with. I always loved the “thee” and “thou” and “vouchsafe” in the high church service language.

Having been a member in good standing of the altar guild, I loved seeing the rich copes and chasubles, and the varied vestments of the choir members. We also had fun being the fashion police as we watched the crowd.

And those crowns, swords, orbs and scepters — I believe they take the “most bling in one place award,”

This real prime mover became obvious in an appeal the ultra-leftist California Courage Campaign emailed to all its members early this month, seeking to galvanize them against Feinstein.

That was because socalled “progressives” have long felt the moderate Feinstein deprived them of her seat when last reelected in 2018.

The hard left is dominant among this state’s Democrats because no other interest has lately turned out significant numbers for the 80 Assembly district caucuses where delegates to the party’s state conventions are chosen.

Back in 2018, ultra-leftist delegates led the party not to endorse Feinstein for a fifth full term, which she is about 18 months from finishing. Instead, they backed former Assembly Speaker Kevin de Leon.

He’s best known these days for his role in a secretly recorded racist conversation last fall with thenLos Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, then-Councilman Gil Cedillo and then-local labor federation chief Ron Herrera.

De Leon, unlike all others on the notorious tape, refuses to resign his prominent post, a high-paying city council seat he won after Feinstein beat him soundly. He insists he will serve out his term before leaving.

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Now the left wants shingles to award it via an appointment what it could not win at the polls. Leftists for two years have ripped Feinstein for supposed mental lapses and for having friendly exchanges with — gasp! — Republican senators.

More recently, they accused her of letting her shingles-induced absence hold up confirmation of dozens of President Biden’s judicial appointees.

Days before her return to the Capitol, Feinstein shot back in a press release that, “The Senate continues to swiftly confirm highly qualified individuals to the…judiciary, including seven…this week.”

She noted eight judges were confirmed during her absence, while Republicans are holding up only “a few.” followed closely by some of the necklaces seen among the noteworthy women.

With just a one-vote Judiciary Committee majority, Democrats need Feinstein’s vote to send those nominees to the Senate floor for final confirmation.

Who are the folks most active in trying to oust Feinstein, presumably in favor of the ultra-liberal Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee, who might be appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom if Feinstein leaves?

That could happen because Newsom promised two years ago he would name a Black woman to the next Senate vacancy, and the African-American Lee wants the job so badly she’s already running against the far-better-funded Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank and Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine.

A quick Feinstein departure could give her seat to Lee for more than a year, allowing her to campaign as an incumbent.

Despite our tomfoolery, I was impressed I had a chance to see a proper coronation up close — rather a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

God save the king.

Jean Gillette is a freelance writer who once had a crush on Prince Charles. Contact her at jeanhartg1@ gmail.com.

De Leon, shown by the audio to at least condone overt racism, was bitterly ageist in his run against Feinstein. He claimed her age (now 89) made her unfit for the job years before anyone noticed any problems with her health, physical or cognitive.

Despite the party endorsing against her in both the primary and the general elections that year, voters twice gave Feinstein huge margins.

That thwarted leftist ambitions to take over her seat as they strive for full political control of California.

The Courage Campaign lists just one Californian among the most prominent leftists attacking Feinstein: Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna, by odd coincidence Lee’s campaign co-chair.

Others include most of the congressional “squad”: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. These, with Lee, are among the least compromising leftists in the current House.

Which means this is at root not about age or inability or absenteeism; it’s about ideology, just like it was in 2018, when the leftists lost badly. Email