Written by Mikaela Gantz
California Senator Dianne Feinstein died Thursday night in her Washington D.C. home at 90 years old. During her 20 years in the senate, he was a centrist Democrat who was never afraid to reach across the aisle. She was specifically passionate about environmental protection, reproductive rights, and gun control.
Feinstein was also the longest serving senator in Californian history. Throughout her career, Feinstein was surrounded by men and excelled. Becoming the first female mayor of San Francisco and served for 10 years, as well as being one of four women in the senate when elected.
When failure inevitably came, she did not give up. Earlier this year she had a serious case of shingles that had her on the sidelines for about two months. Feinstein attempted twice to earn the mayorship before finally taking the spot. She also ran for governor before changing her career path towards the Senate and becoming one of the first female senators for the state of California.
Despite coming into the senate one of four women, Feinstein died there as one of twenty five. 25 out of 100 is still a long way to go for women, who make up approximately 50% of the population. But it is a start; and it is a clear improvement.
Feinstein was a much needed voice in a gridlocked congress. Being afraid to reach across the aisle has dug the United States into a hole. Just a couple of days ago we narrowly avoided a government shutdown because of the funding bill stalled in the house by extremist ideologies.
Speaker of the house, Kevin McCarthy, had to cross party lines to get the bill passed on time, and now it is threatening his career. Prominent member of the Freedom Caucus, Matt Gaetz, led a vote to oust McCarthy because he reached across the aisle and didn’t succumb to the caucus’ demands.
This is the state of our country, and losing Feinstein takes away a member of the Senate with quality morals and a strong political career. Her loss is mourned by many, including myself. Her life was lived as a woman who could do everything a man could, and better. She was, and will continue to be, an inspiration for women and underrepresented people in politics who strive for success.
