When San Francisco Mayor London Breed called yesterday for the recall of three members of the School Board, it was merely the latest proof that, even in one of the most progressive cities in America, citizens have had it with woke stupidity. Breed’s remarkable act echoes the pending recall of San Francisco’s District Attorney, Chesa Boudin. Boudin and the three School Board members are all “progressives,” a form of political extremism that is rapidly losing credibility, not only in San Francisco but across the nation.
Concerning Boudin’s recall, yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle noted that “The recall has already gained national attention, with observers seeing it as a referendum on the progressive prosecutor and the larger criminal justice movement that accelerated after the police killing of George Floyd.” The story’s headline news was that recall supporters have raised twice as much money as have those opposed to the recall. As the article notes, “While money is not a perfect measure of how much support a campaign might ultimately receive at the ballot, it’s critical for getting the word out to voters.”
I’ve lived in the Bay Area for more than 40 years, ten of those in San Francisco, and I can tell you that the city has never seen this kind of popular discontent against progressive politicians such as Boudin and the three School Board members. Back in 1983, some gun freaks forced a recall of then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein onto the ballot (she had successfully had a handgun ban passed). Feinstein crushed that recall 81%-19%. She was a moderate Democrat hounded by rightwingers. Boudin’s case, and that of the school board members, is the opposite: leftwing Democrats whom moderate Democrats want out of office.
The Chronicle was right to point out that the Boudin recall has “gained national attention.” The media are suggesting that if Boudin is recalled in San Francisco, it would be nails-in-the-coffin-time for progressivism. New York Magazine wrote: “[I]t might also turn out that [Boudin’s] approach to criminal justice is not shared by enough of his constituents to keep him in office.” The New Yorker similarly noted that “San Francisco [is] not as ideal a site for a radical approach to criminal justice as it first appeared.” San Francisco’s SFIST news magazine, commenting on the New Yorker article, said, “The general gist of the piece…is this: If San Francisco can't get behind a progressive district attorney, how does the criminal justice reform movement expect to succeed anywhere else in the country?”
For all this angst, the Boudin recall has not yet truly become a national story. While it’s starting to grip the Bay Area’s attention, the rest of the country has barely taken notice. If Boudin survives the recall—and he may well—the story will fade into insignificance, as Feinstein’s recall did nearly 40 years ago.
But if Boudin actually gets the boot, it will be the shot heard around the world: the Death of Progressivism will have become an historical fact.
Steve Heimoff
P.S. We’ll be joining our sister organization, Neighbors Together Oakland, at noon on Friday for the big rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Music, poetry and speakers, including me. Hope you can attend!
