Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey admires Ronald Reagan but did virtually nothing to emulate him other than color his hair similarly.
In his 1939 farewell address at Yankee Stadium, Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig told the crowd that he considered himself “the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”
In 2024, the luckiest first baseman in America is former Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey.
Garvey is now the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate facing Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, without raising money for television advertising or, really, much more than gas money driving around California with his son Ryan as his bodyman.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
He can thank Schiff for his second-place finish because Schiff shoveled millions of dollars into elevating him as his true opponent.
Ask Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee what their plans are now because of that political welfare check Schiff cut for Garvey. Porter was similarly inspired to try to run an ad propping up the hapless GOP Senate candidate Eric Early.
Now that Garvey is in the runoff, it’s eminently clear that the so-called “jungle” primary is a poor idea whose time has passed. It’s also clear that the California GOP is officially dead.
Oh, the Republicans were running the table for decades in the Golden State. They produced major national figures by winning the governorship and U.S. Senate seats. Here’s a quick list for those playing at home: Gov. Earl Warren, the 1948 GOP vice presidential nominee, as well as former presidents Richard Nixon (vice president, twice, and three times as presidential nominee) and Ronald Reagan. In fact, from 1948 until 1984, except for 1964 and 1976, there was a California Republican presidential or vice presidential nominee.
Wow, that’s so over. California’s Republicans now produce people like Garvey, who isn’t quite the most recent silliest GOP candidate for statewide office — that’s goofy gubernatorial gadfly John Cox, who ran for just about every office while in Illinois (Cook County recorder of deeds, Congress, the U.S. Senate and president of the United States) and then ran for California governor. He is exponentially smarter than Garvey, who is obviously least prepared for the task.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Garvey entered the race late, but he had been sniffing around the edges of politics for decades. He admired Reagan enormously but did virtually nothing to emulate him other than color his hair similarly.
In contrast, Reagan, while not a great intellectual, took the time to steep himself in policy and politics for years. If you want to see Reagan in his prime, hit YouTube and type in Reagan and Robert F. Kennedy. There you will see verbally adept Reagan debating before the Oxford Union, standing toe-to-toe with a former attorney general and New York Senator with a real skillset.
Garvey wouldn’t even last 30 seconds against RFK’s kooky scion Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Now all the California GOP can burp up is Garvey, who had utterly embarrassing debate performances against three accomplished members of Congress.
Some Democratic operatives are already fretting that Garvey gives the GOP a “strong” candidate and that he could gin up turnout in a few congressional districts that Republicans hold. If the definition of strong is the ability to stand behind a lectern in a decent suit and tie, yeah, sure, Garvey is strong. Fantastic forearms, too.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
But that’s about all he’s got. He’s as vaguely generic as a pharmaceutical commercial. When he speaks, it’s like he’s trying to remember the English language word for everything he says. It’s not that Garvey is dumb — that’s too harsh — but he’s obviously stunningly intellectually lazy, and that’s worse.
Consider these Garvey position statements:
Energy: “Let’s get back to energy.”
The border crisis: “Let’s close the border.”
Crime: “Let’s enforce crime, crime on the streets.”
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Homelessness: “(I’ve) touched them and listened to them.”
On voting for Trump: “(I) will make that decision when the time comes.”
Oh, he also said the gravest threat to democracy is “the deconstruction of the Constitution.” I doubt Garvey could speak confidently about anything other than a batting order.
If Garvey votes for Trump, and Trump gets his way, Garvey won’t have to answer any more pesky questions about deconstructing the Constitution. He’ll just be living it, a member of the Senate Politburo, rubber-stamping Trump “bills.” Garvey could probably function in that role, as it requires some eye-hand coordination.
Hannah Arendt once wrote about the “banality of evil,” but Garvey is the evil of banality. His vagueness serves no one. It’s just pathetic.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The California GOP’s massive fail has been going on for decades. There used to be scads of accomplished, respected Republican members of Congress from here: Reps. David Dreier, Jerry Lewis and Pete McCloskey, and Sens. Thomas Kuchel, S.I. Hayakawa and Pete Wilson come to mind.
Garvey’s superpower in the primary was being in the right place at the right time. Now he’ll be lucky if Schiff does one debate with him on a 5,000-watt college public radio station, and Schiff is done writing checks. He’ll be sending that money to Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and other tough-race Dems in nasty reelection fights.
Schiff got what he wanted: the utterly hapless and completely unprepared Steve Garvey.
Garvey should consider himself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth if he gets through this campaign without being totally humiliated.
Jack Ohman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and columnist.
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
visit website
