Image from the Associated Press/San Francisco Examiner [file photo] (link here).
There are a lot of details emerging about this occurrence. The articles linked provide the full story and I did my best to summarize it below and present the most crucial points in this developing story.
According to court documents unsealed Wednesday, California State Senator Leland Yee (District 8: San Francisco and San Mateo County) solicited campaign donations in exchange for introducing an undercover FBI agent to an arms trafficker. Senator Yee was arrested yesterday. Prior to his arrest, Senator Yee was known for his California gun control efforts, crusade against violent video games, and transparency bills. For more information on Yee's various transgressions, check out this LA Times article.
It's interesting to observe not just the aftermath of Yee's arrest (he was released yesterday after posting $500,000 bail this Mercury News article reports) but the reactions of the public as well as his peers. The Mercury News compiled an interesting assortment of tweets from people responding to Lee's indictment (see it here). More importantly, Lee withdrew from California's secretary of state race and has apparently shaken up the dynamics for that campaign. Additionally, California's other state senators stood together in asking for his resignation (watch the video here).
In addition to hearing your reactions, I'm eager to get your opinions on the legislation ensuring government transparency that Yee was (ironically) dedicated to. You should also feel free to comment on his various legislative actions pertaining to violence in video games. You may find some helpful information on his official site.
1 comment:
The gun control champion turned gun trafficker saga is a twisted piece of irony, but mostly just sickening. Yes, the entire thing seems to be pulled out of some Hollywood crime drama, but within the state legislature, I don’t think it will amount to much in the next few years.
In the short term, however, the Yee suspension and the suspension of a few other Democratic state senators has removed the Democrat’s supermajority. So, it will arguably slow any Democratic pushes for major legislation.
The Christian Science Monitor states the following:
“Longer term, the Yee case may fuel anti-incumbent sentiment among voters in this year's elections, possibly giving Republican candidates a boost after years of experiencing a steady ballot-box decline.”
However, the Monitor also noted that the severity of this case’s impact will be determined by how closely voters are following it, in which case, there could be implications for 2016.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2014/0331/California-Democrats-intent-on-damage-control-after-Leland-Yee-arrest-video
I’m of a similar opinion, but I also think that most people are a little shocked at the entire thing to even be seriously considering its impact on their decisions at the ballot. Personally, it reads a bit too much like tabloid news for me to draw actual political associations.
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