Mediaboss Marketing

Tom Tarantino has a certain quality Democrats these days are craving in a candidate, particularly in the suburban Contra Costa-Alameda County district where Tarantino will file paperwork Thursday to run for the Assembly.

Hes a military veteran.

Im looking for my next mission, Tarantino, 39, told me this week in San Francisco, where he works as a policy manager for Twitter.

Democrats find the vet part of his bio particularly alluring in the Donald Trump era because veterans connote images like stability and service to country desirable characteristics in a hyper-partisan time when 6 in 10 voters find the administration to be running chaotically, according to this weeks Morning Consult/Politico poll.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is actively recruiting veterans to run for Congress next year, and their national security backgrounds can be attractive to independent voters. Among the first-time vet candidates running in California is retired Navy SEAL Josh Butner, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Duncan Hunter in a very Republican Southern California district.

The leading example for Democrats is retired Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath, who just launched her campaign in a deeply red Kentucky congressional district that Trump carried by 15 points. In her race against incumbent GOP Rep. Andy Barr, who won last year with 61 percent of the vote, she cites the 89 combat missions she flew.

But dont write McGrath off as political cannon fodder until you check out the campaign video she dropped this week featuring her in a flight jacket standing on the tarmac. Some Democrats a party still in search of a unified message consider the videos closing line a template for 2018.

This is my new mission: to take on a Congress full of career politicians who treat the people of Kentucky like theyre disposable, McGrath says in the ad. Some are telling me a Democrat cant win that battle in Kentucky, that we cant take back our country for my kids and yours. Well see about that.

Key phrase there: my new mission.

Tarantino used the mission message several times in describing why hes running. He grew up in San Anselmo, a working-class kid in a wealthy town his mom cleaned houses and his dad worked blue-collar jobs before signing up for the Army Reserves during his first year at the College of Marin.

He served 10 years, including time in Bosnia and Iraq. But when he left the Army, he had the same experience as many other vets: I couldnt find a job.

Tarantino eventually connected with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, one of the more powerful veterans advocates in Washington, rising to become a top aide to the organizations co-founder, Paul Rieckhoff. Tarantino testified before Congress more than a dozen times and was influential in getting benefits for veterans.

Rieckoff described Tarantino as a star, and said he is part of a wave of about 100 post-9/11 veterans running for office and split roughly equally between Democrats and Republicans.

Part of it is Trump, and people are upset at some of the things hes said and done, Rieckoff said of why the veterans are putting themselves forward. And part of it is that they see all the dysfunction in politics and they want to help. Theyre problem-solvers. Theyre trained to get (stuff) done.

Tarantino will have challenges taking on incumbent Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Dublin, who won with 56 percent of the vote last fall and enjoys a reputation as one of the more bipartisan members of the Legislature. (She has held joint town hall meetings with Democratic state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, for example.) Plus, Tarantino just moved to the district in November. He will marry a Walnut Creek physician this month.

But with Democrats holding a 12-point advantage in voter registration in Bakers district, its a huge target, Bill Wong, political director for Assembly Democrats told me. Its the only Bay Area district held by a Republican.

We were way off message in previous attempts to win the seat, he said. Perhaps a veteran on a mission can help.

Every time theres a new development related to the investigations of the Trump campaign colluding with Russia during last years campaign, people ask: When is Trump going to be impeached?

So I asked a few people who have seen the evidence that we havent: Californians who serve on the Senate and House intelligence committees investigating the matter. Heres what they said:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, member of the Senate Intelligence Committee: Not close. Recent press reports concerning the president are very worrisome, including stories that he may fire the attorney general and even pardon himself. Those are the kinds of actions that could lead Congress to take a serious look at impeachment. But remember, the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans, and both chambers require the majoritys willingness to advance impeachment proceedings. Right now, very few Republicans are willing to stand up to the president.

Sen. Kamala Harris, member of the Senate Intelligence Committee: I will not at this point ask for or call on the impeachment of the president of the United States without having more facts and evidence that would be the grounds for that.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, member of the House Intelligence Committee: Until at least 24 Republican House members become disgusted by the presidents incompetence and bullying, or at least feel that he is threatening their re-election, impeachment will not occur. The House needs a simple majority vote to impeach the president, and then the Senate needs a two-thirds vote to remove the president from office. I think it is more likely that President Trump will resign. Its clear that the job is too much for him.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli

Follow this link:
Democrats searching for vets to lead them out of the wilderness - San Francisco Chronicle