Low turnout, a deeply warped media narrative, and right-wing billionaire money framed a very conservative outcome. That’s the real story.
By Tim Redmond, 48 Hills
I have been covering San Francisco politics for more than 40 years, and I have never seen a district attorney face anything close to the media assault that came down on Chesa Boudin.
The first DA I covered, Arlo Smith, was marginally competent, but never went after a rogue cop, never did anything about public corruption, and had at best an unimpressive record on convictions. Nobody cared.
His successor, Terence Hallinan, had management issues (and fired a lot of staffers when he took office), and was a former defense lawyer. There was a major domestic violence case that he failed to prosecute, and a woman died. Only limited media attention, nothing like this.
Kamala Harris never prosecuted a cop for wrongdoing. Neither did George Gascon. There were plenty of cases where that could or should have happened, but the news media by and large didn’t care.
But I was here, and under both of them, bad crimes happened, some by people who had been let out of jail. There was open-air drug dealing, and people died of drug overdoses—and they both escaped any serious media attacks.
Recent Posts
It Looks Like Israel Wants To Start A Wider War
April 19, 2024
Take Action Now Provoking Iran is a strategy to distract from the ongoing slaughter of civilians in Gaza. by Stephen Zunes, The Progressive…
The U.S. Is Entering A New Phase Of Protest Suppression
April 19, 2024
Take Action Now Political repression is on the rise as the state finds new ways to criminalize dissent and collective action. by Adam Federman, In…
At UN Conference, Indigenous Peoples Say Little Has Changed After Promises Made A Decade Ago
April 19, 2024
Take Action Now Now, climate change is adding urgency to those pledges. By Anita Hofschneider, Grist In December, Catherine Muruparanga-Ikenn used…
Under UN Charter, Iran’s Attack Was A Legal Response To Israel’s Illegal Attack
April 19, 2024
Take Action Now Iran’s attack on Israel was lawful self-defense carried out in compliance with international humanitarian law. By Marjorie Cohn,…