She was also more of a neoliberal centrist, and had some moments that were, at best, terrible optics. She condescendingly admonished some kids asking her about her stance on climate change. As mayor of San Francisco, she defended flying the Confederate Flag as part of a monument to American Historical Flags. Then when a black man climbed the pole in a Union uniform to tear it down, she replaced it the next day. So he climbed the pole the next day and took it down again, and he was arrested. She put it back up the third day and posted guards to keep it up. She later “evolved” on the issue of flying the Confederate flag.

As mayor, she was violently anti-punk music, and was considered far more conservative than her predecessor. She became mayor after her predecessor was assassinated by political rival and former police officer, who also killed Harvey Milk in the same shopting. The assassin was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and served 5 years in prison. Her administration was notably friendlier to police and real estate development.

Did I mention she made millions of dollars in real estate and investments? After the 2022 death of her third husband, her net worth was estimated at around $90 million, making her one of the top 5 or so wealthiest Senators. I say “or so” because it’s really hard to pin down how much Senators have or what they earn, and there are alarmingly few regulations regarding disclosures of investments in the Senate. Feinstein sat on the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

In 2013, she blamed the Sandy Hook shootings on violent video games.

And when it became obvious that she was no longer in control of her mental faculties, she refused to step down.