During a Friday night appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, the repellent Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) shared a “teaching moment” he experienced with a cashier at a South San Francisco Target store.
Two years ago, Schiff traveled to San Francisco, where his luggage was stolen from his locked car. Needing essentials for the next couple of days, he stopped by a nearby Target store to pick up some toiletries. He grew annoyed when he had to track down a clerk to unlock an item he needed, which was secured behind glass.
In the checkout line, the cashier asked him if he wanted “one of those Target bags with the little bullseye on it.” He said yes, because “that Target bag is going to be my luggage for the next two days.”
Schiff continued, “And she asked me what happened, and I told her. And she basically said in not-so-many words, ‘Yeah, Democrats are a**holes.'”
“And I thought if a cashier in San Francisco at ten o’clock at night believes that Democrats are a**holes because the shampoo is locked up and my stuff got stolen out of the trunk, we’ve got a major problem that we have to address.”
First, the cashier was right. Democrats are a**holes. Their misguided policies have inflicted great harm on America.
Second, given Schiff’s long history of playing fast and loose with the truth, it’s hard to take anything he says at face value. But assuming the story is true, you have to appreciate the irony of a Democrat falling victim to the very policies his party helped create. After all, it’s often only through direct experience that real lessons are learned.
Additionally, Schiff prefaced his story by telling Maher, “So, we’re going to have to change how we do business in California. We’re going to have to address people’s legitimate concerns about crime.” This raises the question: what steps, if any, has he taken to confront the situation? My guess would be none.
In their infinite wisdom, California voters passed Proposition 47 in 2014, a ballot initiative that, among other things, downgraded the theft of goods worth up to $950 from a felony to a misdemeanor, making it easier for petty crime to flourish. Predictably, the incidence of shoplifting soared.
And retailers suffered. Many saw their profit margins shrink, and some were even forced to shutter their stores. While we can all relate to the annoyance of having to track down a clerk to purchase everyday items that are now under lock and key, we also understand why these security measures have become necessary.
Moreover, the overall decline of San Francisco has only deepened over the past two years. Once a beautiful tourist destination, it has now become a city many people go out of their way to avoid.
Reaction to Schiff’s story on social media was overwhelmingly negative.
One X user quipped, “Has he checked if it was that bald, lipstick-wearing Biden official?”—a reference to Sam Brinton, the “non-binary” former senior Department of Energy official whose penchant for stealing women’s luggage from airport baggage carousels ultimately cost him his job.
And most commenters agreed with the Target clerk.
And most responders believed that, despite Schiff’s moment of clarity, he has done nothing to address the situation.
Because he just might be the biggest liar in Congress today.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn or X.
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