Senator Feinstein should step aside and make space for the governor to fill two vacant Senate seats. Even if she wasn’t having short term memory and mental acuity lapses, it would be reasonable, given her age (87) for her to make room for a younger person. I was in a similar situation when I was in the Communist Party. An older leader in decline mentally and physically wouldn’t willingly step aside and allow for a leadership transition. In the end the transition happened, but it was unnecessarily delayed, awkward, and left behind some hard feelings. It didn’t have to be this way, although in the 20th century communist movement, it was rare that a General Secretary stepped down before death was at the door. Interestingly, one exception was Fidel Castro who made space for a leadership transition.