Adam Schiff: 'Democrats are Assholes'

California Prop. 47 caused an explosion of theft, drug use, and homelessness. What will Democrats do for an encore?

Eleven years ago, California voters said three things very loudly, passing Prop. 47 by a 60/40 vote.

1. Stealing less than $950, or possessing illegal drugs, must be charged as a misdemeanor, not a felony.

2. Prisoners can have their felony sentences reduced to misdemeanors.

3. Money saved from reduced incarceration must be shifted to services in local communities.

Kamala Harris, the Attorney General at the time, called Prop. 47 the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.”

Over the next 10 years, California experienced a slow-moving explosion of organized retail theft, public drug use, and homelessness. Retailers like Target began closing stores and (in the stores that remained open) putting goods behind lock and key. San Francisco reported about 250 overdose deaths in 2014, and more than 800 deaths in 2023. And homelessness in the state rose by more than 60% between 2014 and 2024.

By the November election of 2024, Californians were mad enough to pass Prop. 36 by a landslide vote of 68% to 32%, reversing Prop. 47 and reauthorizing felony charges for certain drug and theft crimes.

A couple days ago, California Senator Adam Schiff appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and recounted a story about crime in San Francisco. Thieves stole the luggage from his car, forcing him to visit Target to buy some toiletries.

The products were all locked up, and Schiff engaged in conversation with an employee as he checked out. That’s when the cashier said, “Democrats are assholes.”

“I thought,” Schiff told Maher, “you know, if the cashier in San Francisco at 10:00 at night believes that Democrats are assholes because shampoo is locked up and my stuff gets stolen out of the trunk, we’ve got a major problem that we have to address.”

So, what will Democrats do in 2025, after all the criminal chaos of the last 10 years?

This year, the Democrat-controlled California legislature wants to eliminate criminal penalties for welfare fraud involving less than $950.