The Drain

Hey guys, Kempa here. Sorry for the delay in episodes--Kempa has been dealing with the passing of his sweet baby pit bull, and Max is settling into life down in southern California. The good news is that we have a whole backlog of episodes coming your way in the next few days!
Today we're looking at progressive Aisha Wahab defeating an AIPAC-backed moderate Democrat to replace the disgraced Eric Swalwell, representing the east Bay in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Wahab defeated Melissa Hernandez by a solid six points in this special election. But she's not resting on her laurels just yet. The two will again go head-to-head in November with a rematch for the seat in the general election for 2027.
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa

**This is a preview of our premium show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to patreon.com/thedrain.**
Today we've got a reading series on the Vanity Fair piece written by Ruby Rippey (free link), who had an affair with Governor Gavin Newsom during his tenure as mayor of San Francisco.
It's a really fascinating essay, as well as the first time Rippey has come out and spoken about her side of the affair, which took place when she was married to Newsom's chief of staff/close friend. She discusses her struggles with addiction, how her husband found out, and the way that Newsom and now-first-partner Jennifer Siebel-Newsom trashed her in the press.
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa

Sacramento made national news last week after a hot mic moment captured discussion between the mayor and a council member over how to remove people they deemed disruptive from council chambers.
You may have heard about it from Fox News, or maybe in the California Post: City council member Karina Talamantes offering up to seemingly clueless Mayor Kevin McCarty on the protocols for removing protesters who have in recent been calling them names such as a "pick-me bitch," and a "fucking criminal."
Why has this been going down?
Well, council recently voted to renew a contract with the increasingly fascist federal government to share information on city residents.
The California punditry class has predictably started wringing their hands over questions of "decorum," providing takes on the First Amendment based tenuously in reality.
We discuss the ins and outs of the situation here in Sacramento and beyond, go over the city's rich, vibrant history of insulting local politicians to their faces, and look to our favorite idiot Democrat, Steve Maviglio, for his thoughts on the situation.
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa
 

Today we're looking at a phenomenal piece written by Will Sommer at The Bulwark, examining how QAnon conspirators are planning to take over a defunct California women's prison and turn it into a haven for trafficked children.
Listeners in northern California may remember the Leo Chesney Female Community Correctional Facility. It was truly the gem of Live Oak.
But in 2011 the private prison was closed after the state decided to cut its funding. As the Chico Enterprise reported, the loss of the women's prison left a "hole in Live Oak."
But do not fear, Sutter County residents. The far-right Church of Glad Tidings is set to reopen the facility and rename it "Peace of Heaven," a supposed safe space for children rescued from trafficking.
Next month, some of our biggest rightwing faves will descend upon the church for the Rev 17 2.0 Conference, where they'll plan their takeover of the facility.
We discuss the conference's title--derived apparently from the portion of the Bible that covers "Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast"--go over the now-debunked story about an alleged Navy SEAL rescue of child sex slaves on a crude oil tanker in the Bay Area (free link), and examine what we can expect from this conference, which will provide VIP attendees a private tour of the former prison facility.
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa

As of July 1, California is the country's first full-time Legislature to allow Capitol staffers to form a union (free link). And they're already starting to organize.
Today we're taking a look at what a unionized legislature means not just for the Senate and Assembly, but also for workers throughout the state who have been yearning for solidarity in downtown Sacramento.
Does this strengthen the positions of teachers and nurses as well? What does legislative solidarity look like for state workers like SEIU Local 1000, the California Association of Professional Scientists, and the Professional Engineers in California Government?
As it stands, Gavin Newsom has proven himself to be the most anti-worker governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger, forcing state workers back into the office and reneging on the raises promised to California's scientists.
It's hard to imagine that an organized legislative staff couldn't throw a lot of heft around in standing in solidarity with these unions.
We then take a moment to discuss a couple of the golden state's 2028 presidential hopefuls' recent gaffes on the genocide in Gaza. Newsom is now speaking out of both sides of his mouth, claiming that he no longer believes Israel is an apartheid state (to say nothing of the other war crimes it is committing throughout the Middle East). And Ro Khanna is afraid to embargo/sanction Israel in response to the genocide.
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa

**This is a preview of our premium show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to patreon.com/thedrain.**
Today Max and Kempa dive deep into Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's husband's penchant for driving while hammered, including a recent alleged hit-and-run in Napa County. We also discuss that other time he got hammered, as it were, and look into the strange narrative arc of his attacker, David Wayne DePape's, life.
But first, Kempa gets excited about his upcoming Shasta County car camping trip with an update on the zany politics of northern California's most beautiful rural bastion. Remember when that zesty CalFire employee tried to citizen's-arrest the entire county board of supervisors during the pandemic lockdown? Well, things have changed a bit.
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa
 

Today we're discussing the story out of San Francisco that's been hitting national headlines and opinion columns for well over a week:
Congressional candidate Scott Wiener was chased out of a trans rights march at the tail end of Pride Month over his longtime support of Zionism and his too-little, too-late acknowledgement of the genocide taking place in Gaza.
Folks are making a lot of hay about this, but this isn't the first time a middling San Francisco politician was booed at the trans march, and it won't be the last.
We discuss the events that took place, as well as Wiener's horrible record with the genocide in Gaza that has angered so many progressives and leftists--including his backing of legislation that has made it all but impossible for public school teachers to include the Nakba in their curricula.
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa

Today Kempa sits down with The Drain's chief Mamdanistan correspondent, Peter Lucas, to discuss the wave of astounding political victories that New York's democratic socialists and their lefty union allies enjoyed over the Democratic establishment in last week's primary elections.
The Democratic Socialists of America celebrated a gentleman's sweep of their endorsed candidates last Tuesday, leaving Democratic leadership scrambling to shift blame off themselves and onto their voter base, and establishment members of Congress fighting off anxieties over the precarity of their own seats (free link).
As I publish, DSA's New York chapter has added over 600 members to their ranks since election night, putting the national organization on the verge of becoming the largest socialist political organization in America's 250-year history (edging out Eugene Debs' Socialist Party of America, which had nearly 120,000 members at its apex).
We discuss the organizing that led to a week of jaw-dropping electoral victories, examine how the Socialists In Office Project is working to stop the "Pelosification" of DSA-backed officials, and walk through some of the biggest races from last week:
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old self-described communist who once tweeted "Fuck Kamala Harris," took out longtime Democratic incumbent and head of the Congressional Latino Caucus, Adriano Espaillat, in New York's 13th congressional district.
Progressive Brad Lander (who is no longer a member of DSA) ousted incumbent Dan Goldman in New York's 10th, after scouring Goldman over his support of AIPAC and his refusal to acknowledge the genocide in Gaza. This race carries a very important lesson for politicians on what unions such as the United Auto Workers expect of their elected officials.
Claire Valdez, with DSA and UAW support, narrowly defeated progressive Antonio Reynoso in New York's seventh district, despite Reynoso's backing from the Working Families Party and a slew of old-guard labor unions.
We also touch on three state legislature races that included candidates interviewed by Peter in Jacobin: Samantha Kattan, Aber Kawas, and Conrad Blackburn.
But don't rest on your laurels, 'cause the Wet Hot Socialist Summer isn't over yet. We let our listeners know about a few incredibly important races coming up with DSA-backed candidates throughout the country, including Melat Kiros's run for Congress in Colorado, Abdul El-Sayed's push to be Michigan's next U.S. Senator, and Francesca Hong's exciting bid to be the next governor of Wisconsin.
Want to be a part of all the winning? Consider joining DSA and helping to make it the largest socialist organization this country has ever seen.
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa

**This is a preview of our premium show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to patreon.com/thedrain.**
Hi all!! Sweet Palma here. By the time you read this, I'll be 'pon di island, if you will--I'm taking a brief two-week vacation to Taiwan during the last half of June. Don't fret! I'll be back before the end of the month to talk more California politics with Kempa, and will be using my time away to work on a special California history series in collaboration with our long-time friend and associate, the ever-mysterious "El Güero." More updates as they come. Until then...
For our patrons, we have a little update on what we got up to the last time I was out of town, at the end of last month--Kempa linked up with Film God Tommy Wiseau; Palma was in El Salvador visiting family and catching up on the latest events in the country. The last little bit of the episode involves "looking ahead" at CA's primary results, which should by this point be just about completely counted and ready for certification by Dr. Shirley Weber.

As late votes have been counted throughout California, leftists all over have secured their spots against Democrats in the November runoffs. And MAGA is furious.
It's not just the Twitter ghouls, either. Donald Trump lost his shit in a corrugated shed during a feisty Meet the Press interview last week in Wisconsin. And Nick Shirley is traveling the Golden State, harassing people he believes to be listed as 126 years old in our voter rolls. Republicans are at a loss as to why their candidates are not making it to the next round in the most liberal state in the union.
As we recorded this episode, a ballot dump dropped showing leftist Mai Vang now leading incumbent octogenarian Doris Matsui in the lead-in to their November showdown. We discuss that, as well as why we're not all that broken up about Tom Steyer not making it to the next round in the governor's race.
Finally, we take a moment to discuss the shit-show of the US hosting the World Cup. Is there a glimmer of hope in all of this? And who do you have to win it all?
Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms.
Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at thedrainpodcast@gmail.com.
We're still hanging about on Twitter: @sweetxpalma and @youknowkempa