Larry Wilson: Steve Garvey goes down swinging in debate with Adam Schiff

It wasn’t exactly Lincoln-Douglas.

Neither candidate has, or probably claims to have, a barn-burning oratorical style on the campaign trail.

But the televised debate last week between Steve Garvey and Adam Schiff, the Republican and Democratic candidates vying to represent California in the United States Senate in the seat opened up by the death of Dianne Feinstein, had its mildly interesting moments.

My favorite moment was the most fun and cogent one.

Yes, it had to do with one Donald Trump. Schiff is accused by his opponents of being a one-issue candidate, obsessed with his opposition to Trump.

That’s because his opponents don’t know him. They haven’t been a constituent of his, as I have, during his 24 years in Congress and prior to that his four years in the California state Senate.

In the Legislature, Schiff — Stanford grad, Harvard Law, federal prosecutor famous for successfully sending to the Big House an FBI agent who was spying for the Soviet Union — was beloved in his San Gabriel Valley district for crafting an extraordinarily complex last-minute deal that saved the Gold Line light rail from never being built.

In the House, he has been known for leading on Armenian-American issues, key to many of his constituents. He fought against pervasive police (and TV news, and tourist) helicopter noise. He emphasized the need for unfettered journalism, forming the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Caucus for the Freedom of the Press aimed at advancing press freedom around the world. His Rim of the Valley legislation kept hiking trails in the Verdugos and the San Fernando Valley open space in perpetuity. He has a crackerjack staff always ready to provide constituent service.

That’s why, folks who don’t know him, he was elected 12 times to Congress in a district that until he first won was a lock for Republicans for generations. Two years ago, that re-election came with an overwhelming 71% of the vote. That’s not the kind of support that goes to a one-issue, do-nothing congressman.

And, yes, he became famous to the rest of the state and the nation by prosecuting Donald Trump.

Back to my favorite debate moment, a huge win for Schiff: “Mr. Garvey, I stood up to a corrupt president, and, yes, I investigated him, I impeached him, I led the trial in the Senate, and when he incited a violent attack on the Capitol — and I was there that day, Mr. Garvey, I was there on Jan. 6, as those insurrectionists were breaking down the doors and windows. The fact that you think that’s perfectly OK, that you still want to support the guy who incited that violent attack …”

“There you go again,” Garvey interrupted, in one of his countless attempts to steal that funny debate line from Ronald Reagan. “That tells me,” Schiff continued, “that you would never take your oath of office seriously, as I do.”

The moderator offered Garvey 30 seconds to respond.

The former first baseman contorted his face, looked down at the podium, waited a beat, and then another — and then it was Schiff’s term to interrupt, though he was only interrupting silence: “I’ve left him speechless,” he joked, with a smile.

After a little bit, Garvey, the wonderful ballplayer turned terrible businessman with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes and no plan to pay them, gave a weak smile and regained his voice: “I’m trying to think of all the things that you’ve lost” by impeaching a maniacal president bent on stealing an election.

Adam Schiff is going to be an excellent senator for California for decades.

Larry Wilson is on the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com