Eric Bauman, who would go on to win a tight race for California Democratic Party chairman, addresses the party convention in Sacramento in this May file photo.
Since the Harvey Weinstein sex abuse scandal first broke a little over a year ago, the #MeToo movement has transitioned from #MeToo to #MeThree to #MeMore. So far, the craze has taken down powerful men such as CBS network executive Les Moonves, to Hollywood star Kevin Spacey, and comedian Bill Cosby.
The most recently #MeToo casualty is California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman.
Last week, Bauman was forced to resign after multiple allegations of salty language, inappropriate conversations and unwanted touching emerged. Currently, the California Democratic Party is investigating the charges and Bauman is refusing to respond to specific allegations until he is treated for alcohol addiction and unresolved health issues.
Full disclosure — Bauman and I got to know each other a bit, while debating on various cable news chat shows. I can honestly say that during the course of our professional relationship, he always treated me with the utmost respect and I always looked forward to working with him. When we would do TV hits together, Eric was always smart, funny, pleasant, prepared and made good television.
Beyond that, there’s a lot of downtime in between yell-fests, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute I spent with the powerful party chairman who carried himself like an old school political boss in Tammany Hall.
You can’t ask for anything more from a chat show sparring partner.
All of that being said, I can’t speak to any specific allegations made against him at the CDP because I wasn’t there, and those complainants certainly deserve to have their claims investigated.
What I can tell you, with great certainty, is that Bauman’s departure has created a huge void for both the California Democratic Party and the state.
Bauman not only did the impossible job of leading the California Democratic Party, he excelled beyond any reasonable expectation.
Since Bauman took over the California Democratic Party, the party of Jefferson and Jackson has won a two-thirds majority in both houses of the state legislature, a lop-sided majority of the California congressional delegation, and every single statewide constitutional office, including both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats.
Prior to taking over the California Democratic Party, Bauman ran the Los Angeles County Democratic Party with a similar stellar record of success. When Bauman took over the county party, Los Angeles County was decidedly purple and would routinely elect Republicans to both county-wide and district-wide office. Today the county is deeply blue.
Sure, plenty of factors contributed to these results, but without the steady hand of a competent steward, things could have easily gone off the rails.
While it’s true that many political observers look at parties as just convenient ways to launder money to candidates, they really do much more than that.
Since California has effectively become a one-party state, the California Democratic Party has more or less become an arm of state government. With that, comes a great deal of power, responsibility and an immense budget.
In addition, in an era of term limits, where state politicians are prone to fight with each other over a finite amount of offices, titles and resources, Bauman uniquely had the power and stature to step in and settle these tribal disputes. If two viable, ambitious politicians decided to challenge each other for the same office, Boss Bauman had the ability to step in and tell one player to sit on the sidelines because it wasn’t their turn yet.
I know that sounds like a skill from a bygone era, but in a world that involves a top-two primary system, it really is more valuable today than ever.