News Commentary: So Long, Lois
Capps Steps Down After 18 Years in Congressional Trenches
The word “nice” gets a bad rap. Nice guys, famously, don’t finish first. Centuries ago, the word meant to “not know,” its roots translating literally to “no science.” From there, “nice” morphed to describe “differences of no import,” landing eventually on today’s “blandly pleasant” meaning. But with the imminent onslaught of a Trump White House, the world is quickly learning — the scary way — that there are things far worse than being nice.
But Santa Barbara already knows that.
That’s because for the past 18 years, our community has been represented in Congress by Lois Capps, who just officially bowed out after 10 grueling terms in office. During Capps’s tenure, she was nominated “the nicest member of Congress” by Capitol Hill staffers so many times that Washingtonian magazine — which bestows the award — finally had to retire her jersey. In a profession where table banging is seen as an essential job skill, an accolade like this might be seen as a serious liability.
