It’s a beautiful state with a fabulous climate, when it’s not on fire, but what’s going on with their politicians? This question was prompted by an observation about their current governor, Gavin Newsom.
After two months and a gratuitous 15 episodes — including interviews with far-right talking heads Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, Obama-era Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and New York Times columnist Ezra Klein — guess how many women the governor of California has deigned to interview on his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom”?
One.
That (dubious) honor went to Amie Parnes, a senior political journalist at The Hill, who shared the interview with Johnathon Allen, a political journalist with NBC News. The two co-authored “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House” about the 2024 presidential election, which was released in April.
Good for her. But in a state that’s home to nearly 40 million people, more than half of whom are women, the governor really can’t find any of them to interview for his little podcast project? Yikes.
I know — that’s not the worst thing he has done with his little podcast, that honor belongs to his willingness to throw trans athletes under the bus. That podcast, which I’ve never listened to, seems to be a self-constructed catastrophe to his political aspirations, and he keeps on doing it. There was a time a few years (or eternities) ago that he was considered a solid presidential candidate, but would I ever vote for him? No. It’s incredibly shallow of me, I know, but just the hair kills my impression of him. He looks like an insurance salesman or a preacher. His policies make me think he’s in the pocket of Big Tech. He’s definitely not progressive at all.
But then I started wondering — California is a populous and rich state, where are the national leaders it should be turning out? There’s Richard Nixon, the least said the better, who was our only president born in California. Then we had Ronald Reagan, the man responsible for starting the country’s downward spiral, who wasn’t born there, but was governor and is always associated with the state. Why do so many awful political careers start there? Is it something about Sacramento?
I’m already biased against California presidential candidates, so let’s not ever nominate another one. I hope Gavin’s political career has reached its apogee.
Speaking of big powerful states with an appalling political culture, dare I mention…TEXAS?
“Speaking of big powerful states with an appalling political culture, dare I mention…TEXAS?”
Dare! Dare!
I don’t know PZ, if I had to choose between Newsom and someone like JD Vance, I know who I would vote for. Or, in truth, it would be more of a situation of who I would be forced to vote for.
Gee, it’s almost as if capitalist democracy requires you to be ultimately subservient to those who own capital.
I’ve seen stuff online associating Newsom with Patrick Bateman due to a superficial resemblance or shallow charm.
Needless to say, like a lot of states there are several Californias. It’s not all hippie flower-child and gay San Francisco/North Coast, or the bustling moviedom of El Hey, or the om-ish Central Coast of Santa Cruz/Monterey. The big divide is roughly between the urbane urban areas and the farmers. The bulk of the state is farms. California is one of the largest agricultural economies in the world. They have a tendency to be conservative and religious.
I don’t understand Gavin’s gambit except that it’s just a fucking political gambit to appeal to a broader base…I guess. He seemed really with it when he was mayor of SF and I would listen to him on the morning drive-time talk show with Dave Morey. But, some of these recent moves seem clearly “calculated” and strike me as stupid in the current climate. I would still have to vote for him over a MAGA-hat if I had to but I would rather vote for AOC or Melanie Stansbury from New Mexico. I also prefer Pete Buttigieg over Newsom.
But before we get there, we’ve 3+ years of the Pigs sucking the US dry. And, if they get their “constitutional convention” there may be no way out of this mess.
That is not even the worst thing Gavin Newson has done.
The latest headline.
This isn’t going to solve the homeless problem.
This isn’t even going to save the cities and counties any money.
It just moves the homeless around.
It also costs a lot in police time, court time, and prison time to harass homeless people for being homeless.
Gavin Newsom doesn’t have the answers to any of the USA’s and California’s many problems.
In fact, in a lot of cases, he doesn’t solve problems, he makes them worse.
The title of this post is, “What is wrong with California?”
It could just as well be, “What is wrong with Governor Gavin Newsom?”
I don’t know or care but he isn’t a good governor, a good leader, or a good person.
If he just went away somewhere and spend his large fortune having fun, we would all be better off.
Well, I’ll give it a try any way.
.1. When Donald Trump was elected, the lesson Gavin Newsom concluded was, “Let us (meaning himself) run towards the center and center right.”
It is a calculated political move by a successful long time politician of the richest and largest population state of the USA**.
.2. His political calculation was wrong here and he doesn’t see it.
The current Fascist GOP regime isn’t right wing.
They are fascist right wing extremists trying with some success to destroy the USA and set up a dictatorship.
The correct calculation, made by people like Bernie Sanders and AOC, should be to fight fascism and save our democracy first.
If the fascists win, Newsom isn’t going to be running for a national office. There won’t be any elections nor national offices that matter any more.
.3. The current GOP regime of hate and destruction isn’t popular and they are getting more unpopular every day as they keep failing.
The opposition, which is the majority of citizens, needs leadership to take back our society.
Newsom could have been one, but he hasn’t figured out the obvious yet.
Not impressed.
PS **Despite how some people like to hate California, the state is actually highly successful. It just recently,…”officially overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, …
The magat cult seems to be infected with some sort of mentally debilitating disease. They can’t reason or view things objectively. The brainworm seems to be controlling robert f*cking kenedy jr. The insanity seems to be spreading. I know it’s not biologically possible, but sociologically it seems so. Newsom was married to a freakshow and I guess it rubbed off. Fetterman is beginning to rave like a madman regularly.
I just want to maintain some semblance of sanity, reason, and secular humanistic values and work to be able to EVENTUALLY awaken to a more decent sane world. But, I feel there are fewer and fewer that even want to realize and accept the insanity in which we are immersed.
robro @ #5,
I live in Monterey, and it’s not nearly as “hippy dippy” as you might think.
As you may know, the Monterey peninsula is made up of a series of small towns.
Carmel, Carmel Valley, Pacific Grove and Del Rey Oaks are infuriatingly conservative – filled with religious right types,
RWNJ bullies and “Get off of my lawn” types.
We certainly can’t be complacent about getting out the Democratic votes.
I guess one problem we all face is that when throwing shit at the wall, lying and destruction are normalized through out government, it is difficult to maintain perspective on what is sane and decent.
PZ, texass is the lone star state. But, that is just their sanity rating: 1 out of 5 stars. And, there’s Floridumb!
@ 5 robro
Acreage doesn’t vote, people do. Our Central Valley is urbanizing, so it is becoming less conservative.
Newsom is toast already; nobody likes him even if he’s going to be the last to realize it.
The Great New Caifornia Milquetoast Faux-Centrist up and comer y’all need to be on the lookout for is our mayor Todd Gloria, who has had already show great initiative implementing the Newsom Agenda wrt use of public land by the unhoused.
My tea leaf reading says that a Kamala Harris/Todd Gloria battle for the nomination to succeed Newsom is in the cards, btw, and it would be really funny if that came down to a vote and he couldn’t even manage to win San Diego.
i was the best thing in cali and left in early childhood, now all that remains is weeping.
@6
His ambition outstrips his abilities and intellect.
@13
Jesus H Christ on a bicycle, in a state as large and populous as California, is that really the best the state could come up with?!
I haven’t forgotten that Harris declined to prosecute the contractor for the Golden Gate repair shitshow. Yes, I held my nose and pulled the lever for her as the least bad option; that doesn’t mean I was happy about it. Is this really the best that CA can do?
https://californiaglobe.com/fr/troubled-bridge-over-water/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/engineers-build-golden-gate-bridge-143325922.html
Not exactly a visionary or anti-corruption candidate. But still better than the alternative.
Think of Gavin Newsom as Loki from the Marvel movies. His moves make sense more easily then.
He betrayed one of his best friends to have an affair with the friend’s wife.
He packed California’s utility regulation agency with people sympathetic to the murderous PG&E and other for-profit utilities. Said agency smothered residential solar (last year?)
He has long-standing family ties to the Getty family. You know, of Getty Oil? Hardly a champion of the working class, him.
I won’t vote Republican, but I don’t vote for Gavin — and his presence as leader of my state’s Democratic party makes me a lot less likely to support any Democrat.
We’re going to have to face the fact that we have two plutocratic parties in the country, and do the hard work of replacing one of them.
No shit.
Via today’s PBS Newshour :
Source : https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/newsom-urges-california-cities-and-counties-to-ban-homeless-encampments
As if that’ll solve anything. Pretending a problem isn’t there by cenosoring it or sweeping people out of sight and metaphorically throwing them under the bus. Yeah, that fixes it. NOT.
In fairness from same article Newsom is :
Ibid.
@7. raven : “If the fascists win, Newsom isn’t going to be running for a national office. There won’t be any elections nor national offices that matter any more.””
Too late. They already did win last year and now rule. They control the Presidency, Congress, SCOTUS, the military, etc.. and I very much doubt the USoA will get any actually free or fair elections anymore until the fascists are removed – by other means. If that happens.
StevoR, you are engaging in a premature (unwarranted) relinquishment of hope.
(Proof of the pudding is in the eating)
Newscum has been on right-wing podcasts. His kid likes Charlie Kirk. He’s living up to his nickname.
Newscum is the epitome of the centrist Democrat who things that the progressive side of his own party is a bigger threat than the people who literally want to kill him.