Gavin Newsom's political magic: Will America fall for his tricks? |
Gavin Newsom’s political magic: Will America fall for his tricks?
As American servicemembers face danger in the Middle East and Iran launches missiles across the Gulf, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has found his moment — not to lead, mind you, but to perform.
Within hours of the first strikes, Newsom — with whom I am well familiar, as his opponent in 2018 — was on social media condemning the war as “illegal” while simultaneously agreeing that Iran’s regime “must go.”
His team then pivoted to bragging about California gas prices. Classic Newsom: say everything, mean nothing, and make sure the cameras are rolling.
This is the Newsom I know in his natural habitat. He is, above all else, a political magician. His power lies not in accomplishing feats of genuine skill, but in distracting the audience with extraneous actions while executing sleight of hand tricks designed to generate applause.
His greatest trick yet? Vaulting his status from the incompetent and corrupt governor of a failing state to a leading contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
Newsom recently went on a very convenient book tour to early primary states while positioning himself as the resistance leader to Donald Trump. He is an expert at manipulating the culture wars at the same time he criticizes other politicians for their cultural positions. He’s very skilled at performing, casting himself as an everyman raised by a single mom and growing up with little in the way of creature comforts.
This, of course, is an act totally at variance with the whole truth.
Newsom’s father and grandfather are legendary political fixtures and fixers in California, helping to elect both Gov. Pat Brown (D) and his son, Gov. Jerry Brown (D). His grandfather obtained a lucrative concession for the Squaw Valley ski area in Lake Tahoe, which generated considerable wealth. His father was not only a close adviser to Jerry Brown but the trustee of the Getty Family Trust, which tied young Gavin to the infamous Getty family wealth. And his aunt, by marriage, is former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
He apparently suffers from dyslexia — a significant disability, no doubt, but not one that has held back his political ladder climbing or his accumulation of a Getty-financed chain of hotels, restaurants and wineries. Newsom’s book apparently goes into great length concerning his childhood “struggles,” and he takes great pains to highlight them for audiences so he can seem to identify with them. Classic distraction: he’s trying to get people to focus on his identity with voters instead of looking at what he has actually done when elected to our state’s highest office.
Water shortages, because he’s been slow in getting reservoirs approved. Energy shortages and soaring costs, because he’s decommissioned natural gas, stopped oil drilling, and overregulated refineries while allowing huge rate increases to electric utilities.
Housing costs have soared despite his promise to build 3.5 million new homes (the actual numbers are about 13 percent of that). Homelessness has increased despite billions wasted. Roads are some of the worst in the country despite spending far more than other states per mile. Educational results lag the worst performing states even as costs have soared.
California has the highest taxes in the nation, with the top 1 percent paying nearly half of all income tax and set to go higher, yet still is running a massive deficit. Many are moving out.
All of these impacts didn’t happen by accident. They are the result of the governor selling out to interest groups that benefit from these failures. Environmental lobbying groups fund Newsom’s campaigns and also promote laws like the California Environmental Quality Act that shut down energy production and water resources. Trial lawyers keep excessive litigation going, adding to the cost of living. Government employee unions want government pay and benefits to go higher and put government in control of education. All these drive up taxes and contribute to the deficit.
Newsom will claim his state has some of the most successful businesses and wealth generation in the nation. That’s true, but that’s like the rooster claiming credit for the sunrise. California has the best weather and natural beauty in the world. That’s why smart people and businesses want to locate here, despite the incompetent and corrupt government run by special interests.
Now, as a real crisis unfolds in the Middle East, Newsom uses it as another stage for his performance. He positions himself as both anti-war and anti-Iran, threading needles that exist only in political fantasy. He attacks Trump while offering no alternative. He claims moral authority while his own state crumbles.
Newsom can’t escape his record with claims that he identifies with average voters, or by grandstanding on foreign policy he has no hand in shaping. Voters are looking for results. Political magic or not, his presidential ambitions deserve to go by the wayside.
John H. Cox is an attorney, CPA, investment adviser, and former Republican nominee for governor of California. He is the author of “The Newsom Nightmare: The California Catastrophe and How to Reform Our Broken System.”
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