Re: Gavin Newsom Has a Big Problem: It's California

On 7/12/25 11:27, Leroy N. Soetoro wrote:
> https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/07/10/gavin-newsom-has-a-big-problem-
> its-california-n2191481
> 
> The odds that California's impeccably coiffed Governor Gavin Newsom will
> be seeking the 2028 Democratic nomination are greater than zero, and he's
> sure been making moves in that direction. The guy makes no bones about
> being ambitious, and after the governor's chair, there's really only one
> place he can go that seems like a promotion. The problem is that, in any
> state outside of California, especially the vital swing states, Governor
> Newsom has two big problems. The first one is the record of the state of
> California under his governorship. The second one, he looks at in the
> mirror every morning when he shaves.
> 
> His recent visit to South Carolina, as I reported recently... happened.
> 
> See Also: When You See Gavin Newsom in South Carolina, You Know He's
> Running for POTUS
> 
That is for  sure!

> Now, Politico has some more news on just how that Palmetto State tour
> worked out.
> 
> Gavin Newsom packed church pews and community centers and cafes as he
> sprinted across this early primary state, the whooping crowds a sign of
> the opening the California governor may have in the Democratic
> presidential contest here.
> 
> But for all the fanfare, Newsom’s visit laid bare, too, the early
> indications of what could become a drag on his likely campaign — a sense
> among some Democrats in South Carolina that California’s liberal
> reputation may hobble him.
> 
> You don't say. South Carolina's former Governor Jim Hodges expressed some
> doubts:
> 
> “He’s a very articulate person, and clearly he’s charismatic,” said Jim
> Hodges, the most recent Democratic governor of South Carolina, a heavily-
> Republican state. “The larger concerns that he has to allay are related to
> California, and the feeling many have that California is not
> representative of the rest of the country in terms of its politics. He’s
> got to overcome that.”
> 
> Ay, there's the rub. How can he overcome all this? How can he appeal to
> enough people who aren't progressive California Democrats to win the White
> House?
> 
> How can Gavin Newsom overcome his disastrous mayorship of San Francisco,
> during which the city's homeless population exploded and the city had to
> start handing out "poop maps" to tourists?
> 
> How can Gavin Newsom overcome what's happened to California under his
> watch? How can he overcome taking the once-Golden State from a nearly $100
> billion budget surplus to an over $30 billion shortfall? Other states
> dealt with the COVID mess without dropping past the fiscal event horizon.
> How does he explain to moderate swing-state Democrats California's booming
> homeless problems, the deterioration of San Francisco, and Los Angeles?
> How does he explain having the largest illegal alien population in the
> country, per capita? How does he explain his continued insistence on
> allowing boys to play in girls' sports in California schools?
> 
> How does he square that circle convincingly enough to sway independents
> and moderate Democrats to vote for him, especially in those key swing
> states - all of which, remember, Donald Trump won, convincingly, in 2024?
> 
> That's a tall order.
> 
> Gavin Newsom, as RedState's own Jennifer Van Laar reported at the time,
> has tried this before:
> 
> See Also: As We Predicted, Gavin Newsom's Schtick Isn't Going Over Well
> With Democrats in Red States
> 
> At that time, Jennifer wrote:
> 
> In columns over the years, and on countless media appearances in which I’m
> asked for my opinion about various California Democrats seeking higher
> office, I’ve consistently made the observation that California Democrats
> have a very tough time getting traction outside of the state because
> they’ve never been challenged on their positions or been held accountable
> by the media in any way. They don’t even need to give campaign speeches or
> long-form interviews because at this point they don’t need to. So, like
> Kamala Harris, once the rest of the country gets to see what they’re all
> about, they’re not fans.
> 
> Gavin Newsom is the latest California political superstar to suffer this
> fate, and he hasn’t even declared for POTUS yet. Over the last week or so
> he’s been traveling to red states, acting like the savior who’ll be
> bringing enlightenment to the rubes stuck there. Unsurprisingly, for
> anyone who’s ever lived outside a narcissistic bubble, that doesn’t go
> over well, especially in the South.
> 
> That's what seems to have happened in this latest trip outside the
> California bubble that Gavin Newsom lives in. The fact is, he's just not
> able to relate to anyone outside the "progressive" echo chamber, and when
> he tries, he comes off badly. He doesn't seem sincere, he doesn't seem
> genuine, and honestly, he doesn't seem very well-informed. He tries to be
> urbane, but he just comes off as slimy, and not just because of his hair.
> 
> Here's the problem Governor Newsom has: He's a phony. When he tries to go
> outside his usual bubble, that becomes very apparent, very quickly. A
> little Gavin Newsom goes a long way - one might even say, a little dab'll
> do ya.
> 
> Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters
> reject its globalist agenda.
> 
>