Gavin Newsom’s desperate bid to claim the ‘new – Latest News
Gavin Newsom desires to be the new Donald Trump.
No, California’s governor isn’t transferring to the proper or cracking down on unlawful immigration — fairly the reverse.
On Monday the White House blasted Newsom for offering industrial drivers’ licenses to unlawful aliens like Harjinder Singh, the trucker accused of killing three people on the Florida Turnpike final week.
Singh was free to make his lethal rogue U-turn thanks to “the so-called ‘sanctuary state’ of California,” the White House railed.
Newsom is the anti-Trump so far as the security of America’s roads and the integrity of our immigration system are involved.
But the governor has been faster than most Democrats to understand it takes a Trump to compete with Trump — somebody who’s keen to play hardball politics the similar method Trump does, and tasks an aura of success like the president’s.
Newsom even understands the need to attain Trump voters, which he’s tried to do by that includes MAGA luminaries like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon on his personal podcast.
That outreach displeased his fellow Dems — however what he’s up to now could be making them a lot happier.
Newsom’s present campaign is to scrap California’s unbiased redistricting course of so as to gerrymander more seats for his social gathering.
The governor says it’s retaliation for Texas redistricting that favors Republicans — although Democrats have already got notoriously unfair congressional maps in locations like Illinois and Maryland.
For that matter, California’s current appropriation system, managed by a commission with equal illustration of Democrats, Republicans and independents, already allocates more seats to Democrats than the proportional power of the two events in the Golden State suggests is simply.
California in actual fact has more registered Republicans than every other state in the nation (although Florida is catching up).
There are nearly 5.8 million Republicans in California, amounting to more than 25% of registered voters — however the GOP holds solely 9 of the state’s 52 congressional seats.
Newsom’s redistricting scheme would slash the GOP’s illustration by 5 seats.
It’s obscenely unfair to the people of California, about a quarter of whom are Republicans, however Newsom is framing the transfer in phrases of national politics: “Donald Trump, you have poked the bear and we will punch back,” the governor mentioned at a current rally.
Newsom is doing what’s best for his presidential ambitions, regardless of whether or not it’s good for California.
He desires to be seen as the solely Democrat who can stand up to Trump.
Most Californians oppose Newsom’s stunt — by a two-thirds majority, in accordance to a current Politico ballot.
The survey discovered solely 36% of voters assist Newsom’s attempt to take redistricting energy away from the unbiased California Citizens Redistricting Commission and provides it back to the Democrat-controlled state legislature.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who as governor back in 2008 led the marketing campaign to cross the referendum that created the commission, is making his ire at Newsom’s gerrymandering plot plain.
“F–k the politicians. Terminate gerrymandering,” learn a T-shirt worn by the actor-turned-politician in a current Instagram post.
That slogan speaks for hundreds of thousands of Californians, however Newsom isn’t anxious about shedding this combat.
Even if voters reject his proposal in a landslide, Newsom nonetheless will get to look robust in the eyes of Democrats nationwide.
Image is every part for the telegenic governor proper now.
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On Elon Musk’s X, Newsom followers have been pushing memes evaluating his suave type in high college to JD Vance’s geeky look at a comparable age.
Another meme, trolling for racial reactions, juxtaposes a image of Newsom together with his blonde spouse and 4 flaxen-haired youngsters in opposition to a snapshot of Vance, his Indian-American spouse and their youngsters.
The not-so-subtle message: Newsom is the man supposedly racist Trump supporters ought to actually admire.
All too many progressives assume that claiming to be anti-racist frees them to take pleasure in race-baiting themselves, if solely “ironically.”
The memes, like the aggressive redistricting agenda, are Team Newsom’s thought of preventing fire with fire, utilizing techniques as daring and provocative as Trump’s own to problem Trump and set the stage for a 2028 contest with Vance.
But Newsom’s attempt to one-up Trump is doubly unsuccessful.
The memes truly make Newsom look worse: Pretentious in high college, versus Vance the regular child.
And the pretty portrait of Newsom’s household — constructive by itself — loses its appeal when it’s used to make an ugly racial insinuation.
As for redistricting, Newsom and his social gathering have a larger drawback than red-state maps.
Under Newsom, California is hemorrhaging population and is on monitor to forfeit three to 5 congressional seats after the subsequent census, whereas Republican-leaning states like Florida and Texas are gaining people and illustration.
In the long run, Democratic gerrymandering can’t make up for the demographic penalties of Democratic authorities like Newsom’s.
Daniel McCarthy is the editor of Modern Age: A Conservative Review and editor-at-large of The American Conservative.
