To start with : I will vote for whoever wins the primary, I have never and will never get emotionally attached to one candidate. They are all a gazillion times better than the GOP so let’s be happy with our wealth of empathetic, intelligent, dedicated, caring, courageous, experienced and knowledgeable possible candidates. I would LOVE it if the left could keep the positive aspects of our people in mind for once and broadcast that relentlessly versus attacking each other.
(deep breath)
I could go into Newsom’s vast record of things everyone either loves or hate and we could dissect it to the Nth degree...but...as was stated elsewhere...80% of America are not policy wonks, and I personally think that his record can appeal to all sides is a benefit, if we allow it to be. Here’s why.
Newsom has rather successfully run the 4th largest economy in the world and had to balance everything from Silicon Valley techbros to immigrants and looking at the overall arc of his governorship has done an impressive job of somehow making all of those sides gain benefits while staying focused on root progressive causes like increasing access to healthcare, making the lives of migrants better, advancing climate change objectives and hell, even making treaties and deals with foreign nations WHILE Trump is pissing everyone off.
Trump cancelled on the last big climate summit but Newsom showed up...think about the impact that made with our allies.
Here is a governor...a GOVERNOR of a state interacting with foreign diplomats on the world stage about a massive and complex problem like climate change.
He literally stepped up to represent the US while the Pedophile in Chief stayed home and threw tariffs on everyone/mocked the entire concept/pissed off Canada of all people.
Newsom took action when the actual President failed to do so. And took action on an international level. The optics of that alone are massive.
Now..let’s also discuss demographics.
We lost Hispanics and young white males in 2024. Say what you will about Newsom engaging the right wing asshole podcasters BUT...remember how the entire left wing has been struggling to figure out with the white male demographic...so Newsom went to the belly of the beast/brought them on his podcast. Newsom, the leader of the most despised by the right state said “Hey, let’s talk.” but that’s not the important part here.
THE ALPHA MALE ATTITUDE/MYTH is what sucked in white men….and NEWSOM IS THE EPITOME OF A HEALTHY “ALPHA MALE” He’s gorgeous, he’s intelligent, he’s a successful businessman with a loving family, he’s powerful and he takes no shit.
He is, quite frankly, the most subversive liberal white male we could send into these spaces to pull them out of their brainwashed idiocies (at least some of them, but enough to make a difference).
Newsom is what they supposedly all want to be, and he radiates confidence and can express liberal viewpoints without “lecturing from the latte loving soy boy libs” that turns them off. This could be a huge asset for Dems in the next election because not only do we need to showcase a better way forward but we need to have someone who can embody all characteristics people cast upon Trump in their delusions of how he was “Alpha” and suck them in without them automatically going “EVIL LIBERAL BAD!”
Newsom can rapid fire how he got progressive policy to work in ways that still didn’t make the entire world crash as so many people are afraid will happen, because he did it with in a state that has a tenth of the population and whose economy is actually doing better than most of the country right now.
The right wing was laughing their heads off when tech companies started bailing on California, but many have gone back...and why? Because, shockingly, red state shit governing fucks with tech companies being able to make money.
Now let’s talk about the left wing..there is a massive laundry list of progressive things Newsom accomplished, maybe not in the way everyone wanted but they still got done...hell they’re even FINALLY laying high speed rail track. However Newsom is also a realist.
And this is something that I think is more valuable than anything else. He has no problems pivoting or vetoing bills if they are not written in the best way possible. He has no problems making the shitty ass decision you have to make when the worst fires in history and a horrific President who is undercutting you at every turn make what you thought was going to happen one way go 180 degrees the other. He will take the heat, he will take the responsibility and he will take action to still try to make progress happen.
Too often we call people who pivot on promises sell outs, or say they have abandoned us or whatever and then neglect to watch to see what they do after the pivot, because we now hate their guts and write them off. Yet again and again Newsom, and many other Dems have been forced to pivot to try to save some progress instead of going nowhere, and overall, Newsom’s pivots have either been for a damn good reason or have resulted in saving enough of the original intent to still help people. He also never gives up on TRYING to make progress, ever.
Back to demographics we lost. Hispanics...Newsom is fluently bilingual and has always been a huge advocate for immigrants. His social media director is a kick ass millennial Latina and it’s obvious that he trusts her implicitly. California is a majority minority state and this is just the latest thing he has done to protect the Hispanic community.
Today, Governor Newsom signed a comprehensive immigration bill package championed by the California Latino and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Legislative Caucuses. These bills push back against the injustice of reckless federal immigration raids that are causing deep fear and confusion across the state. They were signed on the heels of a recent decision by the US Supreme Court essentially greenlighting discriminatory tactics being used by federal immigration agents such as stopping people based on their perceived race, the language they speak or where they work. This devastating ruling makes clear the urgent need for these new laws. “The signing of this immigration bill package is a major win for our communities, delivering stronger protections in the face of egregious immigration raids and escalating authoritarian attacks on our freedoms,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. “These new laws set important guardrails so that immigrant families can feel safe whether they are at school, at the doctor, our in their own neighborhood. The California Latino Legislative Caucus stands proudly alongside the AAPI legislative Caucus, and community leaders who championed for this critical legislation, and I thank Governor Newsom for signing them into law.”
And another example:
This legislation will begin to address deep health disparities by collecting and disaggregating more detailed demographic and language health data for Latine & Indigenous communities in California, who make up 40% of the population and contribute over $83 billion in state taxes. As we continue to celebrate Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month and days before Indigenous Peoples Day, Governor Newsom and the Legislature have ensured that Latines and, for the first time ever, Indigenous Mesoamerican communities are seen and counted in state data. Data is an absolutely critical tool for our decision-makers to make informed and equitable decisions. Deeper and more detailed data collection can help save lives. SB 1016 will do this and will help meet the needs of the diverse Latine community and will now take into account the specific needs of Indigenous Mesoamericans in California.
And I have one more thing to touch on...Newsom facing down Trump.
The entire left was screaming for Dems to stand up...Newsom came out and straight up told Trump to fuck off. We all saw his vids saying “He can come arrest me if he wants, I don’t give a shit.” He called Trump a coward, he has mocked him, he has thwarted him on every single level he could; and everyone could feel Newsom’s disgust and his utter lack of fear of Trump as he did so. And that is something that resonated deep within our country.
Our country, and our own side, rarely ever gives Dems credit for courage, which pisses me off to no end. EVERY DEM WAS PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED ON JAN 6TH AND THEY WENT RIGHT BACK TO WORK AND CERTIFIED THE ELECTION ANYWAY. Yet again and again the online mantra is Dems are cowards...which is utter fucking bullshit. Dems get more death threats than anyone, Dems have been assassinated and I don’t care how leftist you are if you don’t recognize the courage it takes for all of them in office to keep speaking out day after day you’re willfully choosing to ignore the reality we live in.
Yet it wasn’t until Newsom said “Fuck you Texas, we will take you on and beat you at your own game.” Did Americans and Dems finally recognize the latent courage we all have.
That attitude and courage is what can win elections.
We say endlessly that “winning is about vibes” and it is. Newsom has those exact vibes, he has the world stage presence and he has shown he can handle a massive beast of an economy.
I would also like to pitch Buttigieg as his VP because he too has vibes, he is the Fox News whisperer and he has already built a reputation in Red States of getting shit done during his tenure as Sec of Transportation and handling all the Infrastructure stuff. They know he cares about helping them because he showed it day after day. Is that bulletproof? No, but does it help. Hell yes.
(Side note...it’s been way too long since I wrote a diary...I have missed it)
