The Federalist
"The California governor correctly figures that if he stays on offense, his own dismal record will be ignored — even if that offense is odd."
"Being Gavin Newsom means never having to explain yourself — being able to hurl accusations and nonsensical claims with nary a follow-up from the press. Newsom’s foray into the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, is a case in point.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took notice of Newsom loitering around Davos, quipping, “Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris.” Bessent then noted that Newsom was, “here this week with his billionaire sugar daddy, Alex Soros.”
"But Newsom still made a splash.
" 'Trump,” he weirdly enthused, “Is a T-Rex; you mate with him or he devours you.”
"The California governor, widely expected to run for president in 2028 after he terms out of office this year, correctly figures that if he stays on offense, his own dismal record will be ignored — even if that offense is odd, off-putting, or oblique.
"And what a record it is, from manageable fires that burst into catastrophic wildfires due to bad policy (blamed on climate change, of course) to soaring homelessness to scores of billions of dollars in stolen government assistance, Newsom might have a lot to atone for — if the media-industrial complex decided to do their jobs.
Telling Whoppers
"Instead, Newsom makes claims that are rarely fact-checked, like his last whopper-filled State-of-the-State address on Jan. 8, in which the governor asserted, “We are not retreating. We are a beacon. This state is providing a different narrative. An operational model, a policy blueprint for others to follow.”
"In one sense, Newsom is right — California is the epitome of the progressive left operational model, the blueprint for others to follow — and, home to San Francisco and UC Berkeley, the one place where democratic socialism might first work.
"But as former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher noted, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” And the Constitution prohibits states from printing money, reserving that for the federal government.
"Unfortunately for Newsom, California is looking at an $18 billion deficit, $5 billion more than last June, “despite improvements in revenue,” according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which went on to note in its November fiscal outlook report that, “we estimate costs in other programs to be about $6 billion higher than anticipated… (with) structural deficits [growing] to about $35 billion annually due to spending growth continuing to outstrip revenue growth.” . . . More...
