California Progressivism Is Not the Path Forward for Democrats

If California progressivism were the answer to Donald Trump’s MAGA-inspired populist bluster, then we’d be watching news of President-elect Kamala Harris’ Cabinet appointments. Instead Trump swept the swing states, won the popular vote and saw Republicans secure control of both houses of Congress. The message voters sent might not be entirely clear, but they certainly didn’t say, “We want California values!”

Harris, of course, was a product of the San Francisco Bay Area political machine. Her tenure in the U.S. Senate was marked by support for standard-issue progressive platitudes. She wisely tacked to the center, but never detailed a compelling alternative agenda—although she did walk back some of her more liberal positions. One cannot defeat something with nothing, even if the something is ominous.

There’s cause for concern as the Trump Show 2.0 unfolds. Some early picks—such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R–Fla.) for secretary of state—are perfectly reasonable. My initial social-media post wondered whether after all the fuss we’d just end up with a relatively normal Republican administration. Fortunately, I quickly deleted my X post. Shortly thereafter, Trump announced some doozies.

The funniest thing about choosing Rep. Matt Gaetz (R–Fla.) for attorney general—who was the subject of a House ethics report considering allegations of sexual misconduct—is it actually was a relief compared to other possible choices. Now that he has removed his name from consideration, it wouldn’t surprise me if Trump picks someone worse on civil liberties.

Don’t worry, though. Those same “principled” Republicans who would have dutifully supported the Gaetz selection will support whoever comes next, just as they will publicly applaud Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.

Democrats are understandably in disarray. So are Never Trumpers and other non-Democrats who take seriously Trump’s promises and trial balloons (mass deportations, joking that Congress should find a way for him to run for a third term). It’s all fun and games until it isn’t. Granted, this is a long and convoluted path to my main point: To deflect further assaults on democratic norms, Trump’s foes will need a skilled, focused, and thoughtful leader.

It’s not news to this newspaper’s readers, but Gov. Gavin Newsom is not that person. Yet he’s positioning himself and our state as the bulwark of Trump resistance. Newsom last week announced an emergency legislative session to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.” It will muster “legal resources to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and immigrant families.”

Mind you, this governor and Legislature have yet to make a dent in any of the state’s pressing homegrown problems: a sprawling homelessness problem, crime wave, housing unaffordability, and fleeing businesses. Newsom was first elected governor in 2018—two years into the first Trump term—and hasn’t set the state on a sound course. Voters have been forced to take matters into their own hands, mostly at the ballot box and usually against the advice of the Newsom. See the Proposition 36 anti-crime measure for an example.

Furthermore, the governor’s last extraordinary session was a transparent public-relations stunt. Upset at California’s gasoline prices (around $1.50 a gallon above the national average), Newsom blamed corporate greed and signed a law that forces oil companies to maintain larger reserves—a costly regulation that might increase prices further. Never mind the state’s policies (high gas taxes, special fuels mandate, and a push to end fossil-fuels production) are the real causes of crushing gas prices.

Meanwhile, Newsom’s own California Air Resources Board appointees recently OK’d a new low-carbon fuels rule that CARB staffers said could boost per-gallon prices by 47 cents (and by $1.80 by 2040). The board has since made those estimates disappear, but a prominent independent study by the University of Pennsylvania Kleinman Center for Energy Policy has confirmed that the price “impacts could be $0.65 per gallon in the near term.”

Bottom line: The state legislature is generally ineffective at anything and these special sessions merely become backdrops for photo ops. For the past couple of years, Newsom barnstormed the country promoting California’s “democracy” even as the administration pulled out the stops to keep a tax-limiting initiative off the ballot. I’m sure Trump supporters are as fearful of Newsom’s new effort as they were of his last one.

Part of the problem is California Democrats operate in a one-party state, where they face virtually no ideological or partisan opposition and must only navigate that insular backroom world. California leaders can’t serve as the focus of the Trump resistance because no one outside of California takes them seriously. That’s too bad, because the new Trump term will need serious pushback.

This column was first published in The Orange County Register.

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