Golden State Gov. Newsom Is All Hollywood Glitz, and an Empty Suit
Since the Biden debate disaster, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., has been traveling the nation pretending to be a loyal soldier defending Biden’s presidency.
But the reality is, he’s auditioning for the top job just in case Biden falters, and the Democratic convention becomes a free-for-all to determine the new nominee.
I’ve always viewed Newsom as a political empty suit who believes he is entitled to hold high public office. And my perception has been confirmed after reading a timely new political biography by journalist, Ellie Gardey Holmes, "Newsom Unleashed: The Progressive Lust for Unbridled Power."
Although Newsom promotes the image of a self-made man, he was a "child of privilege."
His father, William, worked for the oil heir, Gordon Getty, who "adopted" Gavin as an honorary son.
Getty paid for Gavin’s education, financed his restaurant business and his home, paid for his lavish first wedding, and used his influence and money to jet start Gavin’s political career.
It was Getty’s political pull and money that secured Newsom’s appointment to San Francisco's Parking and Traffic Commission in 1996; his appointment to the city’s Board of Supervisors in 1997; his election as mayor of San Francisco in 2003; his election as California’s lieutenant governor in 2010; and his election as governor in 2018.
In each of these jobs Newsom proved to be an awful administrator but a fine publicist.
He fed his narcissistic and arrogant personality by portraying himself as a courageous leader who was consistently ahead of the curve on critical issues.
"His record is replete with moments when he captivated public attention — from when he became the first public official to grant same-sex life marriage licenses, to when he declared his leadership of the Democratic resistance against the Trump administration, to when he extended free healthcare to illegal immigrants."
As mayor, his far-left policies on the homeless and public safety were a disaster. Crime and deaths from drugs surged.
He was also at the forefront of pushing "nanny state" laws.
"In 2008, Newsom proposed a plan to levy fines on restaurants selling sodas, ban pharmacies from selling cigarettes, and urged restaurants to eliminate trans fats from their food options.
"All these initiatives required little effort from the mayor but imposed an ever-expanding checklist of regulations on businesses."
During his eight years as Gov. Jerry Brown’s lieutenant governor, the powerless Newsom did what he was good at — governing by press releases to enhance his public profile and his celebrity status as he prepared to run for governor in 2018.
Since he became California’s chief executive in 2019, the state has self-destructed.
Under Newsom’s watch, taxes soared, spending soared, onerous regulations soared, illegal immigration soared, corruption soared, and the number of upper- and middle-class taxpayers fleeing to low-tax and business-friendly Texas has soared.
As education standards and students’ performance have declined, Newsom has been more concerned with "forcing students to learn Progressive sexual and radical ideologies."
As for management incompetence, under Newsom’s watch, "$32 billion in unemployment benefits was stolen from the people of California through the Employment Development Department."
Newsom’s COVID-19 policies, that shut down businesses, schools, and churches for years, were an economic and social disaster.
And as the state’s economy was collapsing, Newsom was caught partying — without his mask — at the famous and uber-expensive restaurant The French Laundry.
But the left-adherent governor got away with it.
He continued receiving "praise from Progressives and the media, which elevated his national profile and solidified his image as a leader who exercised decisiveness and boldness."
Newsom’s lavish spending on welfare, on the homeless, on illegal immigrants, and on expensive but failing green projects, has caught up: in the upcoming fiscal year, the state must grapple with a $45 billion budget deficit.
Currently, Gov. Newsom’s California is the home of more than half of the nation’s homeless, over 1/3 of its welfare recipients, and over 20% of California’s 39 million people live below the poverty line.
Yet despite this wreckage, Newsom is still the darling of the mainstream media.
Holmes concludes her well researched book on this supreme narcissist thusly, "We should be very wary of a Newsom presidency.
"This is not a man whose intentions are the betterment of the country. This is a man whose intentions are the exaltation of himself and the furtherance of his own power.
"And, worst of all, his well-established pattern for seeking such exultation and power is the advancement of extreme left-wing policies. . . . We should take careful note of the destruction wrought by such a man and be sure to exclude him from all national offices."
I agree.
George J. Marlin, a former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is the author of "The American Catholic Voter: Two Hundred Years of Political Impact," and "Christian Persecutions in the Middle East: A 21st Century Tragedy." Read George J. Marlin's Reports — More Here.
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