Despite Washington, D.C.’s August heat and humidity – perfect vacation weather – the nation’s capital is immersed in politics.
A thorny two-part question consumes political insiders. The first part asks whether President Biden should run for re-election in 2024. And if the answer is no, the consensus response among nervous Democrats, the follow-up question is who’s the best candidate to replace him?
Apprehensive Democrats want Biden to step aside gracefully, but the president’s choice may be to go for a second term. Biden has repeatedly said that he’ll run because his party wants him to. Time will tell whether Democrats convert their cautiously anti-Biden rhetoric into action by launching primary challenges.
Since 1980, serious Republican and Democratic presidential challengers have failed – Ronald Reagan vs. Gerald Ford, Ted Kennedy vs. Jimmy Carter and Pat Buchanan vs. George H.W. Bush. The most important takeaway from the failed primary efforts is that incumbents Ford, Carter and Bush #41 lost their general elections. Unless Biden voluntarily retires, the only course left open to Democrats is to force him out, an ugly scene that would hurt the party.
Assuming the party either puts Biden out to pasture or he bows out graciously, who will replace him? As of today, the polls have identified California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the leading candidate, predictably outpacing Vice President Kamala Harris. But before Democrats rush to embrace Newsom, they’d be well advised to vet him vis-à-vis the national electorate.
If voters are tired of privileged, elitist government, then the multimillionaire Newsom, who cavorts with billionaires, will have a hard time appealing to the working class. Billionaires were the major donors to Newsom’s gubernatorial campaigns.
More important than Newsom’s donor base, however, are his politics. Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison should ask Newson for a preview of his campaign platform. For sure, Newsom’s stump speeches won’t include lines like this: “With your vote, I can convert America into 49 more California’s.”
Typically, candidates for high office point to their successes, and run on those accomplishments. In Newsom’s case, his feats fall into the negative column. For starters, California has the country’s lowest literacy rate. Only one in four Californians over age 15 can read and understand a simple sentence. Newsom’s open border’s advocacy contributes to sanctuary state California where 220 languages are spoken, and 44 percent of residents speak a language other than English at home. Seven million Californians cannot speak English well.
Math isn’t much better. About 40 percent of California’s public school students are proficient, but that pathetic ratio is explained away because math has been designated as racist, and its study is now based on critical race theory. And nothing is Golden about the state’s income and sales taxes, which rank with the nation’s highest.
Newsom also ordered the first statewide COVID lockdown. Three protestors on a San Diego beach were arrested for violating Newsom’s stay-at-home edict.
In addition, California is third in per capita homelessness, behind Hawaii and New York. Median rent is $1,600 monthly, and homes sell for a median $538,500. Violent crime has spiked so high that the annual crime data’s publication is well overdue.
In fairness, though, Newsom’s candidacy would have, from the DNC’s perspective, an upside. Billionaires’ deep pocket donations and Silicon Valley’s censorship would be in play. Newsom would start out with 74 electoral votes in his back pocket, California, Oregon and Washington, and another 49 leaning his way, Illinois and New York. Conditions in Illinois and New York, however, are changing fast – so quickly that Biden is underwater in both states.
Weary from Newsom’s gubernatorial failures, Californians are fleeing the state, which should warn presidential voters that, if nominated, the slick, coiffed Hollywood darling is the wrong choice to replace Biden in the White House.
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Copyright 2022 Joe Guzzardi, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Joe Guzzardi is a Progressives for Immigration Reform analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. Contact him at [email protected].
Your Scaring me. 49 other Californians.?? California sounds like a 3 rd world.country.
When I was in the Navy, I went to school for a year at San Diego, North Island Naval Base.
After a few trips off base, I decided I didn’t like the people in California. They are all weird and immoral.
So I stayed on base as much as possible. San Francisco was really bad, with people pooping on the street in public.
you couldn’t walk down the street without getting bombarded by beggars. I don’t ever want to go back tp California.
There’s a guy I know who retired from the Air Force. He said when he was stationed in California he was ALWAYS broke. Cost of living way too high unless you’re on welfare or a stupid rich POS.
I joined up, in fresno. been back several times, on holiday or going to san diego for school.. BUT with how fubar that state is, i’d NEVER live there.
I live in California, and many beautiful places, especially what were once destination cities, are now effectively Third World.
If it wasn’t for my age and personal living arrangement, I live in a house that is paid off and I’m paying a property tax protected by Prop 13, so my tax rate is from the 1980’s.
So, since I’m stuck here, I work and speak in opposition to the Dem-Lib-Progressive Occupation, solidified against Conservatives when the idiots Dim-Dems in the State voted in Rank Voting.
All you other States that haven’t been perverted by it yet:
Don’t fall for it!
It’s convoluted and confusing on purpose, and it makes it more difficult to challenge the results and makes it almost impossible for a Republican to actually make it to a general election in this State.
I see other States adopting it, and it makes me cringe and want to scream: “You fools!”
16 years of Moonbeam Brown and too many years of Sunstroke Newsom has scarred this beautiful State, and the Dems did nothing, and are doing nothing to correct any of their destructive policies and actions.
So we on the Right must continue the Resistance, continue the fight, and hopefully before I die I will see California start to become a State We are proud to live in again.
Which is why i am always shocked, when red states tell folks “COME HERE< we welcome all", and do nothing to STOP THOSE LIBERALS WHO DO come, from bringing their insanity with them..
“Unless Biden voluntarily retires, the only course left open to Democrats is to force him out, an ugly scene that would hurt the party.”,,so since when did Democrats lose their talent for familicide or even eating their own young. Ask Vince Foster or Jeffrey Epstein’s ghosts what tasty morsels democrat party family and friends can become when the hunger for power calls them, and devouring anyone who stands in the way becomes their political blood sport. Kamala is about to get tossed out like last week’s smelly laundry.
I live in a beautiful state too but it’s well on it’s way to being the next California. Unfortunately, there are very few states left where there is any degree of freedom and it gets worse every day the Democrats are in office.
Leonidas, sorry to hear your State is compromised by leftist progressives as well.
But, keep up the good fight. Hopefully enough will rally and wrest control from the Party of Distraction, Destruction and Dystopia.
As awful as I feel about the way things are, we had someone in the White House for four years who was correcting the direction the Country was taking for the better.
As long as we stay diligent, and we take advantage of the times when We have control, and not cower out and give in to the Progressive Poison like the RINO capitulators keep doing, We just might make this a Country We can be proud of again.
Because, what they show every time they are in power, the Dim-Dems are not proud of Our Country, so they do not deserve to be in control unless they can find those amongst their ranks who are proud of what We are and what We stand for.
If you do not Love this Country, and you are not proud to be an American, you have no business running, let alone serving in any office. Ever.
IMO IT all starts with ‘college towns/cities’.. AS THAT IS WHERE the libtards start spreading their Rot out from.
Exactly!