The veteran columnist Dan Walters the other day had an op-ed in the East Bay Times in which he wrote of the “frustration” of California progressives. “Progressive groups are…lamenting that they have been unable to realize their many goals and [are] sounding the alarm about losing ground despite having, on paper, a state government full of vocal allies.”
The progressives, Walters says, blame Gov. Gavin Newsom, accusing him of “drifting toward the political middle as he concentrates on building a national profile.” Walters cited a political activist who said “California still hasn’t lived up to its progressive reputation in terms of real policy changes,” adding, “Why not, when we have such a large pool of left-leaning voters?”
Allow me to answer this “why not?” question. While it’s true that California voters are overwhelmingly Democratic, it’s also a fact that the powerful blocs that run the Democratic Party and determine its formal policies—unions, social activists, nonprofits, and big city legislators—have become increasingly out of touch with the electorate. In their insistence upon big government solutions (read: higher taxes), these blocs have alienated millions of once loyal Democrats, and are continuing to do so. They’re not reading the room.
Voters aren’t stupid. They know when they’re being lied to. Democrats, sensitive to the issue of raising taxes, often claim that, instead of taxing individuals, they’ll only tax corporations. But voters understand that when corporations are taxed, they simply pass their increased costs on to consumers, which is one of the reasons why inflation is nothing but a monstrous transfer of wealth imposed on the American people. Voters also understand that, for all its vast wealth, California is essentially bankrupt. The left’s wish list—housing for all, healthcare for everyone and all the other examples of social egalitarianism that progressives love—is simply unaffordable. And besides, there are moral objections, in addition to financial ones, in giving benefits to millions of people for things that, throughout human history, have been the individual’s responsibility to provide for himself and his family. Voters are simply sick and tired of government-sponsored doles.
As for Newsom, as someone who’s known him for decades, I can testify that he’s never been a died-in-the-wool progressive. Perhaps people think he is because of his historic and early support of gay marriage. But that was only one issue (and a fairly minor one) in the pantheon of issues that Californians face, and as it turned out, gay marriage was not a predictor of Newsom’s political orientation at large. In most respects he’s a fairly traditional American of his age group, and the excesses of the Democratic Party’s left personally offend him. It’s not that he’s “moving to the middle to run for President,” it’s that he genuinely dislikes the politics of wokeism. If becoming slightly more conservative helps him politically and nationally, that’s just frosting on the cake—but it’s not why he’s doing it.
Democratic leaders should read the room more diligently. Their party’s future is at stake. America is clearly becoming less progressive. Voters have been pushed to the limit by tax-and-spend policies and by the left’s intransigent antagonism toward White people. What they’re saying is, “Damn it, I’m as angry as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
Steve Heimoff