Why Newsom’s odd speech about ‘California haters’ won’t play well in 49 states | Opinion
With soft, upbeat music playing in the background, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pre-recorded State of the State address was an echo chamber of both self admiration and self defense.
California is a “beacon,” a “temple.”
“California is not a high tax state,” the governor said. “You don’t have to be a CEO to have a decent life in California.”
Newsom is known to side-step the custom of delivering the constitutionally required annual checkup to the California Legislature, choosing baseball stadiums or road tours or the solitude of a video camera. His target audience, however, seemed to be his detractors throughout the nation rather than the public in this state that he serves. Newsom mentioned “red states” at least six times, sometimes with a passing chuckle, as if baiting Republicans everywhere who simply disagree with him.
“We’ve achieved record-breaking tourism, and our population is growing again,” Newsom said. “All of these facts, all of these facts, fly in the face of the California haters who want to tear us down because they know our success is a spotlight, respectfully, on their own failures.”
Newsom feels increasingly adversarial as his governorship heads into its final stretch, with only two more such speeches to deliver before his time in the state’s highest office is over. His frustration with local governments, particularly on housing and the homeless, was in full display.
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As for forcing cities to build more housing, “we’ve seen some 442 actions against local government, including lawsuits to compel them to follow the law,” he said. “The success of accountability in the housing space is why we’re adding similar accountability oversight for homelessness. We’re requiring cities now and counties to account for how they spend taxpayers dollars to get people off the streets and sidewalks.”
While Jerry Brown was not mentioned by name, the former governor didn’t fare very well when it came to the homeless either. “Let me remind you, just as an example, when I got here in 2019, there was no state homeless strategy, no state homeless plan. There was no significant investment.” Newsom once dedicated an entire State of the State address to the issue. That California continues to have the largest unsheltered homeless population in the nation is an undeniable fact.
It is as if the unresolved problems in California are not Newsom’s fault, while he happily owns the many upsides. Newsom crowed at how California has 35 of the 50 top companies in artificial intelligence, 63,000 new millionaires since 2019 and 120,000 new childcare slots.
If Newsom were to seek the presidency in 2028, he certainly could not run from his California past and his record as governor. But he chose a curious political strategy in this speech to be so disdainful of other states, California being so special. “We’re solving our most pressing problems with enthusiasm, resolve in a California spirit that allows us to accomplish anything,” he said.
Such praise of the California spirit may resonate with some inside the Golden State. But the rest of the country doesn’t like to hear how much California thinks of itself. This kind of speech simply isn’t consistent with someone who truly seeks the Oval Office. It’s a speech befitting a governor aspiring to a respectable place in history.
Newsom could face a difficult home stretch. He may have little money to spend on new initiatives absent a dramatic turnaround of the state budget’s fiscal condition. His relationship with Democratic leadership in the Legislature appears to be strained at best. And our chronic problems with property insurance, housing and affordability aren’t going away.
The right-wing bashing of California has clearly gotten to the governor. He’s right to remind us of why we chose to live here. A little humility, however, would go a long way. If only it were in him.
