‘He’s become a problem here’: Efforts to recall Gavin Newsom steadily gaining steam
Throughout the pandemic, it might have been a close contest to see which Democrat was the better U-Haul salesman, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California or Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York. But as some high-profile tycoons flee the Golden State, Newsom may be pulling ahead.
First, Joe Rogan, host of the most popular show in the podcast universe, announced his departure to Texas. Then, Elon Musk bid California farewell, following through on a not-so-veiled threat to leave for Texas from the beginning of the pandemic. Now, the leaders of Oracle and Hewlett Packard say they, too, are bound for the Lone Star State. The Dallas Morning News recently reported that 687,000 Californians have become Texans over the past decade, more than 300,000 who have made the move the other way.
Recently noting that the exodus had created a cottage industry for real estate agents, mortgage lenders, political consultants and others seeking to capitalize on the discontent among transplants as well as natives, CalMatters, a nonprofit news website that focuses on state politics, interviewed one woman who had had it. “I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not moving out of California to a third-world country,” she said. “I’m leaving a third-world country to join America.”
A recall election for @gavinnewsom @cagovernor would be a political earthquake, an extraordinary swing proving just how much people have turned against lockdowns. In April Newsom had an 81% (!) approval rating and CNNs like @cilizzacnn were licking his boots. pic.twitter.com/nDsSwoPfV4
— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) December 15, 2020
No one, perhaps, could bear the brunt of the anger stoked by suffocating lockdown policies, skyrocketing taxes and housing prices and his party’s seeming imperviousness to opposition or its willingness to heed criticism than Gov. Newsom.
He is the subject of a recall effort that is gaining momentum.
Recall Gavin Newson, as it’s known, has amassed 828,000 signatures, or about 55 percent of the 1.5 million needed to get on the ballot.
In a recent interview with Fox News, Randy Economy, a senior adviser to the recall campaign, suggested Newsom was his own worst enemy, as well as his group’s best weapon.
“What makes this different (from other recall efforts) is it’s Gavin Newsom himself,” he said. “Every day he does something more that puts him deeper and deeper into controversy, and he’s become a problem here in California.”
Economy added that Newsom has shut down the fifth-largest economy on the globe with no end in sight, and that everyday people should be outraged by his dismissal of their financial pain.
“We’re being held hostage in our own homes and he’s out with multimillion-dollar lobbyists and pay-to-play people to go ahead and have private dinners at wineries,” said Economy, suggesting Newsom’s pandemic-related hypocrisy was only one thing driving the recall.
“It’s all about him and his record and how he has been just an absolute disaster of a governor for a year and a half. People have had it. They’re fed up,” Economy added.
I knew that the French Laundry was expensive, but this is turning into the most expensive leftovers since William Jefferson put $90,000 in his freezer. It is cautionary tale that we are all be just one Hand Rolled Ricotta “Agnolotti” from utter destructionhttps://t.co/etOlRBIZjE
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 15, 2020
Economy urged people to join the cause, no matter what they can give – time, money, or sweat – toward ousting Newsom.
“Most of our contributions right now are from just the average working person – not only here in California but throughout the country – who are sick and tired of being preached to every single day in a camera by a governor who is completely out of touch with reality,” he concluded.
The last time California conducted a recall, Fox’s Trace Gallagher noted, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis was booted in favor of muscleman and action-movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger.
