So naturally, the talk is of him running for President. What’s the Dope’s take on this guy? Besides his marriage to Kimberly, what are his other big mistakes?
All I really know about him is he’s very much a politician. That is to say, the kind of guy who’s primary skill seems to be never actually answering the question that’s asked if it’s not a question he was looking for.
I’m not even saying that’s necessarily a bad thing, mind you; it does seem to be an important skill in that line of work. It’s more a matter of whether you use that skill for good or for evil.
Speaking as a Californian, from a Democratic point of view, he hasn’t really made any major mistakes. A gaffe here or there, but nothing that really sticks to mind. He’s from Northern California, not SoCal, so there’s that geographic rivalry. In mine opinion, less charisma than Kamala Harris, but not repulsive.
He’s good enough at triggering Trumpists, which comes with job and the party. He survived a recall vote, which brought out the clown car of Republican wanna-be’s.
Also a Californian, and I find he has two main faults: too much product in his hair, and he won’t shut up. He doesn’t know when to stop talking, he just goes on and on, he has a hard time not listening to his own voice – you get the idea.
Also, and more seriously, I personally doubt whether he has any convictions at all. He projects liberal views because (in my opinion) that’s what it took to win as Mayor of San Francisco, and it has worked pretty well for him so far.
On the plus side for me personally, he did legalize same sex marriage in San Francisco while he was mayor, and even though he sort of ruined it by gloating about it so much that Prop 8 ended up passing, I don’t blame him too much. Like I said above, he doesn’t know when to shut up, and I find that to be generally disadvantageous in a politician, especially one espousing views that I mostly agree with.
I don’t think he would fare very well in Democratic primaries, he has the taint of California on him.
I’ll just say he would be a better candidate than Biden.
I’ve seen him on Bill Maher’s show. The word that comes to mind is smarmy.
*cough*:
Aside from that he actually did a reasonable job of leading the state during the pandemic and urging calm but overall the state fell down (as many did) when it came to early distribution of the vaccine where it was pushed down to the county level to administrate. In many of the other long-standing problems that would face any California governor…he’s basically accomplished very little. He’s neither Gray Davis or Arnold Schwarzenegger; he’s just kind of there under well coiffed hair and bundled in a zippered fleece vest over button-down oxford regardless of the weather. If you wanted someone to stand at the end of your group to fill out the photo, he’s a perfectly generic and inoffensive stand-in. As @DCnDC says, Newsom’s biggest asset is that he is an accomplished politician and is very good at schmoozing with entertainment and tech billionaire donors.
As someone to lead the nation and push back against nascent despotism and proto-fascism of the GOP, he’s a Neville Chamberlin-type. If you want to pull from the ranks of governors to run for the 2024 DNC presidential spot, Roy Cooper is a better bet but quite frankly if you’re going to that pool I think Gretchen Whitmer should be the obvious and only choice; she’s well-spoken, forceful, fiscally conservative but socially moderate, and she’s literally faced down bigger threats than Donald Trump and his clown car of cartoon villains. If there were ever a year to break the back of the “American isn’t ready to elect a woman as President” mantra, 2024 is it because if there is one issue that the Democrats can be sure will get a rise out of an underrepresented portion of the electorate it is the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and there is no better champion to run that issue that a woman with two college-age daughters who has herself endured sexual assault and misogyny.
Stranger
What about that insulin manufacturing? Can he take any credit for that?
First time I heard of Newsom was in 2004, when as mayor of San Francisco he decided to disobey CA’s ban on same-sex marriage and started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
I respect him for that.
I will obviously vote for whomever the Democratic candidate is for president in 2024, but does he really poll all that well nationwide?
I must be crazy, but I still think Cory Booker would do well. I’m voting for Joe Biden if he runs, of course.
Those up above said it - he’s a smarmy politician. Total support of liberal ideals, but that may be more “sticking to brand” than “personal conviction.” There is too much in his history for him to ever be able to tack Right, so he’s leaning hard to the Left. Which I think is great, of course.
But there are several other Democrats I’d rather vote for.
Gawd, I hope not. If we’re going to have a governor as nominee (which is a good idea in the abstract), I want it to be someone who has shown they can win, and govern, in a non-deep-blue state. Newsom strikes me as the sort of person who is well-liked among people who would be voting Democratic no matter what, but who is unlikely to draw in anybody else.
Sure, when and if it actually happens. But California has been in an insulin crisis for the last couple of decades and Newsom just discovered this as an issue after spending two terms as lieutenant governor? It just feels like opportunism in appealing on an issue that faces a broad swath of the population.
Newsom is…fine, but so was Tim Kaine and nine out of ten Americans couldn’t pick him out of a lineup. The DNC settled on Biden as a benign elder statesman with middle of the road appeal, and while Biden has leaned much further left than anyone could have expected, all of the complaints about how he isn’t enough of a firebrand and hasn’t achieved those progressive goals clearly indicates that this is not a time to be driving down the middle of the highway, especially when playing Chicken with the Republicans and Them Trumps. I mean, Newsom night get lucky and get his shoelace stuck around the brake petal but I’d put real money on Whitmer pushing the throttle on full open and scraping the road with Trump.
Stranger
I’ve said it before, Newsom is the epitome of the TV movie divorced mom’s new boyfriend who tries too hard to be liked by her teen age children. He’s slick, and seems like he has money, but we’re not sure from where exactly. In the third act, it turns out he’s not quite as innocent as originally portrayed.
“I’d really like it if America calls me Dad.”
He is smarmy and he is a San Francisco politician.
But the only reason why he is a possible candidate is the idiot branch of the GOP, who decided they wanted to recall him due to his mask mandates.
This cost the voters, $200million, and gave Newsom a huge popularity boost, especially as the leading GOP candidate to replace him was a MAGA nutcase. Newsom got elected by a landslide, as the GOP ran such a carpetbagging nutcase loser, that the Dems could have nominated Mickey Mouse and won handily. Newsom has never faced a serious GOP opponent.
All very true.
That is the “gaffe or two”.
Booker came out in favor of door to door gun confiscation. He has zero chance of beating any GOP candidate for prez.
OTOH, there are worse candidates than Newsom, and I can’t think of any GOPers I would prefer. Okay but not great.
I see, is that what did him in? I don’t know why, bu the just strikes me as reasonable and calm. Calm. Something we really could use sometimes. Biden is massively calm…but almost too much it seems.
I remain unconvinced that he has been “done in” at all, i expect we will see him again.
Yes, it’s all the product in his hair.
I think his heart is in the right place, but he does come across as someone who maybe doesn’t relate to your average Joe.
But, I think I heard that he’s one of the few politicians out there pushing pretty hard for Democrats to fight harder against what the Republicans are doing, so I’ll give him a look see.