Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-CA and Gov Ron DeSantis, R-FL engaged in debate on national TV, unique in the fact they were not running for office against each other, for the moment. The debate was proposed to be a red state vs blue state, conservative vs progressive discourse. Mostly it was a war of words about COVID, crime, taxes, border security, controversial textbooks and abortion. They often talked over each other trying to make their points.
DeSantis was making a point of Newsom keeping schools closed longer than most states during the COVID lockdown while his own children returned to their private school. Gavin, playing the sideshow illusionist, scolded DeSantis for mispronouncing the vice president’s name. Somehow I don’t believe parents struggling with balancing care for children with work demands cared if the vice president’s name was mispronounced, but it gave the clever Gavin an out to avoid answering.
Looking at different news analyses one thing most agreed on was Newsom spent a lot of time as Joe Biden’s defender or his surrogate (CNN, ABC, The Hill, NPR, Time). That was because as Joe’s defender he could avoid answering for his own actions. As DeSantis’ team issued a steady stream of his clips on line, it was Joe Biden’s crew sending out video of his proxy’s performance (Time 11/30/23).
A performance it was, as he easily schmoozed an NPR reporter more interested in Newsom’s “pearly whites and Pat Reilly hair never meeting a camera it didn’t like” (D Montenaro 12/1/23) than Newsom dodging questions about high taxes and mass exodus from California (The Daily Caller 12/1/23) or personal attacks on DeSantis using talking points from the left. Ignoring issues, the women on The View liked Gavin too as did their star struck audience.
The debate revealed two frightening things. Biden and his surrogate want the Progressive X model of California adopted throughout the entire nation. So where would the rest of us flee if that were to happen as did the 6.1 million who left California for other states over the last 10 years? (AP 5/7/21)
Ralph Miller
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To echo what Mr. Miller has clearly pointed out, when one looks beyond the DeSantis - Newsom debate and focuses on the big picture, one comes to the conclusion that progressive Democrats are a train wreck when it comes to governing. Whether it is a city (Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, Philadelphia, etc.), a state (California, Illinois, New York, etc.) or a country (America), we have seen the results of their destructive governance in terms of education, crime, inflation and immigration policy to name but a few.
Despite all of the gaslighting that the Democrats and their trusted allies in the media throw at us, using the comparison of California to Florida as reasonable surrogate of how to govern, it shows anyone paying attention that there is really no choice in coming elections if they want a better life for themselves, their children and their grandchildren.
James Nelson