The knives came out for Gavin Newsom this week as California's gubernatorial candidates finally found the courage to attack the failed progressive governor's catastrophic record on homelessness, crushing taxes, and unaffordable living costs that have driven millions of hardworking Americans out of the Golden State.
During Tuesday night's debate in San Francisco, six Democrats and one Republican savaged Newsom's legacy, particularly his administration's mind-boggling $24 billion in homelessness spending that has only made the crisis worse. After years of rubber-stamping his radical agenda, these Democrat politicians are suddenly distancing themselves from their own party's disastrous policies.
The timing couldn't be more transparent. As conservative commentator Will Swaim pointed out on social media: "Nice of the Dem candidates to find the courage to announce – only now – that they despise Gov. @GavinNewsom." Swaim's observation cuts right to the heart of the matter – these politicians only grew spines when Newsom became politically toxic.
The debate highlighted California's core problems that have festered under decades of Democrat control: sky-high taxes driving businesses away, rent costs that make homeownership impossible for working families, and a homelessness industrial complex that enriches consultants while leaving Americans sleeping in tents on city streets.
Too Little, Too Late for California Democrats
While the San Francisco Chronicle dismissed the debate as failing to "thin the bloated field," and SFist noted that candidates were "overshadowed by Super Bowl stuff," the real story is what this infighting reveals about the Democrat Party's recognition that their progressive experiment has been an unmitigated disaster.
These same politicians who enabled Newsom's destructive policies for years are now scrambling to rebrand themselves as reformers. But California voters aren't stupid – they know who created this mess.
With Newsom eyeing a 2028 presidential run, his potential primary opponents are clearly trying to kneecap him early. The question is whether California voters will finally reject the failed progressive policies that have turned their once-great state into a cautionary tale, or double down on the same Democrats who created the problem in the first place.
Will Californians finally wake up and demand real change, or will they keep electing the same politicians who promise to fix problems they created?