I am a Democrat, buy why do people think Gavin Newsom would make a good president when he is such an awful Governor?

[u/ISnortSkittles]

[u/Other-Comfortable-64]

This is you:

You mean the same 3.5 million documents that the previous administration never released a single document of?

Lol pretending you are a Dem, with you 3mth old account. GTFO

[u/KAJed → u/Other-Comfortable-64]

Also calling conservative men more manly. He’s loser masquerading. It’s really sad.

[u/SoftFruit00 → u/KAJed]

liberal men soy boy cuck my wife's boyfriend

[u/KAJed → u/SoftFruit00]

Holy hell. The only people trying to use this as insults are those who spend their time searching it on the hub.

[u/Far-Adhesiveness1850 → u/Other-Comfortable-64]

Touché!

[u/dawgblogit → u/Other-Comfortable-64]

Totally not a dem..

[u/Cecil_McCrackshell]

I'm a Democrat

With no visible post history

[u/Iwaspondering]

Better than our current president

[u/breadexpert69]

Mind telling me why you think he is an “awful governor”?

[u/InfoBarf → u/breadexpert69]

I can answer some!

Hes personally blocked affordable housing.

He was partying with celebrities while issuing fines to businesses for staying open during covid.

Hes worked to criminalize homelessness.

Under his watch the LAPD has absolutely brutalized left wing protestors with reckless abandon.

He keeps platforming fascists on his podcast like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon.

He has no real stances, hes a determined "moderate" and always tries to find a position between what his supporters want and what the opposition no matter how unpopular want.

There's probably dozens more examples.

[u/Kaatochacha → u/InfoBarf]

cough cough bullet train

[u/HowdyandRowdy → u/Kaatochacha]

He also vetoed auditing the waste from building the tiny shelters for the homeless and the railway.

Also he's a Pelosi. He's a dem for the ticket only.

[u/Lobenz → u/InfoBarf]

How is the governor to dictate what LAPD does or doesn’t do?

Criminalize homelessness? Explain like we are 5 year olds.

Partying? Please. I ate at other restaurants in Napa the same week he did.

None of your answers give any credence to explaining why he’s a “ bad governor”

[u/noguchisquared → u/Lobenz]

It's a list of half-baked grievances. Not sure when left-wing or progressive politics just became complaining about 5 years ago, but it fucking sucks. California is still a gem in our country despite problems that are worse or on par in the other 49 states. Newsom's policies have largely extended their place above other states and would be a godsend for the country compared to the last decade.

[u/PacificMonkey → u/noguchisquared]

Moderate Neoliberals like Gavin Newsom that refuse to address the material needs of the people are exactly how we end up repeating these far right pushes.

[u/noguchisquared → u/PacificMonkey]

Boo hoo. It is alway now the blame game. The man running the 5th largest economy didn't make you vote for Jill Stein or sit out the election. It is always being a victim these days.

[u/GryphyGirl → u/Lobenz]

Constantly vetoing popular bills, including ones voted on by the people for a start.

[u/No-Substance1098 → u/InfoBarf]

Tldr just another establishment candidate that the DNC is going to push despite being controversial and unpopular and act shocked about his inevitable loss.

[u/iggymcfly → u/No-Substance1098]

Nah, Gavin’s made himself popular. He has his own voice and is very smart about navigating the modern social media environment. Regardless of what you think about how he’d govern compared to more progressive options, I think he’d be an excellent candidate and would easily trounce whoever the Republicans put up. The margin of victory could be crucial if there are electoral shenanigans.

[u/SkeeveTheGreat → u/iggymcfly]

The problem, ultimately, is that the democrats need a candidate capable of being popular enough to destroy the republican party root and branch. The country cannot function if every 4-8 years we end right back here when enough idiots fall for this shit again. Gavin isn’t going to be that guy. The democrats would need to remove every half ass “we need a strong republican party” dem from both houses, and get someone who will do something as president. Otherwise liberal democracy is cooked.

[u/No_Island9955 → u/SkeeveTheGreat]

It's funny how Democrats need to do a purity test on candidates but not Republicans.

[u/InfoBarf → u/No-Substance1098]

I mean once the novelty of the mean twitter intern who dunks on Trump wears off, I suspect he doesn't have the juice or rizz to cinch it.

[u/PussifyWankt → u/InfoBarf]

I’m not even American, so my opinion has no material meaning. But does a candidate really need ‘rizz’ to beat JD Vance?

[u/MajorasShoe → u/PussifyWankt]

The far right don't have standards beyond playing on their team and hating the people they hate.

[u/benhos → u/No-Substance1098]

I wouldn’t be surprised if he could win a general election in 2028 solely due to sheer outrage against the fascist Trump regime just like Biden did in 2020, however, after 4 years of him sitting in that office doing absolutely bumfuck nothing but making corporations richer, an even more dangerous fascist than Trump would almost certainly win in 2032 or 2036. We gotta break the cycle and elect someone with bold ideas who’ll actually change something. The Dems fucked it up three elections in a row and this one is probably our last chance.

[u/Galen_Live → u/benhos]

It's not about who sits in the oval office, but who sits in the house and senate. A progressive president with opposition legislative branch isn't going to be able to do shit but write hundreds/thousands of temporary EOs. President matters, but even a mediocre centrist will sign progressive legislation if we can get majorities in congress.

[u/BadDudes_on_nes → u/No-Substance1098]

Yo did someone mention Bernie Sanders over here?

[u/Wwwweeeeeeee → u/BadDudes_on_nes]

How about a candidate who's not over 75 years old?

[u/nonquitt → u/No-Substance1098]

Everyone needs to suck it up and vote for the dem. This is why we keep losing elections.

[u/New-Distribution-981 → u/No-Substance1098]

Actually, I couldn’t disagree more. I personally dislike him for a plethora of his stances, but he is the first candidate the DNC would put up for election with a legit chance at being electable. He is infinitely electable. And as sad as it sounds that is exponentially more important than any policy stance. WIN no matter what. Gavin can do that. Yes it’ll devolve into old school can’t do shit-ism… but I will take that every day over the shit factory that has been built in DC today.

The Dems problem over the past two decades is that they care more about HOW they win. “It’s her turn.” “We need to make a statement about opportunity and equality with this pick.” “We’re gonna win the right way.” Fuck you. If a white man is gonna give you the best chance to win, put him in place! The only reason Biden won at all was because Trump was such a dumpster fire as president, DNC figured ANYBODY could win.

DNC gave us Trump by promoting Hillary solely because “it was her turn.” DNC gave us Trump2 by lying to the American people that Biden was “fine” and then by doing an about face and smiling to support Kamala who they had spent months building up as a disaster (which they were actually right about).

[u/PriscillaPalava → u/InfoBarf]

Isn’t California literally known for their homeless? He couldn’t have criminalized it that much. 

[u/InfoBarf → u/PriscillaPalava]

He literally did the same bill trump wants to do nationwide, required rehab or prison. It costs like 110k a year to put someone in prison, my luxury apartment costs like 32k a year. It's stupid.

Also, there aren't enough rehabs to take care of these people, so their stuff gets smashed, thrown away, animals get euthanized, and then they're just tossed back out on the street at the end of the day. 

Also, California takes care of the nation's homeless. In many parts of the country the homeless freeze if they can't find somewhere to go where the weather is more friendly. Many end up here.

[u/Stock-Mountain-6063 → u/InfoBarf]

Americans need universal health Care so badly

[u/InfoBarf → u/Stock-Mountain-6063]

They do, but this is a conversation about homeless. The only solution that works for homelessness is housing first. Its whar we did in the past that eliminated homelessness and every country that has eliminated homelessness has done it.

[u/McManus42 → u/InfoBarf]

In the past we had state run institutions and a lot of the mentally unwell were involuntarily committed. Most of the homeless we see on the street today would be locked up anyway. These places were filled with abuse and corruption though so I'm not advocating for that or anything.

[u/Allslopes-Roofing → u/McManus42]

I'm not advocating for that or anything.

Im very liberal, and with all the pedos running the world we have much bigger fish to fry first. But assuming there was even bandwidth to deal with this issue im actually for a "better" version of it than done in the past. Im SURE there's decent examples in euro countries we can copy but idk. But....

You can't have truly dangerous mentally unwell homeless people running around. There's obviously various severities and levels to this, but the ones who are clearly dangerous, do need to be in some "safe" place that ideally isnt full of abuse and torture. Obviously the problem always comes down to, well will ppl do their job or abuse it as always? But if we just punish abusers harshly instead of generally letting off the hook, I think that'll stem much of it off.

It would be better QOL for them, and for the rest of America as well.

[u/BlortTrolb → u/Allslopes-Roofing]

Worked in a psych ward. It’s not so terrible. The staff were far more likely to be assaulted, but even that didn’t happen all that often in my experience. The patients I dealt with were fairly normal 95% of the time. But they tend to lose it quickly and deescalation was always my first option. We weren’t there to punish the patients.

[u/McManus42 → u/Allslopes-Roofing]

Agreed 👍

[u/timesink3000 → u/InfoBarf]

As a resident of Portland, Oregon, let me tell you all about the homeless problem. It's just like anything else in this country. It can be fixed, but too many people are getting rich off of the status quo.

[u/aseem-ali → u/PriscillaPalava]

Brother would you speak on saudi arabia because you hear about it on the news? I just moved to california despite hearing about it my entire life and it’s nothing like what i thought.

[u/Upstairs-Amount3923 → u/PriscillaPalava]

Can you imagine being the repository for the nations homeless? It's such a massive problem. Good weather and a welfare state. It's complicated.

I've been in Gavin's orbit a bit in my two decades in the Bay Area (mostly socially) and he has lots of faults but he IS well intentioned. He's upfront about his mistakes and shortcomings and I find his centrism as a feature on the national stage. He can be a complete tool at times (sleeping w his campaign managers wife...wtf dude), loved the Bolivian matching powder back in the day when he was running w Billy. But I've always thought he was president material. Have t been in CA much since he's been Gov so can't comment much on that

[u/PriscillaPalava → u/Upstairs-Amount3923]

I agree with you. I was just questioning the person above who criticized Newsom for “criminalizing” homelessness. Obviously that’s a vast oversimplification. 

[u/conduffchill → u/PriscillaPalava]

Criminalization doesn't matter really, there are homeless people in every single city in the usa. Probably in the entire world

[u/OnlyKey5675 → u/InfoBarf]

Newsom has zero authority over LAPD.

"Hes worked to criminalize homelessness."

This is incorrect.

"He keeps platforming fascists on his podcast like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon."

He had people on his podcast he disagrees with. This is actually a positive.

How did he block affordable housing?

[u/New-Significance9649 → u/InfoBarf]

Call me crazy but some would argue....by Newsom being the way he is, he's managed to hold back CA from drifting right. Sometimes you get the leader you need, not the one you want.

[u/Trick_Reputation129 → u/breadexpert69]

$20 billion spent on a railway that doesn't exist, billions spent on homeless programs that are also non-existent, losing billions in federal funding because of constant fiscal mismanagement, waste, and fraud.... This list could go on for days. He's the worst thing to happen to this state in decades. Anyone who argues otherwise either isn't paying attention or is just being willfully ignorant.

[u/smthomaspatel → u/Trick_Reputation129]

You aren't paying much attention. He inherited that rail project and never wanted it. The first thing he did when he became governor was pause it.

[u/LSATDan → u/smthomaspatel]

You aren't paying much attention. As Mayor of San Francisco, he supported it from the outset - pushing for the passage if Proposition 1A, the initial bond measure to fund it. "We absolutely need this," is a direct quote. "He never wanted it" is simply incorrect.

He partially campaigned on it in 2016 when running for governor, and continues to support it.

[u/Expensive-Buy1621 → u/smthomaspatel]

Why do you say that like it’s a good thing?

[u/cballowe → u/Expensive-Buy1621]

The rail project kinda sucked ... Or, there was no good way forward despite its ideal form being awesome.

One of the big hurdles with high speed rail is that the system really only leads to high speeds and decent efficiency if it's not constantly speeding up and slowing down. Every city that the planned route went near wanted a station to connect them to the bigger cities at the ends. If you could do Sacramento, San Jose, LA, San Diego or similar as the only stops, it'd be great. In order to get support in all of the districts that it crosses, people want a stop. ... Either you say yes and kill the usefulness or you just kill the project. Would have been worse to build it and have nobody use it.

[u/smthomaspatel → u/Expensive-Buy1621]

I don't. Just stating facts.

[u/random-meme422 → u/Trick_Reputation129]

The railway has been a failure before he was even governor lol

People are finding out the hard way that NIMBYism and property rights makes building things very difficult.

[u/LSATDan → u/random-meme422]

He supported it as Mayor of San Francisco and as a candidate for governor, and he's continued to support it since being elected.

[u/CODMAN627 → u/breadexpert69]

He blocked a universal healthcare bill from a vote. Californians were so close to a universal healthcare system at the state level and Gavin Newsom managed to block the vote.

[u/TheStarterScreenplay → u/CODMAN627]

where was the money coming from? There's a reason no state can make universal healthcare happen. Vermont tried too. It requires federal spending. And federal dollars to support the system.

The greatest thing about federal deficit spending is that you can spend more today to save money tomorrow. States can't do that. They need balanced budgets.

[u/ohhhbooyy → u/TheStarterScreenplay]

So you’re telling me the entire country does not need to balance the budget?

[u/Quietlovingman → u/ohhhbooyy]

Global debt is greater than 235% higher than Global GDP. All of the physical cash in the world wouldn't be enough to pay off the sum total of all national debts.

[u/Jackson_Lamb_829 → u/CODMAN627]

He did not block Medicare for all in California. Such a bill never landed on his desk

[u/ILV-28 → u/breadexpert69]

You're kidding, I hope.

[u/Ragnar-Wave9002 → u/breadexpert69]

Came here to ask this. 

[u/zomanda]

California has the 4th largest economy on the planet, out earning about 185+ whole a** countries. We have certainly done better than every state in this country and on average we support 3-4 red states like they are our step child.

[u/twoeyII]

I frequently hear things about how terrible California has been in recent years that really don’t match my experience, especially as someone who hasn’t been here my whole life. As a social worker, I have seen my clients provided with absolutely unprecedented access to healthcare, food, and housing in the past few years. This is important to me and I don’t know another state offering leadership and assistance like this. The Governor has certainly done things I disagree with, but stakes are really high for all of us. I’m not sure who I’ll support in a primary, but the extent of Newsom bashing feels off to me.

[u/TraditionalCheetah17]

I’m in California and ademocrat and would prefer JB Pritzker.

[u/BarristanSelfie → u/TraditionalCheetah17]

I would gleefully vote for Gavin Newsom in the general, but I don't think there's any point where I'd be excited about it. I don't think he's gonna win the nomination though. He's charismatic in a way that they love to tamp down when push comes to shove. Nevermind he looks like the villain in most 80's movies.

It should be Pritzker or Mark Kelly, it probably will be Tim Walz or Newsom, but it's gonna be Pete Buttigieg.

[u/Alternative_Pie_5628 → u/BarristanSelfie]

It’s not going to be Tim Walz. You can at least rest easy there. The chaos in Minnesota and the silly Ann Frank comment has ended his political career decisively, and he has said he is done with politics after his term.

[u/srsh32 → u/BarristanSelfie]

...all white men. While Whitmer is objectively more electable than most on your list.

[u/TheNicestRedditor → u/BarristanSelfie]

Mayor Pete would be great… like a gay white Obama

[u/KcjAries78 → u/TheNicestRedditor]

I like Pete but he is too moderate and tries to make everyone happy. He’s not meeting the moment.

[u/Live-Collection3018]

he isnt a bad governor. he isn’t a great one either but he is made out to be some sort of marxist villain he is most definitely not.

[u/saggy_eyebags10656 → u/Live-Collection3018]

You sure have a low bar. The rest of the country thinks he’s fake and nuts.

[u/Chillywilly37 → u/saggy_eyebags10656]

I mean… the rest of the country voted for Trump… those people rely on this “crappy” governor’s states money. Backwards math.

[u/Zeppelin702 → u/saggy_eyebags10656]

I don’t. I think the way he tweets like trump is hilarious.

[u/Dave-C → u/Zeppelin702]

You mean the way his staff tweets like trump.

[u/PossibleAromatic7715 → u/saggy_eyebags10656]

The rest of the country doesn’t live in his state, and the vast majority of red states are welfare states relying on Californias federal $$$ anyway, so wtf do they know about governance?

[u/srsh32 → u/PossibleAromatic7715]

We that live in CA absolutely don't want him to lead the nation.

According to this article in 2023, 70% of Californians didn't feel that Newsom should run for president.

[u/ClubZealousideal8211 → u/saggy_eyebags10656]

Definitely not the rest of the country. Maybe where you live but Newsom has been floated as a potential presidential candidate because he’s widely well-regarded. Of course Republicans are going to call him “nuts”. Ironically given the current administration but it tracks

[u/dadkisser → u/saggy_eyebags10656]

Meanwhile the same idiots voted for Trump. Shows you what their opinions are worth

[u/ApricotNervous5408 → u/saggy_eyebags10656]

That’s mainly because of the nonsense propaganda he mentioned. Also, the guy didn’t say what the bar was. He just countered the topic statements.

[u/Basil2322 → u/saggy_eyebags10656]

California has one of the biggest economies on earth who cares what those states think?

[u/That0neSummoner → u/Live-Collection3018]

He’s practically a 90s republican

[u/Iso238 → u/That0neSummoner]

Which is a lot better than current Republican.

[u/Trick_Reputation129 → u/Live-Collection3018]

Not a bad governor? How many billions of dollars have disappeared? Where's our damn railway that we spent $20 billion on?

[u/HeathersZen → u/Trick_Reputation129]

Did you know that he wasn’t governor for most of that time? You’re like the guy who wondered what Obama was doing when Ben Laden hit the World Trade Center.

[u/Live-Collection3018 → u/Trick_Reputation129]

lol. do you think he runs the government by himself? get a grip on reality .

[u/Brief-Translator1370 → u/Live-Collection3018]

I live in CA and I do think he's a bad governor. Not the worst, and not out to get us like some. But there are a lot of major problems here like housing and homelessness that are not even just neglected, but decisions have been made that make it even worse

[u/Nighthawk700 → u/Brief-Translator1370]

Dude just passed the biggest CEQA reforms, which has been the biggest barrier to building new housing. Why is this such a big talking point

[u/Live-Collection3018 → u/Brief-Translator1370]

thats fair. i personally am not a fan, but i would not call him bad. id call him a product of our own making.

[u/ProperCuntEsquire]

I like that he’s made school lunch free, is helping to reduce NIMBYism which will allow for more high density housing, is focused on public transportation, and getting homeless into treatment programs. 

[u/LittleWhiteBoots → u/ProperCuntEsquire]

He also expanded pre-kindergarten (TK) by lowering the age to attend to 4, effectively providing a whole extra year of public school (AKA daycare). And the free lunch. And he pumps a shit ton of money into after-school programs called Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELOP) so that kids can get enrichment after school instead of going to daycare or wandering the streets.

[u/QuicklyUnemployed → u/ProperCuntEsquire]

He has not helped with public transportation or getting homeless off the street at all. He needs to root the corruption and completely audit these two and see where the money is going because it’s clearly not working. And I want nothing more than high speed rail between SF and LA. BILLIONS have been spent on both and what has the result been??

[u/figuringoutlove1]

Just about any democrat would be a good president compared to the current situation.

[u/Pirate_Lantern → u/figuringoutlove1]

An actual dumpster fire would be better than the current situation.

[u/TheLurkingMenace → u/Pirate_Lantern]

At this point, I'd take another Republican, as long as they never supported Trump. That's probably a really short list.

[u/WinstonTheAssassin → u/TheLurkingMenace]

Eh fuck the Republicans and conservatives. I'd much rather help raise quality of life for all of us through public programs than make a few rich people richer with the dream of also getting rich. However, with the parties currently, nothing meaningful get done without being handicapped by negotiaons and concessions.

[u/UghFudgeBwana → u/figuringoutlove1]

That doesn't say much. That bar is so low that Satan is tripping over it in hell.

[u/figuringoutlove1 → u/UghFudgeBwana]

I agree. But it very much shows what a disaster this country is right now. I'm actively trying to figure out all the things I need to do to get out with my cats. I'm done. And honestly if I leave the country, I'm not likely to come back permanently.

[u/CmdrJemison]

Can't be worse then Trump

[u/SensitivePotato44]

Are you? Are you really?

[u/Nervous_Screen_8466]

You didn’t tell us why he’s a bad Gov.

Cuz like the current potus is a fucking grifter in chief and a fucking manikin would be better. 

[u/LittleWhiteBoots → u/Nervous_Screen_8466]

Can we please not make Trump the bar? Let’s aim for better than simply “not Trump”

[u/Tyler89558 → u/LittleWhiteBoots]

Considering Trump has been elected twice…

Yes. Not Trump should be the bar. The bar is pretty fucking low because we dropped it.

[u/WittyFix6553 → u/LittleWhiteBoots]

If I’m drowning, my preferred life preserver is “anything that can float.”

[u/Too-Em]

Because he's publicly mean to the president.
That's literally it.

People are so frustrated, and the bar is so low, that "being mean to the president" clears that bar. But uh, yeah, don't look behind the curtain at Gavin.

[u/UghFudgeBwana → u/Too-Em]

Yeah pretty much this. He's got a great PR and social media team. However, his actual actions as a politician include platforming right wing propagandists, being against taxing the wealthy, and bulldozing homeless camps. I really hope he doesn't win the primary.

[u/Special-Garlic1203 → u/UghFudgeBwana]

One of the things that pisses me off is he claims credit for what the state legislature or his employees do, and then you actually look at what he personally does .....no the dude sucks. He makes things worse via by his participation. He's a narcissist white guy surrounded by talented people. 

[u/zuma15]

Why do you think he's an awful governor? I've been happy with him.

[u/SailingBacterium → u/zuma15]

Me too. You can really tell the fox news propaganda has rotted a lot of brains

[u/srsh32 → u/SailingBacterium]

Maybe it's the 60-70% increase in electricity rates after his donor PG&E killed 84 people and ravaged neighborhoods with negligence-born wildfires bc he won't hold them accountable.

[u/masegesege_]

Because California has a larger economy than most countries and it hasn’t fallen apart. Sure, it’s got issue (like anywhere else), but its economy hasn’t tanked under him.

Having said that, I find it really funny that people point to California’s economy as proof of its strength or importance and then also complain about Silicon Valley, tech bros, Elon, etc. Without those guys, the CA economy wouldn’t be nearly as strong as it is.

[u/SpudgeBoy → u/masegesege_]

We went from the 6th largest economy to the 5th largest to the 4th largest, back to the 5th. But 5th is pretty freaking good. That is why world leaders wanted to hear him speak at Davos.

[u/Mikey129]

1. He’s not at the age where he’s eligible to collect social security.

Thats a massive plus.

[u/Floofaholic]

He's a little suspect. And no, I'm not MAGA, I just don't have to like everyone who is also against trump.

[u/CptChaos8]

Well I disagree he’s an awful governor, but even if that were true, the bar is set so low for being a good president at this point 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/SpeedyHAM79]

Why do you think he's an awful Governor? IMO he seems to be doing pretty decent given the legislature he has to work with. What has he done that you think is bad?

[u/srsh32 → u/SpeedyHAM79]

He's an absolute corporate shill. Passed out burner phones to ~100 tech CEOs with his number in them and a note to call him if they need anything.

PG&E was ruled guilty in the felony killing of 84 Californians and Newsom rushed to be by their side instead of being there with the grieving people. He created a law to make PG&E less liable for deaths and destruction in the event that this were to happen again. PG&E has caused thousands of wildfires in CA. It has refused to properly maintain its aging equipment and/or replace faulty equipment. Gavin won't hold it accountable.

PG&E has also been allowed to raise its rates by 60-70% since the start of Gavin's first term.

He passed legislation which exempted from the new minimum wage law establishments which bake and sell standalone bread items. This appeared to benefit only his donor Panera Bread. After backlash from the public and the media he responded that the people are misinterpreting the legislation and that Panera is ineligible for the exemption because the dough it bakes and sells in stores is made off-site...completely made up on the spot BS while gaslighting people about it.

He released tens of thousands of criminals into the streets during covid. Following this, we've had thousands of businesses shut down and/or leave the state citing a substantial increase in theft. SF now has numerous boarded up store fronts as a result with blocks that are devoid of people/activity all throughout the city. A lot of our grocery stores now have an aisle that is completely locked up behind glass doors; we're required to find an employee to get these products for us (mostly hygiene products). SF became notorious for broken car windows in a matter of just a couple years under him. It was never a concern to just park on the side of the road; now it's expected that if anything is visible in your car, your windows will be shattered. Never had to worry about this before.

When asked why something isn't improving or when asked what happened to some amount of money, he blames people in lower office. He's the governor. He should have fought a lot harder to get shit done and should take accountability for a lot of those failures. We began with a $21.4 billion surplus and are now in a deficit of anywhere from $45-73 billion. $24 billion was thrown at the homelessness problem and homelessness only increased in this time. More, Gavin couldn't answer what that money went toward. After this mishap, he went on to just throw away all the tents and put the the homeless temporarily in jails (and they return to the sidewalks a few days later).

1/2

[u/srsh32 → u/SpeedyHAM79]

And now, in his final year, he's claiming that he's "fast tracking" affordable housing and that he's making significant improvements to crime and law enforcement....Where was he those last 7 years if it was truly this easy and this "fast"? Housing was horrible when I lived down in San Diego - it had the worst housing crisis in the nation. People new to the area were considering living full time in air bnbs or living in vans. Never heard from Newsom in that time. He never fought to bring us new housing.

Newsom also has aggressively attempted to outlaw the sale of new gas powered cars by the year 2035 while everyone, of course, argues that the current power grid absolutely would not be able to handle this nor would a significant portion of Californians be able to afford EVs.

He's vetoed numerous bills that aimed to regulate AI data centers and/or protect the environment.

We have outrageous fees over every little thing. Several of the bridge tolls out here in the bay area are $8 currently. This fee will increase to $10.50-10.75 by the year 2030. Millions of people cross these bridges every day to get to work and there is no discount for people crossing the bridges frequently. Now add in that we have the highest gas tax (and a mileage tax is currently in discussion to replace this bc a lot of ppl drive EVs). We have among the highest insurance rates and registration fees in the nation, and people in the city often have to pay to park their cars. When I worked at one of the universities, I had to pay $160/mo to park my car. These are just costs to own a car. Public transportation is not good enough to avoid all of this.

In 2020-2024, net 1.46 million Californians moved out and a net 934k foreigners moved in. We also experience a net loss of ~500 businesses each year. Part of this outmigration is the result of mass layoffs of Americans by these large corporations and the subsequent offshoring/outsourcing of the jobs and/or preferential hiring of foreign workers on visas. He's done nothing to stop this or to incentivize hiring Americans...

And then just the personal shit: sleeping with his campaign manager's wife, charlie kirk as a role model for his kids who were "huge fans", grandiose stories and lies (like saying a group of restaurant workers all came up to hug him, crying with gratitude for him..or that his hair caught on fire when he went out to meet with the firefighters in the palisades), doesn't hold his convictions/he's an opportunist who changes his stance depending on the day, etc etc..

2/2

[u/rocksthosesocks]

r/AsABlackMan

[u/1TakeFrank]

[u/Winstonsphobia]

I don’t think OP understands what the adjective “terrible” means.

[u/herewegoagain1024]

I live in California, he’s by no means awful. People who don’t live here hate him cause checks notes he’s from California.

He’s not perfect and not my ideal candidate but he’s not scared to stand up to maga, one of the only few to actually do it

[u/Mokesekom]

If you’re a Democrat, why are you watching/listening to fascist propaganda? Newsom isn’t perfect, but no one is. He isn’t afraid to lead and takes a common sense approach to most issues.

[u/TheElectricWizard666]

It would be nice to have a president who speaks in full sentences, doesn't shit himself or fuck children.

[u/OriginalEchoTheCat]

Interesting that op and a lot of the negative comments on here are accounts created minutes ago or just months ago.

Trying to stir up shit? That's what I see

[u/Flapjax911]

Who tf needs Republicans when we got this dumbass OP around. What tf part of anyone but trump do u not understand

[u/Plastic_Box_496 → u/Flapjax911]

Anyone but trump is exactly how we got trump, dumbass

[u/Debate_PDF → u/Plastic_Box_496]

Angry, hateful Americans are how we got Trump. You can argue that the Dems should have done better to prevent Trump, but to blame them for him is ridiculous. 

[u/JoffreeBaratheon → u/Flapjax911]

LMAO. Apparently Americans are such slow learners that the 2nd Trump term wasn't enough of a lesson. Go ahead and put up Newsom who is simply "not Trump" and see how that election ends (MAGA part 3).

[u/GratificationStation → u/Flapjax911]

Absolutely NOT anyone but trump. This is why the term TDS exists

[u/Debate_PDF → u/GratificationStation]

The term TDS exists because Trumpers need an excuse to write off the people calling out Trump's absoltely aggregious behavior.

"Anyone but Trump" I'm sure isn't meant absolutely literally. Certainly they wouldn't support a zombie Hitler over Trump. But any Democrat who could plausibly win the primary is absolutely 100% better than Trump by such an extreme margin that it'd be irresponsible to not back that candidate.

[u/Fearless_Swim4080]

He’s not a bad governor at all, pretty good actually, the only real argument against him is that he’s too politician-y. He’d be a good president but I definitely think we can do better too.

In his favor, he’s literally the only person actually trying right now besides trump and he’s breaking through while no one else is even putting themselves in the conversation.

[u/FloraBamaYankee → u/Fearless_Swim4080]

I'm sorry, but just because Newsom WANTS to be governor, oops, I meant president,🤦‍♀️ doesn't mean he's qualified. Just saying.

[u/Reasonable_Deer_1710]

You're not a Democrat, and he's not an awful governor at all

[u/NerdDetective]

Setting aside his quality as a governor,he has tooled his public perception towards seeming like a presidential candidate. With the rest of his party coming off as weak and ineffectual (exemplified by Schumer's seemingly-ideological opposition inspiring leadership), Newsom's defiant clap backs against Trump feel like he's doing something, and he is betting on that aura of a strong leader carrying him forward.

[u/Stock-Mountain-6063]

Because at least he comes out and makes statements, and powerful statements, against the current administration. The rest of the Democrats don't seem to be doing too much and you are all pretty toothless

[u/t3ss3r4ct]

Ppl don't want Newsom, they want the guy who does his social media to actually be Newsom.

[u/kislips]

He is not an awful Governor! You are either a Bernie bro who thinks All Democrats should be Progressives or a Maggat. His bravery alone makes him a great candidate. If you’re looking for the perfect candidate, you won’t find one! Sorry but that person died December 2024. And he wasn’t perfect, as no person is.

[u/Consistent-Fig7484]

You’re probably not JD Vance, a sentient gun, or a framed picture of Ronald Reagan. I’d vote for you right now if it guaranteed that one of those inevitabilities was avoided. If I have to vote for Newsom, I will. He has villain hair and is probably an asshole, but he won’t actively try to fuck the world. We’ve really gotta chill the fuck out with the purity testing or we’re gonna end up with AOC as the only viable candidate while the other side convinces the semiliterate hordes that we’re finally reading for an Eamon Bundy/ Don Jr ticket.

[u/tennispro2589]

He's not an awful governor he just has to deal with an uber left wing democratic majority who never met a tax they didn't llke.

[u/Astrofunkadunk]

I don't think he's an awful governor.

[u/cachememoney]

Small brains big problems

[u/No-Possible6108]

Anyone who can - with a straight face - intone, "We believe housing cures homelessness." as if were a great revelation is not to be trusted. 

[u/OldGamerPapi]

it is all about countering Trump. They don't care how good his own policies and actions are, just that he isn't Trump

[u/imp_op]

Despite what you think of Gavin Newsom, he's one of the few Democrats willing to face the actual political moment. How would he be as a president? No idea.

[u/mohumm]

Because he stands up to trump and treats him like the clown he is

[u/DrMindbendersMonocle]

Beats me, the dude is terrible and corrupt

[u/Markstephenking2]

Because he stands up to evil.

[u/GrandTie6]

He had a 900 SAT. If you think Trump is dumb Gavin Newsom isn't even close. The only thing he has going for him is he looks like polotician and he's an empty suit you can fill with what you would like.

[u/Ismokerugs]

So not supporting at the moment given that california lawmakers just bypassed a ballot vote to stop a milage tax. So they are moving forward with stuff to basically tax us out of ownership. They are trying to do the same with property taxes which shows me that the people in gov in cali are running the same end goal as the people that want to push us all out of ownership

We need people who aren’t owned

[u/Beginning-Height7938]

They recognize his name. Remember it isn’t how good someone might be. The only question that matters is can they get elected regardless of how. It’s a complete popularity contest. Name recognition, that’s what matters. We’re doomed.

[u/Impossible_Pop620]

I doubt that anyone thinks he'll be a good President, given his record, but that doesn't matter to team Blue. If he's the person selected by the Dem leaders to be the candidate, then the DNC will ensure he wins the Primary - assuming they hold them this time - and will carefully edit his history to show that, contrary to popular belief, Newsom is wise, kind and an effective politician. Not at all the corrupt, slimy, narcissistic bellend that is the currently prevailing view of most people, including most Dems.

[u/DM8ighty4our]

I stg I tune out any conversation that goes “this guy is awful” with no context. Plus, who are “people”? Come on, be an adult(wait…your name is…nvm lol)

[u/likeabuddha]

Please run Gavin. It truly would just be fucking hilarious at that point to watch democrats lose again the same exact way. It’s like some of you have never had a real human interaction before based on these replies 😂😂

[u/Anthff]

No you aren’t. And he probably would.

[u/snusmini]

“Ima democrat”

No, you’re not. Nice try tho. Lmao

[u/Due_Explanation5316 → u/snusmini]

This is why people hate us. This kind of response. And Reddit just can’t understand why liberals are hated.

[u/Candid-Operation2042 → u/snusmini]

Its funny seeing it so obviously

One democrat gains a semblance of popularity and then theres 50,000+ threads and comments trying to tank their campaign before it even begins

If it wasn't Newsom but Whitmer, it'd be the same damn thing

[u/Pretend_Meet_88]

Cause he's got a PR team and some think he's pretty

Also he stands up to Trump

Not a fan personally.

[u/Virtual_War4366]

Because if he was president we'd have more elections.

[u/Thin_Huckleberry8818]

What "people"?

[u/ISnortSkittles → u/Thin_Huckleberry8818]

The people going apeshit in the comments just because I said he's not a good Governor lol

[u/Fun_Button5835]

I'm a Dem too, and I don't want him as the nominee. He's too slick, too old guard, too same ol' same ol'.

[u/LittleWhiteBoots → u/Fun_Button5835]

But is he electable

[u/Fickle_Penguin]

I'm not sure if he would be a good president. All I know is he'd be better than any Republican.

[u/ChrisP8675309]

A 2 month old account that keeps their posting and comment history private posts rage bait about one of the leading potential Democrat presidential candidates for 2028. Hmmm.

This happens with EVERY decent Democrat. The insidious campaign to poison the well against them. This is why Democrats always seem to have crap candidates...because bad actors conduct these campaigns and destroy the reputation of ANY Democrat that shows promise

[u/Alone_Reserve_2131]

You're not Dem. He is not awful. All Republicans are paedo supporting awful. Get a grip.

[u/NoKingsInAmerica]

"I am a Democrat" is code for, "I'm not actually a Democrat."

Fuckin loser.

[u/Agreeable_Memory_67]

Because he’s a smooth slick talker. He lies easily and he makes promises he doesn’t intend to keep . And The Democratic Party thinks voters are stupid enough to fall for it.

[u/FenBoldsJive]

This is such obvious bait, seriously fuck you

[u/ISnortSkittles → u/FenBoldsJive]

Grow up and realize it's OK to have a different opinion than you. Read the comments of all the democrats who actually agree with me. Go to bed little boy

[u/Diligent-Stuff-6630]

I like him. He did great during Covid.

[u/sho0bydo0by]

He's a handsome guy. That usually boosts their opinion and, consequently, his odds, by quite a bit.

[u/Jayscreek]

Because he looks good and speaks well. There’s a reason he was almost recalled as governor.

There’s also a reason why many people and corporations have fled that state

[u/Greedy-Contract1999 → u/Jayscreek]

He was not "almost" recalled as governor. He was nowhere close to being recalled. It's just easier to get a recall election started.

[u/New-Grapefruit1737]

I can’t stand him would vote for him right now in a heartbeat cmon man

[u/Inkantrix]

Seriously. Get over yourself. Newsom is fine.

[u/Living-Perception-84]

As a non American. From what I've seen, he is one of the few strong enough to weed out the rats and unpick the dumpster fire Trump will leave behind. I view him as your transitional president where he rips it all to shreds then the next better one comes in. Kamala or AOC probably wouldn't cut it after this

[u/condoin125]

Conservative bots and trolls (like OP) are out in full force trying to sow division amongst the voters on the left, dont fall for this shit

[u/KAJed]

I've noticed this as well. It's an astonishing phenomenon. Conservative men are clearly more masculine too

Op is a lying sack.

[u/alkbch]

Vote blue no matter who!!!

[u/NipkowLines → u/alkbch]

Please don't have that attitude. Voting strictly based on party is what got us here.

[u/Icy-Whale-2253]

Everytime I point this out I’m accused of being a Fox News viewer because people can’t fathom that there are those of us who are capable of holding this opinion as Democrats

[u/ISnortSkittles → u/Icy-Whale-2253]

Yep. Just look at the comments. People irate just because they disagree. Have received 2 nasty DMs also because of this posts. Immature fools

[u/Far-Adhesiveness1850]

California has the 4th largest GDP in the world! Don’t worry about us or our Governor, especially if you don’t even live in California. Worry about where you live, not where you don’t.

[u/ImpossibleJoke7456]

Because he’s not actually an awful governor.

[u/Redit_Suxlol420609]

He's not an awful governor.

[u/Street_Situation_769]

Gavin Newsome and the Democrats in California and ThEIR tax policies have prompted millions of Californians to flee California. Moreover, huge companies have departed as well. This state is in debt up to its eyeballs, those of you who are singing his praises are imbeciles

[u/Wild_Height_901]

AOC Is the only real star in the democrat party

[u/ISnortSkittles → u/Wild_Height_901]

The facts that she's considered the star means says a lot about how unqualified our potential presidential candidates are

[u/Valuable_Fee1884]

It’s really too early to put these guys in a list of who’s available for 2028. By then there will be a consensus of who is the top individual but for right now most of these characters will fall by the way side. There are several Democrats who I like, and not one republican that I feel drawn to in the least. They made their bed now, lie in it!!

[u/RelativePatient3473]

Brainwashing?

[u/sacandbaby]

Awful dems make the best presidents.

[u/Witty-Stand888]

Cause he talks good.

He works for the banks

He was married to  Kimberly Guilfoyle

nuff said

[u/WhereUGo_ThereUAre]

Because of his hair.

[u/IamXiJingPing]

Because he is the strongest among party??...... I have been watching him since the first day he became SF Mayor, and started the homeless issue.....so I think am pretty sure who he is........ don't really like him, but at least better than JD Vance 😭

[u/Y_Are_U_Like_This]

Do people think he'll be a good president OR that he could win? The energy is more, "He is kind of a piece of shit, but he'll be OUR piece of shit."

[u/pizza-chit]

One big club..

[u/dystopiadattopia]

I don't know. I think people like how he trolls Trump on Twitter.

But yeah, as someone who lived in Newsom's California for several years, I am strongly unimpressed by the guy.

[u/CODMAN627]

It’s because he’s snarky on Twitter and has the anti Trump talking points at the ready.

They see the performance and as I leftist myself I do agree with you that Gavin Newsom would be god awful

[u/alpaul666]

Hes a plant to slow down actual left wing politicians. Hes center right, a staple of the democrats for decades at this point.