California's SACRAMENTO — The Democrat Party is "being crushed" by Republicans, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom, partly because Democrats are too timid and sometimes forced to play defense while Republicans "dominate with deception," he said in a statement on Saturday.
Speaking in Austin, Texas—the home state of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, one of Newsom's main political rivals—at the Texas Tribune Festival, Newsom acknowledged current party leaders, including President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
However, he asserted that slogans that may have been effective for the party in the past, such as Michele Obama's catchphrase "when they go low, we go high," are ineffective right now because "that's not the moment we're living in right now."
On the flip side, these individuals are brutal, according to Newsom. "We are where? Where are we beginning to organize a compelling alternative story from the ground up? On offense, where are we headed each day? They are currently winning."
That is why, according to Newsom, he has been spending some of the millions of dollars in his campaign account on TV ads in Florida urging people to move to California, newspaper ads in Texas criticizing the state's gun laws, and erecting billboards in seven states urging women to travel to California for an abortion, even though he is running for reelection as governor of California.
"Nothing is more offensive than someone pointing a finger. What will you do to address the situation?" said Newsom. "The Democratic Party ought to be doing more of it," says the spokesperson for the campaign.
Naturally, Newsom's ability to accomplish those goals is largely due to the lack of pressure he experiences at home. In November, one year after fending off a recall campaign, Newsom is expected to easily win reelection as governor of California against a little-known and underfunded Republican rival.
The possibility that Newsom would run for president has grown due to his activities; nevertheless, he has consistently dismissed this rumor and did so again on Saturday in Texas. Newsom responded, "No, not happening," when asked if he was thinking about running for president in 2024 or 2028
I can't emphasize this enough, he said. "I understand why you keep asking since I never trust politicians."
President Joe Biden's first two years in office have been "a master class on substance and policy," according to Newsom. Later, he said that "Biden would be at 75% approval" if good administration were sufficient to win elections. According to the most current poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, around 53% of Americans disapprove of Biden.
Democrats have a problem because they "fall in love so quickly" with "the person or gal on the white horse to come to save the day," according to Newsom.
"We missed an essential concept that leadership is defined by people with moral authority every single day, not by that person with official power," he remarked.
Abbott, who is in a more tight-contested race with former congressman Beto O'Rourke, may benefit from Newsom's abrasiveness. Professor of political science at Texas State University Kenneth Grasso said there had been a worry among some Republicans that Abbott is "not cautious enough. The criticism Abbott receives from Newsom "only benefits him with those individuals, "said Grasso.
He claimed that by emphasizing their right-wing beliefs and labeling them as radicals, people would only serve to increase their support among their constituency.
Texas Democrats appear to be welcoming Newsom's attention despite that risk.
Gilberto Hinojosa, the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, remarked on Newsom, "I like this guy. I appreciate how he draws comparisons between what you do in California and the narrow-minded, extreme viewpoints in Texas.
