some thoughts on Newsom: 1. the reason I am desperate for Literally Anyone Else to be the standard bearer is specifically his stance on trans rights - he's been bad on other issues, like homelessness, but I really worry he'll lead the Dems towards Labour if he's the guy in charge
I think trans rights are a canary issue, anyone willing to capitulate rightward shows they are willing to capitulate in other areas too. Also, it shows their willingness to align with a party narrative, instead of a dedication to human rights. Trans rights was the first scapegoat after the 2024
Also unhoused ppl
100% agreed, and principle aside, the air of cowardly consultant-y moving toward the center, instead of making a clear direct case for what you believe and why, means ceding the narrative and looking wishy washy “Trans rights are human rights” “Actual bathroom danger comes from the Christian right”
100%.
Stop. Fighting. The. Party. Fighting. Fascism.
For the party in general, every single person who voted in favor of funding ICE at any time in the last 25 years is not a person who is fighting fascism. That person is a fascist. Ditto Homeland Security. Likewise any policy described as "Tough on Crime". All of that got us where we are.
Sure Jan. 🙄
As the philospher said, those who don't learn history are doomed ro repeat it, and those who do learn history are dragged through it anyway by those who refuse to. Before Trump came to office, the US led the world in incarceration and police violence. That was already there, Trump didn't do it.
Before Trump entered office, the ICE was a brutal goon squad that existed to round up and deport nonwhites. The fact that they weren't getting in *your* face doesn't change that. The Drug War was created by Nixon explicitly to imprison Black people and leftists. Again, the people who did it
Admitted it. In 1994. There's zero reason other than racism to keep it going after that, like Biden did as Senator. The past inevitably affects the present. If you stopped hating ICE between 2020-24, you too have chosen the side of fascism.
What exactly do you think fascism is?
That's a question you should be asking yourself. Until you can define it without referencing Trump, Putin, or Hitler, you can't have a valid opinion on what or isn't fascism. Free hint to get started: find and read "Ur-Fascism, or: 14 ways of looking at a Blackshirt".
People. Who. Publicly. State. That. They. Agree. With. Their. Fascist. Friends. Aren't. Fighting. Fascism.
If you can call this fighting yoh are a coward and an idiot.
Being anti-human rights is not fighting fascism.
Troll 👋
Bigot.
This is a lie. He leads on trans rights
You're a fucking campaign strategist. Fuck off
You are lying. Fuck off.
Newsome is so, so bad. He's occasionally brilliant at grabbing attention. I was in SF when he legalized gay marriage and it was such a weird situation because the vibe from him was pure cynical theater over something that off course was a great issue of the day. He's a cold blooded sociopath.
And it was an incredibly stupid stunt that backfired spectacularly on a national stage in the 2004 elections.
Absolutely,That was Newsomes goal.
I kinda feel like the D party’s leadership is definitely pushing him on the public. Hopefully, we’ll get better options in the primaries
And there's more squish caveats in this redistricting proposal than a timeshare contract.
Boo hoo! Purity politics will get you nowhere these days. "“No one in our nation should be without a place to call home. I am proud of the work we are doing together to reverse this decades-old crisis.” His words. Be more careful in your research
There are a series of homeless encampment sweeps that will raise objections to this lofty rhetoric.
Again, your research skills need help. www.gov.ca.gov/2025/06/30/g...
No, exactly. As a Californian, it's very frustrating to see him make these plays for a presidential run. Because he's good at part of this—the fighting fire with fire part, the going on Fox part—but he's politically terrible. Sleazy and a chameleon, and cozying up to the Right for no reason.
Someone said he's the rich kid bully at the school. It's satisfying to see him using that energy to fight uphill rather than kicking down.
All the people saying Newsom is throwing Trans people "under the bus" should be honest by saying this means he isn't advocating for everything Trans activists want. Partial progress is worth defeating fascism in the short term. Priorities, people. Defeat MAGA first, then everything else.
Seriously people, we have the UK playing out a cautionary tale for us in real time and liberals over here are just like, "Nah, we're just like... built different tho."
I think that is a fair concern but the US isn't UK and while it has been an effective wedge here it is a different beast here in that is more about opening the door to rolling back all LGTBQ+ rights than specifically about trans rights where UK really is TERF island and they all have brainworms
grrr. sure the UK is a petri-dish for the US Right trying out their playbook via Tufton St and the cooption of the media by a bunch of undead oligarchs. sure we’ve got the mumsnet breeding ground aka prosecco stormfront. but the antitrans animus de jour isn’t a uniquely british invention. we resist.
I mean yes and no, the way certain reactionary views manifest themselves and stick varies across countries.
Nothing wrong with Labour, we won the uk election last year 😎
How's the next one looking
Good thanks
Uh oh Micah, you just lightly criticized the liberal du jour while invoking the most sacrificeable minority, RIP your mentions
I have been making it clear that I simply will not vote for Newsome if he is the nominee
THAT’S HOW WE GOT TRUMP! Ugh!!!
That's right, the DNC insisting on running awful empty suit candidates is how we got Trump.
I voted for Hillary and Biden. I will not vote for a candidate who invites nazis on his podcast and promises them he, too, thinks it should be illegal for trans people like me to exist. I would, in fact, rather have another Trump term, because that way *everyone* suffers, instead of just me.
Oof!
the best way to make sure politicians know to ignore you is to promise not to vote.
Yeah because Trump is so pro-trans. You guys are the reason why we ended up with Trump.. these stupid purity tests.
You used “you guys” in your reply to a trans woman. I realize it’s a casual, catch-all plural, not usually meant as gendered, but in context with what you just said, it’s transphobic.
oh it's like clockwork with these people, they break out the 'you guys' the moment a trans woman disagrees with them
I was going to say, “break glass and use transphobia in an emergency,” but that shit is usually in a hip holster.
lol break glass, draw, and fire a they/them at the trans woman
Anyone who abstains in 2028 for any reason is dead to me
Anyone who votes for someone who has openly agreed with fascists that want to make it illegal for me to exist in public is dead to me.
I think it's absurd to believe that Gavin Newsom wants to make it "illegal" for trans people to exist in public (and I say that as someone who thinks he's a shitbag)
he said so, in his own podcast, where he agreed with the Nazi he invited that trans people shouldn't have a right to exist in public life
Can you grab he specific quote?
somewhere around the 30 minute mark he agrees with kirk that trans people receiving transition healthcare in prisons is "politically devastating", he of course said repeatedly that he agrees completely about sports (which is an attack on trans participation in public life)
And when Kirk attacked him for making "a law that says teachers can't tell parents if their kid is trans" the only defense he offered was "No actually it applies to gay people too and it's actually more moderate than that" because he's not willing to defend the principle of trans safety
That's shitty and I won't vote for him in the primary because of it, but I don't think that rises to the level of "he agrees that trans people shouldn't participate in public life" I certainly don't think it's enough to justify abstaining in a general election.
He's willing to agree with a Nazi that trans people should be removed from public life to satisfy the concerns of Nazis if it helps him gain political power the difference between that and just being a Nazi who actively wants trans people removed from public life is irrelevant in practice
Then why does he keep inviting fascists on his podcast to tell them they "have a point" about bathrooms?
Hey remember when the nyc was "just asking questions about trans youth" how did that turn out?
*NYT
Probably shouldn't run someone who pals around with fascists and hates trans people, then
I am not going to vote for Newsom in the primary and neither should you.
Sounds like we should be spending more effort convincing everybody else not to do that too instead of yelling at people that they'll have to support him after when they have some pretty legit concerns about doing that.
If he is the nominee I will leave the country.
Same. It'll be the last indicator that There Is No Hope.
"the guy who presided over the sex slavery of minorities in prisons is so important that anyone who doesn't like him is evil"
what the fuck are you talking about
the sex slavery of trans women in men's prisons, you know, something that existed in Newsom's California
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTe... SB 132, signed by Gavin Newsom, made it easier for trans prisoners to be housed in accordance with their gender identity.
so? he *signed* it 5 years ago, he didn't otherwise do shit and given his recent stance on trans athletes he wouldn't sign it twice
2019- signed law granting "x" gender markers and requiring LGBT issues be included in police training 2022- signed law protecting trans families who come to CA from other states from being harassed 2024- signed law banning schools from doxxing kids using different pronouns
I don't like his stance on the sports stuff but the widespread bsky believe that Gavin is axiomatically anti-trans seems completely fabricated to me
The school pronoun law caused a huge local political fight and was allegedly the reason why Elon Musk left the state
and what stops him from going further than "fairness in sports"? REPUBLICANS started with "fairness in sports", Labour started with "fairness in sports" like, sorry your stupid fucking ass can't recognise that this shit is always just the beginning
and what else has he done besides rubber-stamping someone else's legislation?
that's what a governor does? and he actively supported and defended the school pronouns law in particular
and there is no chance in hell Newsom would ever undo that on a federal level after trump made it federal policy
Yeah we know that’s how we got Trump, twice. People not voting for the person who can be problematic but is nevertheless not fascist just means they’re voting for the fascist.
If Dems go the way of Labour, I'd love to have a third Trump term. That way, you suffer with me. If you want to throw me under the bus, I will do my best to drag you under with me.
The most recent example of how we got military vehicles and checkpoints on the streets of US cities
I mean I'm a middle class cisgender man, I won't suffer with you
what is it you're afraid of? www.cnn.com/2023/09/25/u...
WOW!! Ok now I get it. You’re basically fascist maga. What are you doing in this conversation?
So you’re fine with fascism, good to know 👍
If it's gonna be fascism either way, I'd rather it affect everyone instead of just me!
So the whole fucking world should suffer because you can’t get off your high horse? Are Ukrainians and Gazans responsible for US politics? (and that’s before we get into the ridiculous false equivalency on display here)
gavin newsom will not install a fascist government
See the thing is it doesn’t have to be fascism. We can vote for the flawed not fascist and then hold that person to account. But leftists want to be purity ponies and that’s how we got Trump. At least like most leftists you’re owning the fact that you’re pro-fascism and want Trump in office 🤷♂️
So what 'right' are you giving up for this purity testing?
If you want trans people to vote for a democrat so bad then simply do not vote for a fascist who hates trans people in the primary! Hope this helps!
Making it illegal for me to exist in public is not a "flaw."
Are you familiar with trumps stance on trans rights??
If someone trying to use the (D) label advocated for keeping racial minorities out of restrooms due to white anxiety about them we would run that person out of the party entirely. Why are we accepting the same logic for an issue that's even more anxiety driven?
Because libs have been in denial about how identical they are to literally any other delusional right wing bigot for AT LEAST several decades now.
They're saying that for their own livelihood Newsom and Trump are functionally identical and thus there is no point in them voting because they will die either way
And that is 💯 FALSE. They are NOT identical. Are you guys high? Trump wants to ERASE the trans population. I mean ERASE.
Are you with newsom's?
Wow, it sounds like you understand how vitally important it is that someone other than Newsom be the candidate. Personally I'd work on that more than trying to yell people into agreeing with you that he's fine. You have been giving actionable information, not a purity test.
Its weird how dumbasses like you keep insisting we are the ones who failed when you keep putting up candidates we hate. Maybe you're the problem, dumbfuck loser.
He's not the nominee and doesn't have to be and it seems like you just hate trans and homeless people
Not letting trans ppl exist in public is not acceptable
Ok, but "flawed non-fascist" isn't one of the candidates, you have "greedy fascist" and "subtle fascist"
Thank you Owen, that’s exactly what I was saying! Churchill was very flawed - but he basically saved western civilization because he had the balls to stand up to Hitler. We are AT WAR now and we need a warrior. Newsom would make an excellent president too, I’ve no doubt.
I really have to wonder why you people think telling us trans people, to our faces, that you consider us acceptable sacrifices, will somehow convince us to support Newsom. Are we supposed to be glad to lay down our lives for your comfort, or something?
I really have to wonder why you support fascism. Truly.
So what 'right' are you willing to give up?
Because if you try to throw me under the bus, I'll drag you with me. I didn't sign up to be your sacrificial offering. I would rather *everyone* suffer than be forced into the role of Omelas Child for your comfort.
We literally just did that thing and got four years of Joe Biden capitulating. Fuck that.
Cry more about your delusions, Fashy
Leading to the death of homeless and trans people is not a small problem
I agree! He has problematic stances. I’d rather vote for Liz Warren (and did, in the 2020 primaries) but that’s not the reality we find ourselves in. Hopefully other democratic governors and legislators follow his example and loudly support those groups and attack fascism directly.
So when we’re at least two full years out from even having to entertain this guy’s requests for presidential votes, we just have to suck it up rather than leveraging our position as the people who get them into office to make them do what we want? What’s the point of voting then?
"Problematic" is underselling it when he's personally helped destroy the personal belongings of homeless people and invited white supremacists onto his podcast to spread hate against trans people. It would be easier if you just said you didn't care about those issues instead of trying to dissemble.
“Die for me, degenerates.”
You are literally doing the opposite of holding Newsom to account. You are vice-signaling to him that he can kill trans people and keep your vote. Then you get mad at trans women who tell you and him to fuck off.
The fact that you consider those “problematic flaws” is telling on yourself in a major way.
But I’m muting you now because life is too short to argue with terminally online leftists who prove that horseshoe theory is real 😘
Hi, guy who used to be a full throated liberal here who got increasingly tired of "incremental change" Maybe we're just fucking tired of voting for the less shitty guy Stop sending us shitty guys We are not asking for perfection
Compromising on ideology should mean shit like "Reprioritizing public transportation should be done AFTER codifying emissions standards" not "which minority is an acceptable sacrifice to buy some sun belt votes maybe"
I am tired of being told "now is not the time" for good shit to happen, that we always have to coddle opposing ideology and give up on dreams when Republicans just run roughshod into the W Store and clear off the shelves Stop being such a fucking loser with loser ideologies
Politics is not a football game, but it IS an exercise in inspiring a populace to follow you, and who the FUCK is inspired by "nnnnmmewwwllll we dont have the VOTES to do it our majority is not big enough ouuuuughhhhhhh"
you are too, just as long as it’s blue-flavored
So are you. So long as it doesn't affect you right? We are 3 years away from an election and you are swinging hard for someone willing to use my community as a scapegoat and throw homeless people into a grinder. They aren't even the nominee yet. I wouldn't vote for him either.
Or you could not be a piece of shit and stop trying to sheepdog people into supporting a monster who's going to lose to the facsists. And then even if they won, wouldn't do anything to end fascism and would feed your ostensible coalition members into a woodchipper with glee.
If they were fine with fascism, they'd be backing Newsom. He's just fascism with a smile - still ready to shove people into camps and suck up to the money.
youre fine with fascism as long as youre not the victim, stop scolding others into voting for their own oppression, dickhead.
Nah, the fascism can be averted if y’all join us in pushing it back. Refusing to join that effort is just an admission YOU are the one okay with fascism.
you are fine with fascism if it only affects minorities you aren't part of you stupid motherfuckers have done shit for minorities and now are shocked they rather have the outcome that makes you suffer too? come on you fucking losers
you’ve learned absolutely nothing from Clinton and Harris losing
There's literally no evidence that Harris and Clinton lost because of progressive protest votes. But in the meantime, let's make sure the party keeps moving right and feels entitled to votes
And even if progressives were so important, maybe the party should have thought about not doing everything possible to alienate them...seems like an error in judgment
Either they're so frivolous and insignificant that they should be ignored, or they're important enough that they can swing elections. Libs should pick a lane
Sounds like if we want to not have it happen again we need to make someone less problematic the nominee, then!
“Unless our candidate is perfect, we will enable the fascists” remains a stupid idea.
Maybe! Votes from people you think are stupid count too, though, so we'd better start making sure we get them. Probably have more luck with a non-Newsom candidate than trying to yell people online into agreeing with you. You know, if you're actually committed to winning instead of yelling online.
I have never voted for Newsom in a primary and I never will. But if he is the nominee against Vance or another fascist I will vote for him. Because while he is not my preferred candidate, at least he isn’t a fucking fascist.
Sounds like we better make sure nobody else votes for him in the primary either, since that's apparently a dealbreaker for a lot of people if he is the nominee. Because, you know, beating the fascists is more important than winning arguments online.
Sounds like you should be working on that instead of doing whatever you are doing online here.
Exciting news, I am! Convincing people who say the most important part is stopping the fascists to help make sure none of the deal-breaker candidates get the nod is part of it! Probably more return on effort than browbeating people into supporting someone they think is a deal-breaker.
But he would be. Literally the only thing he cares abt is his own power
It’s not about perfection. This is a non negotiable issue. Would you vote for a Democratic candidate who gave concessions on gay marriage? Interracial marriage? How about a Democratic candidate who thinks the black community “overreached” in the fight for desegregation?
I don’t care if Newsom isn’t 100% aligned with me on all issues. I despise him because he is a coward and is bad at politics.
Also sadistic
Probably yes
Not wanting a sadist is not in fact demanding perfection
The election is 3 years away. Also notice the many establishment dems suddenly not saying Blue No Matter Who re Mamdani.
No. It’s 2025. We have three years before the Democratic nomination. We don’t even know who’s running. Newsom’s failure to fight on trans rights signals a failure to fight on other issues and terrible political instincts. Now is exactly when we can draw a line against him.
For trans folks in this case there's no difference
You mean the sadist?
No you’re the one who’s fine with fascism as long as it impacts people who aren’t you.
Nah that ain’t it. I’m loudly antifascist and both give money to and vote for candidates who push for rights of trans people, women, racial and religious minorities, etc. I have voted for the Democratic nominee in every election since I turned 18. Because the only other option is worse.
So you support genocide
You see trans people as disposable so you personally won’t suffer and that is all.
lol ok kiddo you have fun out there
How old are you?
Should we as a party be building a better bench and putting people better than Newsom into leadership positions? Absolutely! But if he’s the nominee not voting for him is a de facto vote for whatever authoritarian candidate republicans field.
Voting for him is voting for sadism
You’re selling out trans people before the primary has even started. Look at what UK Labour is doing right now. Democrats will do the same.
Ok kiddo
I’m sure I’m older than you and have seen this shit happen again and again but go ahead and make yourself feel better about what a little fascist-lite piece of transphobic shit you are
Bahahahahahahhaha ok kiddo
Oh no, please don’t make me feel young again
I hope we get a different nominee because of Newsom’s problematic positions. I hope we get someone who loudly opposes fascism and loudly supports trans and other rights. But the discussion is, if he was the nominee he’d still better than Trump. We can pressure him to change his positions.
“Problematic” lmao you don’t know much abt him do you
Yknow like we pressured Biden to stop the gazan hooocaust!
The time to apply pressure is before elections, not after you give your support to them when they have shit policy positions. It’s a little thing called leverage.
Then he shouldn’t be the nominee
We regret to inform you that 99% Hitler is still a high rate of Hitler and the best case scenario is they won’t make the fascism worse than it currently is. The worst case scenario is the 1% missing will be fixed by reaching across the aisle to collaborate with the Republican Party.
If the progressive left are significant enough to swing an election, maybe the Democrats shouldn't be treating them like they're meaningless? 🤔
LMAO YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT FASCISM IS
We cant prevent fascism by allowing fascism to infiltrate both parties. At some point you have to grow a pair and take a stand on something.
Except he’s not all that much better than Trump, unlike Biden or Harris who were not willing to capitulate to this fascistic nonsense
Lmao, actively working against marginalized communities (something all the Dem candidates you braindead fucks mindlessly worship have done/continue doing) falls under the “fascism” agenda bud. The main reasons Trump got where he was is Dems propped him up and then refused to oppose the shit he
stands for/represents. We get it, you morons refuses to rally around any candidate that ACTUALLY opposes fascism. You don’t need to keep pretending otherwise.
It really is impossible for shitlibs like you not to show up and harass trans women for saying we won't vote for someone whose views on us align with Charlie fucking Kirk. Go touch grass, loser.
no, you got Trump because you kept running candidates that tried to compromise with the right wing, which just normalized his extremism.
fuck off
I voted Harris, but we can make this entire equation easier by having a nominee that actually has principles! We don’t have to settle for an ambitious husk in advance! And using the threat of withholding votes to advocate for better candidates 3 years before the general is not supporting fascism
Enjoy another republican sex offender running the US 👍
Dude also wanted to restore a severe asset cap for Medicaid eligibility I love that he’s willing to counter-punch I really hope that other governors with better politics step up on things like gerrymandering etc - Pritzker sheltering TX legislators was great
Definitely not specific to this post, but can people stop acting like the Democratic Primary is going to happen tomorrow and not in three years? As a trans person I'm going insane watching this discourse
YES. THIS.
omg yes plz, THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS
Why are human rights so scary? Nothing NOTHING a TRANSGENDER person does impacts my life.
JB would have a pretty serious war chest and seemingly a lot less divisive baggage than Newsom, I think he’d take it if it came down to it. Newsom is doing good work for the moment though, it’s a good strategy to build off of.
Ok can I just say, please vote in your primaries. Encourage everyone to vote in the primaries. This is what they are for. People blow off the primaries and then sulk at home come general Election Day cause they hate their party’s candidate. THIS is a big part of why we are here.
If it helps, the Dem primaries run through the Great Lakes States and The South, do we really see him playing in those places? Really?
The way he treats homeless people and trans people are symptoms of the same larger issue - he simply does not see all people as people.
I’m looking forward to the Dem presidential primaries where the standard bearer is selected by the voters
yep, he needs a boss, and he needs a specific domain unrelated to like six issues he is ABHORRENT and ABJECT in only good thing about him is he hates republicans, and I wish (monkey paw time) for a person with self control … but also hate everything Reagan and the later Rs ever did
I want someone who didn't sit down and play nice on a public podcast with white nationalists like Charlie Kirk to lead the party
Being good at f’g with Trump doesn’t mean he’s gonna be president. Also, he has someone doing those posts for him. It’s not actually him. But they are amusing.
This is said well
I will be voting for the redistricting thing this November. I will not vote for Newsom for any political office.
In the last few years he vetoed multiple pieces of bipartisan progressive legislation for what it looks like no reason other than to burnish his centrist neoliberal credentials. He also gets off on throwing away the possessions of homeless people. Trans rights fail was the cherry on a turd cake.
His “let’s have the far right goon squad on my podcast to show how Centrist I am!” Was a true colors moment. In a great many ways he is the perfect neoliberal candidate. That is neither praise nor an endorsement. I hope we can do better. I’m so fucking tired.
yeah, he's a conservative who supports like 90% of the same policies as the GOP, but it's ok that he's fighting trump and making him mad right now, we can worry about a presidential primary once there actually is one visible on the horizon
he has signed basically every pro-trans law that has passed his desk though
100% We shouldn't back someone who will tolerate the idea that some people deserve fewer rights. It's a nonstarter. His stance on trans issues shows that his thought processes are incompatible with what the country needs.
this guy? be for real. www.cnn.com/2023/09/25/u...
let me tell you about how the Free Palestine movement used maximalist interpretations to push their agenda, it was a whole thing in 2024. anyone who didn't agree was pilloried. now, seven months later, Bibi is about to take Gaza City. permanently. all I'm saying is he needs room for code switching
If someone has positioned transphobic policies as a central issue in their voting process, you’re not going to win them over by agreeing to be ‘partially’ transphobic. If your opponent is promising the complete package, then they’re going to vote for them every time.
Also observing the fact that our president was complicit in an active genocide isn’t a maximalist position, no matter how you try and spin it now.
it is now and always has been the maximalist, extremist position. and it caused incalculable harm.
If condemning a country’s continued supply of overkill weaponry to a bloodthirsty fascist in his quest to wipe out a group of people he views as lesser beings is an extreme position, that political central is deeply fucking poisoned.
that's not the extreme position. the extreme position was refusing to vote and instead electing the guy planning to build a resort there. political extremism is, at its root, fatally selfish.
Acting as though enough left-leaning non-voters to make a material difference in 2024 abstained because of Palestine is hilariously, willfully ignorant of the reality in this country. Plenty more (myself included) voted for Harris in spite of these misgivings, though it did fuck all anyways.
I fucking wish Gaza had been enough of a hardline issue to meaningfully shift electoral policy, but people here have never given a shit about other countries, least of all if they’re not white. The Democrats campaigning on “we’ll be just like Biden again” was not a winning playbook.
so you're saying if fewer people left the coalition in Michigan, Bibi wouldn't be invading Gaza City? that's gotta be the biggest own goal in the history of politics.
all I'm saying is that sometimes you convince people with maximalism... sometimes you end the genocide in Palestine by ending Palestine.
so it's a multi-variable decision based on a lot of shades of grey. what's important is for whichever candidate not present a lot of attack surface for culture war bullshit so we can sneak someone good in there. it's called "code switching".
Oh please do elaborate on these supposed “shades of gray” to trans rights. I’m sure you have incredibly well-informed opinions on the subject.
it's so easy to tell the White ones.
truly.
Classic Democratic failure to recognize no candidate or leader can satisfy every agenda of every constituent. While Regressives (the real GOP today) hone fire-walled messaging to discrete cohorts to rally support and anti-Democratic messaging the Democrats sabotage themselves with purity tests.
Yes, this!
These are exactly my thoughts as well. He’s shown he’ll throw trans people under the bus if it’s politically convenient, and we can’t let that be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party
Spot on, Chris.
people keep saying this but as governor he has not actually thrown trans people under the bus, despite having the power to
I look forward to someone prominent saying that Gavin Newsom has used the bodies of the hated and the powerless as the rungs on his career ladder.
What would it take to convince you to run instead?
Stay tuned!
Fuck yeah do it save the world
'you've seen me kick a football now watch me kick this effigy of stephen miller square in the balls'
i would vote for someone with a platform of "i will kick stephen miller square in the balls"
much better than all these repubs shooting .50 cal rifles to show they're tough on crime
Effigy? Lost my vote.
Chris Kluwe vs Jon Stewart in the Dem primaries?
Guys I think this means he wants a radio or maybe some kind of stringed instrument
It's not even all that politically convenient! He's throwing trans people under the bus because he *thinks* he can benefit from it, but he can't! He's in the wrong damn party for that! It doesn't help in general elections, either! Either he's got terrible judgment, or he's really a bigot. No thanks.
Biggest problem with liberals is the demand for perfection.
Also he's doing the map thing after forcefully saying he wouldn't do it like a month ago... He has no idea what he stands for
Some clarification would be helpful for me, if you don't mind.
In the UK, Starmer was supposed to be the hero. In Canada, Carney was supposed the hero. Both turned out smelling like rotten fish? What's happening here?
You’re allowed to vote for California gerrymandering to negate Texas’s in November, and not vote for Newsom in the presidential race. That’s called democracy, and that’s what we’re literally fighting pedophile Nazis to protect.
Can someone remind me of his stance on trans rights?
co-sign.
To the "purity tester" whiners who WILL show up: Newsom doesn't have to be the nominee! Perhaps if the Dem establishment understands that enough people won't vote for him they might give us someone better, wouldn't that be neat? Isn't that sort of thing the whole fucking point of a primary?!
Yes and saying “I will vote for anyone but Newsome in the primaries” is a good idea, and I will do that. But if he ends up being the nominee, I will vote for him over the fascists. Because I am not an idiot.
so trans lives are expendable, gotcha
Probably shouldn't give them an out if you think it will lead to a fascist in charge.
literally this. I don’t even fucking live in California, just visit often, but fucking fuck that guy and his willingness to throw all my trans kith and kin under the fucking bus for, what, scraps of approval from the *polite* fascists??
Not to mention the homeless community
like, I don’t care if the polite fascists *also* hate the not-polite fascists! I don’t want ANY fascisim, thanks!
“just asking questions” transphobia is WHAT GOT US TO THIS MOMENT IN TIME, you can! in fact! fuck all the way off! Mr. Newsom!!
why the hell is this fuckstick one of the relatively few people in positions in political power of any kind who is being loud about the not-polite fascists being fuckshits we should fight
He loves a lil sound byte
I am going to die mad as fuck that he made me vaguely like him for five seconds for the same sex marriage thing in San Francisco, because that makes the subsequent betrayals that much worse
His hand was pushed by trump trying to turn his state into a military policed one, he has to fight or lose everything.
Anyone “just asking questions” at this moment knows exactly what they’re doing and they can either fix their hearts or die.
What has he said about trans people? And what legislation has he done to help or hurt trans people?
www.erininthemorning.com/p/newsoms-bi... He's agreed with far right ideologues about their anti trans narratives.
Thanks for sharing.
Are you actually interested in learning?
Yes
Then you should respond to the ppl who provided articles
I will. Got other things on the plate too.
Vetoed a bill that was intended to improve access to gender-affirming healthcare, for one:
He’s a classic finger-in-the-wind politician. It’s good this is telling him to attack Trump, but praise goes to the wind, not the finger.
Newsom isn't really my cup of tea either. But if he's the nominee I'm still voting for him.
Right, Democrats need to be afraid of being like UK Labour (which has destroyed itself, politically and popularly, on basically every issue). Any Democrats who AREN'T afraid of doing that, they need to be replaced or bullied into immediately leaving for the lobbyist job they're hoping to secure.
Shorter: we don't need a smoother talking Keir Starmer, and if the Democrats are intent on forcing one on us, we can just not vote.
Most concise description of the situation I've seen.
I was homeless for nine years and had to vote for him twice and lots of homeless people are trans kids who had to run away from abusive parents and I just can’t with Newsom any more. “He has good intentions” doesn’t work for me.
Here we go. Rejecting the good in search of the perfect. If Dems continue to take that attitude, you might as well hand Trump a crown right now.
THROWING TRANS PEOPLE UNDER THE BUS ISNT GOOD, SUSAN
I hold him in contempt for demonstrating his cynicism and opportunism by his actions. The words that come out of his mouth right now mean nothing. Not eager to risk too much on a guy who could turn on a dime if his teenaged kid goes full white nationalist incel.
I'm desperate because of his stance on most marginalized people, many environmental issues, ALL genocides, corruption, and housing is identical to Conservative Republican's stance. There are some small differences but too small and few to meaningfully matter. He's California's Andrew Cuomo.
I think the biggest aspect of my fear is I ain't White, I'm middle-eastern, I'm poor, I care about the environment, corruption is a big issue which Newsome has a long scandalous history like Cuomo and he supports such corruption, housing is awful now, he's further right-wing than Harris AND Biden...
He endlessly works to appease Californian Republicans and Lobbyists and Big donors, which didn't do shit in the long run since they are backing Trump even though a few vocally love him, he vocally loves ICE and cops, he loves imperialism and war and deportations.
has everyone forgotten his gleeful bulldozing of homeless encampments?
Exactly
Newsom doesn't really have any beliefs other than that he wants to be president. He would throw homeless people in a wood chipper if he thought it would get him good headlines.
bsky.app/profile/kjbr...
I'm so tired of these tire tracks on my back.
All I know is that if he is the nominee, hes not getting my vote.
It bums me out so much that people are ready to call every trans person "a bad person/fascist collaborator" for saying we won't vote for a transphobe. :(
And?
Does he have big business in his back pocket?✅ Does he show glee while bulldozing encampments✅ Does he pat himself on the back for same sex marriage while disparaging the trans community✅ Does he reward big elec for burning down the state✅ Let Gavin do Gavin. For now, he’s all we’ve got.
Liberals can pick apart anyone, there are so many special interests. That's why we have the guy in the white house now.
Human rights is not a special interest.
I agree. All humans should be respected. And the environment, too.
Newsom is our Tony Blair.
Same!!
"Vote for [x] or else you deserve trump" is going to lose. Always. Everytime. until democrats gain the ability to strive for a better future, they will always lose.
I agree - I love the "fight fire with fire, fuck Trump" energy, but I want it to come from Literally EVERYONE Else in a position of power.
Both because a) we need as many people willing to push back against Trump as possible, and b) if every leftist power broker is on the Nuclear Option train, then milquetoast trans-hater Newsom doesn't get special cookies for being the one guy who did it come primary season.
My thought on Newsom: Just because a clock is right twice a day doesn't make it any more broken. That's a hard 'no.'
He will make an excellent president. I have no doubt about it.get over it already.
He’s standing up for what’s happening, Why do y’all have to comment in this way, just let him do what he does.. he’s not running for office at this point! Non republicans are the most irritating bunch! If enough of y’all say it, maybe he’ll do nothing! Maybe you will be happier with that!
So when people raise these issues during election season y’all blast us for it not being ‘the right time,’ but when we’re three years out from the next presidential run now it’s ’too soon?’ The moment a candidate gets locked in you’ll go right back to ‘don’t rock the boat’ type shit
I don’t know who yall is… however, if the person is the nominee it’s all you got.. you take that person or you get a republican.. so yes, there are there are times when you have to make the best of your choices! We don’t unfortunately get to choose individually! It’s a collective process!
Our point is that he ISN’T the nominee yet, and that if the Democrats are actually committed to protecting trans people like they claim, he shouldn’t be. He’s shown a dangerous willingness to platform far-right voices (people explicitly and immutably in Trump’s camp), that cannot be overlooked
There is not a presidential campaign happening now! We’re in the throes of democracy being taken away and the possibility there won’t be another election! Stay focused on what’s in front of you!
My guy, you realize people are capable of processing multiple thoughts at once, right? Me demanding that our representatives hold themselves to a higher standard in defense of our marginalized fellows does not preclude me from putting in the work to protect my neighbors.
Because of we complain when he *is* running for office y'all are going to whine that we're trying to split the party by asking for "pie in the sky" policies like "literally preserving the trans rights status quo that already existed in 2016 before people like Newsom started a hate campaign on them"
He's a psycho demon who needs to be unleashed on the Republicans then dropped in the bottom of a well
The problem with the left is they want Democrats to throw out the rulebook on some issues like gerrymandering but adhere to a morally pure rulebook on ideology.
Seriously 😳
Yeah, the Labour model should be cautionary.
Yeah, ain't nobody taking down Newsom. He's crushing the primary by a 2021 recall margin. JB needs to cut a deal for VP early on because there's no way he can outshine California's leadership.
*Monkeys paw curls* Rahm/Pete 2028!
Absolutely not. I will turn this planet around and drive it directly in to Sagittarius A.
dont put that evil out there!!!
“The hero we need but not the one we deserve”
Jesus #1 alone is a terrifying thought
so be desperate 🙄
The point he made when asked about his all caps tweets that if as a member of the press you're concerned about it, then you absolutely should be more concerned about Trump doing it was perfect
Pritzker has been much better (notable that tex dems went to illinois, not cali).
what has he done exactly with his billions
Pritzker, Beto, McMorrow, Mamdani, Crockett, those are real ones. We can tell. Would I vote for Newsom if every goddam other American Democrat somehow wanted him? Sure. Would I vote for him in a primary against Pritzker Khan or Beto or flippin Andy Beshear for that matter? Nope.
The fact that he's just imitating trump's posts (haha gavin! good one!) is he's got nothing. i bet you anything he'll make promises to these texas dems and then cali redistricting will die in committee.
It’s a ballot measure. There is no committee. 🙄
Waiting for someone perfect to fight for us will not stop this rolling fascism. Newsom is not perfect. Ok. Now deal with the GOOD he is doing.
No. He sucks.
Your opinion, Pale.
objective fact.
fact, noun, ˈfakt 1a: something that has actual existence. “Space exploration is now a fact.” opinion, noun, opin·ion,ə-ˈpin-yən 1a: a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter I’ll let our readers decide.
He doesnt believe in human rights for all, making him at core no better than what we have
Newsom protected transgender rights, making California a refuge for transgender healthcare. He signed a bill prohibiting schools from requiring parental notification over gender identity. He made bad statements about trans athletes, 1.3% of us, but no action. He’s NOT 🍊💩🤡.
Newsom? Or the legislature over Newsom objections?
He openly agreed transgender kids should be banned from sports!!!
California Uber Alles etc
People who suggest Newsom simply don’t pay enough attention to politics to recommend anyone who isn’t already nationally famous.
Have we learned nothing from 2024? We cannot be single-issue voters. It will lead Democrats to failure - again. There is no such thing as a “perfect” candidate. And if you still think a billionaire will ultimately do what you want him/her to do then you haven’t been paying attention.
I consider my survival a single issue, yes. Do you expect trans people to gladly sacrifice our lives for your comfort?
Yes, they do.
Nothing wrong with being a hardliner on human rights
We have seen this play out in the UK and it leads to the complete destruction of what was once a left wing party and what's left over is a party explicitly banning trans people from public life, their healthcare too, and handing the keys over to the most explicitly fascist party yet.
Candidates don't have to be perfect, but they can at least vocally support my right to fucking exist. You have years to figure out a better candidate, maybe get started now
Just because trans people's lives aren't important to you doesn't make them frivolous issues in the way you believe they are. You will lose if you go down this road and you'll deserve it.
I don't want to live in a world where the existence of my best friends are threatened by the government
There’s a reason that Kimberly Guilfoyle went from Newsom to DJT Jr. I’m not saying they’re the same, just that they’re a lot closer than I’m comfortable with.
They were married for 5 years and divorced 20 years ago ffs-
G Newsom is showing that he is open & represents we the people. He’s welcoming a huge group of Americans who bought into Trump - the wolf in sheep’s clothing & selling snake oil. He must balance empathy. He’s protected LGBTQ+ inclusion. Please do send concerns directly to him. 🇺🇸🌈🩷🌎💪🏻
Wow you're just lying. Go fuck off
Wow - how so?
He openly agreed about trans kids being blocked from sports and platformed right wingers
Senseless to me personally! If trans kids are blocked, we should do hormone testing & muscle fiber testing on all to really level the playing field. Sorry. Many are fearful, & need consideration, too. Above all, we can’t have an abuser, cheat, criminal, liar, self-serving president or wannabe. 🫶🏻
yeah and i'm not going to vote for newsom just because he's only 3 or 4 of those.
Same, and I would also say that about Buttigieg. I mean, FFS, he's LBGTQ+ and he's willing to betray LGBTQ+ to...what...get the votes of those 3 people in Iowa who might maybe somehow vote D?
I mean, isn't this *exactly* how Dems have been wishy-washy on abortion since Roe was decided. "Weeellllll, I mean we don't want to ban it, buuuuuuuuut...three suburban mothers in Nebraska might vote D if we keep calling it icky."
2. the Democratic party desperately needs a fighter, and so far the guys who have most figured this out are Pritzker (please, people) and Newsom the fact that he's getting a lot of positive buzz for what he's doing will hopefully push other would-be contenders in that direction
This is Walz erasure and I will not stand for it
those are the white guys that have most figured that out... the people who are fighters but not white guys are just not getting automatically considered as presidential candidates by the people who think trans rights are disposable
This is where I'm at: he's not (techniclally) campaigning; he's setting the tone for the fight. We need that. Pritzker, AOC, Crockett, Pete, Beto, Sanders- the fight unites us. And isn't that whay dems keep saying? Unite? When primary campaigning starts, then we can talk about who is fit.
Technically speaking he ordered people to run over tents with bulldozers with people sleeping inside them who are no longer homeless because they are dead.
Well... I certainly hope that a progressive primary challenger makes a big issue out of that when the time comes. Can you provide a ink from a source you trust so we can read up on it? That's not a challenge, I definitely want to see.
www.gov.ca.gov/2024/08/09/g... | apnews.com/article/cali...
Here’s Another
I don’t save links. There should be a feed for that, she said before looking to see if one exists. I have no idea what will pop up if you google “Newsom War on Homeless” or some such. I’m kinda scared to.
He himself destroyed some of their stuff!
Yup. On camera.
Roughly sums up why I was way more hopeful to see what Walz would do than Harris.
neither of those guys are 'fighting' though
I feel like it would prob behoove people to stop acting like the only people who are “fighters” are just any bog-standard Dem who happens to be the top executive of giant state with very very different levers of power than almost anyone else. Warren, Pete, AOC etc would all do what Gavin’s doing!
“My “every Dem but Gavin Newsom completely sucks shit” t-shirt seems to be raising the profile of Gavin Newsom in a way that I’m finding suboptimal🤔”
I really don't want to lose JB to the presidency because he's been a shockingly competent governor, but I think he's going to be a top choice.
Sadly next one up to bat would be Hochul and she's already a disaster. National leadership is spineless. Do we turn to Walz again? Because I can't think of any other high profile dem.
Goid news - the 2028 elections are still three years away, or roughly 1.5 eternities in political terms. Plenty of time for a fighter who *doesn't* regard the poor, homeless, and/or trans to be disposable to appear.
Pritzker is so much better; a fighter without all of the Newsom baggage.
exactly, no democrat worthy of the office should let cosplay pat riley outshine them in this respect
do not trust newsom he has no soul
Yeah this part is what I'm hoping for, not that people will see what he's doing and want him to Save Us, but his antics showing how they need to actually fight dirty because we the people, their constituents, are responding positively to people who are fighting in a way that meets the moment.
3. this tweet remains deeply emblematic of Dem politics and the redistricting push Newsom is doing is one of the only examples I can remember of a Dem going "fuck you, we're sending out our own dog to dunk the basketball" if Rs are going to throw out the rulebook so should Dems
We can always make a new rulebook down the road.
I think about this tweet every day
Fair enough. It shouldn't be whether we follow the rulebook, but what we do in throwing it out. The fascists are throwing it out to do fascism, while we should be doing it for progressivism.
It's almost like John Mulaney knew what he was talking about.
Everyone was shitting on Newsom a couple months ago, but he’s got one thing going for him. He’s a Democrat who will do what it takes to win and we need more of those in the party.
Yes. What rules actually say, in fact, is that when one side stops playing by the rules, the other side is to pick up the rule book and bludgeon them repeatedly about the head until they agree to play by the rules or are destroyed.
To be fair the Texas Dems set the whole thing off staging the walkout at a pretty big personal expense
And he also gets the democratic legitimacy cover of having to go through a referendum anyway.
It’s basic fucking game theory! You have to punish defectors!
When the GOP violates norms, you VIOLATE THEM BACK. Tit for tat, motherfuckers!
Even so he's doing such a wishy-washy bullshit version of it. Why leave 4 safe republican seats on the table????
That's generally how gerrymandering works. You turn 11 60/40 Republican districts into 4 90/10 Republican districts. (Numbers made up.) The map also has to survive the courts and bad faith Republican challenges.
1. You can easily do a zero Republican seat map and people have for free 2. Lmao we’re so beyond caring about that aspect.
What really have to be maintained is nothing but the value of a single vote. It should worth the same, all over a state. Absolute numbers tell the result, not a map play...
One issue voters are what got us here.
wow you're a genius, never seen such insight, no wonder @kevinmkruse.bsky.social reposted this mundane bullshit 🙄
off-topic here but I've always found that tweet kind of amusing since in the actual Air Bud movie scene the point was that there *wasn't* a rule preventing the dog from playing basketball
In the sequel, Marty McFly goes to 1912 to make sure that rule gets written.
and the tweet’s over half a decade old not a damn thing’s changed
4. ultimately, whoever leads the Dems out of this needs to take this same attitude and apply it to actual progressive policies and unequivocal support for trans rights no throwing up our hands at the Supreme Court and going "welp, guess we can't do anything"
Yeah I used to buy the arguments about needing the filibuster and courts and procedure and what not, no longer. And if getting rid of the filibuster causes Rs to ratfuck harder when they are in power so be it, it will make them more unpopular. I would rather that than only Ds be bound by procedure.
You know who else is really good, I think, more impressive bc red state gov: Beshear. idek if he's running, though, or if he has enough, uh, rizz
he’s going to the mat with trump because a raw power fight is a thing he understands. I’m appreciate him doing this but he can’t be the candidate for president.
*I appreciate*
If you apply Newsom’s tone and “no excuses” energy to a “tax the shit out of billionaires” platform, you have a formula to sweep elections, not just crawl over the finish line. Newsom is in bed with the crypto/AI oligarchs, so that’s not happening with him.
We need a Bernie sanders with newsom’s talent.
What we've needed for years is Barack Obama with Bernie's politics, and the closest we've got is Zohran Mamdani.
Zohran would be great, unfortunately he can't run for President. But at least he can demonstrate the playbook.
A native-born Zohran.
5. take a deep breath before freaking out too much about how he's locking up the primary in 2025 - right now he's getting the most attention because he's the governor of CA, and CA is the biggest Trump target he's termed out in 2026, well before the primary actually starts long way to go
At the end of the day his instinct to moderate plus the fact that he is always going to be seen as a California liberal will weaken him in any primary I think.
Yeah, it's the exact mistake Harris made - voters who don't pay close attention to politics (which is most swing voters) will just assume any politician from California is uber-liberal, so there's literally no point in running as a moderate when you're from that state
Which is frankly bizarre if you’re from CA. Almost none of our politicians are genuinely leftist in policy, because homeowners and landlords are just as powerful here as elsewhere. Dems have had a trifecta here for 30 years. Not exactly a communist paradise yet.
The most effective left leaning politician we’ve had was Earl Warren, a republican.
Y'all figure this out. I'll vote for anyone on the Dem ticket. I'm not interested in purity tests or single issues. We're in the fight for our country. Once we regain the White House, then we can argue about our differences in opinion.
I was living in San Francisco when Gavin Newsom was mayor and ordered city hall to issue same sex marriage licenses. It kicked off a serious and eventually successful effort that led to Obergefell. I'm not worried that the Dems will take away our rights. The Rs on the other hand ...
Look me in the eye and tell me this guy being President is more important than my civil rights. I fucking dare you.
I will never under any circumstances vote for a guy who makes a fucking photoshoot out of destroying the property of unhoused people. I will not vote for a guy who platforms fascists on his fucking podcast. Newsom can get in the Gulf of Mexico with the rest of the invertebrates.
this guy being president, provided he wins the nomination, is important for your civil rights
This guy chummed around with Nazis on his podcast and happily extolled how much he hated trans people on it. My civil rights are not safe with him, and for an example of what would happen if he became President, see the UK under Keir Starmer.
Fine. Will you vote for a Trump 3rd term? Because he will be on the ballot. Or will you hold your nose and vote for Newsom? There is no third choice.
If Trump tries to run a third term against the law, what makes you think there will be a normal election, man?
he’s currently governor of the most progressive state in the country. You are stupid
Yeah as in he’ll use his authority to take em away
do none of you idiots know he’s governor of California
Cool. Meanwhile my rights and yours are given by the stroke of a pen.
The multiple years prior to the ticket even existing is the correct time to try to affect what goes onto the ticket, actually! "Vote blue no matter who" is for inside the ballot box.
To me? Thanks for leading here. Other states should follow. But no. He should never be President. Lawd have mercy no!
Yeah, I don't think he's a shoe-in at all. It's why I wrote a whole thread about how the people preemptively "resigning" themselves to a Newsome candidacy and talking about how we need to not criticize him actually just want a slimy transphobe as the nominee: bsky.app/profile/docv...
Anyone going out of their way to signal they consider trans people an acceptable sacrifice, right now, is not doing so because they *have* to - they're doing it because they *want* to sacrifice trans people.
pritzker is better here, in many respects
Noted pre-primary winners who became their parties nominee: Rudy, Hillary (08), Jerry Brown, ¡Jeb!, Ronny D, Scott Walker, Bernard (20)
Also it’s literally three years until the election. Three years is eternity.
Newsom may be a fighter, but his weird habit of platforming kooks and doing weird right-wing stunts like this just leave me thinking he’s politically not at all what people nationally think. bsky.app/profile/moxi...
he's getting attention bc he's getting attention. at this point in any race the person with the most (any) name recognition wins a poll. that's mostly it.
and yes we're desperate for leadership but ffs people are going full Bonnie Tyler out here
I confess that "Total Eclipse of the Heart" came to mind before "I Need a Hero" so I was wondering did a sec what the Bonnie Tyler allusion was for 😂
I think his ego and his narcissism will get him long before. But the amount of focus on him is unnerving.
bsky.app/profile/mith... This is what I said earlier today
Pritzker for president
Yeah I mean remember the big guy talked about as the resistance leader to Trump at times was….Cuomo. And we saw how that ended. Plenty of time for things to change
yeah as much as i hate newsom if he redistricts CA to counter the bull shit in TX i have to give him one leg of a gold star, since abbott has the means to keep calling as many special sessions as it takes before TX state dems can't stay out of state anymore. nobody else has been that spiteful
A California governor, even one that supports trans rights, is a non-starter national candidate.
Ronald Reagan was a California governor. It’s all about how they communicate.
AND A REPUBLICAN FASCIST, what are we doing here? completely unserious answer, theres zero analogy apart from the fact that newsom and reagan have the same beliefs and values
That was kind of my point! Saying that the rest of the nation won’t vote for a California governor is ridiculous. Especially when both Newsom and Reagan communicate in a way that’s accessible and attractive to large numbers of people who don’t look carefully at their positions.
Agree. I used to like him when he was mayor of SF & his brand was legalizing same-sex marriage, but I’ve never seen him as a viable national candidate. He’s the embodiment of smarmy coastal elititism repubs love to hate, and he’s let progressives down on trans rights, homelessness, & other issues.
yeah talking about 2028 primaries right now is just absurd
1/This isn't about 2028 though---when Reagan was running amok in the 80s, Tip O'Neill was the voice of opposition (of course, he was speaker too)---the Dems had someone--flawed as he was--to rally around and be the voice of opposition. O'Neill stopped RR's effort to "reform" Social Security.
2/Right now, there's nobody in that role--Jefferies to me has been a disappointment and Schumer has been a creature of the Senate for too long. For Newsom or Pritzker to step up and rally that effort--even being governors with regional differences--is needed right now.
Preach. In 1991 people said that Democrats shouldn't bother showing up in 1992 because Bush the Elder's 91% approval rating meant that he had the reelection in the bag. Clinton was inaugurated in 1993 nevertheless.
It's a GREAT time to influence who shows up for 2026, and that looks *kind* of like "talking about 2028" because we want the same thing in both. Linked subjects, or something.
*Talking* about the primaries isn’t absurd. Placing bets is absurd.
genuinely when are we supposed to talk about them? If we talk about them during 'normal' primary season it becomes 'you have to rally behind the strongest option'. Can you give me a ballpark when I'm allowed to say I won't support a guy supporting my genocide?
like there are so many fucking levers we can hit BEFORE we even have a trolley problem here
Frankly, if we’re gonna talk about it now’s the time to “purity test”. That’s how we end up with decent candidates in the primary instead of bland corporate dems and asshole transphobes.
Corporate/establishment Dems hate it when public wants a principled stance. So they dismiss it as a "purity test" when really it's just people trying to figure out what a candidate truly believes in.
I think it's important to rank purity tests by urgency and filter in order. I think the top one needs to be "willing to fight hard and loudly". Once you apply that there's only like a half dozen politicians left in the pool. That needs to change before we can jettison Governor Goodhair outright.
We haven't even gotten to the midterms or the primary and they are already telling us to sit down and shut-up over a guy that was just nodding along to Charlie Kirk on his podcast a few months ago.
We are AT WAR. Now is absolutely NOT the time for purity tests.
So what 'right' our you willing to give up if we are purity testing?
Anyone who looks at this picture and say, "Yup, that's my guy!" is irretrievably broken, and should be shouted down at every opportunity. "Purity tests" is just weasel words for liberal dipshits who want to avoid being accountable.
Why do you love to lose
how's the war going
You know what though you're right, it's not time for a purity test. It's time for the Dems to Have Some Fucking Standards and the fact that you people think that counts as a "purity test" is fucking shameful.
What you're calling a purity test I call you announcing that your only principle is saving your own skin. Fear is no excuse to panic our way into sub-optimal resistance. We have years to find a good candidate, a strong candidate that will actually fight for us, all of us. Newsom isn't that guy.
I know you're flailing, you're panicked, you're watching the only world we've ever known be plunged into uncertainty and chaos of a nakedly fascist police state. But if you panic now, you're only going to die tired & alone. Stop. Take a breath. It's ok if we critique Newsom. In fact it's beneficial
We have time to do so & more importantly we have a responsibility as adults capable of reason to resist in the most effective manner possible. And that requires forethought in who we support. Panic will get more than just you dead.
I’m not a purity test. I’m a human being who deserves the same rights as everyone else.
Shut The Fuck Up Your "purity tests" are PEOPLE.
3 years ahead of time is not the time? Nice try DNC. We know it's you when you say purity test
lol, joe biden told trump "welcome home" 7 months ago. some war, lol
I personally don't do purity tests, so I'll vote for Newsom if he's the Dem in the General Election. I absolutely will NOT vote for him in the Primary though, and I hope and pray that someone else gets the nomination.
"antagonize large parts of the base in futile appeals to an imaginary center" is how Democratic Presidential candidates lose. if you actually care about winning the "moderate compromise" candidate should be the last thing you're willing to accept.
It absolutely is when we’re talking about a primary 3 years from now. We can support Newsom’s actions *now*, while he’s acting in his capacity as governor. And there, I do mostly approve of him. But he fails my goals for a presidential candidate, do he has 3 years to change my mind or I keep looking
There you go.. he has three years to change your mind. I think k he will.
Imagine having faith in Gavin Newsom. 😂😂😂
The democrats have 3 years to find someone better Newsom will never change my mind he's a walking bucket of turds
Also, I’d far rather consider his actions in the context of his current job. Only so many will or even want to be president, but there’s 50 or so other governors (depending on how you count the territory governors), all of whom can follow his lead as governor fighting back against Trump.
I agree with you. But who is actually following his lead? Let’s see.. what I’m pissed off is these hardliners writing him off because .. whatever.. When he’s clearly one of the best governors out there and the only true opposition leader. Is he perfect? Hell no. But that’s not the point now.
I saw how he treated houseless people, I saw who he runs with in his podcast, I saw how he treats trans people There's no changing my mind I'd rather drag him behind my car than vote for him
ah yes the infamous "purity test" argument always put forth by someone angry that other people have principles they'll never possess
I'm purity testing you out of the Democratic Party for 2028. Sorry, you're not allowed in the club anymore.
We’ve got almost three years to find a candidate who isn’t best friends with Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk, doesn’t support segregation, and doesn’t torment homeless people for fun. But I guess you want all that stuff, makes me wonder why you dislike Trump so much.
It’s not mutually exclusive. We can support Newsom’s efforts to fight fire we fire. We can also hold him accountable for the bad things he does.
When exactly, pray tell, WILL be "the time" to keep someone who's an absolute piece of shit from becoming the nominee? Is there ever a time now when it's permissible to criticize candidates, or does the one whose "turn" it is get pre-anointed three years ahead of time?
If we get into the civil war MAGA wants that question will become utterly academic.
So that’s your big plan? Wait for a civil war to break out?
I’m having flashbacks to 2020. “Get Biden elected and then you can push him left” became “let us enjoy this, you can push him left in January” became “leave him alone, it’s only been a few months” became “now is not the time because midterms” became “get him reelected, then you can push him left.”
You don't have my back. Duly noted. Just don't expect me to have yours either.
We are AT WAR and we CANNOT trust anyone who is weak on human rights
Oh my fucking God, when the fuck is the time for it, then? You said it's not the time for it during the election, it's not the time for it during the primary, it's not the time for it at the midterms, what is the time? Never? We just have to eat your shit and thank you for it?
Just say that we have to bend the knee to your asinine idea of a moderate who will "siphon votes away from republicans" and yet has never actually done that and also never will because it's based on an entirely invented mythology of what the republican voters are like.
Now is absolutely not the time for coronations, either.
🎯 exactly my view.
He is a sadist who enjoys throwing out the belongings of unhoused peoples
In real wars, you figure out who is on your side and who is shooting at your troops. That matters a lot. Which part confuses you?
the Iowa Caucuses are in early 2028, we’ve got well over 2 years to find a better candidate. Fuck that sleazebag Newsom.
So who’s going to REALLY challenge Trump in the meantime? You?
Where are the democrats? Aren't they supposed to be the opposition party? See, I do not oppose democrats because I support right wing ideologies I oppose them because THEY DO
If you’re gonna tell me Charlie Kirk’s transphobe buddy is a-ok because he’s being an asshole to Trump, I can’t take you seriously.
It's the perfect time for purity tests for 2028 candidates I'll back Newsom standing up to Trump but there's no way I can vote for him after everything he's done this year besides standing up to Trump. Now is the time to be clear about that so we can field better 2028 options
Let’s ALL back him up NOW. THE FATE OF ALL FUTURE ELECTIONS is decided now. We can talk about 2028 later. Think about how many critics Churchill had in 1940, bitching that he’s so wrong. He’s the only one who had the balls to stand up to Hitler and saved the world basically.
Churchill. Thanks for saving me the trouble of explaining to everyone else why you shouldn't be listened to.
Churchill pimped out his daughter in law to US generals while his son was on the front lines
Gavin Newsom can get fucked I'm sick of right wingers masquerading as democrats getting a tongue licking by their evil sycophants
No.
You're using Winston "committer of genocide" Churchill as a positive example? That says all anyone needs to know about you.
I won't back a guy in 2028 who platformed Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon in 2025 and is still "just asking questions" on trans rights. That's non-negotiable. If he's the best in 2028, we've already lost. I support what he's doing right now, but I don't trust him and that won't change.
anybody bothered by Newsom is a whiny pussy, hope that helps
He's also getting the most attention because his team is playing the Trump game, and doing a really good job of it. That we can applaud wholeheartedly. I worry that if we meet someone finally doing it right with, "BUT WE DON'T LIKE YOU" we disincentivize the exact behavior we've been demanding
how convenient that the stripping of others freedoms is just a matter of personal preference to you!
FFS NOT REMOTELY THIS. Newsom can be our useful idiot. For now.
I am a bit concerned that come 2026, he will have all the free time he wants to start campaigning, while say, Pritzker will still have a state to run
I personally can't wait to choose between Newsome and Mayor Pete!!
Oof, hard disagree. hopefully we don’t have two Dems with bad policies on trans rights in the final primary elections
Yeah, I'd prefer a dog that doesn't want me dead though? Can we find one of those instead?
Democrats still haven’t figured out that most republicans (even the “moderates”) will never vote for them under any circumstance, nor will they play fairly.
I have to think that either Dems are idiots or they don't want the things they claim they want. Nobody could be in office for 40 years and still think the Republicans are operating in good faith.
That’s been pretty clear since Gingrich was the Speaker and Clinton acquiesced on welfare, crime, and same sex marriage.
In general, Dems have many, many problems, and one of them is the knee-jerk impulse to Simba-lift up anyone who fights while looking pretty as the (pick: laudator/derogatory) new savior. Newsom can just be one Dem pol who tries to fight Trumpism! This doesn't mean he has to be a pres. candidate!
AND THAT WAS IN 2018 my god they've learned nothing in seven years
#trump won in part because Dems fractured over the identity issues, but trump is worse on EVERY IDENTITY ISSUE! Everyone does not need to agree on every issue in a democracy, but is it hard to agree on the one sleaze that is trying hard to destroy democracy and ALL of your freedom you have now?
Everyone needs to agree that human rights for EVERYone is the basis of policy or they are no better than fascists anyway.
Human rights includes the rights of women to win a woman sports award. The solution is to give awards for best trans athlete and not have women unfairly dominated by superiorly muscled people born men.
Women are winning sports awards. Please learn something about this topic before you spout ignorant bullshit. Also if the choice is that some sports are compromised (and they arent) vs actual bodily autonomy the choice is obvious
What does that have to do w/ stopping trump? No one in politics is worse than trump on this. He is 3 seats away from losing the House and has fired 10s of thousands of gays and trans from government and military jobs and attacking DEI everywhere. Newsom has a plan to stop trump. I support his plan.
Thanks for admitting you're just another MAGA misogynist 😂
I campaign against trump every day. I donate money to organizations that oppose trump. I've voted against him and his minions for almost ten yers now. I really don't know how you came to this opinion since you don't know me at all do you? I'd love to hear why your so upset as I meant no offense 2 U.
Show me one verifiable example of where a trans athlete has "dominated" their chosen sport at the top level. Go on. I dare you.
There are many instances that seem unfair - an internet search shows them, but trump is using that. Why not support plans to stop him? Trump has fired 10s off thousands of gays and trans from government and military jobs and is attacking DEI everywhere. You don't have to like Newsom to stop trump.
Big, big difference between "seems unfair' and "dominated". Try again.
Your virtue signaling is tedious - I am against trump who has been far worse in demonizing trans to the extreme than anyone and putting MASSIVE ANTI trans policies in action hurting many people - if you are blind to that or some MAGA in disguise I have no more time for your self righteous opinions
Its good to signal virtue, actually. Much better than signaling bigotry like you are. Just admit this is all on vibes, you hate because you want to, and move on. Sorry you cant understand that some if us are consistent in our hatred of transphobia, regardless if where it comes from.
You don't know me and I am no bigot. I have nothing against trans whatsoever. Nor do I care for sports but I respect the many top women achievers in sports who say this is not fair and even Caitlyn Jenner says it! You think she hates trans LOLOL - SHE IS ONE!!!! www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...
There is nothing self righteous about pointing out the common claim that trans athletes "dominate" is profoundly untrue. There is literally not a single example of a trans athlete doing so. And "virtue signalling"... That really shows what sort of person you are.
Here is an actual successful female athlete's view - please read and have the empathy to at least respect her opinion and respect her emotions: I feel bad for her do you? www.newsweek.com/women-sport-...
It is trump that has stopped trans competing totally NOT ME. I am for stopping trump period! He is 3 seats away from losing the House and has fired 10s of thousands of gays and trans from government and military jobs and attacking DEI everywhere. Newsom has a plan to stop trump. I support his plan.
So you can't. Didn't think you could. Because it hasn't happened. I don't care if you want to stop Trump. The fact you think trans women athletes need to be kept out of women's sport is enough.
I did NOT SAY keep them out I said give them a trans award for their accomplishments. What is wrong to fully recognize them? Is that a negative for you they are trans? It's not for me. Trump & his fundamentalist backers in control will change their fate and send them to concentration camps no doubt.
LOLOL - here is one example - I am against trump not trans - your virtue signaling is seen but your lack of empathy for women in sports is also ... www.msn.com/en-us/sports...
There isn't an epidemic of women being "unfairly dominated" by trans women in sports. Fuck off.
Why should a single woman get dominated? Is a best trans athlete award a negative? No one in politics is worse than trump on this subject. He has fired 10s off thousands of gays and trans from government and military jobs and attacking DEI everywhere. You don't have to like Newsom to stop trump.
It's not just about 2028. If we want to even make it to 2028, we desperately need more Dem electeds and prominent figures to get it together, step tf up, and fight.
What do you mean by "please, people" with regard to Pritzker? Sounds like you don't like him. Why? This is a serious question from an open-minded person looking for info. Not trying to bait you.
I actually do like him, I mean “please consider Pritzker over Newsom”
Thanks for clarifying. I like what I've seen of Pritzker but know very little about him. Thus the question. I know a lot about Newsom, since I live in CA. He's smart and mostly means well, but too self-indulgent and calculating. A lot like Bill Clinton, for better and worse.
He absolutely doesn’t mean well towards anybody but himself. He’s a sadist when it comes to the homeless community
A Pritzker/Newsom ticket would be my preference. Newsom as the attack dog and Pritzker setting policy.
Newsom is wvil
He is killing his own constituents.
I don’t want Newsom anywhere near the White House tbh. He’s way too cozy with people like Charlie Kirk and he’s gladly thrown trans people under the bus.
Not to mention how much he seems to enjoy anti-homeless violence
Clearly a sadist
AOC and Jasmine Crockett have been too, but their reach as Congress-ghouls is unfortunately less than governors.
Pritzker is coming for the White House--he is the one who is better all around than Newsom and most of what Newsom is doing (no matter how enjoyable) it is largely performative.
Pritzker is interesting to me. Not visually as polished as Newsom yet that actually works better for a ton more people who are also not as polished as Newsom. Pritzker has a gritty fighter tone to him that feels more authentic but still comes with a ton of smarts...
newsom comes off as a slimy little toad. not polish, that’s mucus!
Pritzker seems like he's trying to be a good person and a good governor... but he is still a billionaire, and billionaires (including the ones we like) are still inherently evil.
Perfection is the enemy of GOOD...
“FDR sucked, because he was rich” energy. 🙄
He also really has been the best IL governor of my lifetime--and we have had some pretty felonious ones.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s ok to support Newsom’s actions now and still support someone else in 2028. We need to support any dem willing to stand up or a 2028 election is moot.
Right now we need leaders like Newsome and Pritzker in leadership positions that can actually stand up to Trump and make a difference. Doesn’t mean you have to agree with him on everything or that he will be our next presidential candidate.
So who then? Who won’t cause you to be desperate and still have a national platform and free press like he does?
For now you better take what you can get until someone better comes along because everything else is worse. Sucks but that’s what we have.
What do you mean take what you can get? It’s 3 years until the election, there’s absolutely no reason to choose a candidate at this point.
Well, support them to the extent possible however you can. I don’t know if he’s a viable Presidential candadate and we can’t be single-issue voters anymore until we get rid of a single-issue traitor and his friends.
“Not throwing trans people under the bus” is not a single issue
As someone with a disability I could be a single-issue voter when disability issues are numerous, but that makes little sense in the face of all encompassing evil we are facing now.
we aren’t throwing you under the bus either. Nobody wins unless everybody wins
Well, I’m not a single issue voter- I dislike him for several reasons. And I absolutely don’t have to support him in any way that doesn’t involve supporting CA. He’s not my candidate of choice, even if my choice right now remains to be seen. Again, we’re 3 years out
Ppl like Cuomo and Newsom are the other side of the Trump coin we need good progressive candidates who can fight and give a good narrative
Cuomo is a hardcore Trump fan, a sex criminal, a thief and a murderer. The only thing he could provide New York is a couple hundred pounds of compost.
What happened to Whitmer? She has disappeared
They wanted to leave her tied up in a small boat in the middle of Lake Michigan. I can’t blame her too much
Check behind the blue folder in the Oval Office, she might be hiding her face behind it.
The guy in Mr Robot who would get out of his limo to beat up homeless people was inspired by Newsom.
Wellick, the little worm...
I'm a lot more concerned about how captured he is by corporate money.
I would hope that President Newsom would turn out to be flexible on the issue - but yeah, don’t like it!
I'm not optimistic. At minimum mass imprisoning trans ppl borders on being unanimously supported by all the wings of the transnational Western ruling class w/only isolated, sporadic exceptions.
WTF are you talking about?
He’s fucked up with trans rights but at least he’s fighting directly for you to not get further fucked . Nobody is perfect. You’ve lost choice right now and Trump can make it much worse but if you’re not going to back him at least ask more of those you follow.
Not voting for newsom find someone better.
Your definition of someone better would be unelectable.
Bullshit.
Again you’re the one dissatisfied with the situation . I’m finding a genuine solution so the right people for you will speak for you . I’m Zimbabwean and I have lived through the situation you’re in except in America it happened overnight which is scary .
Stop yelling into the void it’s ok to not want him but the others also need to get up and be for the reforms they want as well as fighting for what’s left of your democracy
You're in this void too.
I’ve been in a political void my whole life you know I’ve never had the rights to vote . I have always advocated against what’s happening because I have lived through food shortages and water shortages. I saw many starving for no reason other than they supported the opposition .
No im referring to all the Social Democrats who need to stand up in the regions . I know for a fact people on the left are not up for nuance at all time like this but who will fill your void that you will support. Get on with it get the people you want to start standing up against it too .
Well as I said go pressurize the Social democrats to also action their sentiments.
Dont see you saying that but also im not voting for newsom ever
Read the whole comment. I said push those you feel comfortable supporting to do something anything.
Oh ok i see it at the end there. Dont worry i intend to. But im never voting him. Learrned my lesson with biden
Shut up, he’s fighting back, we need more of him
I so get that, I’m watching the Pastor from Texas though, he needs to be louder and on tv more.
I assume you mean James Talarico?
Yes
Putting your faith in a southern pastor is brave.
I know right🤣yet this one is different. youtube.com/shorts/X3D6X...
One of my favorite politicians right now.
Same
Fair but the pastor bit irks me.
I feel like few people sound more convincing than he does when he denounces Christian nationalism.
I can respect that as an atheist yet I’m past the point where all religious folks irk me.
We are already seeing people say "Forget the purity tests!" about both Newsom and Buttigeig. Pete also has some questionable ideas on Trans rights. They forget, Biden won because he shifted left. Then he tried to do what he said. Newsom is already trying to court moderates.
Obligatory #FuckGavinNewsom. Trans rights are not negotiable
What is the deep desire for a fighter? I mean amongst the American people in general? What is that about? I don’t have it.
![“‘That’s now no longer about celebrating your rights. It’s about denying other people theirs,” Newsom said. “Marriage equality was about everyone’s right […] But your child may not have that same opportunity to get on the podium if a trans athlete is competing.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yrnatwvuz3ygh5lukeg7267y/bafkreicoypoajjxcymih3gwnm3c44hujmf54sxvmqytkerhjq3umhqnimy@jpeg)
