yeah I mean "I'd vote for him if I had to but it's hard to imagine ever trusting him" is definitely a reasonable place to be emotionally imo (it's where I'm at!), but that's not the tenor of the Discourse even remotely and I think we're all better served by acknowledging that
Assuming regular-order elections, the 2028 Democratic nominee is a full-bore beneficiary of the "if Hitler invaded hell..." principle. Newsom clears that bar, handily. He mega sucks, though. And also will not be the nominee, because of, y'know, how he sucks.
It’s actively sabotaging a chance of a Dem win because everyone saying this is encouraging others and themselves to just not vote for it
I know. Perhaps I ought to say nothing.
I know he’s not perfect on this issue but if the biggest problem in February 2029 is President Newsom’s anti trans athlete stance, that is a massive win for everyone including trans athletes. Even if he’s dragging the Dem Party as a whole that way, worry about it then
I'm more concerned. This is a "first they came for…" thing. Still, he's likely to be superior to any Republican.
Repubs are already worse on this than anywhere blue. The “first they came for” has come. It’s not going to keep coming under blue government
I wish I was sure of that. I'm old enough to remember the DLCC. Part of how we got here is that the Democrats compromised with this nascent fascist movement for decades. Which doesn't mean I want to see this crew of apocalyptic fanatics continue in power, but I wish I was sure of their opponents.
also I couldn't tell you if there's a white performance artist out there who *could* obtain the trust of the Black primary vote, ask me again closer to 2028, it's entirely possible that there is, but barring *significant, years-term changes* it's not gonna be Newsom,
which means a LOT of this discourse is people who have a sufficiently Good Reason To Be Upset that nobody really wants to gainsay their emotions ignoring the actual activity of Newsom's administration vis a vis some shit he said on a podcast and preëmptively declaring they won't vote in '28
Some of it is also a negative polarization response from interacting with the shittiest Stans on Bsky yelling at them their objections are handing the country to Trump or even jeering triumphantly about it. Never underestimate the siloing effect of social media.
at some point you begin to wonder if they started with their conclusions and worked backwards in whatever way seemed the most defensible, whether or not they realised that's what they were doing