As pomp and circumstance unfolded in the Capitol Rotunda for President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, from the opposite coast, Gov. Gavin Newsom watched his own presidential dreams go up in smoke. Newsom now faces a much angrier electorate than his post-COVID lockdown voters who lost their businesses, livelihoods, and homes. This time the voters he may soon face lost the lives of family members and treasured pets, saw entire neighborhoods charred to the ground, and have nowhere to go but out of the state.
The smiling, tone-deaf governor of California was too busy trying to Trump-proof his state to notice his fire department first responders had no water with which to battle the raging flames that destroyed the Pacific Palisades, Hurst, and the unincorporated village of Eaton. The fires are not yet contained, although the Santa Ana winds that fueled the flames have died down somewhat. A rebuilding effort – a la Marshall Plan-style – could cost tens of billions of dollars. Everyone else's dollars. But will Newsom still be around to see it?
Recall Gavin Newsom Chants Catching Fire
As Newsom focused on his special legislative session dedicated to preventing President Donald Trump’s policies from tainting the Golden State, firefighters discovered in real time what poor management had done to protect California. Trump was and is the least of the state's problems. At the top of the leadership heap, Newson is under fire for not only fumbling the response but also being woefully ill-prepared for the inferno to begin with — hydrants ran dry and one state reservoir sat empty during an extremely dry, unseasonably hot and blustery fire season. No one was minding the store as months and months passed, building the perfect conditions for an inferno.
Newsom had the audacity to grin during an interview, speaking about investors buying up the destroyed neighborhoods -- not his shining leadership moment. And although the man is not slated to leave office until 2027, his neck is on the recall chopping block again. The latest effort is run by Randy Economy, who told Newsweek it's not Newsom's to rebuild. "How dare he? It's up to the 10,000, 15,000 homes that have been destroyed," Economy huffed. "It's up to the people."
During a presser on Thursday, January 23, SavingCaliforniaVote publicly announced its recall against the Golden State governor. The organization will gather the required signatures for the notice of intent to recall and plan to serve the governor later within the week.
Newsom's people bristled and stuck to the talking points assigned: "Readers still should have the context that the same group of far-right Trump acolytes have launched six different recall attempts against the governor since he's taken office, each of which have (sic) failed spectacularly," spokesperson Nathan Click told Newsweek on Monday (Jan. 20).
Economy wasn't stymied and blasted away: "This is emblematic of who he is as a leader, and I think this is emblematic of who he is as a politician, and he has no depth. So, therefore, we are taking the extraordinary steps to officially recall him."
Newsom's Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was enacted in 1948 to help war-ravaged Europe regain its feet and assist the populations of embattled countries to stave off starvation and create paying jobs. The following countries participated in the plan: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Western Germany, the UK, and the United States. It created its own layer of bureaucracy – the Economic Cooperation Administration -- and doled out about $13 billion for economic aid, designed to restore industrial and agricultural production, expand trade, and establish financial stability. It worked.
However, it will not work for a regional aid package in California. Liberty Nation News Economics Editor Andrew Moran explained:
"Gov. Newsom has pledged to usher in a 21st-century Marshall Plan for California following the devastating wildfires. However, his brand of Gavinomics has failed to foster success before and after these natural disasters. Housing and homelessness are two issues that have worsened, even as the state government has dedicated an exorbitant amount of taxes, resources, and manpower. California has fallen short of its new housing efforts, while homelessness has spiraled out of control. Everything that has transpired in The Golden State can be understood by reading legendary Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek, who warned about the unavoidable outcomes of central planning. Hayek stated that the central planners, no matter how well-intentioned, did not possess the sufficient knowledge (or omnipotence) required to allocate resources efficiently. Instead, Newsom Nation has fostered a top-down approach to various portfolios, which can be challenging for local governments since people are fleeing the state in massive numbers."
Early estimates suggest the total damage and economic loss due to the wildfires could range between $60 billion and a high of $130 billion — far exceeding the current record of $16 billion.
Angry People Sign and Vote
To recall the governor, petition signatures must equal at least 12% of the votes cast in the previous election. In the last gubernatorial contest, about ten million people voted – so, give or take, 1.3 million voters would have to sign on to the recall effort. "It's about 9,000 signatures a day," Economy said. "That should be no problem."
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