Now You Tell Us: NYT Columnist, Newsom Blister Obama/Biden Failures, Pretend They're Innocent Bystanders

We have a saying around here at RedState: You can’t hate the media enough. The same is true for progressive politicians, it must be noted.

Corrupt media and woke politician came together on Wednesday as New York Times columnist Ezra Klein joined failed California Governor Gavin Newsom on the latter’s gaslighting podcast, the one in which he’s recast himself as a centrist despite his extremist woke record. The podcast he seems to be devoting most of his time to instead of trying to fix his crumbling state.

It’s incredibly galling to hear these two whine about the failures of the Democrat worldview as if they played no part in the destruction and malaise their politics wrought on the Golden State and on the country as a whole under both Obama and Biden. The New York Times, like it or not, is a powerful player in molding opinion, and the man many call “Gov. Hair Gel” is the chief executive of the most populous state in the union.

They lament the failure they played such a big role in:

"So much of the political theory of the Biden administration was that if you can show liberal democracy can deliver, you will pull people out of wanting these strongmen who say they're going to burn the whole thing down and give you something out of the ashes," Klein said.
He gave the example of the Biden administration celebrating the $42 billion for rural broadband passed in the 2021 infrastructure bill. But with all the multi-stage processes and red-tape, "By the end of the administration, of the 56 states and jurisdictions that were trying to apply for the money, three had made it through."
"If the things don't move fast enough, if they don't get to the people fast enough, it's much harder for liberal democracy to make the case that it delivers," he said.

You mean, the Democrat over-regulation, corruption and misplaced priorities that conservatives have been pointing out for years? Klein pointed out some obvious, massive failures of the progressive machine:

"I was saying that, the stimulus bill under Obama, that had three big headline projects for reinvestment," he said. "It had high-speed rail, it had smart grid, and it had a nationwide system of interoperable health records."
"I remember those days," Newsom responded.
"Yeah. 0-for-3," Klein said. "At some point, we gotta be upset about this, you know?"

Ezra Klein explains how it feels to be a Democrat in under 30 seconds:
Ezra Klein: "The stimulus bill under Obama, that had 3 big headline projects for reinvestment.
High speed rail, smart grid, a nation wide system of interoperable health records. 0 for 3"
Gavin Newsom: "I… pic.twitter.com/Rlq1z8fGRb
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) March 26, 2025

I love that Newsom says, “yeah, I remember those days.” He should: California under his watch has thrown billions upon billions at high-speed rail and has little to show for it. But now he’s seemingly the victim of someone else’s policies—in his eyes, anyway.

"There is the fundamental disconnect, and you're absolutely right, as it relates to these large-scale audacious projects," Newsom agreed. Yes, Gavin, and the disconnect starts with you. He added:

"But at least there’s a vision," he argued. "At least Obama had a vision. He wanted to be big in big things, he wanted to do big things, and at least progressive states still have a vision."

Gavin Newsom's Lies Have Become So Blatant, Not Even CNN Can Ignore Them

Progressive states may have a “vision,” but along with that, mostly what they have is a record of failure. The New York Times and one of the worst governors in history lamenting the disasters that came about from the very policies they pushed is true sad failure theater indeed.

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