Two truly nauseating pieces in The Economist and The Atlantic point to how desperate and unnerved Governor Hair Gel has become with the momentum of the Recall, and how left-leaning “journalists” are still trying to give him a leg up by painting a portrait of a struggling, embattled governor who truly cares about his state and is fighting against unfair odds and an abused Recall system that needs to be reformed, if not eliminated.

The Economist piece, with the intumescent headline, “The Trials of Gavin Newsom“, starts off with what I can only describe as a fantasy that one uses with certain electronic products.

I’ll leave it at that.

PROFILES OF Governor Gavin Newsom often note what terrific eye-candy he is. And that is not only because the 53-year-old Democrat is tall and lithe, with Hollywood teeth and a greased-back mane of tastefully greying hair. It is also because his good looks are emblematic of a charmed politician. His rise owes, California-style, to a combination of fierce ambition and family connections. A Getty helped launch him in business and then, after the governor had built a hospitality empire, joined with other rich pals to help make him San Francisco’s youngest mayor in a century. Mr Newsom became known there for promoting gay marriage and by the moniker “Mayor McHottie”. His progress to Sacramento was assured.

Then it dives into the late night, long hours, and over 60 million that His Hairfulness is putting in to his fight against being recalled.

[W]hen Lexington spoke to him one evening this week the strain was telling.

My heart bleeds.

“It’s a hell of a thing,” he croaked down the line, sounding wearier than he had when geeing up 100 black women organisers on a Zoom call shortly before. “When you see a string of bad polls you usually dismiss them and say they’re missing something. I don’t think they are. They show what I have seen, which is the intensity of the other side.”

This turn of fortune is especially remarkable because Mr Newsom does not obviously deserve it. His record is pretty much what one would expect of a California governor: a few progressive measures before covid-19 struck—including a boost to pro-poor tax credits and death penalty moratorium—then a painstakingly cautious pandemic response. Notwithstanding the irritation his lockdown measures have caused, his ratings have been positive for most of that time, and still are. And if this makes his predicament seem strange, consider the likely outcome of a Newsom defeat.

It is interesting how these lefty writers always view it from their filter, rather than from the actual filter of the people who have spoken out in favor of recall. Did this writer bother to watch that heart wrenching video of Angela Marsden of Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill? Did this writer bother to interview any of the mothers whose children were shut out of school for almost two years? How about the mothers who had to quit their work to manage their children on Zoom? Or the mothers whose children committed suicide because of being locked down and isolated?

I could go on, and on about the BYD China mask deal, the executive power overreaches, lies about fire prevention, and the meddling in the PG&E bankruptcy to benefit his friend and fixer Jason Kinney’s clients. You have read most of those revelations here on RedState, so no need to belabor. But apparently, even researching these well-documented failings of a governor who is being recalled is too much for these award-winning journalists.

And of course, <*clutch the pearls*> we get to the heart of what troubles these people the most:

The favourite to succeed him—at the helm of the world’s fifth-biggest economy and America’s most progressive state—is currently a Trump-loving talk-radio host, who wants to cut Medicaid, opposes gun control and calls climate change a “crock”. Even the Republican agitators who engineered the recall vote say Larry Elder is unfit to govern. A recent girlfriend of the shock-jock, who accuses him of turning a gun on her while high on cannabis, says worse. How has this happened?

Now they’re in sackcloth and ashes. Oh, The Humanity! Whatever will we dooooo…

Miss me on this faux bewilderment.

The main explanation is the madness of Californian direct democracy.

They really do despise that the government, as devised by our national and State founders, is meant to be, OF the people, FOR the people, BY the people. The word “Republic” in Latin means “public affair”. It belongs to “the public”. That’s us.

It’s all about us, not about these ridiculous politicians who hold on to power as though it is their God-given right. Thanks to this governor’s abuse of one-man rule, the people of California are no longer docile Geldings being fed carrots while they try to put blinders and guide us straight to the glue factory; we’re now bucking Broncos throwing tyranny off our backs by the legal and constitutional means afforded us.

These people can take all the seats.

That is not to absolve Mr Newson of all blame for his predicament. But the governor’s shortcomings are not the main point here. His job is on the line because of a democratic quirk which Californian conservatives, ending a long tradition of mutual forbearance, are weaponising to their advantage. To override such tactics, in California and beyond, Democrats should not rely on their ability to unearth a more visionary leader. They should try to fix the quirk.

The provisions for a recall of an elected official were incorporated into Article II of the California Constitution by the citizens of California in 1911. In its 110-year history, there have been 179 attempts to recall California elected officials. Only 11 of those attempts ever made it to the ballot phase. Of those recall attempts, 55 were to remove the California governor. Of those 55, only one has been successful: the 2003 recall of Governor Gray Davis.

This is not a “quirk”. It is a 110-year provision baked into the California constitutional republic. The fact that it has only succeeded once in 110 years shows the solidity behind its intent. The persistent dismissiveness of it shows that the Left has no issue with the Recall law, as much as they have issue that it has been successfully used against them.

After barely digesting that tome, I read the Newsom therapy session conducted by a writer for The Atlantic.

But with less than a month to go before September’s extra Election Day, Newsom told me he feels as though he’s fighting not only for his own political existence, but for California’s future and for the entire Democratic agenda. He’s been obsessing over right-wing TV, wondering about the future of democracy, and he says he’s staying up late agonizing over COVID-19 deaths.

I’m sure he’s up at night, but it’s not obsessing about COVID deaths or the future of democracy.

Again, I’ll leave it at that.

The recall effort started as a protest against Newsom’s positions on immigration and the death penalty, and was propelled by Trump-inspired amateur stunt politics (a radio call-in show, hosted by recall organizers, called “Friday Night at the French Laundry,” for example). And it exploded because of wider frustration with Newsom’s handling of the pandemic.

Once again, had this writer bothered to research, it was started over a number of credible grievances. The radio show, Friday Nights at the French Laundry, didn’t even start until way after Hair Gel’s November 2020 debacle of a dining experience. Anyone: Democrat, Republican, whoever, would take full advantage of that self-inflicted wound.

The writer does the usual, “how could this happen?” schtick that left-leaners do when they know nothing about California except L.A., San Francisco, Sacramento, and whatever PR copy flies out of DNC headquarters. They don’t bother to talk about how the battle between the four population centers and the rest of the State has been at boiling point for a long time; Newsom simply turned up the heat.

But, it is not about getting the facts straight, as much as it’s about making excuses for His Hairfulness. They must buff the tarnish off their golden boy at all costs.

When I met with Newsom, he was taking the polls seriously.

Well, isn’t that rich. The Recall reached 2 million signatures before the March 17, 2021 deadline, and had 1.7 verified by the Secretary of State by late April 2021; Newsom should have started taking it seriously then, but he preferred to believe the fluffy polls that were still giving him credence.

Not. Any. More.

“I’m now feeling the weight of this decision, and a weight of responsibility to defeat this, and also the responsibility that if we fall short, I’m going to own that,” he said. He mentioned to me some of his recent initiatives, including the injection of billions of dollars of federal relief money into the state budget and signing a bill to expand health care to undocumented workers. “If I do fall short, I’ll regret every damn one of those decisions. And I don’t want to have any regrets for putting everything out there and doing … what I think is right and what I think is in the best interest of California.”

The emphasis is mine. Notice it is “the best interest of California” and not “the best interest of Californians”? It is journalistic malpractice that this statement was not challenged. “Do you have a different view of California than the people of California, governor?” Because the people of California are not interested in him throwing more money that we don’t have at the rampant problems California faces. The people of California are interested in a governor who cares about actually solving those concerns.

Rich white liberals like him have never met a Mexican who wasn't subservient to people like him. As a Mexican-american myself I find SF liberals so stuck up their asses they never noticed their pet policies hurt those they claimed to care about.

— RDM0980 (@GeorgialinaCAex) August 27, 2021

But the writer just allowed Hair Gel his time on the couch. Of course, in his own analysis, the writer had to invoke Trump (because The Atlantic is still obsessed), and how the fate of Biden’s agenda hinges on whether the California governor can appoint a Democrat Senator should Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Decrepit) retire. Sorry, honey, these bogeymen have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Truly, nobody cares about these things but this writer and his Pravda-lite colleagues.

But he continues on in his analysis, all of it garbage:

Newsom is a Democrat trying to get Democrats to vote, so he often describes the people who hope to replace him as pro-Trump extremists. This seems to be both a smart political strategy and an essentially correct analysis, as one leading candidate’s pro-Trump turn demonstrates.

No, it’s not smart at all, as Democrats, NPPs, and Independents consistently voice their resentment of Newsom disregarding their voices.

The NPP small business owners, and the Democrat independent professionals who were decimated by AB5:

Yes, a deadly pandemic and losing your business is an “opportunity” to impose his political agenda. We are STILL under the 18 month State of Emergency @GavinNewsom refuses to relinquish. There’s only 1 way to be rid of the #tyrant #RecallGavinNewsom #VoteYesOnTheRecall https://t.co/TfJryUFDps

— Lisa Rothstein #BeYourOwnBoss #NOPROAct #RepealAB5 (@davincidiva) August 27, 2021

The Independent moms whose children were barred from school and barred from sports:

When Gav shut down childhoods last year, he left a whole state of pissed off football moms with too much time on their hands. And my wide receiver, high school senior turned voting age yesterday 😉

— Lori Miller Sundgren (@lsundgren88) August 29, 2021

Then the writer goes on to invoke The French Laundry as the only reason this Recall happened, continuing the same ridiculous talking points of his colleagues. He even goes on to dismiss Central Coast’s 35th District Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-Rhino), by describing his district as “halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles”. As though no one knows about the Edna Valley, Paso Robles, and the Central Coast wine country, which in my opinion has wines that rival anything Napa has to offer. Not to mention Morro Bay, Cal State San Luis Obispo, and San Simeon’s Hearst Castle, all of which are represented by Cunningham’s Assembly district. A district that contributes much to that “5th Largest economy” that Newsom loves to brag about.

Seriously?

It reflects that this writer has as little disregard for the views of the people of California as Governor Hair Gel. His only interest is to rail against a Recall for which he understands little, and prop up the darling politician of progressives, because he is one of them.

The writer goes on a dismissive rant about the Recall governor candidates, and tacitly fails to mention 6th District Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rockstar) who is also a strong contender to win the Recall vote. He interviews former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, beyond being the first to capitalize on a Recall’s momentum, is a poor representative of the sentiment of today’s California voter or Recall supporter; especially after his “F*ck your freedoms” rant.

However, this writer prefers to fixate on what he knows: Trumpism, COVID hysteria, and why Republicans are so stupid. He touts an unspecified poll about how people blame the unvaccinated for this latest surge (so original). When, according to Hair Gel, 80 percent of California is fully vaccinated. The major population centers (read Los Angeles, Ventura, and Alameda counties) are still restricted and masked to the hilt—so how is it possible that the unvaccinated are causing this surge? But, the Left loves their narratives, and they are not going to let this one go. Always in need of a bogeyman instead of actually looking at their failed policies.

The writer attempts to humanize Newsom by talking about the protests in front of his home (is that the one he sold?), his two tween-aged children who have been affected, Newsom decrying his son being attacked by Fox News <insert *eyeroll* emoji>, and how His Hairfulness carries around in his pocket notes about COVID facts and statistics that he used during his briefings, and of course, threw in the dyslexia card to ensure you know how much Newsom struggles to communicate.

Uh huh.

The writer ends the piece with what he probably thought was a wistful, cementing of this humanization; when what it cements is how disconnected and elitist this governor has been, and how he still fails to recognize this.

He was supposed to go on a bus tour and hold rallies with Democratic stars such as his old San Francisco–politics rival Harris, but that plan was derailed by Delta too. (After several delays, she announced that she would campaign for him this week, before canceling the appearance hours after an attack in Afghanistan killed U.S. service members.) Still, he had to get moving—he was driving to Los Angeles, not flying, so that he could make stops along the way and talk with voters on his own. Flying over California his whole life, he had “never fully absorbed and appreciated it,” he told me. He’s hoping that the state cares enough to appreciate him, at least a little longer.

How can you be born and raised in California and not drive from LA to SF at least once in your life? Shocking.

— MexicanStreetDog (@MexStreetDog) August 28, 2021

And he can afford a driver and an air-conditioned, fully stocked limo. Shocking, indeed.

That summs up his entire experience as governor: flying over California…

— VanderVered (@vander_vero) August 28, 2021

If this analysis session-cum-article shows us anything, it is why this governor cares not one wit about actual Californians, and why he needs to be recalled.

Not only do the elites have contempt for flyover states, our own governor thinks every CA city/town other than SF and LA is flyover country beneath his consideration. Get rid of this loser!

— CLC (@ccart71) August 27, 2021

We are working on it. September 14 is 16 days away, and we will see it done.