I had a great conversation with a long-time friend who is also a California escapee. He is a retired detective, and he and his wife escaped a few years before we made our exodus in 2023.

While he is concerned about a potential President Kamala Harris, he is more relieved that we managed to dodge a President Gavin Newsom bullet... for now.

My friend said he is truly scared of Newsom becoming president, and he feels that it could happen in our lifetime. His fears are legitimate. Becoming the president is Newsom's ultimate goal. Just because the winds of circumstance and Biden's revenge (yes, I think the Bidens deliberately mucked up the works for the Dems) denied him a 2024 run, it doesn't mean he has given up. As long as Gavin is breathing, Gavin is scheming. Auntie-by-marriage Nancy Pelosi is still planning on making good on her investment—and we know the end result of her investments—when left to her own devices, she'll make it rain!

So, be afraid. Be very afraid. 

On the one hand, the leftist Los Angeles Times has chosen to mock him and pretend that he was not running a shadow campaign for president. 

It’s hardly a secret the governor very much wished he was in Harris’ shoes. Throughout the week he wore the tight smile of a disappointed runner-up; the kind you see at the Oscars when they flash on the Best Actor nominees just before pulling away to show the winner take the stage.

Newsom ran a kinda-sorta-but-not-really campaign for president, traveling the country to pitch his political vision and get in the face of red-state politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom Newsom debated on Fox News. He ran TV ads and put up billboards promoting himself as a champion of abortion rights. He vigorously defended Biden, when few others could or would after the president’s ghastly debate performance.

On the other hand, L.A. Times is doing its darndest to lull readers into a false sense of security. They know full well that Newsom's ambition is bigger than his hair gel budget. Frankly, it's almost like they are goading him on.

If Harris is elected president in November, the checkmated governor’s political ambitions will almost certainly be placed on hold for at least the next four years. If she loses, it’s not hard to imagine Newsom running as one of many candidates in a crowded field taking on President Trump and pledging to rebuild and revivify a devastated Democratic Party.

They know he already has an inflated sense of his importance to the process, so this is just catnip to his tomcat. But mark my words: oleaginous Gavin is the worst Gavin, so Americans need to watch. Pay particular attention to what bills he signs into law from his Democrat Supermajority. One that recently passed the legislature gives housing subsidies to illegal aliens so they can buy a house. Two-income couples who make triple-digit salaries cannot even afford a down payment in California, yet the powers are simply saying, "Sucks to be you." What Newsom signs, as well as his moves throughout the end of this election cycle, are good indicators of his future plans.

Our Editor Bob Hoge, who is still a dissident behind California's Blue Curtain, made it very clear that we cannot underestimate Governor Hair Gel. He's not simply slick, he is inherently dangerous.

I—and my RedState colleagues—have ragged on Newsom at length because he’s managed to perfect the technique of seeming reasonable while in reality he’s a hard-core leftist radical. Judging by his actions—and not his scripted TV performances—he’s shown himself to be on a personal mission to destroy the Golden State, overseeing hundreds of businesses fleeing for better opportunities and flashing his pearly whites at the first net exodus from the state in over 150 years.

I don’t believe he’s just another bland politician whose ideas I don’t like—I believe he is dangerous. His Central Casting looks and his finesse with progressive language—if he says “we’re mindful" one more time, I may have a coronary—titillate the Chardonnay mom class and invigorate the MSNBC/CNN circuit.

What Newsom said at the Democrat National Convention, when the delegates ceremonially anointed the selection of Kamala Harris, was a prophetic word. It was not just said for pomp and effect, he meant every syllable. Take it as a warning.

WATCH:

.@GavinNewsom says “the future happens in California first”. This should be a wake-up call to all parents. Your rights are at stake!

🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/aJ6C5DW3g0

— Center for American Liberty (@Liberty_Ctr) August 21, 2024

The future happens in California, first. Remember this. From abortion past birth, to gender ideology and stealing minors from their parents who resist gender transition, to rampant crime and illegal criminals run amok; never forget it happened in California first.

The only way to cut Newsom off at the knees and ensure he cannot come close to the presidency is to make his last two years of the California governorship so toxic that it lives in infamy. Sadly, we have not gotten there yet, and we need to find a way to make it happen.