California and all other jellies, what do you think of Gavin Newsom for president?

Personally, I think he would make good decisions in the position.

But being a good president is more than being able to make good decisions.

I think Newsom is too polarizing of a figure. And I’d like to have a president that can begin to close the growing divide.

He’d be a great President. As to getting elected, that’s a whole nuther ball of wax.

Newson is quite engaged with 21st century problems, such as climate change. He is also very progressive in a smart way on personal liberties until they interfere with another person.

He recognizes that the gun lobby and ammosexuals are the biggest threat to child safety in the US. He is also very aware of the devastating effects of drug use and the need for progressive initiatives to address it.

He gets criticized for California’s homeless problem, but he has done much to address homelessness and more than most states.

I’m not a huge Newsom fan, although I voted for him. My two favorite governors of California were Jerry Brown and Arnold (first term). Newsom is a damn site better though than anybody the Republicans have right now. But then again, I’m much more of a centrist Democrat than many of my Democratic friends. (Which according to a couple people on Fluther make me a fascist, but whatever)

^^^ @Caravanfan I consider myself a Bay Area moderate, which means that anyone east of Highway 680 considers me an ardent flaming radical Communist.

Whatever and whenever, I don’t want anyone who could open the door to Trump returning as president!

Meh.
He’s trying to hit home runs. The result is he often pops up.

Bad decision maker. He was formerly married to a Trump sycophant. If that doesn’t show bad judgment, I don’t know what does.

I don’t like that he’s for reparations.

If it was Newsom vs. Trump, I would vote for Newsom. If it was Newsom vs. Biden, which would be my pick for the Democratic nod? I’d have to do more research before I chose.

Newsome won’t run against Biden. He knows the stakes. But I wouldn’t put it past him to run if Biden drops out.

I think “Gavin” is a stupid name.

@ragingloli It’s an ancient Celtic name originating in Scotland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin

I rather like the name, actually.

My wife’s nephew’s name is Gavin. Sounds fine to me.

As far as I know, nobody’s credibly accused him of sexually assaulting them (yet). That automatically puts him ahead of Trump and Biden. He’s certainly not my first choice.

Not a fan, but I have somewhat limited knowledge of him.

I think he appears extreme to people who are moderate or politically independent, so I think that might hurt the chances for the Democrats.

If he wound up in the end the candidate for the Democrats I would vote for him.

@JLeslie I don’t think he’s extreme. I just thinks he likes the spotlight a little too much and acts accordingly. He will take stands on issues to get headlines.

I can actually see why @gorillapaws doesn’t like him. For all his left wing spotlight bluster, he’s a pretty standard Democrat with the normal neoliberal tendencies.

@Caravanfan That’s interesting. You’re opinion means a lot to me, because he is your governor, and because I know you make up your own mind on political issues you don’t just go along with what the party says. I’m not even sure if you are registered Democrat, Republican, or Unaffiliated, although I assume not Republican at this point.

I became aware of him during covid, and initially I was impressed with how he took actions even before the fed was ringing bells, but then I felt he went too far too long.

I would have to read up on where he stands on the issues, I really don’t know enough about it him.

@Caravanfan That’s exactly it.

We’ve had decades of insincere “left wing bluster,” and I’ve long held the belief that this drives voters to MAGA. I see Newsome as exactly this kind of leader who will say whatever on the campaign trail, but ensure behind the scenes that anything truly substantial he promised essentially goes nowhere. I think further branding Democrats as the party of inaction and insincere populist rhetoric will cause more harm than good. Climate needs immediate substantial action. The longer we wait, the more extreme the required solutions become to avert disaster.

If you’re a center of the road type of Democrat, you should be more than happy with Newsome. He has done a few good things (from my perspective) though, so I don’t have venom for the guy.

Democrats used to chase too many small issues so didn’t have enough agreement to get much done. They seem more focused lately.

Newsome has been very vocal on Climate Change and LGBT issues. That’s OK by me.

Not sure about “too long” for the Covid mask mandate. The weekend after it was lifted my mom went to the grocery store without a mask. Got Covid. Long story short – now she’s in an assisted living facility instead of her nice mobilehome.

@RocketGuy I remember you saying your mom had a very bad experience with covid. I’m so sorry it seems to have permanently affected her. I don’t understand why people with high risk stopped using their masks in high risk places. I don’t know exactly when Newsom lifted the state mask mandate. He could have kept mask mandates for crowded cities, maybe he did.

He also didn’t allow people on the beaches, I thought that was too far.

@JLeslie I don’t fault Newsom for his Covid policies. Everybody was shooting in the dark and nobody knew anything. I thought those were fine. The beach thing didn’t last long. The state mask mandate was lifted once the CDC lifted it. Same with vaccine mandate.

Bottom line for me, as a mainstream centrist neoliberal Democrat he’s fine. (sorry @gorillapaws but you already knew that). I just think he’s annoying.

God save us!

God! If God was going to save us he would have done it by now…

We are screwed!!!

I’d vote for Biden’s crackhead son before I’d ever vote for newsom, but I almost hope he wins just to get him the fuck out of California.

Newsome has an ego the size of California, but he is good orator and shares a lot of my personal values. He concedes to corporations too much for me, though.

I’d vote for him because I am never voting for Biden.