Democrats: Bringing a Spork to a Nuclear War Fight

Gavin Newsom sucks on most things, but he’s certainly right about weaponizing his own state’s redistricting if Texas is going to do the same for Republicans. The response from state Democrats is one of horror, once again showing that the Democratic Party does not understand the basics of politics.

“Trying to save democracy by destroying democracy is dangerous and foolish,” said Assemblymember Alex Lee, the head of the state Legislature’s Pprogressive Ccaucus. “By legitimizing the race to the bottom of gerrymandering, Democrats will ultimately lose.”

Or as one Democratic political consultant granted anonymity to speak freely put it, “The idea of taking away the power from the citizens and giving it back to the politicians — the optics of that is horrendous and indefensible.”

The consultant said, “That’s insane. That’s a crazy hill to die on.”

Newsom has defended the proposal as a break-the-emergency-glass maneuver to preserve what he has cast as America’s besieged democracy, arguing Democrats have to become more aggressive and creative to have a shot at blocking Trump’s agenda.

“I’m not going to be the guy who said I could-shoulda-woulda. I’m not going to be passive in this moment,” Newsom told reporters on Wednesday, saying he felt compelled to act because of “the existential threat of what Donald Trump and some of these Republican states are trying to do.”

And Newsom is not without support in the party after Democrats’ throttling in November.

“A lot of people are looking for a fight from the Democratic Party, and Governor Newsom’s response to Texas is the kind of thing I think they are looking for,” said Neera Tanden, a former Biden administration official and president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, the influential Democratic think tank. ”People who argue we shouldn’t look at measures like this — I think fundamentally they’re responsible for Democrats’ backsliding because what we see time and time again is the Republican Party is ruthless to achieve their goals.”

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The idea startled Sacramento, where lawmakers and staffers were scrambling to decipher Newsom’s intentions. And it’s generated intense skepticism among good government advocates who see it as Newsom, a likely 2028 presidential contender, simply posturing.

“Pretty much everything the governor says lately we have to look through the lens of his eventual run for president,” said Mindy Romero, founder and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at the University of Southern California. “It just looks like blustering. It just looks like an attempt to get attention and headlines and show himself sparring directly with the president or with Republican leadership.”

There are however at least some Democrats who understand the game:

“Democrats need to stop bringing a butter knife to a gun fight,” said Rep. Dave Min, who last cycle defended a battleground Orange County seat. “I think all of us want to see a fair process, but if Republicans are going to try to cheat and redistrict, I think Democratic states are going to consider all options.”

Rep. Derek Tran said, “I’m looking at it and keeping an open mind.”

Political consultants in California certainly are.

“Every Democratic strategist involved in competitive races in California is not only talking about this but has clear vision on what they’d like to see,” said one Democratic strategist who was granted anonymity to describe private conversations.

That could complicate life for vulnerable incumbents. Redistricting is a zero-sum game: Moving Democratic voters into one district necessarily means excising them from another — a perilous proposition in an area, like purple Orange County, where multiple competitive districts abut one another.

It may never get there. For now, Democrats are trying to differentiate plans from posturing as Newsom escalates another tit-for-tat political standoff.

“It’s like a game,” said Democratic political consultant Andrew Acosta, “to see who can out-politicize each other.”

Basically, it’s not just that we need a propaganda network to convince voters to vote for us. We need a propaganda network for our own people to get their heads out of their collective losing “good-government liberal” asses and get with the 21st century.

But what about my norms?