Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. Joe Biden’s first weekly address as President is about me cleaning up Gavin Newsom’s mess.

As the Sacramento Bee reports:

“A Sacramento-area woman facing challenges during the coronavirus pandemic was featured as the first guest in President Joe Biden’s revamped weekly address. When the Roseville woman ran into problems navigating the state’s unemployment system, she got help from her state representative, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley. Voelkert discussed the loss of her job at the beginning of the pandemic and the trouble she encountered trying to get unemployment benefits.”

In its coverage, Fox noted: “Voelkert says she is still looking for a job, but that on Friday her issues with unemployment were resolved thanks to Assemblyman Kevin Kiley.”

It’s my hardworking district office staff who deserve the credit. But the irony must be too much for Newsom to handle: after he wrote Biden a delusional letter touting California as a “roadmap to success,” the President not only highlighted his historic failure, but personalized its devastating impact and featured the corrective efforts of his “chief antagonist.”

Newsom’s EDD debacle has attained cartoonish proportions. The backlog of claims is now over 1 million. The fraud could reach a jaw-dropping $31 billion. (The cost of a Recall election – a frequent Newsom talking point – is a rounding error on that number.) As if the inconceivable waste weren’t bad enough, proceeds from the fraud are being used by street gangs to buy weapons. 

But we have had some good news in other quarters:

• The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Newsom’s ban on all indoor church services, with Chief Justice Roberts saying it “reflects not expertise” but “insufficient appreciation or consideration of the interests at stake.”

• The State Supreme Court shot down the absurd Special Interest lawsuit to overturn Prop. 22. The will of voters still means something in California.

• My Let Them Play resolution with James Gallagher now has 45 co-authors of both parties. It’s possible there may be movement this week.

And Recall petitions continue to flood the mailroom in what might be the most diverse political movement in California history. It turns out sanity and decency are principles with widespread appeal.

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