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Gavin Newsom has asked the Judge to put the Permanent Injunction against him on hold for “a minimum of two weeks.” Which makes me wonder what he has in mind for the next two weeks.

We’ve filed a strong objection to any such free pass from the Constitution. Yet at the very moment his one-man rule is finally starting to give way, Newsom is ruling more recklessly than ever. Using his colored-coded “Blueprint,” the Governor just whipsawed 11 counties backwards, again closing businesses and schools.

At the same time, Newsom himself was caught attending a crowded birthday party for a lobbyist at the French Laundry, a $350/plate restaurant in Napa, and he has sent his own children back to in-person private school.

As he ignores his own guidelines, Newsom still refuses to provide evidence they do any good. The California Business Roundtable has repeatedly asked him for actual data “that would show how business openings have affected COVID rates and transmission,” and Newsom’s own Health and Human Services Secretary admitted opening schools hasn’t spread the virus.

Other states have learned from the data. According to the New York Times, California is one of only a handful of states with the most severe business closures; according to CNN, we’re one of only seven with a school closure order. And Newsom is the only Governor that would even think of ordering lockdowns to enforce a phony notion of “equity.”

The good news is the Blueprint is susceptible to a legal challenge under our Permanent Injunction, which restrains the Governor from making “legislative policy.” A new lawsuit is now moving forward precisely on this basis, and I’ve heard from a number of other groups preparing their own challenges.

To reinforce this legal action, we’re working with counties to join forces on a Healthy Communities Resolution rejecting the Blueprint and school closures. Once the Legislature finally returns in a few weeks, I’ll be immediately introducing statewide legislation to that effect.

When not at the French Laundry, Newsom is spending his time comparing the leader of the U.S. Senate to a “jellyfish, coral, slug, snail, or octopus.” He was also forced to delete a video he tweeted attacking Amy Coney Barrett when it was shown to be fake news. Such petty partisanship reached a perverse level when the Governor released a spurious chart ranking “red” and “blue” states by COVID cases.

Of course, Newsom’s COVID-19 response has been political from the start. You may recall he celebrated coronavirus as the dawning of a “new progressive era” and an “opportunity to reshape the way we do business and how we govern.” He then appointed the nation’s single largest partisan donor, vanity presidential candidate Tom Steyer, to head California’s economic “recovery.”

If we’re to have a true recovery – not only from the nightmare of this year but from decades of decay – it must rest on a foundation of honesty and decency, of respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. That means rooting out corruption, eschewing partisanship, bringing people together, and reviving self-government. It means, above all, trusting and respecting the people of California.

In Gavin Newsom, it’s hard to imagine a more striking foil.

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