On April 1, 2020, Gavin Newsom hailed the novel coronavirus as an “opportunity” for a “new progressive era.” A year later, we are living with the nation’s worst and most regressive outcomes.
On that prior April Fools’ Day, Newsom called COVID-19 “an opportunity to reshape the way we do business and how we govern.” He said the virus was an “opportunity for reimagining a progressive era as it pertains to capitalism.”
He then proceeded to create dozens of “progressive” policies by fiat: price controls, vote-by-mail, prisoner re-entry, and much more. He named Tom Steyer chair of an economic “recovery” commission to “shape a fair, green, and prosperous future.” He shut down our schools and economy, making families dependent on government checks and services he woefully failed to deliver.
In the process, he brought California’s long-term decline to a total freefall:
- Before COVID, California had the nation’s worst poverty. During COIVD, we’ve had the worst lockdowns and job loss.
- Before COVID, California’s schools had the worst achievement gaps. During COVID, we’ve had the worst school shutdown and learning loss.
- Before COVID, 53 percent of Californians were looking to leave. During COVID, record numbers have done just that.
In a recent poll, two-thirds of Californians said kids growing up in our state today will be worse off than their parents. This is what the Recall is truly about: saving the California Dream before it’s too late.
This year, we can begin a new era that’s exactly the opposite of Newsom’s faux progressivism – a new era of sanity and decency, where public servants actually serve the public; of humility and restraint, where power is returned to the people; of opportunity and prosperity, where California starts leading the nation in the right ways.
If Newsom’s historic abuses are what brings the era of corruption to an end, the April Fools’ joke will ultimately be on him.