Gov. Newsom and Trump share a similar problem
Gov. Gavin Newsom punctuated his inaugural address Monday with several jabs at President Donald Trump, referring at one point to “the corruption and incompetence in the White House.”
However, while neither man would admit it, they share a similar political problem. Having made extravagant promises to gain support from partisan bases, they now must deliver or somehow wriggle out of them.
The New York Times revealed recently that Trump’s pledge to build “a big beautiful wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border to deter immigration was never a fully vetted proposal, but a throwaway line in his stump speech.
When the wall promise galvanized voters in key industrial states, Trump was stuck with it. But with Congress balking, it has led to a partial shutdown of the federal government.
In seeking the governorship last year, Newsom also made extravagant promises aimed at the ascendant Berniecrat wing of his Democratic Party. On primary election night in June, he promised “Guaranteed health care for all. A ‘Marshall Plan’ for affordable housing. A master plan for aging with dignity. A middle-class workforce strategy. A cradle-to-college promise for the next generation. An all-hands approach to ending child poverty.”
After winning in November, however, Newsom began to step back, cognizant that delivering on his promises would cost many tens of billions of dollars.
While some of those promises might be feasible, “Guaranteed health care for all” is Newsom’s “big beautiful wall” — something that draws cheers from the faithful but would be virtually impossible to deliver.
Tellingly, during a pre-inaugural event on Sunday, Newsom said, “Anyone who suggests that you can create universal this or universal that, even if you wanted to in six months to a year, our capacity to deliver on that is limited, so we’re going to create the architecture, the framework, we’ll set the goals.”
Setting a goal is easy. You just say it, send out a press release or even write it into law. Reaching it is something else entirely.
Newsom kissed off universal health care in a few words during his 2,700-plus-word inaugural address, saying, “In our home (of California), every person should have access to quality, affordable health care,” while pledging, “We will never waver in our pursuit of guaranteed health care for all Californians.”
Fervent advocates of universal health care won’t be placated by a vague statement or even his initial actions to extend Medi-Cal coverage to a few more undocumented immigrants and offer health insurance subsidies to middleclass families. The advocates, led by the California Nurses Association, want nothing short of universal, single-payer coverage.
Nor will California political media forget about it and the other specific promises Newsom made last year, such as building 3.5 million new homes in six years.
CALmatters and the Sacramento Bee have documented those promises and will chart his progress on delivery. Politifact, which specializes in separating fact from political fiction, has likewise set up a “Newsom-Meter.”
Newsom’s predecessor, Jerry Brown, stumbled badly in his first stint as governor 40 years ago by flipping positions 180 degrees. In his second governorship, he made few specific promises but delivered on them.
Newsom talks about having “big hairy audacious goals,” but promising too much and reneging would make him appear flaky. He could ask Brown about the corrosive effect of that image on one’s political career.