Written by Michael Palomba
Initially, Gov. Newsom paid no mind to the recall he is facing and refused to even mention it aloud, but time has proven that he can not ignore it any longer. And this week, he launched Stop the Republican Recall.
Newsom’s strategy here is to portray the recall as a far-right effort orchestrated by “national Republicans, anti-vaxxers, Q-Anon conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant Trump supporters.”
The website is plastered with images of Trump supporters, as well as for former President himself. Additionally, Newsom included video footage of the Jan 6th Capitol riot, which was condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike (and also has nothing to do with California.).
“A partisan, Republican coalition of national Republicans, anti-vaxxers, Q-Anon conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant Trump supporters.
According to the Los Angeles Times, they include “peddlers of Q-Anon doomsday conspiracies; ‘patriots’ readying for battle and one organization allied with the far-right extremist group, the Proud Boys.”
Instead of helping fight the pandemic, these partisan forces are pulling a page from the Trump playbook and attacking Californians.”
The website also claims that “Democrats and prominent progressives are united in opposition to the Republican recall.” Which is anything but true.
With that being said, Newsom’s allies have already started echoing his messaging. Infamous San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez tweeted against the recall this week, using almost identical language to the website, which was not launched at the time.
The Republican recall attempt in California is led by a coalition of national Republicans, anti-vaxxers, Q-Anon conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant Trump supporters. Donate to help @GavinNewsom stop the Republican recall: https://t.co/EFXNiCyT1d
— Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (@LorenaSGonzalez) March 15, 2021
Failed presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders also got behind Newsom.
In a naked partisan power grab, extreme right-wing Republicans are trying to recall @GavinNewsom. Why? Because he dares to listen to scientists and fights to put power in the hands of working people. Let’s have Gavin’s back:https://t.co/7erlPIXytM
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 15, 2021
Big name Democrats are attempting to portray the recall petition signers as far-right extremists, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. With well over 2M signatures coming from members of every political party, it is clear that this is a bipartisan, mainstream effort. In a recent poll, 86% of Republicans said they support the recall of the Gov. along with 39% of Independents. And only 66% of Democrats said they would vote to keep Newsom in office.
Newsom thinks playing the Trump card is going to save his political future, but in reality, Californian’s witnessed his monumental fumbling of the pandemic first hand, and blaming someone else isn’t going to work this time.
Photo via Gavin Newsom on Twitter
