PLANS MAY BE SOME TAILGATING GOING ON. GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A PLAN B.
>>BRUCE HAMILTON: CALIFORNIA
GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM AND FAT
DEFEATED A RECALL KICKING HIM
OUT OF OFFICE EARLY THE
CONTEST, THE DEMOCRAT FRAMED
AS PART OF A NATIONAL BATTLE
FOR HIS PARTY’S VALUES IN THE
FACE OF THE CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC AND CONTINUED THREATS
FROM WHAT NEWSOM CALLED
TRUMPISM. JOINING ME ON THE
MORNING SHOW, RICK MULLANEY
NEWSFOURJAX POLITICAL ANALYST
AND HEAD OF THE JACKSONVILLE
UNIVERSITY PUBLIC POLICY
INSTITUTE. GOOD MORNING, RICK.
SO NEWSOME WAS FACING A TOUGH
RACE UNTIL LARRY ELDER AND
HEARD THE FRAY IN A STATE THAT
IS THE BLUE. DID NEWSOME GAIN
A DIRECT TARGET?
>> THE SHORT ANSWER IS
PARTICULARLY IN CALIFORNIA.
REMEMBER IN CALIFORNIA WHEN
YOU SAY THAT IT’S A BLUE
STATE, IT IS VERY BLUE. A
REPUBLICAN HASN’T WON A
STATEWIDE RACE THERE IN 15
YEARS SINCE 2000, 6 DEMOCRATS
OUTNUMBER REPUBLICANS BY 2 TO
ONE. IN FACT, ONLY 24% ARE
REGISTERED REPUBLICANS IN JOE
BIDEN EASILY WON CALIFORNIA.
64 TO 34 OVER DONALD TRUMP. SO
INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT
WILDFIRES AND RISING HOUSE
PRICES IN CALIFORNIA AND
CONCERNS ARE HOMELESSNESS,
GAVIN NEWSOM’S ABLE TO SHIFT
IT INTO SOMETHING MORE
PARTISAN REPUBLICAN VERSUS
DEMOCRAT FOR A VOTE FOR FOR
LARRY ELDER ARE FOR THE RECALL
WOULD BE A VOTE FOR DONALD
TRUMP. SO BECAME THIS BY TERRY
CHOICE. VERY EFFECTIVE
STRATEGY FOR GAVIN NEWSOM.
THERE WERE 46 PEOPLE ON THE
BALLOT, BUT LARRY ELDER WAS
LEADING ONE. HE HELPED DEFINE
THE OPPOSITION, A DIRECT
TARGET IN CALIFORNIA FOR GAVIN
NEWSOME. YOU KNOW,
REPUBLICANS, I THINK HAD HOPED
FOR PROVED THAT FRUSTRATIONS
OVER MONTHS OF PANDEMIC
PRECAUTIONS WOULD DRIVE VOTERS
AWAY FROM THE DEMOCRATS. BUT A
RECALL ELECTION IS AN
IMPERFECT BAROMETER,
PARTICULARLY OF NATIONAL
TRENDS. VERY MUCH SO, MAKE NO
MISTAKE. RECALLS ARE UNIQUE IN
THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY.
THERE’S ONLY BEEN FOR RECALL
ELECTIONS OF GOVERNORS ONLY
TWICE IN OUR HISTORY HAS A
GOVERNOR. DAN REMOVED DUE TO
RECALL ONCE IN THE 1920’S IN
SOUTH DAKOTA AND ONCE IN
CALIFORNIA IN 2000, 3 WITH
GRAY DAVIS WAS REMOVED. ARNOLD
SCHWARZENEGGER BECAME GOVERNOR
AND THOSE ARE ISSUES RE RE
UNIQUELY RELATED TO CALIFORNIA
AS OPPOSED TO NATIONAL ISSUES
HERE, IT’S VERY, VERY HARD TO
TAKE THE UNIQUE DEMOGRAPHICS
AND VOTING PATTERNS OF
CALIFORNIA AND TRY TO USE THAT
AS A BAROMETER FOR THE REST OF
THE COUNTRY. SO I’D BE VERY
CAUTIOUS ABOUT PROJECTING TOO
MUCH FROM WHAT HAPPENED IN
THIS RECALL ELECTION. SO JOE
BIDEN TRAVELED CALIFORNIA TO
GET OUT THE VOTE AND SOME SAW
THIS RECALL IN A WAY AS A TEST
OF THE PRESIDENT’S CLOUT. THAT
SAID, WHAT IMPACT MIGHT THIS
HAVE ON THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS?
YOU KNOW, CHRIS, I THINK ONE
OF THE GREATEST IMPACTS THAT
THIS ELECTION MAY HAVE WILL BE
THE STRATEGY OF SOME
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES IN BLUE
STATES AND HOW THEY APPROACH
THE ELECTION. GAVIN NEWSOME
WAS VERY EFFECTIVE IN LEADING
INTO MANDATES COVID-19
MANDATES FROM AT WEARING MASKS
AND MANDATES FOR VACCINES. AND
WHILE THAT MAY NOT PLAY WELL
IN TEXAS OR ARKANSAS OR SOUTH
DAKOTA, I THINK THOSE IN BLUE
STATES MAY SEE THAT COVID-19
AND THE MANDATES MAY BE A PART
OF A WINNING STRATEGY IN
TALKING ABOUT HEALTH COVID.
AND THE SECOND PIECE IS AGAIN,
NOT GOING TO THE PLAYBOOK
TRYING TO BRING IN DONALD
TRUMP UNCERTAIN ANTI TRUMP
NOTION. IF YOU CAN DEFINE YOUR
PUT YOUR OPPONENT IS ANTI
TRUMP. BUT REMEMBER IN THE MID
TERMS YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE
CONGRESS. THOSE RACES WILL BE
VERY, VERY DIFFERENT FOR HOUSE
AND SENATE. ON THE REPUBLICAN
SIDE, THERE COULD BE TALKING
ABOUT AFGHANISTAN, WHICH WAS
NOT ON THE BALLOT IN
CALIFORNIA, INFLATION,
IMMIGRATION IN CRIME. THE
COUNTER FROM THE DEMOCRATS,
PARTICULARLY FOR THIS RECALL,
WILL BE HEALTH CARE IN
COVID-19. ALL RIGHT. SO
PICKING UP ON WHAT YOU JUST
SAID IS PERHAPS THE BIGGEST
TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ELECTION.
COVID IS NOT FINISHED MESSING
WITH POLITICS BECAUSE IT WAS
ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THIS
GO AROUND. THERE’S NO DOUBT
COVID-19 HAS BEEN VERY POTENT
POLITICALLY. IT WAS THE NUMBER
ONE ISSUE REALLY THE HURT
DONALD TRUMP AND HIS
REELECTION BID WAS COVID-19
AND THE DELTA VERY IS VERY
MUCH HURTING JOE BIDEN
CURRENTLY IN THE STATE OF
FLORIDA. YOU CAN SEE GOVERNOR
DESANTIS, HIS POLL NUMBERS
DROPPING A BIT IN HIS APPROACH
TO COVID-19. REMEMBER THE
MIDTERM ELECTIONS. THERE’S 36
GOVERNOR’S RACES 14 MONTHS
FROM NOW. THERE’S ALL THE
CONGRESSIONAL RACES. BUT FOR
GOVERNOR DESANTIS IS 14 MONTHS
AWAY. SO COME NEXT SUMMER. THE
STAFF WERE WE ARE IN COVID-19
COULD PLAY A VERY, VERY
IMPORTANT ROLE IN WHAT HAPPENS
NEXT NOVEMBER. IF IT’S IN THE
REARVIEW MIRROR, IT’S ONE
THING. BUT IF IT’S FRONT AND
CENTER, IT’S ANOTHER COVID-19.
HAS BEEN VERY POTENT
POLITICALLY AND IT WILL BE
CURIOUS TO SAY BECAUSE SOME OF
THE MEDICAL LIKE MEDICAL
EXPERTS SAY WE WON’T EVEN TURN