Deep State Spotlight: Gavin Newsom

The Master of Identity Politics Aims for the White House

Dec 08, 2023

This is a companion piece in the expanding Deep State Spotlight series on Badlands Media, which has also chronicled Victoria Nuland and Kamala Harris, with more to come.

California Governor Gavin Newsom debated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last Thursday in an unconventional broadcast event that many saw as a clear-cut ploy to further both men's presidential ambitions.

The occasion was a win-win situation for each governor to seed the idea into the mass mind that this is what the general elections might look like, even though neither of these men had the nomination to represent their respective parties.

This event, which Fox News dubbed "The Great Red State vs. Blue State Debate," was promoted as an epic forum to compare and contrast ideas and opposing methods for governance. That was, of course, scarcely the case. As expected, there was a lot of hate and little substance in the broadcast brawl.

Badlanders are more cognizant than the majority of audiences of the way in which certain media subcultures, such as Con Inc, whether intentionally or unintentionally contribute to and exacerbate the perpetual divide between the left and the right, as opposed to emphasizing common ground. A prime example of this form of content generation was present during the "debate."

Desperate attempts to create viral moments were evident during the broadcast. DeSantis used objects to illustrate his views, such as a map that charts "the human feces that are found on the streets of San Francisco," and a copy of a book with graphic sexual content intended for young readers.

And Newsom never shied away from taking advantage of DeSantis' stumbling presidential campaign, often making fun of his declining standing in the polls.

"When are you going to drop out and give Nikki Haley a shot to win?" Newsom poked, further showcasing the deep political establishment’s shift toward backing the unabashed neocon.

There was, nevertheless, a peculiar clarity amid the animosity.

I’ve followed Newsom's ascent and his distinct political style as a former Californian.

For a long time, Newsom has been using his culture-war obsession to entice Republican leaders, and last Thursday was no exception. Reversing "hard-earned national rights on voting rights and civil rights, human rights and women's rights—not just access to abortion but also access to contraception," he argued, was what Desantis was truly after. Newsom unsurprisingly brought up controversial topics like firearms, immigration, and race several times during the evening—all issues that are quite popular with the Democratic base.

Although Newsom emphasized that his advocacy is a struggle for the existential balance of preserving American democracy, his cultural war incursions mask a record that is scarcely revolutionary or ground-breaking. In actuality, Newsom is a centrist Democrat who has risen to prominence by grabbing media attention and energizing people with identity politics, all the while never crossing the line to alienate his base of affluent backers.

In short, Newsom is the epitome of an establishment stooge.

At the debate, DeSantis sparred with Newsom on stage, bringing up California's filth and homelessness on multiple occasions, claiming that Democrats intended to spread these issues across the nation.

The specific social movements and governmental initiatives that have fueled widespread criminality and homeless camps received scant attention. They allegedly exemplified "leftist ideology" and "leftist principles," according to the Florida governor. Maybe it’s that simple, but I suspect it has more to do with general corruption than a political ideology or principle.

The Political Stylings of Gavin Newsom

Newsom has staked his career on a political approach that is becoming more popular in both parties—focusing on a divisive culture war that appeals to voters' emotions while keeping his true goals hidden. In many respects, he has persuaded voters to look past corruption and failure by persistently addressing existential concerns about basic liberties and rights, such as homosexual rights and abortion, which are rarely relevant in today's California.

Imagine if the kind of content created by outlets like the Daily Wire was personified in human form as a politician, but was representative of the more divisive aspects of leftist ideology.

National acclaim was first generated by Newsom's issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples at city hall mere months after he was elected to lead San Francisco for the first time in part to address the city's homeless crisis. The strategic maneuver in 2004 garnered widespread attention and adoration from social liberals despite being overturned by local courts, and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court.

This established him as a ubiquitous name and brought him into the favor of such individuals. The impoverished and dependent individuals residing in the streets of San Francisco have obviously persisted without substantial resolution.

One of Newsom’s go-to strategies is to run ads against, and even sometimes for, political opponents. These ads are not restricted to Newsom’s own jurisdiction. (#)(#)

In the previous year, Newsom implemented a recurring tactic whereby he broadcast advertisements that emphasized the conservative credentials of a Republican opponent whom he perceived as having the lowest probability of conducting a competitive campaign. The advertisements reminded electors that state legislator Brian Dahle, a conservative, vehemently opposed abortion and advocated for gun rights.

The effectiveness of the overture can be attributed to an anomaly within the electoral system of California called the "jungle primary."

Dahle was overwhelmingly supported by Republican voters who otherwise wouldn’t have known much about him had it not been for Newsom’s ads, securing his nomination as the party's nominee. Any genuine opposition to Newsom was eradicated by the culture war onslaught, and he cruised to an effortless victory.

Recently, Governor Newsom contributed millions of dollars to a Super PAC that broadcasts advertisements outside of California, portraying himself as the last resort to challenge President Trump. How Newsom, in his capacity as governor, could potentially assume such a position beyond the borders of his state, remains uncertain.

These tactics have lead to what Desantis and many analysts have called a “shadow campaign” for the presidency. The audacious bid, which would normally draw the ire of party loyalists, is really dependent on the possibility that President Joe Biden will eventually become ill or withdraw from the campaign.

The possibility of this greasy California politician seizing the nomination may seem ridiculous to some. After all, the state doesn’t exactly appear to be thriving, as DeSantis was quick to point out during the debate.

However, it is Newsom's trajectory in California that may have positioned him favorably to lead the contemporary Democratic Party.

Newsom’s Origin Story

Despite claims about his mother's financial hardships, Newsom's life was profoundly influenced by his interactions with the affluent elite of San Francisco (particularly the area’s highly influential Getty family) and the complex politics surrounding marginalized identity groups. Over the course of his professional trajectory, he has developed the ability to navigate the concerns of affluent businesspeople and dynamic philanthropists, a coalition that currently wields undivided authority. (#)

Raised by a father who was intimately involved with the city's political elite and served as the financial consigliere to the heirs of the Getty Oil fortune, Newsom is a fourth-generation Irish Catholic from a family with extensive connections to old San Francisco patronage machine politics.

In one of his many acts of ingratiation, William Newsom, Jr. personally delivered a ransom to the Italian mafia in exchange for the release of one of J. Paul Getty's grandchildren who had been abducted. Subsequently, the senior Newsom effectively advocated for a modification in state legislation that expanded the beneficiaries' entitlements to the Getty trust fund. (#)

Author’s note: The original article going over these details has since been removed from SFWeekly’s website, but can still be viewed in the Wayback Machine HERE. If you are a fan of charting the more clandestine aspects lurking behind American politics, it would behoove you to look into the Getty family history.

As a result of his father's allegiance, Newsom enjoyed an enviable existence and was treated as an almost adopted member of the Getty family, accompanying the Gettys on luxurious vacations and African excursions.

Following his graduation from college, Newsom and his childhood companion Billy Getty established a prosperous hospitality enterprise that included resorts, wineries, and nightclubs.

During Newsom's early political career, rubbing elbows with Pacific Heights socialites yielded fruitful results.

During the mid-1990s, then mayor Willie Brown (who you may remember from my piece on Kamala Harris) recognized Newsom's considerable network and sought to gain favor with the Getty family. Seeing an opportunity to do so, he appointed him to a local traffic commission and subsequently filled a vacancy on the city council.

His rise was really a no-brainer; in Newsom, you had a youthful moderate with unfettered access to the city's donor class coupled with seemingly boundless ambition.

On top of his very fortuitous upbringing, Newsom has become a master of utilizing modern identity politics.

Leaning Into the Culture War

Consider the reparations commission that Newsom presided over": With an expansive mandate to examine the effects of racial discrimination and slavery on African American Californians, this committee is unparalleled in its audacity.

However, this commission lacks the authority to actually implement policies, rendering it completely hollow and ineffective. Despite this, Newsom can campaign on the precedent, and most folks will not know any better; he’ll cloak himself in the mantle of civil rights without doing a single tangible thing to improve them.

Consider also his recent selection of Laphonza Butler to occupy the vacancy caused by Senator Dianne Feinstein's demise. His press release lauded his candidate as "the first openly Black lesbian to serve in Congress," omitting to mention her prior experience as a consultant for Newsom's inner circle of operatives and lobbyist for Uber and AirBnB.

Newsom is by no means the only candidate to channel the immense resources of the donor class while inflaming the passions of voters with emotionally charged rhetoric regarding identity. His ability to accomplish this, however, is essentially unparalleled relative to other white, male politicians.

Newsom consistently refuted the allegation that he is engaging in a covert campaign for the Democratic nomination throughout the debate. He claimed to be there in defense of the nation against the far right.

"You and President Trump are trying to light democracy on fire," he scowled angrily at DeSantis.

The denials expose a clear aspiration for the presidency, which he has openly discussed since his second year on the San Francisco supervisor board.

"If you're in politics and you want to make an impact,” Newsom told reporters in 1998, “you should be as successful as possible, and the most influential position is President."

Sources:

How eight elite San Francisco families funded Gavin Newsom’s political ascent: https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-pol-ca-gavin-newsom-san-francisco-money/
Gavin Newsom’s keeping it all in the family: https://calmatters.org/commentary/2019/01/gavin-newsoms-keeping-it-all-in-the-family/
Bringing Up Baby Gavin: https://web.archive.org/web/20100419073056/https://www.sfweekly.com/2003-04-02/news/bringing-up-baby-gavin/
Gavin Newsom’s shadow campaign for the White House https://unherd.com/2023/12/gavin-newsoms-shadow-campaign-for-the-white-house/

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