As a Democrat, I’m concerned about the divide between moderates and progressives, but I’m also fascinated by it. I “get” both sides. Both have legitimate reasons for taking their positions. So do Republicans, in some instances, but I’ve explained here before why I’m not a Republican, so I won’t repeat that today.
I watch Gavin Newsom because he’s an exquisite weathervane for the two sides of the party. He tries to straddle them. Some cynics say it’s a political ploy because he’s running for President in 2028 and needs to appeal to moderates, independents and even some MAGAs, in addition to progressives. I’m not sure that’s entirely true; when he says having trans women in sports is “deeply unfair,” that could easily be the way he feels, not political posturing. When he denounces violence during peaceful protests, as he often has, is it because he’s trying to appeal to moderates, or because he really thinks it’s dumb and counter-productive to throw rocks at cops and rob 7-Elevens?
It seems to me there are a number of things moderate and progressive Democrats agree with that also are popular with most Americans. LGBTQ rights, for instance. If we could just agree, amongst ourselves, that human beings have the right to love, marry and rear children no matter what their sexual orientation was, we would come a long way toward a more just and equitable America, which is what everyone says they want. Then we could have an intelligent discussion about trans rights without tearing ourselves to pieces and playing into the hands of Christian MAGAs, who hate everyone on the LGBTQ spectrum.
Most of us, I suspect, also are in agreement about climate change. We know, or strongly suspect, it’s not a hoax, as Donald Trump repeatedly insists. We know the world is heating up—science proves it. We just can’t agree on what to do about it. Mandate EVs? Develop more wind and solar energy? Build more—dare I say it?—nuclear power plants? Or, as Trump is doing, declare war on non-fossil fuel energy? We could have that discussion, too, in an intelligent way, without denying climate change altogether and, again, playing into the anti-science hands of Trump and the chumps he hires to run the government, like RFK, Jr.
Well, there are a lot of things we could do, but this being the real world, we’ll probably always quibble over the details. The reason I call Newsom a weathervane is because he’s a very powerful person, may well be President, and so it matters what he thinks. As for you and me, no disrespect meant, but it doesn’t matter a hill of beans what we think (which puts some perspective on the social media wars in which every armchair warrior pontificates). I’ve watched Newsom wobble this way and that, on various issues, and I have to say it’s a lot harder coming up with a position when you have power than when you don’t. Unlike you and me, Newsom can impact the lives of tens of millions of Californians every day. His every decision will be dissected ruthlessly by pundits; every quote will be repeated, often incorrectly or out of context. The anti-Newsom camp (like the anti-Trump camp) will watch him like hawks circling a rabbit; the slightest error will result in scorn and denunciation. That’s okay—Newsom and Trump are both big boys, and it they don’t like the heat, they can get out of the kitchen of politics. But I think they do like the heat.
And so I watch this internecine feud in the Democratic Party. Can the party heal itself and begin electing Presidents again, not to mention Senators, Congressmen, school board members, mayors, supervisors? I don’t know. Right now there’s so much anger at the Democratic Party—much of it deserved—that it could be a while before Democrats recover their footing. On the other hand, Dems are lucky in whom they choose for their enemies, Donald Trump being a very easy person to dislike.
I’ve urged Newsom to take Trump on a lot harder than he has up to now. He’s wobbled between playing nice to Trump (because California needs Federal help to recover from the L.A. fires?) and letting him have it right between the eyes, POW! But I realize Newsom has a great deal more at stake than I do. I think Newsom is upping the stakes in his fight with Trump, based on what I see in the news. At this time, I see no national figure remotely able to take Trump on. Pete Buttigieg, maybe. But certainly Gavin Newsom.
And so, if you’re like me, and want to remain a Democrat because you know they’re the party of caring, of humane politics, of working people, but you’re bothered by some of the far-left craziness in the Democratic Party, be patient, I beg you. I think we can change the party and make it saner and more responsive to our needs. But we’re going to have to, first, purge the woke progressives, while keeping the best of what they’ve achieved in the past, starting with LGBTQ rights.
Steve Heimoff