Newsom did say he plans on staying on as governor for a full term. But Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas promised the same thing for his 1990 re-election—then ran for president in 1992, and won.
Major issues confronting California include: homelessness, abortion, a budget surplus possibly turning into a deficit, declining school test scores, inflation, wildfires, and climate matters. One debate for less than an hour, held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23, when many voters were at church or watching NFL games, just doesn’t cut it. No wonder most voters I talk to don’t even know who Dahle is.
Yet the debate did reveal some important matters. The first question was about Proposition 1, which would expand the right to abortion, already legal, right up to the moment before birth. Newsom, clearly playing to a national audience of Democratic primary voters, attacked Dahle for opposing Prop. 1 and contributing $20,000 to its defeat.
Asked about broader issues, he said the state was sending out “billions and billions of dollars of inflation checks … $9.5 billion.” And he touted how he advanced California’s “climate change” policies. He said Dahle only “reinforced Big Oil’s talking points.”
When Dahle’s turn came, he quipped, “I want to thank the governor for taking time out from his dream of being president of the United States and actually coming to California.” That was a jibe about Newsom’s recent trips to other states.
Dahle said, as a farmer, “I’m in tune with the climate every day and it is changing.” But Newsom’s policies, he said, “aren’t doing anything about it. He’s driving up the cost of gasoline and electricity. By the way, Californians pay 70 percent higher electricity rates than they do across the nation, $2.50 a gallon higher for gasoline than they do in Nevada.”
When asked about Newsom’s policies being popular, Dahle responded, “People are fleeing. … Californians are suffering.”
Newsom responded that Dahle, in the Senate, has opposed “every single climate package” offered by the majority Democrats. “You have doubled down on the talking points of the Big Oil companies,” leaving the state with “unprecedented extremes,” including drought and wildfires. He charged of Dahle “Big Oil” funded his campaign with “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Another Dahle jibe was Newsom’s friends can afford Teslas, but average Californians can’t.
Newsom refuted Dahle’s charge of being out of state by saying it was only for a few hours he left California to challenge Trump, whom Dahle supported, and the Republican stances on abortion, climate change, “banning books,” and other issues. As to “banning books,” Dahle should have made it about parents controlling school boards, the way Gov. Glenn Youngkin rode that issue to victory in Virginia a year ago.
“What you don’t do is stand up to Big Oil,” Newsom reiterated to Dahle. Actually, in the context of California politics, Big Oil isn’t stupid. They know Newsom is almost sure to win, and so won’t want to antagonize him by supporting Dahle.
Unfortunately, but predictably, the controversy over the 2020 election came up. Dahle said he supports that Biden was legitimately elected, but quipped, “But does he know that?” Newsom interrupted, “Of course he understands he’s the president of the United States. You’re insulting him.” Unfortunately, Dahle didn’t have a comeback to Newsom that would have made the news broadcasts that evening and given him some much-needed publicity. Dahle seems to have prepared some good quips, but wasn’t strong with the ad lib responses.
Dahle then brought up the cost of living and rising crime, how Newsom is neglecting the people on the streets who are suffering “from the policies you put forward. At the same time we have no water, no electricity. We have no plan. There’s just, ‘Throw money at it.’”
“Californians are suffering from inflation,” Newsom retorted. “That’s why we’ve put $18.5 billion in tax rebates,” including $9.5 billion this year, “which you opposed.” Dahle said he did support it.
Dahle said Newsom has 1,200 permits for oil drilling on his desk unsigned. And said he supported a gas-tax holiday. Dahle missed an opportunity to point out Newsom originally supported the gas-tax holiday, which would have cut the price of gas 54 cents a gallon, but caved in to the radical Democrats in the Legislature.
I get how Newsom is trying to counter potential attacks on him. But pushing California gas prices even higher than in other states sure won’t help him in a presidential run.
He mentioned there are five refiners in California with 97 percent of the industry. But that’s because the state is so saturated with regulations, no other refiners want to come here. We’re lucky to have even those five. And he said the oil companies enjoyed record profits of $26 billion in the last quarter. But that’s what happens when the price goes up. When it goes down—as during the first months of COVID—then the profits dry up and the deficits pile up.
And of course, the oil business is international. California state policy has no say in what OPEC does, or the outcome of the Ukraine War.
Newsom said cutting the gas tax was “nothing more than a gimmick,” in contrast to his rebate checks. And he touted switching early to the winter blend of gas, which saved 65 cents a gallon. Fair enough, but most of that reduction probably was from the global reduction in oil prices.
