If Gavin Newsom is the best the Democrats can do, Donald Trump is going to win in a walk, not to mention a golf cart.
This photograph was appeared in an article in Newsweek, LA riots: How Mexican flag photos are a gift to Donald Trump by Dan Gooding, the photo (accompanied by another one I’m not showing) credited to “RINGO CHIU/DAVID PASHAEE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images”.
Okay, with that out of the way, it’s impossible not to be discouraged by the recent events in California and in Dupont Circle, two blocks where I live, in Washington, DC. The recent protests in Los Angeles were set off by massive raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to “save us” from all those terrible illegal aliens who make life possible are stealing American jobs and ruining our very way of life. As Nancy Rommelmann explains to us over at Reason there are really two sets of protests going on in LA, the “day” protesters who are honestly outraged by Trump’s disgusting and disgustingly unconstitutional power grab, grabbing anyone “foreign” looking and hustling them off for “investigation”/deportation and who demonstrate against it in accordance with the law, and the “night” “protesters” who are simply vicious “anarchists”/thugs looking for a chance to set fire to self-driving cars because tech sucks or smash in windows because it’s fun and you get to steal stuff.
Trump naturally is glad to conflate the day folks and the night folks and declare it all an insurrection/invasion—you saw the goddamn Mexican flag, didn’t you? What the fuck do you think that means? It means we’re at war, baby! And the Constitution gives me super powers, which I’m going to goddamn exercise to the fucking limit!
What does California governor Gavin Newsom do? Well, he does a couple of things, one good, and one bad. The good thing is that he files suit against the president’s actions, a lawsuit that, as Jacob Sullum, again over at Reason, explains to us, shows just why Trump’s actions are, as they are almost every day these days, an outrage against the Constitution, simple honesty, and common decency. But, unfortunately, Gavin also feels the “need” to go toe to toe and “twitter to twitter”—to use archaic speak—with The Donald, telling Politico, for example, that Trump “is unhinged, and he’s acting recklessly, and the threat of the Marines coming in the United States, this is a very serious and sober moment. We are going to stand firm.”
Okay, that’s “reasonable” (and entirely true) and Gavin actually landed an “X” to the face with this baby:
You sent your troops here without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep. Here they are — being forced to sleep on the floor, piled on top of one another. If anyone is treating our troops disrespectfully, it is you @realDonaldTrump.
But here’s the thing, Gavin. There comes a point when pictures of burning cars trump all the closely reasoned constitutional arguments and “devastating” Xes in the world. Gavin acts like he’s running for governor, while forgetting that he is governor, and that it’s a governor’s job to shut the burning and looting down. The people doing the burning and looting are going to keep on doing it until you give them a good reason to stop. And, so far, you’ve haven’t been able to do that. Punching it out with Donnie is fun, sometimes, but so far you’re in danger of winning the battle and losing the war.
Special Dupont Circle Afterwords
Washington, DC’s 2025 “WorldPride Day” resulted in two stabbings in Dupont Circle and a shooting at the nearby Dupont Circle Metro. Police had wanted to close the actual circle for the event because of previous disturbances that had occurred, but DC Mayor Muriel Bowser overrode their concerns.
While most the “Pride” events center around parades, Dupont Circle itself has attracted crowds with a “Saturnalia” mentality, where alcohol, sex, and drugs are freely available. Of course, where people are drunk, high, or sexually active, they will attract people who will want to either supply or exploit them, or both.
Pride events have attracted another vice in recent years, antisemitism, masquerading, of course, as is now the fashion, under the guise of “anti-Zionism”, for now we welcome everyone except the people we don’t like.
There was a time when participating in “Pride” events took real courage, and the events themselves represented “progress.” Today Pride events have become fatuous ventures full of self-promotion and money-making (this year’s organizers in DC were dreaming of a turnout of three million).
Furthermore, I am tired of the ever expanding string of initials that these events have burdened themselves with. As is well known, many American Indian tribes allowed a third sexual category for those who didn’t feel comfortable in the standard hetero dichotomy. I suppose “threebies” would be furiously rejected by “everyone”, so I’m just going with “gay”. If anyone who is “trans” or “questioning” feels outraged by my terminology, I suggest that if you go through life suffering no further hurt than being called “gay” instead of “lesbian”, “trans”, or whatever, you will be fortunate indeed. In fact, you are guaranteed to discover that life has much worse in store.
