Thread by @CACoreyU

THREAD on #CARecall: I oppose recalls and impeachment on principle, that only the most egregious violations of public trust warrant removal outside of regularly scheduled elections. If @GavinNewsom were running on competently managing crises... 1/25

...and addressing the failures of state bureaucracy, I would oppose this one too. 2/25

But given that he has not addressed the crises he inherited and even made many worse with his policies, #CARecall is the only way to hold him accountable. 3/25

I can make an exhaustive case against Newsom as Governor. He is an empty suit of a photo-op politician masquerading as a wonk who owes all of his success to special interests and wealthy donors and has no record of reform but this is about an urgent need for accountability. 4/25

In many ways, the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis was a perfect test for him. It required him to follow the science, put public interest above self-interest, and make sure government could meet people's basic needs. 5/25

He failed on every front. 6/25

He trusted in pseudo-science that neither he or anyone else could explain, repeatedly changing or even hiding the metrics behind his decisions that flew in the face of decisions made in 49 other states, red and blue alike. 7/25

He routinely favored donors and dined with lobbyists while shutting everyone else out of their livelihoods, abusing his emergency powers to bribe donors with no-bid contracts in obvious exchange for their political support. 8/25

And he made big, bold pronouncements to fix bloated bureaucracy but didn't follow through on a single one. 9/25

It turns out this is his M.O. - splashy announcements, no follow-through, and since his party controls the legislature, he knows he'll face no accountability. Thankfully, some intrepid reporters figured have figured this out. 10/25

He's done this on fixing the EDD, reopening schools, providing more testing, breaking a nurses shortage (which we still face), and even forest management in the state with the deadliest and most destructive wildfires! 11/25

capradio.org/articles/2021/…

It's not all his fault. He inherited the broken bureaucracy and the myriad of problems that date back decades. But those problems date back decades because one party, his party, has allowed itself to become so corrupted by special interests that it simply can't address them 12/25

What's worse, it can't hold ANYONE accountable. When government has become so corrupt it can't meet people's needs, the people look for their own champions to stand up to the special interests. 13/25

It's no surprise the recall comes from the Progressive Era of politics, which immediately follows the populist era. When government is so corrupted by elite special interest it can't meet their needs, the people take matters into their own hands. 14/25

They look for leaders like Teddy Roosevelt, the trustbuster, and FDR, the New Dealer, to outsiders like Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, and actors like Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. They look to people like Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Larry Elder. 15/25

#CARecall opponents call it a "power grab." And, frankly it is - it's a power grab by the people of California to take our power back and finally hold our leaders accountable. 16/25

It's our one chance to stand up to the special interests in control and demand at least one leader in Sacramento stand up for US. 17/25

Republicans are outnumbered 4-to-1 in the California State Legislature. They stand up for conservatives, for the people of CA and our rights, everyday but special interests have spent billions to ensure their demands are always met and no one else even gets a hearing. 18/25

I long for the days when politics can be about policy and only policy, but we cannot get back to that if we can't get even get a fair hearing. 19/25

If politics is more about where you stand, then at least I know @Kevin_Faulconer @MarieWaldron75 @AsmRepublicans @SenateRepCaucus and I stand with the students and parents of California, not the power-mad teachers unions. 20/25

When it comes to the Californians who just want to put food on the table every night, we stand with the farmers. When it comes to protecting our communities, we stand with law enforcement. 21/25

We stand with the working class and small businesses that are the backbone of our economy. We stand with you all because we stand for making California a clean, safe, livable, and affordable place with opportunity for all. 22/25

And we will not stand for a broken bureaucracy that can't meet everyone's needs. We will not tolerate corruption in the capitol. We'll stand for transparency and accountability. 23/25

And we will ask every legislator, every county supervisor, every mayor, city council member, community leader, and activist to stand with us and make the people's priorities their priorities or we will work tirelessly to oppose them, expose them, and ultimately defeat them. 24/25

At the very least, we'll have shown we can.
It's time for a power grab, time to take the power back. Let no governor just get away with ignoring a state in absolute crisis. And let one-party rule rampant with special interest corruption come to an abrupt end in California 25/25