There are signs of a moribund Republican Party coming to life. Pictured: California Governor Gavin Newsom. Photo Credit: Gavin Newsom/X.
The tragic wildfires that blazed in Los Angeles provide useful lessons about partisanship and how the mainstream press covers these kinds of events. In 2005, when the levees broke in New Orleans, President George W. Bush became the target of heavy criticism in the media. He lacked empathy, did not act quickly enough, failed to dispatch FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) swiftly, and seemed uncaring towards the people in a Democratic city with a large Black population. Conventional wisdom indicated that Bush’s second term went off the rails and never recovered. Many in the press wore that badge proudly and believed they had broken another Republican president. Many thought Bush deserved it and gleefully reported how poorly he had responded to the disaster and that he and his administration would wear this issue into future elections.
If you do a Google search about the hurricane you will find that on the tenth anniversary, there was a flurry of articles still criticizing Bush’s slow response and mishandling of the relief efforts. The partisan interpretations should not surprise, but they do instruct. The people in Louisiana knew better. As a matter of historical fact, Louisianans overhauled their state government and its ideological colouration, recognizing that the federal government had not let them down nearly as badly as the state and local governments had. The Democratic mayor of New Orleans and its governor were voted out in 2006 and the state firmly sits in the red column for all elections. The voters rendered judgment on the failures of Democratic governance in Louisiana and may do so in California after what happened in Los Angeles over the past couple of weeks.
The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has dealt with a series of natural disasters in his state since he took office in 2019. In California, Gavin Newsom, who at one point hoped that he might be called upon to replace former president Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic nominee, picked fights with DeSantis, claiming people could say gay in California, but not in Florida. Newsom invited those who felt threatened by Florida’s allegedly anti-gay and anti-trans legislation to come to California. He poured money (about $22 billion) into fighting homelessness and proudly blustered about DEI initiatives that made the state the most inclusive place in America. All DeSantis did was stay on top of natural disasters, provide strong leadership for his state’s citizens, respond to damage with earmarked money, and clean up the messes left in the wake of the storms. When COVID hit he had done his homework and knew as much, if not more, than many medical officials. He understood the need to protect the elderly and did not make the mistake of crowding them into common facilities where they were sure to die. He made adjustments in real-time and after the initial hit that every area would inevitably take, Florida opened up in 2021 and the economic impact was a fraction of what happened in California. Newsom oversaw a regime that insisted on shuttering businesses, keeping schools closed, and employing all the stock and trade of the most hawkish COVID practitioners. He eventually faced a failed recall effort, but his reputation suffered a hit. Regardless, both were rewarded for their actions with big victories in subsequent elections, but Newsom now faces scrutiny over the fires.
The elite in the United States respond to anything that happens atmospherically in a bizarre way. They call all weather-related problems a result of climate change. As if that stands unopposed in the hierarchy of elucidations, the press, the progressive pantheon, and those on the Left believe that this displaces actions that preserve, protect, or prioritize human life. It has never occurred to them, that regardless of whether there are too many people in California or too much demand for natural resources, political leaders and those charged with ensuring the safety of a community must understand that humans are more important than fish or other animals. That means that lessons must be learned when water and forest problems are mishandled as they were in California in 2017 and 2018 resulting in two different massive fires causing about $30 billion in damage. From what I can gather, the needs of northern California differ from those of southern California. The decision to run off water from northern California to save a small fish (smelt) compounded the water shortages in southern California as authorities attempted to deal with fire, dryness, and drought conditions.
Today, the prospect of fires causing $50 billion in damage lay before the people of California. This provides a good example of how politics works. Compromise and negotiation must go hand-in-hand with development and resource management. Developers want more resources and those interested in keeping open land free from development don’t want that to happen. Politics exists to negotiate these matters. As the Commentary crew (John Podhoretz, moderator) discussed on their podcast recently, zoning and regulation are key parts of resource management. Politicians used to be one of the voices in those conversations. DeSantis quarterbacks the discussions in Florida about rebuilding, placing warehouses on the shoreline or dredging sand to rebuild beaches. People like Newsom aren’t interested in the details.
Emphasizing his point, Podhoretz said, “They (Newsom types) are interested in using it to score political points which is why the culture is shifting. People are worried about money spent on things like DEI programs and $350,000 salaries for people who talk about DEI programs, rather than replacing, for example, all of the fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades and around LA that have been stolen and sold for scrap metal. Or dealing with the homeless problem. We had a report yesterday that one of these fires was arson, started by a 30-year-old homeless man.” Healthy conversations about what politicians should be doing for the people of California are not taking place because Newsom and other officials have no answers other than this is California.
Even Sarah Foster, a progressive Democrat residing in California, has had enough. She recently posted on social media that “We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared…Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits.” Foster, 43, also called for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom to resign, arguing that their “far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party.” Other Hollywood celebrities joined in the chorus of frustration emanating from what many perceive as the outgrowth of one-party rule for too long in the Golden State.
There was a time a hundred years ago when progressives said they could use science and modern funky ideas to fix things. Now they fix nothing. Practical politicians like DeSantis will continue to overshadow governors like Newsom because what they (progressive governors) have done over the past eight, 12, or even 20 years has caused harm. And they have not done the one thing they were supposed to do. Have healthy conversations for the people of California instead of passing the buck. Whether this means that California starts heading right again remains to be seen, but looking at the election results in November, Trump reduced the deficit from 30 per cent to 20 per cent. Congressional races were closer and there are signs of a moribund Republican Party coming to life. It could be that the spark that lit Los Angeles on fire may also ignite a change in who rules a state that once produced Republican presidents and led the nation in entrepreneurial spirit.
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
