A few days ago I was a tad surprised to see California Governor Gavin Newsom do something sane, namely attempt to keep the remaining Nuke plant in California open:
The draft legislation — which would be attached to the state’s budget as a trailer bill — would help extend the power plant’s operations for an additional five to 10 years beyond its scheduled shutdown dates in 2024 and 2025.
The forgivable loan, if authorized, would be lent by the state’s Department of Water Resources.
Diablo Canyon — California’s last remaining nuclear power plant — generates about 8.6% of the state’s total electricity supply, according to the Governor’s Office.
Now of course I’m not a fan of a “forgivable loan” to a big Utility, which is another way of saying it’s a payout so one might dismiss this a giving in to the reality of not kneecapping the power grid while making some friends with taxpayer money at the same time but with the energy crunch in California keeping that 8.6% of the power supply up is vital even if the left has done all it can to reduce demand by chasing people away.
I figured he was being mugged by reality, but then I saw this
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed pilot programs where people could use drugs under the supervision of trained staff in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles, a blow to a long-fought battle to tackle the cities’ overdose crises.
In his veto letter, Newsom said he has “long supported the cutting edge of harm reduction strategies” but said the unlimited number of sites allowed by the bill “could induce a world of unintended consequences.” He did not go into detail about what those consequences could be.
John Sexton at Hotair, where I saw the story has it pegged:
It’s probably safe to assume the “unintended consequences” Newsom is most concerned about about are the ones that could damage his run for president in a couple of years. … And while “safe injections sites” are an easy call in deep blue California, the idea would be a non-starter in many states.
Now a broken clock can be right twice a day but an ultra liberal California governor making two sane decision in less than two weeks? Yeah he running in 2024
After a tight race, incumbent Representative Peter Meijer lost to Trump loyalist John Gibbs in Michigan’s GOP primary contest for the state’s third congressional district on Tuesday.
There was a time when Meijer’s re-election in the primary might have been considered a sure thing, then Trump endorsed his opponent:
“John Gibbs is a fabulous talent who loves the State, our Military, and our Vets. He will always protect our Second Amendment, our Southern Border, and the Police—there will be no defunding with John!,” Trump said of Gibbs.
Meijer, on the other hand, was one of ten Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over his role in inciting the January 6 Capitol riot. His election prospects seemed to sour after that move, with progressive polling agency Impact Research finding in a February poll that likely voters preferred any other Republican to Meijer by more than 40 points.
The tributes are pouring in for yet another useful idiots for the NeverTrump Democrat Left who has suffered the tragic result of his days of usefulness coming to a close:
I for one am shocked SHOCKED that the left did not repay him for being a stand up guy for their cause and instead used his vote to retire him from congress for mere party gain and join in their grief in their discoveries that the Democrat Left is not populated by honorable people out for the good of the country.
It’s first worth noting that Guy Reffitt never even entered the Capitol Building. He remained outside on the plaza. So he didn’t destroy or steal any property inside the Capitol. It’s also unclear how he could possibly have “obstructed Congress” by standing outside on the plaza. As to his “interfering with police officers,” it’s true that Reffitt did approach the police line, but he never drew his firearm. He shouted at the police, but then retreated when one of them pepper sprayed him.
No word on if the seven plus years Mr. Reffitt got for not entering the capital and not drawing his gun and not touching anyone on January 6th causes any of the people crying over Meijer’s election any grief, but I doubt it.
#unexpetecedly of course.
Update: Forget this one, top of the page mind you:
Maybe the fact that Meijer voted to impeach the cult leader was all the voters in his district needed to know to toss him out. There never has been and, God willing, never will be an impeachment vote against a president as righteous and justified as the one Meijer cast on January 13 of last year, yet the GOP voters of his district punished him for it by taking away his job. That’s not a function of Democratic chicanery or GOP voters “going along” with it. It’s proof of Republican moral rot.
Normally I wouldn’t bother to have even clicked in any piece offered by Allapundit but I’m glad I clicked on this one. Remember the next time these folks ask you for subscription money what they think of conservatives that they are the alternate media for.
Update 2 Just saw this at Ace of Spades:
What an idea — that a paid, professional “conservative media” should, occasionally at least, feature actual conservatives working for it.
Allahpundit @allahpundit
Personal news: My last day at Hot Air will be Friday, September 2
I wonder how many potential subscribers simply walked away after seeing his work. More from the land of Ace
If you’re worried about ol’ Allah, don’t be. He’s got all that Pierre Omidyar grifter money coming — the NeverTrumpers are the highest paid fringe political group in history — and he’s still doing what he loves to do, trolling conservatives.
The guy who is forever complaining about conservatives forever “owning the libs” continues perverting what is supposed to be a “news site of conservative views and opinion” into a nonstop exercise in “owning the cons:”
That may or may not be true but here’s the real question that’s worth asking:
Regardless of my opinion of Allahpundit and his current Opinions at Hotair he was one of the most senior writers in the place and thus likely had a lot of clout over what got linked, what made the headlines section etc. Given his seniority there that would not be out of line but I suspect those choices might have proved costly given the “Join VIP” model to comment.
It will be interesting to see if there is a change of direction in terms of the headline and how much linkage places like the Bulwark etc get once he’s gone.
Given that Sept/Oct is the leadup to election 2020 that pivot might be very significant.
Amazingly, the quiet presidential campaign of J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire pol from the family that created the Hyatt hotel chain and more, continues. That says about the girth of Illinois governor’s ego and the threadbare status of the Democratic presidential bench, as the failures of the Joe Biden administration continue to mount.
Illinois, despite the influx of COVID bailout cash, remains a financial basket case. At best, Pritzker and his fellow Democrats have only chipped away at the state’s pension bomb. Illinois has the worst-funded public pension system among the states. In 2021 the Prairie State lost 122,000 residents, only New York and the District of Columbia, percentage-wise, saw a bigger population drop.
At Wirepoints, Mark Glennon, justifiably eviscerated Pritzker in his critique of the governor’s trial run of a presidential campaign speech given last weekend in Florida. Yes, Florida, the place that Democrats, including Pritzker’s wife during the worst period of the COVID-19 lockdowns, flock to, despite the governorship of Ron DeSantis, a man they hate. Oh, while in Florida–Pritzker was there to give the keynote speech at a gathering of Florida Democrats–he contracted COVID. I wish him well–as someone who was afflicted with COVID last month, I can say that it is not an enjoyable experience.
I’m going to focus on just a couple of items from Pritzker’s dishonest Florida speech. “We honor the results of elections,” Pritzker said, obviously alluding to the Capitol Riot and its show trial investigation of it by the House January 6th Committee. In response Glennon retorted, “In Illinois, that would be elections based on the most gerrymandered map in the nation, which he approved in violation of what many regarded as his most important campaign promise – to deliver fair maps.” Yes, Pritzker repeatedly vowed as a candidate in 2018 to veto gerrymandered legislative and congressional maps. The Democratic supermajorities in the General Assembly–in place because of the 2011 gerrymandered map–sent to Pritzker’s desk new contorted legislative maps, which Pritzker signed into law.
Pritzker lied–and free and fair congressional and state legislative elections in the Land of Lincoln died. But since Glennon’s article was posted, the Chicago Tribune revealed that Pritzker this year contributed $24 million to the Democratic Governors Association. That group spent millions on ads supporting the most conservative Republican candidate running to replace Pritzker this autumn, state Sen. Darren Bailey, who easily won the GOP nomination. Yes, I voted for Bailey.
As with other races the DGA has meddled in, the group saw Bailey as the most conservative, or in their likely thoughts, the most extreme candidate. And presumably the easiest one for Democrats to defeat in November. But such a ploy might backfire. In another Republican gubernatorial primary race that the Democratic Governors Association meddled in, its preferred “extreme” candidate, Doug Mastriano, trails the Democratic nominee by only a few points. Yes, he can win, which has some Dems nervous.
On the flipside, imagine the mainstream media uproar if Republicans funded the campaigns of a Bernie Bro socialist running in a Democratic primary. They’d cry, “Election interference,” and “This is undermining free and fair elections!”
A couple of times in my lifetime–on the presidential level–Democrats received the GOP general election candidate they were rooting for, Ronald Reagan in 1980 and Donald Trump in 2016. You know what happened.
Bailey, in deep blue Illinois, faces a tougher hurdle than Mastriano. But much can happen in the next four months, and Joe Biden’s continued mismanagement of the economy, the border–heck, his complete mismanagement of everything–may compel moderate Land of Lincoln voters to send a message to the Democrats.
Are there enough such Illinoisans to send Pritzker packing?
Because of high taxes, Illinoisans suffer from among the highest gasoline prices in the nation. Pritzker, under the guise of a tax cut, is forcing Illinois gas station owners to post signs informing motorists of the “tax cut,” which is really a delay in an inflation adjustment, suspending it until December. Gas station operators who refuse to post the required signage face a $500-a-day fine. Without the fine threat, Illinois grocers are also being forced to post similar signage about a one-year suspension of a one-percent sales tax.
If Pritzker prevails over Bailey, look for his presidential campaign to begin. It will fail. Pritzker is not a likable candidate–and Illinois’ standards are low. His flat speeches are drenched in condescension. Pritzker comes across as a sleazy closer at a Las Vegas timeshare presentation, a meeting that you only agreed to endure after being promised free show tickets and two glasses of wine “Sign here,” he’d say, “you won’t regret it,” as all 350 pounds of him leans into you.
But not even alcohol can make Pritzker more palatable.
There is speculation that Illinois’ Democrat governor, J.B. Pritzker, is considering a run for president. A visit last week to New Hampshire is his first clue.
But Pritzker, a billionaire scion of the family that owns the Hyatt Corporation, faces reelection for governor this fall. I’ll be voting for the Republican candidate, and I of course dearly hope whoever the GOP entry is in November will make Pritzker a one-term governor.
There are many reasons to be against Pritzker for governor–and president. Let’s get started on why.
Gerrymandering. As a candidate in 2018, Pritzker vowed several times to veto gerrymandered legislative maps. He lied. Unless you are an aficionado of Cubist art or a Democrat activist, the 2021 census remaps, are a disgrace to democracy.
Budget. Illinois hasn’t had a balanced budget since 2001, when Republican George H. Ryan–yeah, Ryan was a bad guy–was governor and there was a GOP majority in the state Senate. In one of his first ads for his reelection campaign, Pritzker claimed the Prairie State’s budget is balanced. It’s not, unless you figure in trickery and federal COVID-19 bailout money. With a Republican majority a near certainty in the US House, Pritzker and the Democrats can’t count on bailout cash for Illinois’ next budget.
Crime. While I’ll concede that governors don’t have much control over local law enforcement, if you think crime is bad in Illinois now, just wait until New Year’s Day, when Illinois’ no-cash bail law goes into effect–after the general election votes are counted this autumn. There are still instances when judges can lock up accused criminals. But of course, big time crooks also commit small time crimes. Petty crooks often move on to become big-time crooks. Cook County’s state’s attorney is Kim Foxx, a George Soros-funded pro-criminal so-called prosecutor. If Pritzker has ever criticized Foxx, I missed it. Pritzker signed the no-cash bail bill into law in February of 2021. If it’s such a good bill, then why didn’t no-cash bail go into effect immediately?
Last year Cook County, which included Chicago and it’s where I live, recorded over 1,000 murders for the first time since 1994.
COVID. The lockdowns in Illinois were among the longest and most severe. But his wife, M.K., and his daughter spent two months in Florida in the spring of 2020. Florida’s lockdown policies were less stringent. Pritzker claims that his family were in Florida before the pandemic was declared. But the governor didn’t reveal that information until two months later.
Stagnant population. Illinois had lost population, according to the US Census, every year since 2014. Or had it? But like late night ballots arriving in big-city polling places, the Census Bureau said, wait, no, Illinois gained population between 2010 and 2020. But growth, such as it is, can rightly be called anemic.
Corruption. Until it appeared that the US Attorney’s office for Northern Illinois was finally closing in on Boss Michael Madigan, who was for decades the most powerful Democrat in the state, Pritzker was silent on the Illinois Democratic Party chair and longtime state House speaker. Only after a surprisingly lackluster 2020 general election for Prairie State Democrats did Pritzker issue a half-hearted call for Madigan to resign as speaker. The Boss failed to win reelection as House speaker last year and then he quickly resigned as Illinois Dem party chair.
Three months ago, Madigan was indicted on numerous racketeering charges by the feds. Illinois is generally considered one of the most corrupt states in the Union. Even the Washington Post agrees. What is Pritzker doing to fight criminality by Illinois public officials? I can’t see any evidence that he is doing anything.
Toilets. Pritzker and his wife own two mansions on Astor Street on Chicago’s North Side. Allegedly looking for a property tax break, M.K. had the toilets removed from the one that Illinois’ future first couple didn’t live in. Then she had that mansion declared “uninhabitable,” so the Pritzkers could score that tax break. The Pritzkers later paid Cook County back the money from that sleazy move.
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