Governor Gavin Newsom issued a mea culpa over the weekend for his policies during Covid.
In an interview with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press, Newsom claimed, “we didn’t know what we didn’t know.”
I would argue that’s a lie. Plenty of people knew and they shouted from the rooftops that draconian policies such as the ones Newsom inflicted were out of line and unnecessary. At least they tried. Most of them were silenced, banned from Twitter and other social media platforms, and shunned by mainstream media.
Some of the most esteemed professionals in their field, such as Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, John Ioannidis, and Michael Levitt, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, spoke out against lockdowns and school closures. They even signed a widely spread petition called The Great Barrington Declaration.
There is no way Gov. Newsom did not see that. All three gentlemen work in Newsom’s backyard at Stanford.
My data analysis professor, Brian Goebel, knew. He spoke up about the flawed modeling and improper use of data. He wrote editorials in his local newspaper in Santa Barbara County and sent letters to the LA Times, his state representatives, and Gov. Newsom himself. His petitions fell on deaf ears.
The “who knew?” defense is lame and inexcusable. People knew. The truth simply wasn’t convenient for power hungry narcissists like Newsom and DeBlasio and Cuomo.
Those who buy Newsom’s excuses are the people that will continue to vote for politicians like Newsom. The ones that gallivant around the globe in private jets and massive luxury SUVs while demanding you drive electric vehicles, remove gas stoves, and restrict water usage.
The ones that dine out at fancy restaurants but insist you stay locked inside. I hate to beat a dead horse, but people seem to be quick to overlook how elite politician’s behavior never coincides with the restrictive policies they impose on their constituents.
It’s one thing to admit wrongdoing and then alter course of action. However, Gavin Newsom took absolutely no responsibility for his errors, instead dancing around the issue when Todd directly confronted him about his inconsistent policies.
“You found a way to allow the motion picture industry and the movie industry to get back to work, but you didn’t allow people to grieve together at funerals or at churches. This may be why there’s such a polarized disconnect. This is this anger between the populace and the elites, supposedly.”
This is when Gavin Newsom came in with his “we didn’t know what we didn’t know” statement.
“It was hardly ‘I’,” claimed Newsom, blaming the collective “we” instead.
“I think all of us in terms of our collective wisdom we’ve evolved. We’re experts in hindsight. We’re all geniuses now.”
California’s leader continued to pat himself on the back for bringing together “experts” from all over the globe to really reflect, “stress testing what we did right, what we did wrong.”
“We’re actually putting out a report as it relates to our own lessons learned. I think this country would do well to advance a similar construct.”
The analyses have been done, Governor Newsom, and all reports come back with the same mark. You led the single greatest failure in policy in recent American history and you continue to lead the way on heavy-handed ruling.
Kevin Kiley, a congressman representing California’s 3rd district, stated it perfectly on X.
“California was the single worst state in every way: the most onerous school shutdowns, business shutdowns, and church shutdowns; the most draconian mask mandates, vaccine mandates, and vaccine passports; the most complete collapse of checks and balances, personal liberties, and self-government.”
He continued:
“At every turn, Newsom prioritized getting himself in the headlines and rewarding Special Interests over the health and well-being of Californians. It was the most consequential political failure in modern American history – and the most disgraceful.”
One reader on a Wall Street Journal report, commented, “Plenty of serious science was available to lead the way to a better approach in 2020 and beyond. You snickered at the Great Barrington Declaration. You snickered over Sweden. You hyperventilated over Florida. Sorry, no possible mea culpa can now excuse your pathetic excuse for leadership in 2020-2022.”
Nailed it.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor for 19FortyFive.com. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
