By Kevin Kiley – November 12, 2024
Today, I am back in Washington, D.C. And the world has changed. The excitement in the air is palpable as we have within our grasp the power to restore some basic sanity to American life. Indeed, I believe we can unleash a golden age of American prosperity.
Yet there is one conspicuous fly in the ointment. Gavin Newsom has found his way to DC as well, supposedly to “lobby” our congressional delegation. He’s also just announced an “emergency” session of the Legislature to protect “California values.”
But Newsom’s clumsy attempt to appoint himself the leader of Resistance 2.0 faces a slight hurdle: Californians have made it extremely clear that he doesn’t represent our values at all. 70 percent of voters just repudiated his failed governorship by passing Prop. 36.
In fact, our initiative passed in every one of California’s 58 counties, including Newsom’s hometown of San Francisco. On top of that, two reckless district attorneys were ousted: Newsom appointee George Gascón lost in a landslide, and Oakland’s DA was recalled from office.
Yet it appears no lessons were learned. Newsom’s appointees on CARB have just imposed new regulations estimated to raise gas prices 85 cents. The good news is GOP Leader James Gallagher is planning a vote to reverse this latest assault on our quality of life.
Still, the Prop. 36 landslide is cause for great hope. It proves we have the power to override Newsom and the Supermajority. We can now pursue other ballot measures like Voter ID, School Choice, Water Storage, Lower Taxes, Ending Early Release, Protecting Girls Sports, and more.
Last Tuesday was a momentous double play: the American people rejected a campaign premised on California being a “model” for the nation, while at the same time, Californians themselves turned the page on that failed model in our own state.
It truly is a new day. As I said in my victory speech Tuesday night: Thank you for believing our communities are worth protecting, our state is worth fighting for, and our country is worth saving.
Kevin Kiley is a California Congressman
