Revolution in California

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

Governor Gavin Newsom of California ranks among the farthest left governors in the country.  During the coronavirus scare the hard left Democrat has issued a long line of totalitarian executive orders that, despite being illegal based on authorities granted by the State Constitution, has been largely enforced throughout the State.  While technically a deep blue State, most of California's geography lands in very conservative rural areas.  In short, the State has a Democrat super-majority in Sacramento due to the fact that the heavily populated metropolitan areas have a dictatorial stranglehold on the rest of the State.  That's what happens when you move a system to a pure democracy, which is also illegal according to Article IV., Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, where it states that States may only have republican forms of government.

As other States begin to consider reopening for business, as anti-body studies begin to reveal how foolish the "shelter-in-place" orders have been during the COVID-19 mild illness masquerading as a serious pandemic, and as our once booming economy reaches the line between being able to roar back, and a deep economic depression, folks are beginning to take action demanding that their States reopen.

Interestingly enough, one of the hot zones of protesting and defiance is coming out of California.

The State recently arrested a woman for organizing a protest in San Diego, threatening fines and jail time.  The message was sent that disobedience would not be tolerated.  A little over a week later the citizens of California either have not gotten that totalitarian memo, or they don't care what Sacramento or their county lap dogs have to say.

In the far northeastern corner of the Golden State the rural county of Modoc has decided it is time to get back to work.  As towns and the county slowly hummed back to life, in defiance of Governor Newsom's order to stay home, customers here and there began to return to life as it normally would be.  Local officials, led by Sheriff Tex Dowdy, have determined enough is enough, and the folks agree.

The county of 9,000 residents has had no cases of the coronavirus, and the land is so spread out that social distancing is kind of normal unless one goes to town.

There are still rules in Modoc.  Businesses may only allow half of their normal number into their locations, and the 6-feet-apart rule applies.  Otherwise, it's back to normalcy.  Church services will be returning tomorrow, hair salons and restaurants are opening today.  Even the small movie theaters plan to open.

Rural Modoc County isn't the only sign of defiance in California.  As Huntington Beach and Dana Point down in heavily populated Orange County voted to sue Sacramento for closing their beaches, the Orange County Sheriff, Don Barnes, pledged "not to take enforcement action."

At the State Capitol a woman struggled while
being detained by police officers wearing
masks and riot gear.
Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Orange County residents and officials have said they feel they are being singled out.

According to Trending Politics:

A leaked memo from Newsom’s office to the California Police Chief’s Association that surfaced Wednesday indicated that he planned to close all beaches and state parks indefinitely. But the order now just applies to those in Orange County. 

“We want you to see sunsets,” Newsom said. “We want you to enjoy activities outdoors. What they don't want is people congregating outside in large groups.”

Of course hard left Democrats don't want people congregating in large groups.  This has nothing to do with the virus, and everything to do with control.  Large groups, and people assembling together, make them harder to control.  Just ask any communist dictatorship in history who did the same.

Newsom officially closed the Orange County beaches on Thursday.  He specifically called out Newport Beach after tens of thousands of folks visited the Orange County shoreline during the hottest weekend of the year, so far.  In response, on Friday thousands gathered in front of the Huntington Beach Pier to protest Newsom's authoritarian order.

Police and Sheriff personnel were on hand, not to arrest, but to make sure everyone behaved themselves.  The rally poured into the streets, and surrounding public right-aways.

Newport Beach joined Huntington Beach and Dana Point in their defiance of Newsom's order, vowing to challenge the order at every turn.  In an emergency session, the Newport Beach city council voted to keep its beaches open and plan to meet again this weekend to "discuss legal options to challenge the directive."

Hundreds also visited Sacramento, packing the State Capitol, demanding that California be reopened.  Meanwhile, the health officer in Yuba and Sutter counties issued new orders that will allow gyms, nail salons, restaurants and shops to reopen on Monday.

While the protesters represent a minority of voters, it is believed, the real problem for Newsom is that local officials are jumping ship on him.  Without local officials agreeing to carry out his edicts, his power is nothing more than empty words.

One may see this as a great Tea Party moment, but in California, changing Newsom's mind with protests may prove to be a tall order.  In California less than one-quarter of voters are registered Republican and the GOP hasn’t won a statewide office in 14 years.  Recent polling shows Californian adults largely happy with how Newsom has handled the pandemic — 71% gave him high marks in a survey conducted by Northeastern, Harvard and Rutgers universities in the second half of April. Only 34% said the same about President Donald Trump.  Asked about the state government’s response, 78% of Californians said the state was “reacting about right.” Only 13% said the state was “overreacting.” And a mere 8% agrees with me and said that the country as a whole should end social distancing measures “immediately.”

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