Newsom's Pandemic and Rail Record as a Voter Checklist for Evaluating Candidates
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "Gov. Newsom’s Election Guide | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." October 29, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author says Newsom's own record on COVID lockdowns, his deference to Fauci, and his flip-flop on the bullet train make a handy list of questions to put to candidates. Voters should ask whether candidates would repeat those choices and whether they have regrets. California's low freedom rankings are offered as further evidence of how that approach played out.
Conclusion
Voters nationwide should use Gov. Newsom's pandemic-era policies, his deference to Fauci, and his bullet-train flip-flop as a checklist of questions for candidates, because those episodes reveal poor judgment, hypocrisy, and wasteful governance that candidates should be made to account for.
Premises
- Newsom has admitted that closing beaches was 'insane' and that he regretted not reopening schools sooner, which shows his lockdown policies were mistaken, especially for children, who were least vulnerable to COVID.
- Newsom shuttered 'nonessential' businesses without warning or compensation, imposed strict gathering rules, and attended the upscale French Laundry unmasked while telling others to keep masks on, which shows hypocrisy and overreach.
- Newsom's rules were announced by Fauci, an official never Senate-confirmed, who claimed to represent 'science' and dismissed critics, and Newsom never challenged him, which shows uncritical deference to unaccountable federal officials.
- Newsom called the bullet train a burden that would not materialize in our lifetime, then reversed himself as governor and now says track will soon be laid, despite costs rising from $33 billion to $68 billion, which shows inconsistency and support for wasteful projects.
- The Cato Institute ranks California 44th overall and 48th in economic freedom, which suggests Newsom's governance has reduced freedom in the state.
Assumptions
- Newsom's pandemic policies were substantially mistaken, and hindsight judgments of them are fair.
- Newsom's record is representative of the kind of decisions candidates elsewhere might make or have made.
- Asking candidates about past pandemic decisions is a useful predictor of their future governance.
- Lack of Senate confirmation undermines the legitimacy or reliability of an official's advice.
- Cato's freedom index is a valid measure and Newsom's policies are the cause of California's low ranking.
- A politician's change of position on the bullet train indicates poor judgment rather than legitimate updating on new information.