California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, on Tuesday blasted “toxic right-wing populism” and described his state as an “antidote” to the fear-mongering policies sweeping across Republican-backed states.
“The California way of life as we know it is under attack,” Newsom said in the recording.State of the State Speech“To conservatives and delusional critics of California, their success depends on our failure.”
Governor Newsom accused Republicans of leading the country toward a “dark future” and warned that these politicians are intent on rolling back social, economic and racial justice, clean water and air policies and “fundamental fairness.”
The Governor’s State of the State address came just days after Newsom and the Legislature agreed to a $298 billion budget aimed at eliminating California’s looming $47 billion deficit.
Newsom argued that the agreement puts California on “strong financial footing.”
The governor’s address was originally scheduled for March but was postponed due to uncertainty surrounding his flagship Proposition 1, a ballot measure focused on helping the homeless and mentally ill that passed narrowly in the primary election.
In his address on Tuesday, Governor Newsom touted this small but important victory, describing these support services as “the largest effort in our lifetime to combat substance abuse and mental health.”
According to the governor, Proposition 1 would allow the state to create more than 11,000 additional beds and housing “for people living with the most challenging mental illnesses.”
He accused Republicans of “turning their backs” on the homeless issue and choosing inaction.
Newsom also accused conservatives of “slashing health care benefits through the distorted prism of political pandering and telling women they are not responsible for their own bodies.”
“Their draconian policies are forcing women to flee across state lines as fugitives from laws established by men more than 100 years ago,” the governor said.
Speaking about the issue of border security, Governor Newsom blasted Republican lawmakers for “choosing a dangerous path of chaos instead of doing our job on the border.” In particular, Governor Newsom criticized Republican lawmakers for repeatedly refusing to approve thousands of new patrol officers and millions of dollars in funding for border communities.
The governor similarly attacked right-wing policies on crime, criticizing the “red state approach” to the issue as “out of touch with reality” and preferring “distraction and distraction.”
“Republican states have higher rates of people being shot than Democratic states,” Newsom said, noting that eight of the 10 states with the most violent murder rates in the country are Republican.
“Cities like Jacksonville and Memphis have significantly higher murder rates than cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles,” he added.
The governor said the differences were due to California’s progressive gun safety laws and criticized conservative states for not following California’s lead.
“If every state in America and California had the same gun death rate over the last 10 years, 140,000 Americans would be alive today,” he said.
Governor Newsom also addressed the state’s leadership in fighting climate change and the electric vehicle sector, emphasizing that “without California’s clean air leadership, the global electric vehicle market would not exist.”
“California has figured out how to make this work many times over the decades,” he added.
