AMAC Exclusive – by Seamus Brennan
Though Larry Elder did not ultimately prevail in his long-shot bid to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) in Tuesday’s recall election, his defeat should not be discouraging to Californians wanting a real choice in government. In fact, this week’s election brought many hopeful signs for the future of the conservative movement and the Republican Party in California and elsewhere.
Here are five key takeaways from this Tuesday’s gubernatorial recall election in California.
California’s problems are now on full display—and Newsom is up for reelection next year
For the first time in recent memory, Elder’s campaign brought many of California’s longstanding problems to the forefront of our national discourse—problems that Newsom and his allies in the media have routinely ignored. Elder’s campaign motto, “We’ve got a state to save,” speaks to a profound disconnect between the rule of the progressive coastal elite and many who live under its rule. Under Newsom’s governorship, many have lost their jobs and watched their communities fall prey to rising taxes, crime, and homelessness. “It’s time to tell the truth,” Elder’s website declares. Even though his candidacy failed, tens of millions of Californians have now, perhaps for the first time, gotten a glimpse of the truth. Anger against Newsom’s autocratic policies has steadily increased—and that trend is likely continue.
Conservatism in California has a new face
The recall received widespread attention in the national media, which means millions of Americans are now well-acquainted with Larry Elder and his platform. Elder’s growth in both national popularity and in California politics is beneficial to the conservative movement in two ways: first, Americans now have a better grasp of why California is a failed state and why Gov. Newsom’s policies are harmful to Californians; and second, and perhaps most importantly, conservatives in California, of all backgrounds, can now coalesce behind Elder as the growing movement to save California marches forward. If Elder wants to, he likely has a good shot to be the Republican nominee for governor next year—when he will have far more time to make his case to voters.
Democrats were so scared that they had to drastically outspend Republicans
If the closing weeks of the recall campaign indicate anything about the current state of the Democrat Party, the overarching theme is that Democrats are scared. In the days prior to the September 14 election, Newsom recruited both President Biden and Vice President Harris to campaign on his behalf, called in former President Obama to cut an ad, and spent behemoths of cash. Newsom-allied forces opposing the recall raised an estimated $83 million leading up to Tuesday’s vote—nearly double the amount raised by all pro-recall effort candidates combined. Elder reportedly raised only $14 million. In the deep blue state of California, this pattern is in many ways shocking: if Newsom had to fight this hard and shell out this much cash to save his governorship in the biggest blue state in the nation, it seems clear Democrats will be facing a real battle next November.
Republicans are on track to win competitive House in CA districts next year
Spurred by Democrats’ political spending spree and Newsom’s no-holds-barred effort to smear Elder as an existential threat to Californians, Democrat turnout far exceeded that of Republicans. But even so, the “yes” vote on the recall is on track to outweigh the “no” votes in several competitive U.S. House districts, including Orange County. As journalist Dave Wasserman writes, “Even a 20-25% ‘No’ margin statewide” may be consistent with “an environment in which Republicans take back the House & Senate in 2022.” Should Wasserman’s prediction hold true, Newsom’s victory is far from the progressive triumph many Democrats are holding it up as; rather, if current trends hold, Newsom’s victory could quite easily give way to GOP House pickups in the far-left state and bolster Republicans’ chances of taking back the chamber next fall.
The problems with mail-in ballots were once again apparent
Regardless of whether voter fraud was a factor in the recall election, California’s voting process shows the dire need for states to enact voter integrity laws. On the heels of all the problems already associated with the massive use of mail in ballots in the 2020 presidential election, California still is allowing mail-in ballots to come in up to a full week after Election Day. Moreover, as Arizona senatorial candidate Blake Masters points out, the California voting envelopes are thin enough to see through with a cellphone flashlight and thus determine how one voted. If anything, this episode and others like it will encourage more states to enact laws that will protect the sanctity of the secret ballot and decrease the likelihood that questions will arise.
The movement to unseat Gov. Newsom in the deepest of blue states was always going to be an uphill battle, and Republicans ought not be discouraged by Tuesday’s results. Instead, they should look to Tuesday’s election and understand that Republicans are well positioned for victory next year and thereafter. As Elder said on Tuesday night, “We may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war.” And the war is only just beginning.
YOU GO LARRY!!! I happened upon your radio program and quickly became a must not miss. I admire you for pulling no punches and telling it like it is! I pray for your success and that that those who have allowed themselves to be miss led will have an AWAKENING from their wokeness.
California government has been rigged how can one party rule for so long. The Key is securing the voting process, break the biggest unions in the country, uncensored free speech/press and have better education not indoctrination going on in public schools by making an alternate choice for poor families and others.
Questions:
How many registered voters in CA Sept 2021?
How many actual votes counted FOR recall?
How many actual votes counted AGAINST recall?
Does total votes counted add up to more than total registered voters?
If so, the percentage of votes counted FOR or AGAINST is irrelevant!
All I heard was what PERCENTAGE of votes counted FOR or AGAINST. If mailed ballots actually allowed for a possibility of a “stuffed ballot box”, then stated results of the recall are questionable at best.
sad truth. California’s problems have been on full display for at least 50 years. THAT hasn’t prevented the mess they are now, just encouraged complacency on the way to the undeniable obvious disaster it is. Elder is a great American!!! end of story. Elder promised to replace newsome at al with sane, sentient action. result? rejection. cali is a self-destructive, at-all-cost, lost majority of morons, ie, democrat fear of thinking or, phronemophobia. “On track” only means you’re delusional. results from here on out are the ONLY evidence of winning vs. hopeful optimism that has led to the current state of destruction of “the land of milk and honey”. “mail-in ballots” USE is evidence CONSERVATIVES are not ready, willing, or committed to taking their state back, let alone the country. mail-in ballots are CONSERVATIVES EXCUSE to not roll up their sleeves and throw out all the (insert ALL your favorite labels you like to use for democrats, here) and take back your state. there are no hard results proving CONSERVATIVES are even capable, or concerned; just impotent.
It’s the only State so far that self screw themselves and I’m waiting now for the main election to see the rest that won’t stand over the corrupt communist democratic party as they will cheat.
I read “cheating” and “not fair”, yet wonder why the people do not care about not fair or cheating. Every state has election laws and those laws should be scrutinized to deliver a sense of fairness and one that prohibits cheating. This theme palys out all across America, much of it due to incompetent government officials. There are also federal election laws that have been ignored for decades. Voter removal is but one that has been ignored and is open to abuse and fraud.
All in all, We our country is a mess.
Not a fair election!!!
This is a Big VICTORY because we all got to see how the Demoncrats cheat in California elections.
I worked the polls in November and again on September 14. The mailing of ballots to everyone is a joke, so many people did not get their ballots and so many got multiple ballots. The blatant fraud and corruption is sickening and I can sadly say that in my opinion conservatives have no voice in California and no path to acquire one. The left will maintain control of the once beautiful state, continue to run it into the ground and the dictator governor will unleash more of his communist rules on his constituents. I pray daily for my state and country, God is our only hope. I would like to know where the republican leaders were in our recall fight…it is hard to discern them from the democrats. At least the communists fought for their guy, can’t say the same for the “right” side. I did not see any outpouring of support for any of the candidates from the republican party, knowing that putting a conservative in as governor of Kalifornia would really help the nation. Very hard to stay motivated to be involved.
as long as there are no ballot/voting integrity reforms and the continued use of the current voting machines conservatives will NEVER win another election …
I don’t see how Republicans can ever win against this continuing voting fraud. In addition to what was noted in the article, I’ve also read where countless people who tried to vote were told by poll workers that they’d already voted, despite the fact that they knew they most certainly had not voted. I’m also wondering if Dominion machines were again used.
For me, the sad matter is that the republicans don’t seem to be able to learn much of anything.
I see the opportunities being squandered again and again. When will they get their act together?
Who knows? While the democratic liberal game plan is easily recognized, the republicans seem inept at responding with working efforts that have much effect……reflecting their meager actions and repeated rhetoric as impotent at best and collusive at worst. It would seem the light at the end of the tunnel is a train.
Newsome is delusional like his relative Pelosi. Can you name 5 significant things Newsome has done for the people of California? How much money did Sorros contribute to Newsome to get him elected? There should be a mandatory spending limit per candidate, we all know this, so as to make it more obvious about the corrupt buying of votes. California would be so much better off with the ethical Red White & Blue Larry Elder. By putting the corrupt Newsome back in office is a major loss for the California people. How many more people and businesses will move out of CA? I know there are a lot of CA plates in CO and FL. Watch the tax increase and crime in CA under Newsome continue to increase. The people of CA got what was paid for and now will suffer the consequences. Another lets by the votes by the Dems scam. .I am sick of corrupt anti American politicians like Newsome and all the non sensical continual investigations. Corrupt officials should not be given a pass and allowed to retire with full benefits. They should be put in prison then executed for betraying the American trust and violating our Constitution.
Several women on TV said they went to the poles to vote and they were told they had already voted !!!!! We need to get rid of the machines and keep each vote w/each signature and when more people voted than are entitled to vote, we either vote again all over or that area’s votes don’t count. That’s why voter ID when voting is pertinent !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that picture is nothing like what our ballots looked like. The question on recall was a separate section under a ton of small print instructs. The selection of who to replace him was on a separate page. Stupidity on reading instructions could well be part of why he is still in place.
Unfortunately, we residents of the Peoples Republic of ☭alifornia are stuck with Governor Gruesome for at least one more year. And yes, the Demsheviks are running scared, because even they are beginning to see the writing on the wall. Like Bidense, Gruesome and all his toadies are like King Midas in reverse – almost everything they touch turns to crap, and they echo the universal Demshevik mantra, “We snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory!”
Larry Elder was the only refreshing person to come forward out of this recall effort. He will be a wonderful governor of California if he can beat Governor Gruesome next year. Let’s hope enough of the Demshevik lemmings wake up next year, recognize the magnitude of the problem(s) and vote for common sense.
Never underestimate the stupidity of the California voter.
The Marxist Democrats will use the same playbook next year: Trump hatred & fear, character assassination in lieu of arguing issues they lose big on, and their ace in the hole, VOTER FRAUD!
Unless we fix voter fraud … we will never have a fair election again!!
As long as the mail system is used in any phase of handling ballots (before or after marking by the voter) you will continue to have some level of rigging by the Democrat Party….period. And without an honest fair Constitutionally protected right of one-man-one-vote election process, you will NOT have a Constitutional Democracy balloting process. Using US mailing is to add haste to the voting process, but as far as actual political voting is concerned, HASTE MAKES WASTE as far as producing a guaranteed honest election. In case my point is not clear…. THE US MAIL SYSTEM SHOULD NOT DO ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH BALLOTS … PERIOD. it is okay to use the mail system to send bulk notices regarding voter sites, etc. but the actual balloting process should NOT has any connections with the voting process. There are so many ways the use of MAIL ballots pre-vote and post-voting is staggers the imagination as to how grossly it can be abused to rig an election result.
The problems with mail-in ballots were once again apparent.
How to Steal an Election = Mail-In Ballots
It’s easy to report the election results so quickly when you know the outcome before the election.
That stupid Californians would dump the worst governor in decades was always a long shot. Everyone knows that California is hopeless. Most of the people don’t think, but rather, like sheep, just accept what other leftists (like Los Angeles celebrities) tell them.
There’s no hope left now for the Republican Party to win Any elections now that the dems outnumber us so.
Where is the San Andreas Fault when you need it?
Gunrunner and other people including one of my brothers overlook an important part of the problem, most state legislatures and the federal are in session far too long each year which makes politicians introduce bills to occupy the time. Bob Casey is one of my senators and I don’t like him but one asinine complaint some in his party have about him is that he has not introduced enough new legislation. When Chuck Schumer mover from the House to the Senate he commented he had a passion to legislate. Somebody should have gone upside his head on the spot.
It doesn’t matter what lessons the Republicans learn, the fact is, they are a part of the problem, not the solution! We need to totally remove EVERY POLITICIAN, Democrat or Republican, and replace them with people who are determined to do the right thing and the will of the People, not fill their pockets with taxpayer money! One of the Founding Fathers, I don’t recall just who, said that the country will be in deep peril, once the representatives find out they can vote to give themselves the taxpayer’s money! Yes, that was paraphrased, but it is still the truth! A citizen once excoriated Davy Crockett for voting to pay a pension to the widow of a dead soldier, because it was NOT in the Constitution! We need to get back to following the Constitution, if we expect to survive as a nation. Or maybe that’s the goal of those who “Serve” US now? WE NEED TERM LIMITS, and NO RETIREMENT for Congressional representatives! Come to think of it, Term Limits would be a good idea for ANY Government worker, especially those SES slots…
My cousin, who lives in CA and is in an occupation normally loaded with liberals, received THREE mail-in ballots! Add to that, the multitudes who showed up to vote in person and were told that they had already voted!
Then we have a total media campaign supporting the deadbeat hypocrite and millions of Soros $$$ for nutty Newsom.
CA is lost for good!
The Recall election was stolen. We did not fail. Stop basing your stories on fake news.
It just might be a good idea to have someone who is actually qualified to be in charge of the state, not a radio talk show host.
“Regardless of whether voter fraud was a factor in the recall election…”
“…the California voting envelopes are thin enough to see through with a cellphone flashlight and thus determine how one voted.”
The point is gruesome newscum only won because of massive voter fraud. The demon-communist-cRATS will be doubling down on the fraud next year.
Got to clean up California election laws or the Dems will always win
The number one lesson by far is that honest elections matter. We will never have an honest election with mail-in balloting, ballot harvesting, no voter IDs at the polls, or any of the other tactics being pushed by the Democrats and the left. To the left, the ends always justify the means. Election integrity means nothing to them. They are determined to control the outcome of any election they can. There is no doubt at all that the recall had a lot of dishonesty involved whether it swayed the final outcome or not. It cannot be tolerated, and Pelosi is pushing the same fraudulent tactics nationwide. The fate of our nation depends in large part on honest elections so any scheme that is ripe for fraud must be condemned and defeated.
You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to know that California relished the Covid idea that mail in ballots had to be sent out to everyone that really made little sense unless they intended to cheat again. California has always been on the forefront of methods to develop tricks to foil elections in their favor. Amazing how fast the election was declared and no one came forward to say again it was a stolen election.
The real problem, as I see it, is that we have to get back to the concept of Election DAY; not Election Week, or Election Month, and certainly not voting by mail.
If people can’t find the time to carve out of one day each year to cast their ballot, then maybe voting isn’t that important to them. The only concessions I would make is to expand voting hours and locations where needed, and of course allow reasonable accommodations for those who have legitimate reasons why they can’t vote in person on Election Day.
Forgot to add that the Repubs (RNC) don’t really care about clown-show Kali- they are happy to sit on their hands, do only Fundraisers, wring their hands, clutch their pearls, and whine about how unfair everything is, while ignoring what real conservatives want. As a life-long Repub myself, I’m fed up with the feckless, spineless, do-nothing talking-heads that most establishment Repubs are.
And people showed up to vote only to be told they had already voted. Another rigged voting system and machines. Sound familiar?
Speaking as a fugitive from Commie-fornia, I saw how the well-oiled machine of corruption is so overwhelming in it’s complete control of tactics, narrative, and willing participants to ensure victory. These minions are like blind hypnotized zombies, marching in lock-step, like Nazis on parade, wearing their BLM shirts and “pink” hats, shouting down (and sometimes beating up) anyone that dares not show total submission to their narrative of extreme socialist/globalist/”Soro-ist” non-liberty compliance. The Leftist voters are crazy extreme activists, and don’t want to hear any dissension.
The people of California see and hear of the problems in their state first hand. If that’s not enough to recall Newsom then he will probably be reelected by the same group of blind and deaf folks.
Is this another TV reality show??? The Dems are not Dums! Pick your favorite act and vote up to 12 times each and every day and mail in your votes or call 1-800-FOOL-ME2
NSA knew they would cheat again and use Dominion. Their sting op worked again. It was all recorded in the broadcast. Going down.
Cali is a mess , Democratic Party !
Democrats won the recall election by cheating with faux ballots. They will win the 2022 California Governor election by repeating what they did to “win” the recall election.
Republicans will never win so long as those voting machines remain and, mail in ballots. Foolish to not face the real problem.
Unless the fraud is addressed and the repubs. get a backbone it will continue to get worse. Where are the law suites? What is the vote count? Conservatives trying to vote were told they already voted. California is done for. The only solution is for the feds to pull out all gov. activities. Then the “5th largest economy” will crumble over night since it depends on the feds. This will wake the public up on both sides
MOVE, I did.
Biggest issue:
Too many Republicans on the ballot.
Need GOP to work together and get one candidate with best chances to win.
Otherwise voters get confused and frustrated looking at many names and just pick the one they recognize.
Many do not consider the actual issues at hand when they are overwhelmed by too many candidates on a ballot.
Trust me on this.
California is a lost cause. It is a totally socialist/communist state with 47% registered democrats.