I covered Steyer in the NH Primary in '19/20 and "gimmicks" is certainly accurate to describe it (the amount and seriousness of the EOs he promised to issues on "day one"--including a national emergency declaration, not about immigration, but climate change--that would make Trump blush). Nothing I read here about his run for CA Gov suggests he's changed--all hat.
It feels like we just got a peek at the sensational candidate for clicks rather than education. Can we get some background on the others for comparison, at the very least to put Steyer's candidacy in context.
While it's refreshing to see a billionaire who claims he doesn't think he did it all by himself, I'm kind of in wealth cap and wealth confiscation mode, so it's not totally working for me. But, I don't live in California, so he need not convince me.
I imagine Democratic voters are smarter than Republican voters and will be hard to convince that the billionaire is the champion of the forgotten American.
His hearts in the right place but I question his judgement. That Steyer can't recognize how WRONG he is for this moment is problematic to say the least.
Is anti-billionaire bigotry possible? Should we judge people not by the contents of their wallet but by the content of their character? Count this social democrat as a resounding "yes". Actions and checkbooks speak louder than caricatures. As long as a Big Tent is needed to overcome extreme rightwing rule, we need progressive capitalists as well as moderates, liberals and democratic socialists. Much as I love Bernie Sanders, one flaw in his message is the lumping together of all billionaires. The FDR analogy should not be overlooked. Gov. Pritzker should be given a shot at the top based on his political record rather than baselessly nuked for his economic status. Same goes for Steyer.
I'm for Talarico. His story and his demeanor are great assets. I think he is more level headed and less hot headed. She has done an amazing job slapping the idiots down. But that isn't as useful in the Senate as it is in the House.
It doesn't matter what I think. I live in Florida.
You could probably win a bet asking who finished 3rd in the South Carolina Democratic Primary. As nauseating as Steyer’s campaign was, he beat out we’ll run campaigns like Klobuchar & Mayor Pete as well as poorly run ones like Warren and Gabbard.
Let’s be honest … Jasmine Crockett is doing the thing that so many Republicans do. Instead of running for a seat she could win, she is running for a high-profile seat where she can raise a bunch of money from donors that have nothing better to do. Then she gets her ass kicked in the election and takes the money to be an MSNBC “analyst” where she gets to talk the same nonsense.
Not sure how this is relevant to the article, but what's wrong with a primary? I think Talarico is the better candidate, and the better candidate to win the state, but why not let two up-and-comers work on their electoral chops a bit? I was going to vote for the less corrupt person in the in the republican primary, but the winner of the democratic primary has a better chance if Paxton is the republican candidate. He's a horrible person with receipts.
Nothing wrong with a primary was just emphasizing how her bid is unserious and how she has mimicked so many right-wingers that take this strategy because they don’t want to legislate and just are looking for cable news money deals.
If Jasmine Crockett were serious then she wouldn’t be making comments the way the article points out so I was just commenting on that part of the article. I don’t know much about Talarico but I imagine he is taking this seriously and at least positioning himself where he could win in a massive wave election.
Any serious Democrat in these elections has to run in the state they are in. Democrats won Alabama in 2017 because they had Doug Jones. So when Roy Moore who was gonna win despite a myriad of controversies (a la Ken Paxton) finally got one that stuck that he was a pedophile that preyed on teenagers the Democrats only won the narrow election because they had a serious candidate in Doug Jones that appealed to the most possible Alabamans.
Same with Collin Aldred last year he kept it within 10 points despite Kamala Harris so he could’ve won if there was an Obama 2012 candidate who was able to let help Heitkamp win in deep red North Dakota.
I despise Ken Paxton like everyone should. I also know it’s almost impossible to defeat him. I just wish that the Dems give themselves an outside chance but Rep Crockett is clearly in it for her own motives. Otherwise she wouldn’t be running a campaign like it was Massachusetts.
I don't think she would call her bid unserious. She's popular for asking genuine questions and reacting in a relatable way. If that automatically means she's vying for a cable news desk job to you, I'm not sure what else I can say.
She knows what she’s doing. She’s tanking any chance she would have in order to say obnoxious stuff and profit off of being a troll. You see this all the time on the Republican side now call it out on the Democratic side.
I’m sure Carl Palladino would’ve told you he was gonna win in New York in 2010 governor race by saying the most right wing anti-gay racist remarks in a state that voted 25+ points for Obama 2 years earlier.
Jasmine Crockett is a fraud. Trump won Texas by 13 points in 2024. So tell me how making racist comments about Latinos and complaining of “white privilege” is going to win in a state like Texas?
Believe me I hope I’m wrong. I hope that when she loses and gets her ass kicked she just shuts up and goes away. But we live in a culture where losers get rewarded…just look at the entire Fox News lineup. Judge Jeanine tried to run for both senate and New York Attorney General in 2006. Then she joined Fox News right after in 2006 now she has right wing fame and money but zero integrity.
Yeah, God forbid a Black woman speak her mind (fyi, sarcasm and eye roll for those who don’t get it). Some of us are glad she has the guts no one else has to say what plenty of others in office are thinking.
I'm not a Californian, but I was for a period of time (about 9 years including college) ending 3 decades ago. So, take my comment as you will.
Steyer should be asked the question, "Would you approve of new housing in or next to your neighborhood?" This should be a litmus test, and the answer should be, "yes." If he waffles or says, "No," then he's failed.
If I recall correctly, and I may be wrong, he has failed at every political thing he has tried to do. There's a reason for that, and that first intro-ad displays how wooden and unrelatable he is. I did want to like him years ago, but could not. He is not genuine, and he cannot play like he is genuine. Native Californian, 79, lived here most of my life, except for college and several jobs after. I would never vote for Steyer.
Oh, and doing his ads on X? That alone is enough for me to not only vote against him, but to also campaign against him.
Eric Swallwell. Steyer has a really cute holiday ad but.......I'm backing Eric Swallwell.
I covered Steyer in the NH Primary in '19/20 and "gimmicks" is certainly accurate to describe it (the amount and seriousness of the EOs he promised to issues on "day one"--including a national emergency declaration, not about immigration, but climate change--that would make Trump blush). Nothing I read here about his run for CA Gov suggests he's changed--all hat.
It feels like we just got a peek at the sensational candidate for clicks rather than education. Can we get some background on the others for comparison, at the very least to put Steyer's candidacy in context.
Fantastic article! Lauren, please keep covering the California Governor race.
While it's refreshing to see a billionaire who claims he doesn't think he did it all by himself, I'm kind of in wealth cap and wealth confiscation mode, so it's not totally working for me. But, I don't live in California, so he need not convince me.
I imagine Democratic voters are smarter than Republican voters and will be hard to convince that the billionaire is the champion of the forgotten American.
His hearts in the right place but I question his judgement. That Steyer can't recognize how WRONG he is for this moment is problematic to say the least.
Honestly, I’m not paying much attention to the governor’s race right now. Waiting to see who is actually on the ballot for June.
Is anti-billionaire bigotry possible? Should we judge people not by the contents of their wallet but by the content of their character? Count this social democrat as a resounding "yes". Actions and checkbooks speak louder than caricatures. As long as a Big Tent is needed to overcome extreme rightwing rule, we need progressive capitalists as well as moderates, liberals and democratic socialists. Much as I love Bernie Sanders, one flaw in his message is the lumping together of all billionaires. The FDR analogy should not be overlooked. Gov. Pritzker should be given a shot at the top based on his political record rather than baselessly nuked for his economic status. Same goes for Steyer.
Thanks for linking to the Paul Fineman story. I admire an honest man.
Credit to Steyer he really does represent white guys trying to dance to hip-hop. Best since Mark Madsen during Shaq’s Championship Rap:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_1ciMXvSE8U&pp=ygUeTWFyayBtYWRzZW4gY2hhbXBpb25zaGlwIGRhbmNl0gcJCTwKAYcqIYzv
I'm for Talarico. His story and his demeanor are great assets. I think he is more level headed and less hot headed. She has done an amazing job slapping the idiots down. But that isn't as useful in the Senate as it is in the House.
It doesn't matter what I think. I live in Florida.
You could probably win a bet asking who finished 3rd in the South Carolina Democratic Primary. As nauseating as Steyer’s campaign was, he beat out we’ll run campaigns like Klobuchar & Mayor Pete as well as poorly run ones like Warren and Gabbard.
This was a weird article. It feels like insincerity describing insincerity. Is this a double negative thing?
Let’s be honest … Jasmine Crockett is doing the thing that so many Republicans do. Instead of running for a seat she could win, she is running for a high-profile seat where she can raise a bunch of money from donors that have nothing better to do. Then she gets her ass kicked in the election and takes the money to be an MSNBC “analyst” where she gets to talk the same nonsense.
Not sure how this is relevant to the article, but what's wrong with a primary? I think Talarico is the better candidate, and the better candidate to win the state, but why not let two up-and-comers work on their electoral chops a bit? I was going to vote for the less corrupt person in the in the republican primary, but the winner of the democratic primary has a better chance if Paxton is the republican candidate. He's a horrible person with receipts.
Nothing wrong with a primary was just emphasizing how her bid is unserious and how she has mimicked so many right-wingers that take this strategy because they don’t want to legislate and just are looking for cable news money deals.
If Jasmine Crockett were serious then she wouldn’t be making comments the way the article points out so I was just commenting on that part of the article. I don’t know much about Talarico but I imagine he is taking this seriously and at least positioning himself where he could win in a massive wave election.
Any serious Democrat in these elections has to run in the state they are in. Democrats won Alabama in 2017 because they had Doug Jones. So when Roy Moore who was gonna win despite a myriad of controversies (a la Ken Paxton) finally got one that stuck that he was a pedophile that preyed on teenagers the Democrats only won the narrow election because they had a serious candidate in Doug Jones that appealed to the most possible Alabamans.
Same with Collin Aldred last year he kept it within 10 points despite Kamala Harris so he could’ve won if there was an Obama 2012 candidate who was able to let help Heitkamp win in deep red North Dakota.
I despise Ken Paxton like everyone should. I also know it’s almost impossible to defeat him. I just wish that the Dems give themselves an outside chance but Rep Crockett is clearly in it for her own motives. Otherwise she wouldn’t be running a campaign like it was Massachusetts.
I don't think she would call her bid unserious. She's popular for asking genuine questions and reacting in a relatable way. If that automatically means she's vying for a cable news desk job to you, I'm not sure what else I can say.
She knows what she’s doing. She’s tanking any chance she would have in order to say obnoxious stuff and profit off of being a troll. You see this all the time on the Republican side now call it out on the Democratic side.
I’m sure Carl Palladino would’ve told you he was gonna win in New York in 2010 governor race by saying the most right wing anti-gay racist remarks in a state that voted 25+ points for Obama 2 years earlier.
Jasmine Crockett is a fraud. Trump won Texas by 13 points in 2024. So tell me how making racist comments about Latinos and complaining of “white privilege” is going to win in a state like Texas?
Believe me I hope I’m wrong. I hope that when she loses and gets her ass kicked she just shuts up and goes away. But we live in a culture where losers get rewarded…just look at the entire Fox News lineup. Judge Jeanine tried to run for both senate and New York Attorney General in 2006. Then she joined Fox News right after in 2006 now she has right wing fame and money but zero integrity.
Yeah, God forbid a Black woman speak her mind (fyi, sarcasm and eye roll for those who don’t get it). Some of us are glad she has the guts no one else has to say what plenty of others in office are thinking.
I'm not a Californian, but I was for a period of time (about 9 years including college) ending 3 decades ago. So, take my comment as you will.
Steyer should be asked the question, "Would you approve of new housing in or next to your neighborhood?" This should be a litmus test, and the answer should be, "yes." If he waffles or says, "No," then he's failed.
He gives off an “I alone can fix it” vibe.
No
F’n
Way, daddy.
If I recall correctly, and I may be wrong, he has failed at every political thing he has tried to do. There's a reason for that, and that first intro-ad displays how wooden and unrelatable he is. I did want to like him years ago, but could not. He is not genuine, and he cannot play like he is genuine. Native Californian, 79, lived here most of my life, except for college and several jobs after. I would never vote for Steyer.
Oh, and doing his ads on X? That alone is enough for me to not only vote against him, but to also campaign against him.