Fresh off of canceling the high speed bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Governor Gavin Newsom has a new vision for California. The state will be a Nation-State all because, say it with me, Orange man bad. Yes, Donald Trump has so poisoned the entire United States of America, the Golden State must go it alone to preserve its values. Stop laughing. I see you over there.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports, with a straight face:

… Newsom hopes he can preserve enough political capital to get his own legacy projects on the fast track. If he can do that, he can lead California down its own path for as long as Trump is president. California must go it alone, because Trump’s portrait of America is “fundamentally at odds with California values,” the governor said Tuesday in his first State of the State speech.

One must ask at this point, what are California values? Highest state income tax in the whole country, check. Banning of plastic bags and straws, check. Casting couch cretins, check. Number 15 state for violent crime, check. Highest poverty rate in the country, check. Number four state for income disparity, check. Number two for highest cost of living, check. Number 35 in education, check. Fuhgeddaboud building a new house. Oh, and remember when the state lawmakers partied while California burned? Read Nina’s post here. But, the orange man is bad and doesn’t represent California values. Thank goodness.

Remember when this was how we thought of California?

I have to tell you that I lived in the O.C. in the late 80’s. I lived less than a mile from Laguna Beach. I cried for two straight days when we got transferred out of the state. It was paradise then. No mas.

Just what does Governor Newsom foresee for the state he now leads. From the article:

So while the White House is “laser-focused on destroying the Affordable Care Act,” as Newsom said Tuesday, he proposes that California offer its own health-insurance subsidies to families earning up to $150,000. He wants to expand Medi-Cal coverage to all Californians, including undocumented immigrants, until they are 26. To counter what Newsom characterized as a “so-called emergency” at the nation’s southern border, he said Monday that California will remove its National Guard troops stationed there and redeploy them to take care of state issues like wildfire protection and the eradication of illegal cannabis farms. Newsom even appointed California’s own surgeon general — Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician who is the chief executive of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco.

Since Trump and the GOP-led Congress passed a new tax law that largely benefited the wealthy, Newsom wants California to expand its earned income tax credit to “a million more Californians who need it the most.” Newsom has already proposed that California extend paid family leave and offer universal preschool and free community college to help low-income residents, since little is being done in Washington to address wealth inequality.

Wait just a hot minute there, Gav. The state with the highest income tax and number four for income disparity, despite 700 years of Governor Moonbeam wants to lecture President Donald J. Trump on taxes and income disparity. Hold on, I have to wipe off my screen. I did a spit take with my Diet Coke.

And, according to some random Democrat State Senator, California must stand alone because “The federal government is no longer a reliable partner in delivering health care, in supporting immigrants, supporting LGBT people, in protecting the environment” and so on. The idea of the “federal government” delivering health care the way it delivers the mail is terrifying.

Governor Newsom plans to fund this nation-state largesse with a projected $21.6 billion surplus, which includes $3.5 billion from the above cancelled train to nowhere which came from Federal funds aka the United States taxpayers aka you and me. Twitchy.com has a wonderful post about the cancellation and the Golden State can be compelled to return the funds. Oops, there goes part of the “projected” surplus.

Plus, California needs tons of Federal funds to recover from the wildfires that were so horrific the last couple of years. Well, since part of the devastation was caused by the state’s mismanagement of lands, why should you and I tote the note?

Dear Governor Newbeam: Going it alone and being a nation-state means you don’t rely on the funds of the rest of us. Sincerely yours, Tennessee.

I like Governor Newbeam. It’s like Governor Moonbeam but retread for the new millennium. One last problem with your whole nation-state kingdom thing Gavin. A net of approximately one million people dribbled out of California in the last decade. There goes another part of your projected surplus, buddy. Oh well, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown in the nation-state of California.

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