No, this isn’t a new season of the Simple Life. It’s not an April Fool’s joke. It’s liberal, coastal elite Gavin Newsom heading down South this weekend to lecture red states about the superior way he’s managed his state into the ground and how they should follow his lead. 

Over the next few days with his newly-launched PAC, he’ll hit the road to try to blend in as an Arkansas Lovin’ Man, he’ll be  Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good), and he’ll bring some out-of-touch lessons to Sweet Home Alabama.

It’s hard to say what wisdom he thinks he can impart on these red states as he attempts to “fight back” against their elected Republican leaders. O Brother, Where Art Thou common sense? The only thing a California Democrat like Gavin Newsom can lecture red states on is how not to govern. 

We know just a few things he won’t be talking about:

• California’s love of bans that includes banning travel to 23 states (including the ones Newsom is visiting this weekend), preparing to ban gas-powered cars, and considering a  ban on skittles. 
• California’s declining population that includes 700,000 residents who have moved away in the last two years, more than any other state in the nation. Where are they going? Red states like Florida and Texas have picked up more new residents than anywhere else.
• California’s lackluster economy that forced thousands of businesses to close their doors. California  ranks 43rd in state unemployment rates while each state he’s visiting ranks much more favorably.
• California’s disastrous budget that over the course of one year went from a $100 billion surplus to a $30 billion deficit.
• California’s failing schools after keeping them closed longer than any other state during the pandemic. While Mississippi has been lauded for its success in boosting literacy in the state, California has the lowest  literacy rate in the nation.
• California’s homeless crisis that today includes half of the nation’s unsheltered population despite billions of dollars spent by Newsom.

Newsom may hope that, like Forrest Gump, the road to the White House starts in Alabama, but he likely won’t be so lucky.  7 out of 10 Californians don’t even want him to run for president. Instead, this Ramblin’ Man will embark on a tour to lecture other states about his own failed policies and remind many new red-state residents of why they left California in the first place.

“California is not the ideal model for the rest of the nation that Gavin Newsom pretends it is. When red states want a lesson in how to drive their state to the top of all the wrong lists, they’ll know who to call. In the meantime, Newsom’s energy would be better spent trying to fix the many problems he’s created at home.” – CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson