Trump in court. Newsom in Florida. Clarence Thomas on a yacht.

And let’s not forget the Bud Light brother haha, an Idaho law that was meant to prevent girls from leaving the state to get an abortion and imprison Tennessee Republicans (and then be forced to reinstate )

two Democratic legislators

for leading a gun safety protest in the state General Assembly.

Then, not least, is the Texas ruling seeking to end access to a major drug for medical abortions.

It’s been a fire hose of news lately: stunning, historic Donald Trump becoming the first ever ex-president to be indicted and just plain weird.

Should Californians care about that?

Columnists Anita Chabria and Mark Z. Barabak discuss.

Chabria:

I admit, I don’t know how much crazier I can take from the national news. But there are some threads that tie it all together and tie it back to California in important ways. We see messages for the 2024 election taking shape on the right, but not as clearly for the Democrats.

When

Gavin Newsom announced he was going to Florida on a non-presidential candidate tour, I had visions of him doing tequila poppers with Judy Blume in Key West. But being the serious man that he is, he went to Sarasota and spent his time as a field researcher for the Democratic Party, testing messages on the national scene.

Newsom can do whatever he wants politically, a freedom many other aspiring Democrats, such as Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, lack. (Although he told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki that he had contacted President Biden before his foray into the southern states).

Whether Newsom is really trying to position himself for an eventual run at the White House, the governor of California and by extension California and his stance on diversity and inclusion will become a major part of this next presidential contest.

Much of the country is swinging hard to the right, with conservatives spreading fear

what they see as

a failed blue state, the reality is that we are becoming proof that civil rights and diversity are not the road to destruction that the Republicans claim.

How do you understand this flow of events?

Barabak: Is it possible to hibernate before all that snow melts in the Sierra?

I mean, it’s funny: Joe Biden’s campaign message for 2020, essentially what he would stop the madmen, bring the country back into balance, and rid us once and for all of the one-man national wrecking crew known as Donald Trump .

We can see how that worked out.

As for our frisky governor, I think it’s overly flattering to suggest that Newsom is doing a lot of meaningful spade work to boost Biden and the Democrats in 2024. I think the party would do just fine if, say, the governor chose to visit parts of red California that have long felt neglected and mocked by Sacramento, rather than roaming through Alabama and Arkansas.

There will be no end to the contrast between Biden and the Republicans who ultimately nominate for the White House, and the choice will be clear to voters in November 2024, even as Newsom watches from the sidelines.

Chabria: To me it amounts to insult

in return for

against defense. Right now the Republicans are on the offensive and setting the agenda of what we are talking about. Biden has largely adopted that elder statesman, above the fray attitude that he, as you point out, promised. Which is great.

Except we have a growing wave of fascists and Christian nationalists who don’t care about facts and who work far beyond the boundaries of traditional politics to take rights away from women, minorities and other vulnerable communities. Like the latest ruling on abortion in Texas.

I honestly don’t care about Newsom’s political future, but I do care about democracy. My father was a refugee, my mother was LGBTQ and I am a mixed race woman with mixed race daughters. So this is personal to me and I have genuine fears for the future. We cannot wait another year before collectively tackling this erosion of rights.

The closest Newsom has come to insulting Democrats, though Harris has stepped out more recently, with a trip to Africa that showed her in a much more personal light, and then a stop in Tennessee to support the two black legislators who were deposed for trying to introduce a little common sense into our gun laws.

Do you think this is the start of a higher profile for her?

Barabak: That seems to be the plan.

Part of that is the rhythm of the political calendar. (Can calendars be right?)

As the 2024 election year draws closer, we can expect both Biden and Harris to begin traveling more across the country, especially hitting the battleground states that will decide the race. The role of vice president has traditionally been the more overtly political of the two, giving the president, as discussed, a bit more above the fray.

And don’t forget that Harris was chosen as Biden’s running mate in large part for political reasons, namely to elevate his standing among Asian-American, Black and female voters, who will again be central to the success of the campaign. Democrats.

Portion of the

veep’

Veep’s heightened profile also seems to be pushing back a bit on the White House after yet another slew of reports questioning Harris’ abilities and even questioning whether she will be dropped from the Democratic ticket, which is a complete and totally non-starter, partly because of her above. – Listed ties to key groups.

Those who accompanied Harris through Africa, including our colleague, Courtney Subramanian, described a vice president who exuded more ease, confidence, and seemed more open than Harris during her not-too-successful domestic travels. We’ll see if that continues.

Chabria: That includes California’s two party tents politicians. What about the state itself?

Newsom advertises California as a haven for just about everyone, a place where LGBTQ families are safe and welcome, where we stockpile abortion drugs, and where we have sensible gun laws.

At the same time, San Francisco is where conservatives love to hate. except

,

Apparently Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who when he’s not sailing the world on his Nazi-obsessed corporate advantage hangs out with his neighborhood buddies in the secretive, all-male Bohemian Grove, where rich dudes privately do whatever rich dudes do.

That San Francisco-as-left-handed hell story was boosted by the recent fatal stabbing of tech entrepreneur Bob Lee and a much-hyped claim by former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines that she was assaulted at San Francisco State University after giving a speech against transgender women’s participation in women’s sports .

How do you find the rest America Thinks of California? Or do they think about us as little as we think about them?

Barabak: The eloquent answer is that they hate us because they are not us.

A more serious response is that there is a huge political and cultural divide between California and other Democratic-run states and the belligerent conservatism that is emerging in places like Florida and Texas, and the issues around that conflict between them will become guns, LGBTQ rights, school curriculum central to the 2024 presidential race.

No matter who wins the White House, that conflict will not go away.

It’s both sad and strange to remember

How

a little-known Illinois state senator by the name of Barack Obama

WHO

rose to fame overnight thanks to a speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention calling for an end to the division between red and blue America. Needless to say, that divide has since grown so wide that anyone making those kinds of speeches would likely be laughed at or booed from the convention podium.

Chabria:

You’re right. And if that gap continues to grow, we may be tasked not only with choosing who to vote for, but also where to feel safe and welcome. For me, I stick

to the Golden State. But let’s see where you belong with this quiz to identify your political homeland:

Snowboarding or waterboarding? Dylan Mulvaney or Mick Mulvaney? Bohemian Grove or Bohemian Rhapsody?

Barabak: I take snowboarding and Queen, thank you very much. But I confess, even though I’m familiar with Mick Mulvaney (the former South Carolina congressman and Trump chief of staff), I had to Google “Dylan Mulvaney” (the transgender social media star) to find out who she is.

Too bad, I know.

Chabria:

Dylan Mulvaney made a social media post with Bud Light, sparking a conservative meltdown that culminated in Kid Rock shooting beer cans. But I know you were on the slopes of Tahoe when that chaos ensued, so you’re forgiven.

And two out of three isn’t bad, we’ll keep you with the other coastal elites here.