[Mick]

I’m absolutely with you, I can’t imagine two people that I would want  less in the Oval Office.

[Mick]

This article says it’s down to Newsom and Harris.

It’s already a two-person race for the 2028 Democratic nomination

Is it really, though?

Kamala Harris is unelectable, in my view. She and AOC are tied for the most incoherent national-level politicians. Either would be a disaster. She disappeared quickly as she dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primaries even before loony Marianne Williamson.

Newsom might be even more unelectable. Last June, the LA News likened Gavin Newsom to Bill Clinton. Most recently, Chris Hayes of MS Now and the NYT’s Ross Douthat made a compelling case that Newsom is more like Hillary than Bill:

1. Like HRC, he’s the ultimate lib, the libbiest lib who ever libbed…even though he’s not actually that liberal.
2. The Democratic base doesn’t trust him, because he’s essentially a centrist
3. Swing voters thing he’s a far-left liberal.

Basically, the worst of both political worlds.

Gavin Newsom faces the ‘Hillary Clinton problem,’ says TV host about gov’s 2028 ambitions – NewsBreak

Chris Hayes draws Clinton comparison for Newsom

[Mick]

Mamdani warns NYC faces fiscal crisis ‘greater than Great Recession.’ His plan? Raise taxes on richest New Yorkers, businesses to fill $12B deficit

Cost savings, tax increases. The usual. We’ll see if NYC breaks.

[Mick]

That’s a great rule of thumb. My practice has always been to hire great people or people of great potential, lightly manage them and get out of their way. Eleven CXOs in my business trained under me, my coaching tree so to speak.

I always had their back if they brought me a problem, issue, or concern. On the other hand, if I hear about it from an attorney, then my ability to help you is limited.

One Friday, I got a call from our COO (my boss) stating that I needed to have a call that afternoon with our CEO and our CHRO. That tightened up my O ring, let me tell you. Turns out, my head of marketing technology had inadvertently forwarded an extremely sensitive information package to a competitor. And she tried to hide it. And talented though she was, we had to let her go. I still think she’s the most talented person in that role in the industry. Couldn’t save her, wouldn’t try.

[Mick]

I do believe Newsom’s latest faux pas before the Black audience in Atlanta – vote for me because I’m as dumb as you are – doomed him.

Apparently, Newsom’s (and other Democrats) faux pas actually is an exposed pattern that Yale and Princeton researchers have uncovered, Cydney Dupree (Yale) and Susan Fiske (Princeton). They published a peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology with the conclusion: White liberals systematically present themselves as less competent when speaking to Black audiences than when speaking to white ones.

It even has a name: “Competence downshift.”

They analyzed 74 speeches given over 25 years of presidential campaign speeches and they found that Democratic candidates consistently used fewer words associated with intelligence, ability, and status when addressing Black crowds. Republican candidates showed no such pattern. The difference was not random. It was consistent, measurable, and unique to white liberals.

In other words, it wasn’t a bug when Newsom talked down to a Black audience. It was a feature. Newsom built his career through powerful connections, including ties to the Gettys, the Feinstein/Blum/CBRE family and the Pelosis. His dyslexia is real, but he navigated it with private school resources and generational stability, which is a fundamentally different experience than navigating it in an underfunded public school with no safety net.

<p data-t=”{"n":"blueLinks","t":13,"a":"click","b":76}”>When Newsom collapses that distinction to claim kinship with a Black audience in Georgia, he is not being vulnerable. He is borrowing from their story without having to pay for it.</p>

Opinion: Newsom’s ‘play dumb’ routine is not new — in fact, it has a clinical name

[Mick]

He also ticked off the LGBTQ community by stating that the Democratic Party needs to “be more culturally normal” and “less prone to spending a disproportionate amount of time on pronouns and identity.”

Newsom is touring Southern states. It’s exposing some hurdles in his path to 2028.

[Mick]

Perhaps alcohol consumption will increase as we head into the dark economic times…  😛

[Mick]

That would be my preference. Problem is that they will get skewered in the primaries, as everyone competes to see how far left they can be, how much money they can spend that they don’t have. At one time, the Democrats reflected the American melting pot; e.g., we’re all in this together, we’re all fairly equal, we have equal opportunity, we want to be judged on our character, united we stand, divided we fall, etc. Today’s Democratic party is a mosaic, or as P. J. O’Rourke used to say, a “compendium of nits and quarrels.” Their big challenge is that they don’t like or support each other very much, but their unspoken agreement is that they will support everyone’s cash grab.

It’s why Biden got elected. He was the lone, sane, moderate (so to speak) voice in the room, at least moderate compared to the Socialists — speaking of whom, Mamdani looks 100% clueless. Didn’t that deficit coming? Why not? Raising taxes on the middle class? Of course you have to. Ask Margaret Thatcher how well that worked out when she did a “poll tax.” That’s what drove her out of office.

Maybe Shapiro squeaks through. I’d prefer Beshear, he’s more likely to be both conciliatory and pragmatic and moderate. I was a bit surprised to see Buttigieg ID’d as a moderate, but…I get it.

[Mick]

Karl Rove says Newsom’s single greatest weakness heading into 2028 is his horrific record as California’s governor:

• 32nd on the economy
• 36th in pre-K-12 education
• 43rd in public safety
• 42nd on fiscal stability
• 45th on growth
• 46th on employment
• 50th for opportunity
• 50th for quality of life
• Housing cost literally twice the national average. Only Hawaii and District of Columbia are more expensive.

Karl Rove Reveals Gavin Newsom’s Greatest Weakness

[Mick]

Emerson college poll indicates that Republican Steve Hilton leads California gubernatorial candidates:

1. Hilton, 17%
2. Riverside county sheriff Chad Bianco (R) 14%
3. Eric Swalwell (D) 14%
4. Katie Porter (D) 10%
5. Tom Steyer (D) 9%

Hilton also picks up the most independent support at 22%.

[Mick]

Two more items on AOC…

She tried to bash Trump for kidnapping a head of state “just because the nation is south of the equator.” Umm…Venezuela is north of the equator there, Ms. Geography Major.

She tried to fact-check Rubio on American cowboys coming from Spain…claiming the first cowboys were Mexican and Black. Actually, Rubio was right…here’s the clean lineage:

• Spain brought the key ingredients to the Americas in the 1500s: horses, cattle, ranching laws, and horsemanship (much of it shaped by Iberian traditions).
• In New Spain (Mexico and the Spanish borderlands—Texas, New Mexico, California, etc.), ranch work evolved into the vaquero system (from vaca, “cow”).
• Those vaqueros were the first true “cowboy-style” cattle workers in North America, and they were often Mexican/Spanish-colonial people, including mestizo and Indigenous vaqueros, and later Black and Indigenous cowhands as the cattle economy spread.
• The iconic U.S. cowboy of the 1800s borrowed a ton directly from that vaquero world: lasso/rope work, saddles, chaps (from chaparreras), spurs, branding practices, and even a bunch of vocabulary.

So: the roots are Spanish (through colonial Mexico), the first cowboy culture in North America was vaquero, and the American cowboy is essentially a later remix that spread north and east from that base.

[Mick]

Zohran is inheriting a $12 billion city deficit in a city which has the highest taxes in the country. Can’t wait to see how he addresses it. NYC faces $12B budget deficit, drawing comparison to 2008 financial crisis – as Zohran Mamdani uses dire forecast to push taxing the rich His comptroller said that overwhelming spending is the problem, so of course Mamdani wants to increase taxes on the rich…

Budget deficit is currently down to $5.4 billion. Mamdani has planned a 9.5% property tax increase along with a $1 billion withdrawal from the city’s reserve funds. State law requires a balanced budget. Higher-than-expected tax revenues from the COVID era are now gone, and the generous federal aid has (as you might expect) vanished.

Mamdani has also called for raising taxes on corporations and wealthy New Yorkers to fund his expansion of city services.

Austerity socialism

[Mick]

Katie Porter polling second behind…Eric Swalwell. I’m assuming that Swalwell has ditched the Chinese spy he was squiring.

Katie Porter’s chances of winning California primary: Poll

1. Swalwell, 23%
2. Porter, 14% of Democratic votes, 10% overall
3. Tom Steyer, 12%
4. Xavier Becerra, 6%.

Republican Steve Hilton has 38% of Republican vote, Chad Bianco has 37%.

[Mick]

And the list gets smaller! Four businesses have or will return to their former locations. New closings openings in bold:

Retailers are returning to Union Square – in the same locations where they closed

1. 24-Hour Fitness
2. 7-Eleven
3. A Miner Miracle Shop
4. Abercrombie & Fitch
5. Adidas
6. Agent Provocateur
7. Aldo
8. Alessi
9. Alexander McQueen
10. AllSaints
11. Amazon Go
12. American Eagle Outfitters
13. Amy Kuschel Bride
14. Anthropologie
15. Archive
16. Arc’teryx
17. Armani Exchange
18. AT&T
19. Athleta
20. Babette
21. Banana Republic
22. Bank of America (brand on 1 Market Street)
23. Barneys New York
24. Bed Bath & Beyond
25. Benefit
26. Blondie’s Pizza (relocated)
27. Bloom Room, The
28. Bloomingdale’s
29. Bristol Farm
30. Brooks Brothers
31. Bucherer / Rolex
32. Burke Williams Spa
33. California Girl Jewelry
34. Camper Shoes
35. CB2
36. Charley’s Cheesesteaks
37. Christian Louboutin
38. Century Theaters
39. Cinemark Multiplex
40. Coach
41. Coco Republic Furniture
42. Cole Haan
43. Container Store, The
44. Crate & Barrel
45. Crunch Gym
46. Cuyana
47. CVS Pharmacy
48. Denny’s
49. Diana Slavin
50. Diesel
51. Disney Store
52. Doc Martens
53. DSW/Designer Shoe Warehouse
54. Ecco
55. eDressit
56. Ethos
57. Express
58. Fabric Outlet
59. Façonnable
60. Farinelli Decorative Arts
61. Fires of Brazil Express
62. First Republic Bank
63. Forever 21
64. Forum
65. Gallery of Jewels
66. GameStop
67. Gap, The
68. Good Vibrations
69. Goorin Brothers
70. Green Arcade Bookstore
71. G-Star
72. H&M
73. Harputs
74. Hollister
75. Huntington
76. Icebreaker
77. In-N-Out Burger
78. It’Sugar
79. IWC Schaffhausen
80. Izzy & Wooks
81. J. Crew
82. Jamba Juice
83. Jeffrey’s Toys
84. Jimmy Choo
85. Jimmy Choo Men’s
86. Jin Wang Bridal
87. Jins Eyewear
88. John Varvatos
89. Johnny Was
90. Jos. A. Bank Clothier
91. Journeys
92. Jug Shop
93. Kate Spade
94. Klaus Murer Swiss Jeweler
95. Kohl’s (27 closings nationwide)
96. KPMG – Leaving their $400 million name building
97. L’Occitane
98. La Cocina
99. La Perla
100. Lacoste
101. Lego Stores
102. Lily Samii Collection
103. Longchamp
104. Lucky Brand
105. Lululemon
106. Lush
107. Madewell
108. Makeshop by Brit + Co.
109. Margaret O’Leary
110. Marlowe
111. Marmot
112. Marni
113. Marshall’s
114. Mashaallah Halal Pakistani Food
115. MCM Worldwide
116. McDonald’s (closed after 30 years)
117. MedMen
118. Mephisto
119. Merrell
120. Michael Kors
121. Mija Cochinita
122. Milk Tee
123. Miller & Lux Provisions (Tyler Florence owner of Wayfare Tavern closed this patisserie and sister rotisserie cafe. SF gave him a grant of $440k just two years ago to open it)
124. New Balance
125. Nordstrom – Closing all San Francisco stores, not just Union Square
126. Nordstrom Rack
127. North Face
128. Oak & Fort
129. Oakley
130. Office Depot
131. Old Navy
132. Omega
133. Ordinary, The | DECIEM
134. Panda Express
135. Panerai
136. Paper Source
137. Peet’s
138. Psycho Bunny
139. Puma
140. Rae | Costumes
141. Ray Ban
142. Razer Computer
143. RealReal, The
144. Richemont
145. Ria’s Shoes
146. Rims & Goggles
147. Rolex
148. Saks Fifth Avenue
149. Saks Off Fifth
150. Samsonite
151. San Francisco Town Centre
152. Sarku Japan
153. Scotch & Soda
154. See’s Candies
155. Sentiero
156. Sephora
157. Shake Shack
158. Shreve & Company Jewelers
159. Starbuck’s (Two closings three more by 2025)
160. Steve Madden
161. Subway
162. Sunglass Hut
163. Taco Bell
164. Tad’s Steakhouse
165. Target
166. Ted Baker
167. The Body Shop
168. Theory
169. Thomas Pink
170. Tina’s Jewelry
171. T-Mobile
172. Tourbillon Boutique
173. TSE
174. TUMI
175. Umai Savory Hot Dogs
176. Uniqlo
177. V Boutique
178. Vans
179. Veo Optics
180. Vilebrequin
181. Walgreen’s (closed nine SF stores between 2021 and 2024, twelve more closed in February 2025, two were in Union Square)
182. Warby Parker
183. Westfield Mall
184. Wetzel’s Pretzels
185. Whole Foods
186. Williams Sonoma
187. Wolford
188. World of Charms
189. Yotel
190. Zadig & Voltaire
191. Zara
192. Zumiez

• This reply was modified 1 month, 4 weeks ago by Mick.

[Mick]

According to this article, AOC’s standing stayed about the same after her abortive appearance at the security conference:

How AOC’s presidential odds stand after Munich appearances

In other words, she’s still way behind Newsom for the nomination.

[Author]

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