Visitor Commentary written by
John Kim
John Kim is the president and CEO of Catalyst California. He’s a founding accomplice of We Are California.
Sabrina Smith
Sabrina Smith is the CEO of California Calls. She is a founding accomplice of We Are California.
Because the election, there was a whole lot of finger-wagging about what occurred in California.
Headlines proclaimed that California shifted to the best, that our values of inclusion and care are accountable. Centrist Democrats and conservative pundits alike declare the Democratic Get together has gone too far to the left.
This oversimplified narrative overlooks an essential crimson flag: the unchecked energy of company billionaires who spent closely peddling lies and misinformation. Even worse, it succeeds in doing exactly what the political proper and Trump need — to divide working individuals, blame immigrants and different weak Californians, whereas billionaires line their pocketbooks.
The $259 million that Elon Musk spent to get Trump elected and purchase his position within the administration has been properly coated, as has the position of enterprise capitalist Peter Theil in bankrolling JD Vance’s political profession.
What obtained much less consideration was the mountain of cash that company giants in actual propertyretail and oil spent on this election to mislead voters and shield their backside traces.
In Oakland, for instance, a single billionaire funded the mayoral recall marketing campaignwhereas a consortium of rich buyers spent closely to focus on progressive district attorneys in Los Angeles and Alameda County. Actual property companies and enterprise teams spent tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to defeat poll measures that may have raised wages for hard-working individuals, protected renters and made it simpler to construct extra reasonably priced housing — all whereas claiming that they had been good guys searching for renters and employees.
As an alternative of pointing to company billionaires who price the state wins on pocketbook points like reasonably priced housing and minimal wage, some centrist Democrats are becoming a member of Trump and conservative media in blaming immigrants, transgender youngsters and poor individuals.
The election end result has severe penalties for our communities. Trump overstates his mandate — the near-final vote counts present that he leads Harris by just one.5%, one of many smallest widespread vote wins in U.S. historical past. However there can by no means be a mandate for the extent of cruelty Trump is threatening to unleash, and we all know he’ll rule like an authoritarian.
Democratic insiders and institution leaders must cease the blame sport and roll up their sleeves to get to work. Trump is coming for everybody. Leaders must deal with defending and defending communities that we all know might be beneath assault.
The Democratic Get together must acknowledge that voters’ financial anxieties and fears are pushed by real penalties of insurance policies superior by company billionaires. California leaders must speed up progress on an financial agenda for working those who delivers concrete enhancements to our lives — reasonably priced housing, well being care, greater wages and a stronger security web for our households.
When voters really feel deserted by our authorities, they’re much less prone to determine with the federal government as an extension and expression of their democratic energy. They’re much less prone to vote and extra vulnerable to authoritarian appeals. One of the best protection in opposition to Trumpism is exhibiting that authorities can enhance the lives of all Californians — from small enterprise homeowners to farm employees, from educators to tech employees, and from the service business workforce to gig employees.
We Are California strives to be a house for people who find themselves sick of politics as typical and who consider in our state’s values of neighborhood and inclusion. Bringing collectively Californians from each stroll of life to guard and defend California in opposition to the worst of the approaching federal coverage, and to advance state insurance policies that serve the vast majority of Californians, that is what individuals need — not an agenda of company billionaires.
In a time when so many are being pushed to suppose solely of themselves, there’s a totally different path: one the place we stand collectively, struggle collectively and win collectively. This isn’t the second to again down — it’s the second to double-down. The way forward for California’s multiracial democracy is dependent upon it.
