Newsom(ism): What’s New is Old, and What’s Boring is Bold

Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom, the frontrunner to be the next President of the United States, can do many things other politicians can’t. He can wear denim jeans and apply copious amounts of hair gel without looking like a fool, for example. What he doesn’t do, however, is break any moulds in the sense that he doesn’t add another ‘ism’ to American political vernacular. Though this article's headline refers to ‘Newsom(ism)’, those brackets are important because what the governor offers isn’t a wholesale new governing philosophy. Instead, Newsom brings about the return of yesteryear's values in a new, far more contemporary suit.  

Newsom is many things, one of which is hard to place. His willingness to engage in social forays with his adversaries highlights how he has taken to the digital political age like a duck to water. Yet, he is equal parts born in the wrong political generation. In a forthcoming yPolitics article, I touch upon his effective, Clinton-esque communication style; he’s soft-spoken with a podcast intonation reminiscent of and modernised from FDR’s fireside chats. He doesn’t read from scripts, either, on account of his dyslexia, which adds to the effect. Newsom would have taken the world by storm in the 90s, when that sort of curated political image did wonders for the Third Way warriors. Not only does he boast the style, but a fair bit of the substance, too. He’s a moderate, though again he doesn’t fit in a neat package, boasting a repertoire of too many progressive achievements, such as Californian healthcare reforms, to be a New Democrat, but he’s by no means socially conservative enough to be a Blue Dog, either.

Newsom is new, but remains intrinsically old, a politician whose means (social media aside) would look at home in the 90s, and whose ends are Californian in spirit and nature (though the cat’s not yet out of the bag on how he’d operate as president). This isn’t to say he doesn’t have a vision, because he definitely does: relighting the American Dream, with a focus on bringing about the sun-kissed optimism and entrepreneurship of San Francisco for the everyman. Harkening back to the values on which the nation was founded, while understanding the need for a state-provided leg-up from time to time, it’s quite a captivating image of the nation without the burdens of unruly Trumpism upon its roots. Again, it’s an idea as old as the nation, yet more timely than ever. 

While drawing lines of who falls where in terms of caucuses, partisan groups, and ideological factions is a subjective affair, what’s clear is that Newsom is a political being. He appears to be the culmination of various elements of Democratic history, boasting as well a contemporary, almost MAGA-style understanding of publicity through deliberate confrontation (with his controversial engagement with the sects of the US political right a topic worthy of its own piece). So the likely next president has a medium that is different, but a message not so comparably unique, a telling sentiment of post-Trump America. 

While zooming in on Newsom himself can tell us a lot, so too can context. Trump’s approval rating has hit new lows amid the ongoing Iran conflict and the consequent fuel price spike, and given that he may be the most baggage-heavy politician in history, Newsom has certainly sought to take advantage. Standing his ground, Newsom has butted heads with the Republican on many occasions, often using the same aggressive tone with which the President often bemoans his naysayers. These clashes have been defining features of Newsom’s tenure as California governor; he has sought to fight fire with fire, reflecting a willingness to communicate his somewhat orthodox agenda in a fitting manner for the brazen world of today’s political communication.

Newsom, again, can’t really be placed in one box or another: a Clinton-esque manufactured politician, and a feisty Democratic warrior almost destined to take down his adversaries, or die trying. America clearly wants someone who isn’t abnormal or too normal, such as Trump and Biden, respectively; someone who straddles the line between Trumpian rashness and establishment professionalism, between idealist and visionary. In effect, America wants to see a return to what politicians of the pre-Trump world offered, despite their status quo flaws, with some feisty X-use bolted on. While Newsom’s presidential success, or even ability to secure the 2028 Democratic nomination, is not guaranteed, his present prosperity might provide food for thought for those who urge the need for an ardent socialist on the Democratic ticket. The California Governor is flourishing without such means, not redefining but recalibrating what the historically moderate American left stands for. Newsom is succeeding by offering something old, something borrowed, and something (that’s all different kinds of Democratic) blue.

Image: Flickr/Thomas Hawk

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