The Agenda And The Response

The piece at the UK Open Democracy website that I linked yesterday suggests that somewhere, there's a cohesive expression of an ultra-leftist agenda that includes abolition of the traditional family, abolition of private property, transsexualism, radical environmentalism, and probably much more, into which the current blue program of extended lockdowns dovetails.

I've got to figure that somewhare there's a book, at least, that lays this out. Some of it clearly comes from late 19th century free-love leftism that was popular in the UK for a few decades, while other parts are just recycled, romanticized Marxism-Stalinism. But radical environmentalism and outright transsexualim (as opposed to ordinary tolerance of homosexuality) are new. If anyone knows whether there's an influential published playbook that outlines the whole current program, I'd like to know about it. What's plain, though, is that the current US Congress, with very slim majorities, is intent on pushing a program that even Obama, with bigger majorites, wouldn't touch in 2008.

Meanwhile, in the face of increasing likelihood of a recall election this fall, Califonria Gov Newsom right now seems frozen at the controls, like Bogart playing Captain Queeg. The nature of the recall campaign -- at least, if the campaigners stay smart -- is beginning to take shape.

I think the start of it will be that you can't trust Newsom to promise anything over lockdowns, because his history over the past year has been red light-green light. Whatever he loosens, he'll tighten again six weeks later, with no perceptible effect on the virus. Even if things look good after the vaccine, there's no assurance he won't find some other reason to lock, things down again.

Another part of the COVID problem is he and his allies are draggging their feet about reopening schools. This is a national problem as well. It's just part of a reluctance on the part of the left to allow basic components of prosperity for the middle class -- they're gradually canceling the benefits of universal public education, first by destroying its quality, then by closing the schools and not reopening them

Second, Newsom and his allies are moving to eliminate fossil fuel for transportation and utilities while not preparing the electric grid for new demands. This will make cars more expensive, while making electricity unreliable, which will drastically lower living standards.

Third, in restructuring the economy away from fossil fuel, Newsom and his allies are destroying jobs far beyond what they've done in the lockdowns.

(Oh, by the way, Warren Buffett has quietly become a railroad magnate, with his BNSF benefiting hugely from the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. But it also means he expects to keep making money from carrying lots of oil. Does he know something we don't?)

I'm not going to harp on the transsexual agenda, except to note that to put Dr Levine in charge of public health is a bizarre decison. The Democrats have alligned themselves with a policy of allowing men into women's rest rooms. This won't go well, even assuming there won't be some highly publicized episode that illustrates the problem in some lurid way.

It looks to me as though the Newsom recall will be a test bed for 2022, and so far, Newsom is frozen at the controls. I don't see good ideas for him coming from Washington, though.