Gov. Gavin Newsom is a Politician in Transition

by Emil Guillermo

The Democrats can’t seem to get their mojo going to fight CFDT34, my moniker for “convicted felon Donald Trump, 34 counts,” the current president overseeing the wrecking of America.

Recently, the Dems put out a video game parody, “Choose Your Fighter,” where you could pick Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus leader Judy Chu (D-Ca.) among others. Her video points out that among her attributes, the smiling Chu is “too sweet.”

Or we could have the raised fist and cane of Rep. Al Green (D-Tx), the man who briefly stopped Trump at the beginning of that joint speech before Congress.

Love Chu, but I feel we need more of Al Green’s fire.

Green, however, was censured by Congress for his actions in a bipartisan vote that included 10 Democrats.

But the big gut punch was delivered by Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who came out against transgender women in sports, saying in his new podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” that it was “an issue of fairness. It’s deeply unfair.”

Is this really Gavin Newsom?

The man who has a transgender godchild? The man who has always been part of the broad LGBTQ fight against discrimination?

Women’s sports is but a sliver of the overall transgender rights issue. But it’s the part that gives some voters moral clarity on something. Newsom doesn’t say trans women should not participate in society in general.

Just sports.

It’s still reprehensible, what I call “ala carte discrimination.”

Don’t think so? Apply the substitution test. What would your reaction be to a person who believes Blacks should be involved in every endeavor of society? Except sports, because it’s just unfair, Blacks are just too good. And our kids would never get off the bench, or might get hurt.

It’s a ridiculous indefensible position.

Once you start defining areas where certain people or groups can and can’t be, the slippery slope begins. You’re not far away from full-scale discrimination in everything.

Trump Politics
But we are in the Trump era, where Trump gets his edge by polarizing voters on non-traditional issues that sway Republicans and Democrats alike. He sells it as a “common sense” approach that can be presented logically.

A New York Times/Ipsos poll from January found 80% of Americans are opposed to the idea. That includes more than two-thirds of Democrats.

You may not agree with Trump on anything else. But he bonds with the so-called low information voter on this sliver of the trans issue. It gets him votes from both sides of the aisle.

Very conveniently, it slices up the broader issue of trans rights, to let people find an answer to a complex question.

That makes it perfect for Trump.

And for anyone who wants to emulate him.

Like Gov. Gavin Newsom.

I’ve covered Newsom since he was a San Francisco supervisor. Newsom coming out against transgender athletes in women’s sports was a shock.

It’s only understandable if he’s learning how to beat Trump in an era where DEI is anathema, and getting transgender women out of sports is a battle cry.

The problem is it’s sexist and discriminatory on its face.

Transwomen are women. Where else should they compete except with other women?

If Trump believes in meritocracy, there’s no other place more meritocratic than sports. A transgender woman should be seen as a good thing for women’s sports if it means the best athletes are competing against each other.

Newsom’s public stand will either make the Democrats stronger. Or continue to tear it apart.

But he’s just another Democrat trying to figure out how to fight Trump and beat him. You have to find a way to be like him. Trump’s the guy who deals in lies and half-truths.

So is Newsom anti-transgender if it’s just in women’s sports?

Of course, he is.

But this is politics in the Trump era, when the Democrats and Newsom are in transition, trying to be winners again.

A True Story
Maybe people would understand the issue better if they saw me tell my story of how I’ve coped with being a parent of a transgender woman.

It’s part of my new show, “Emil Amok: 69” that I will be touring in the US and Canada later this summer.

EMIL GUILLERMO is an award-winning journalist, commentator and humorist. A former host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” he has written a weekly “Amok” column on Race, Media and Politics since 1995. Find him on YouTube, patreon and substack.