Worst Week In California Politics For The Week Ending 10/10
Every Week, We Look Across The California Political Landscape To Answer One Simple Question: Who Had The Worst Week In California Politics?
Editorial Note: For a long time we have published a “Top Ten Winners & Losers” weekly column — it turned out with all of the things I want to do, that endeavor sucked up too much of my time. So with a tip of the hat to my friend Chris Cillizza who does a Worst Week In DC Politics, we are shifting to this new feature. Hope you enjoy it! And suggestions are always welcome!
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⏱️ 5 minute read
Welcome To The Only Awards Ceremony Nobody Wants To Win.
Hollywood has the Oscars. Television has the Emmys. Politics has… this.
Every week, somebody in California politics steps on a rake. Sometimes it’s self-inflicted. Sometimes it’s terrible timing. Sometimes it’s the political equivalent of watching a clown car drive into a swimming pool.
Whatever the cause, somebody always has the worst week.
That’s where we come in.
Every Friday, we’ll hand out three medals nobody wants hanging around their neck: bronze, silver and gold for the worst week in California politics. The rules are simple. Lifetime achievement doesn’t matter. Party doesn’t matter. Ideology doesn’t matter.
If you had a spectacularly bad week…
Congratulations. You’re on the podium! So here we go!
🥉 Bronze Medal — Congresswoman Young Kim
Congresswoman Young Kim probably wasn’t expecting Steve Hilton to “help” her campaign this week. But yet he did. Earlier this week he endorsed her opponent, fellow Republican Congressman Ken Calvert,
After California’s latest congressional redistricting, both veteran Republican members of Congress found themselves living in the same heavily Republican district. Both advanced through the top-two primary, meaning one of them will survive and one of them will be looking for another job.
That’s awkward enough.
Then Steve Hilton weighed in.
Why the Republican nominee for Governor picked one GOP House Member over the other is a mystery (to me), but this kind of thing is just awkward for Kim. At a time when everyone is rallying behind the only person standing between Xavier Becerra and the Governor’s mansion, this sort of endorsement between two Republicans is … unusual.
Is this a huge factor in this race? No. But politics runs on perception as much as persuasion. When the standard-bearer of your own party publicly chooses your opponent, people will ask why. What is that saying in politics? When you are explaining, you’re losing.
When your own party’s nominee for Governor is campaigning for the other Republican, you’ve earned yourself this week’s bronze medal.
🥈 Silver Medal — Congressman Ro Khanna
Everyone misses once.
But if you keep betting on the horse that immediately runs through the fence, eventually people stop blaming the horse.
Ro Khanna has become one of the Democratic Party’s most visible national figures. His endorsements attract attention.
Lately, they’ve attracted the wrong kind.
First came Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign. Khanna enthusiastically climbed aboard before that campaign collapsed amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
That could have been written off as bad luck.
Then came Graham Platner, the now-former Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine.
Khanna again got out early, enthusiastically endorsing Platner’s campaign. Even as questions began surfacing publicly, Khanna continued defending him. Passionately.
Now Platner’s campaign has imploded too. Poof! (Gone, Nazi tattoo and all…)
To be fair, Ro Khanna isn’t responsible for the personal conduct of everyone he endorses.
But endorsements aren’t just policy agreements.
They’re character references.
They’re statements that say, “I’ve looked at this person, and I think they’re someone you should trust.”
Nobody expects politicians to own a crystal ball.
Still, when two consecutive high-profile endorsements explode in spectacular fashion, people begin wondering whether bad luck is really the problem. And it is a problem.
Ro Khanna now owns an endorsement streak every politician hopes to avoid.
That earns him this week’s silver medal.
🥇 Gold Medal — Paul Pelosi
Paul Pelosi probably thought the driving stories were over.
They weren’t.
Authorities this week recommended that Pelosi face a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge after investigators say he struck a parked vehicle in Napa County and left the scene. Authorities have also made clear there is no evidence alcohol played a role.
That distinction matters.
But politically, another reality matters too.
This isn’t the first time Paul Pelosi has made national headlines because of an incident involving a car.
His 2022 DUI arrest also occurred in Napa County, ultimately resulting in a guilty plea, probation and months of embarrassment for one of America’s most recognizable political families. Four years later, he once again finds himself at the center of a driving-related criminal investigation in California’s wine country.
That kind of political déjà vu is difficult to ignore.
Which brings us to an uncomfortable—but entirely fair—question.
Why is Paul Pelosi still driving himself?
The Pelosis are fabulously wealthy. Hiring a full-time driver would barely register as an expense. It would eliminate future driving-related legal issues, reduce unnecessary public scrutiny, and spare Nancy Pelosi from repeatedly answering questions about incidents that have nothing to do with her.
But after a nationally publicized DUI conviction and now a second driving-related criminal investigation at age 86, maybe it’s time to let someone else take the wheel.
In the meantime, maybe Nancy can have them team some DUI classes at the new Nancy Pelosi Institute at U.C. Berkeley…
For his wine-country hit and run — Paul Pelosi this week’s gold medal winner!
Some people spend all week trying to make the news. Others spend all week trying to stay out of it. This week’s medalists accomplished neither.
See you next Friday.