During a recent interview with reporters from The Sacramento Bee, it was clear that embattled California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom was beginning to crack under the pressure of an upcoming recall election that looks increasingly likely he may lose. Despite this latest sign that the unexpectedly close contest could result in a Republican taking control in the blue state, the broadcast networks showed zero interest in covering the bad news for Democrats.
Unlike NBC, ABC, or CBS (or CNN and MSNBC for that matter), on Wednesday night, Fox News Primetime host Lawrence Jones highlighted Newsom getting into a contentious exchange with journalists from state capital’s newspaper: “So apparently the pressure is getting to Gavin Newsom’s head. After seeing his buddy Cuomo get taken down, he seems to be realizing that Democrats aren’t untouchable and the recall election that he’s facing might actually be the end of his rule. Watch.”
“It’d be damn nice if our homegrown team started focusing on what’s right,” the Governor whined, seeming to refer to the local press. He then launched into a rant:
Everybody outside of the state is bitching about this state because of our success. Forgive me, I know I’m a little pointed today, but I’ve been taking a lot from you folks for a lot of months. So it’s nice to be able to express myself too. I’m a future ex-governor, it could happen in a few weeks, it could happen in a few years. But I love this damn state.
Even Newsom acknowledged that he may be an “ex-governor” sooner rather than later.
While the networks avoided any reporting on the California recall at all on Thursday, including Newsom’s tantrum, CNN at least offer a single two-minute report on the topic at the very end of The Situation Room that evening. “They are two Democratic governors of two of the country’s largest states. One, Andrew Cuomo, has now resigned in disgrace, but the other, California’s Gavin Newsom, could potentially find himself fired by voters in a matter of weeks,” observed anchor Wolf Blitzer.
Turning to senior national correspondent Kyung Lah in Los Angeles, Blitzer anxiously wondered: “Newsom is facing a recall election that’s looking, apparently, increasingly bad for him, at least right now. How much trouble is he in?” The reporter replied: “Wolf, you listen to the Governor’s allies, to his political team, they are sounding the alarm and what they are most worried about, Wolf, is Democratic apathy.”
After Lah cited one state Democratic Party official complaining about it becoming “the big, fat, and lazy party,” she announced that “what the Governor’s allies are saying is that they need Democrats to wake up.” Channeling the desperation of those partisan activists, Lah added: “And they’re just telling Democrats, ‘Hey, this recall is happening. Don’t throw away your ballot. Make sure to fill it in and vote ‘no’ on the recall so the Governor does stay in office.’”
She solemnly concluded:
This apathy, though, does equal opportunity for Republican challengers....Democrats, Wolf, do out number Republicans in the state by voter registration 2-1. But still, the energy does belong with the Republicans right now when it comes to mobilizing and looking to September 14th when the recall election takes place.
The network and cable outlets have only sporadically covered the upcoming California recall election over the past several months. If the media don’t start consistently keeping their viewers informed, it may come as quite a shock when people wake up on the morning of September 15th and potentially discover the state has a new governor.
Here is a full transcript of the one August 11 report on CNN:
6:57 PM ET
WOLF BLITZER: They are two Democratic governors of two of the country’s largest states. One, Andrew Cuomo, has now resigned in disgrace, but the other, California’s Gavin Newsom, could potentially find himself fired by voters in a matter of weeks. CNN’s senior national correspondent Kyung Lah is joining us from Los Angeles right now. Kyung, Newsom is facing a recall election that’s looking, apparently, increasingly bad for him, at least right now. How much trouble is he in?
KYUNG LAH: Wolf, you listen to the Governor’s allies, to his political team, they are sounding the alarm and what they are most worried about, Wolf, is Democratic apathy. Now where is this apathy coming from? Well, Democrats have a super majority in state government that, in the words of one analyst I spoke with today, “They’ve become the big, fat, and lazy party in this state because it is so blue.”
What the Governor’s allies are saying is that they need Democrats to wake up. That’s what you’re starting to see rallies. That’s why you’re starting to see some of these Democratic organizations, union allies, start to go door to door, knocking on doors, canvassing throughout Los Angeles. And they’re just telling Democrats, “Hey, this recall is happening. Don’t throw away your ballot. Make sure to fill it in and vote “no” on the recall so the Governor does stay in office.”
This apathy, though, does equal opportunity for Republican challengers. Now, those challengers include some names like Caitlyn Jenner, but a more formidable challenge right now appears to be radio host Larry Elder, who has notable name recognition, especially in cities like Los Angeles. Democrats, Wolf, do out number Republicans in the state by voter registration 2-1. But still, the energy does belong with the Republicans right now when it comes to mobilizing and looking to September 14th when the recall election takes place, Wolf.
BLITZER: And do we have any indication what’s gonna happen?
LAH: Certainly none. If you were to guess at this point, you shouldn’t, because it is – we just don’t know. That’s really what you’re hearing from both sides.
BLITZER: We will watch, see what happens to the California governor. Thank you very much, Kyung Lah, reporting from Los Angeles.
