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ALPERN AT LARGE - There’s a time to do politics, and then there’s a time to govern...and NOW is the time to do the latter.
Instead of the “Trump, Trump, Truuuuuuuuuuump! I caaaaaaaaaaaan’t staaaaaaaaaaaaaand Truuuuuuuuuuuuuuump!” it’s time to acknowledge he’s both a brazen, trash-talking boor…
…AND someone whose policies on water, the homeless, and illegal immigration are agreed to by a gigantic number of those who did NOT (nor ever would) vote for him.
Using the term “Gavin Newscum”? Really stupid, classless, churlish, and self-defeating.
Telling Governor Newsom he’s mishandled and mismanaged water and infrastructure sources and priorities? Probably spot-on.
And while in all fairness Governor Newsom is by FAR more balanced and centrist than his detractors give him credit for, he’s failed to cobble together GOP and moderate Democrats in Sacramento to focus on scientific and true-environmentalist policies to handle water, infrastructure, and public health priorities.
At least one-third to one-half (maybe more after the firestorms) don’t support him…and of those, many cannot stand our President, either. So be it.
Similarly, at least one-third to one-half (maybe more after the firestorms) don’t support Karen Bass…and of those, many cannot stand our President, either. So be it.
Recall efforts against Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass? Whatever—just imagine what would have happened had these fires occurred prior to last November’s elections, and it’s pretty much assured that Governor Newsom will NOT be President in 2028, and Mayor Bass will NOT be re-elected in 2026.
A $25 million anti-Trump taxpayer-funded budget?
$4-5 billion a year just to provide universal health care for illegal immigrants?
In 2021-2022 alone, $7.2 billion spent on the homeless, which was nearly $42,000 per homeless individual? (Including those drawn here for the free benefits from the rest of the nation!)
Meanwhile a Quonset home costs $20,000-120,000 to house 4-6 people…and yet we’re spending hundreds of thousands per unit in prime real estate regions where taxpaying American citizens can’t possibly afford?
Newsom tearing down four dams and giving into the faux-environmentalists who really don’t have a clue about water management and the prioritization of human beings?
Newsom proclaiming a $2.5 billion “Marshall Plan” to rebuild our region and our infrastructure, both in L.A. and throughout the state (look above to those other numbers!) when the Exposition Light Rail Line alone cost that much?
All right...enough is enough!
Trump may be boorish, obnoxious, and impossible to stand for many, but HE is the President right now, and directing the U.S. government to override California policies if necessary:
Because Americans are really pissed off when their tax dollars support failed policies, and while so many in the Golden State will leap to an apologist position and scream, “This was an act of God! These fires couldn’t have been prevented!”…
…we all know it could have been made MUCH less horrible with proper water, planning, and emergency preparedness policies.
So just focus on three leaders, not just Trump: Newsom is our governor, and Bass is our mayor. And for those of the partisan-leaning Democratic Party that owns this state, perhaps ask yourselves how the close House races would have ended up had these firestorms occurred in October of 2024?
Just manage and govern, and tell the screaming fringes to either shut up or be prepared to be ignored…which we should have done decades ago.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as an At-Large and Westside Village Zone Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
