Staff Reports
The Democrats are already trying to sell us the same product with new packaging — the same Washington elites who ran the country into the ground are auditioning for a rerun in 2028, expecting voters to forget. Name recognition does not equal competence, and the early polling that pins familiar faces like Kamala Harris atop the Democratic heap is proof that the party still values brand over results. Voters deserve better than reheated failures paraded as reinvention.
Make no mistake: Kamala Harris remains the most recognizable Democrat in many early matchups, but recognition is not a mandate and she has publicly stepped back from a 2026 gubernatorial bid — a reminder that the party’s “comebacks” are all smoke and mirrors. The very fact that Democrats circle back to the same names, even after seismic losses, shows a refusal to change course or answer for the wreckage they left behind. Grassroots Americans know the difference between glossy messaging and real accountability; they won’t be fooled by another coiffed reboot.
Meanwhile Gavin Newsom and his team are facing real accountability problems at home as California’s own State Auditor flagged multiple agencies and statewide issues as high risk — not the petty scandals you hear on cable, but deep, systemic failures that cost taxpayers and endanger communities. The auditor’s report documents sprawling mismanagement across social services, financial reporting, and infrastructure oversight, and it is not the kind of thing that rebranding can fix. When a governor presides over growing red flags instead of solutions, the political class owes voters a clear explanation and real reform.
The unemployment debacle that poisoned confidence in state government is no small anecdote; California’s Employment Development Department paid out staggering sums to fraudsters during the pandemic, a figure investigators and state reporting have pegged in the tens of billions. That kind of taxpayer theft did not happen by accident — it happened on the watch of career bureaucrats and political appointees who chose expediency over integrity. Washington would be wise to study that failure closely before any Democrat tries to sell you a national reboot of the same playbook.
And then there’s homelessness — roughly $24 billion spent since 2018 and no credible accounting to show whether the money actually helped people or simply vanished into the black hole of government programs with no metrics and no discipline. Auditors found the state stopped systematically tracking outcomes, leaving taxpayers in the dark while tents spread and cities crumble under the weight of lawlessness and despair. Politics without accountability becomes a blank check for failure, and California’s experience should be a warning to every hardworking family bearing the cost.
Infrastructure is not immune either: the State Auditor shows the number of dams rated poor or unsatisfactory surged dramatically, while dozens of high‑hazard dams now sit below satisfactory condition — literal ticking time bombs that demand real maintenance and fiscal honesty. This is the consequence of decades of misplaced priorities and budget theater, and it puts lives and livelihoods at risk across the state. Leaders who talk about vision but ignore crumbling basic infrastructure are selling slogans, not safety.
On the subject of elections, Washington is rightly focused on restoring confidence in the rules of the game after the chaotic reforms of recent years. The controversy over federal election directives and the administration’s moves to tighten rules have sparked real legal fights and a bitter partisan debate about federal overreach and state sovereignty. Conservatives are right to insist on transparency and secure ballots, and the lesson from the left’s mismanagement is clear: if you want integrity, you cannot outsource it to broken systems or partisan operators.
This is the moment for conservatives to press our advantage and for patriotic Americans to demand leaders who deliver — not rehearsed talking points and recycled faces. We should make the case loudly and unapologetically: results matter, stewardship matters, and integrity matters more than celebrity. If Democrats want another shot at power, they will have to answer for the record they carry; the rest of us will be ready to hold them to account.
