Xavier ‘Basement’ Becerra needs to come out of hiding and come clean
Progressive policy ambitions meet practical realities as Americans weigh costs and consequences.
Xavier Becerra apparently thinks running for governor of California means never having to answer a question. No debates locked in, no real press availability, just vibes and name recognition. Joe Biden at least had a virus to point to when he ran his basement campaign in 2020.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Joe Biden blamed the pandemic for hiding in his basement as he ran for high office. What’s Xavier Becerra’s excuse? The wannabe gov apparently thinks that because he’s a Democrat running in deep-blue California, he can skate to Sacramento –– no effort (or public health crisis) required.
That’s wrong, and pitiful, and disrespectful to state
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
Xavier Becerra apparently thinks running for governor of California means never having to answer a question. No debates locked in, no real press availability, just vibes and name recognition. Joe Biden at least had a virus to point to when he ran his basement campaign in 2020. Becerra doesn't have that excuse. He's just betting that in a state this blue, he doesn't need to bother explaining himself to the people he wants to govern.
And honestly, why wouldn't he bet that way? He was Biden's HHS secretary during a pandemic response that left plenty to be desired, and before that California's attorney general. He's got a résumé full of decisions Californians deserve to hear him defend out loud, under pressure, not through a press release written by staff. Ducking that isn't strategy, it's contempt. It says the voters are a formality he has to get through, not people he has to persuade.
The maddening part is that it might work. When one party dominates a state this thoroughly, primary contests turn into coronations, and candidates learn fast that scrutiny is optional if the electoral math is safe enough. That's how you get a candidate who treats "come out and make your case" as an unreasonable demand rather than the bare minimum of the job he's applying for.
California voters don't need permission to expect more than this. A guy who wants to run the fifth-largest economy on earth ought to be able to survive a debate stage without hiding behind blue-state math. If Becerra can't handle a few tough questions now, what happens when the job gets hard?
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.