Governor’s Race: Will The CalDems Stand By Gavin Newsom?

We came across Gavin Newsom’s “Newsom for California” campaign-for-governor website.  Check out the Obama vibe!  It makes sense that Newsom is trying to reinvent himself after the Prop. 8 debacle.  BeyondChron, SF’s prominent progressive news source, is not happy with him:

Newsom allowed the opposition to scare him into believing he was a pariah, and he kept his campaigning against the measure on college campuses and liberal precincts. Unlike Mark Leno, who regularly goes on right-wing talk radio to promote gay rights, Newsom isn’t comfortable stepping out of his bubble – which is not a good sign if he wants to run for Governor.

Newsom hasn’t lost the LGBT community. They still love him, and will strongly support his gubernatorial campaign. But their liberal allies—like organized labor—will look for another candidate, because Newsom proved his weaknesses at assembling a “winning” coalition. I rarely agree with Phil Bronstein of the SF Chronicle, but his scathing analysis was fairly accurate. Newsom is so insecure that he can only campaign in front of favorable crowds.

Ouch.

Down here, the L.A. Times had this to say:

Newsom, 41, youthful and dynamic, helped trigger the debate over same-sex marriage in 2004 when he authorized marriage licenses for homosexual couples. He presided over gay and lesbian weddings and gave the speech that became notorious when backers of Proposition 8 ran a TV ad with a video of a wild-eyed Newsom crowing that there would be gay marriages “whether you like it or not.”

…Larry Gerston, a professor of political science at San Jose State University, agreed that video of Newsom’s “Howard Dean moment” could hurt him in a general election, but he said the mayor’s same-sex marriage stand might boost him in a Democratic primary.

Stay tuned…