The most important function Gavin Newsom could perform

16 Jul, 2013 by John Seiler

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The L.A. Times ran an amusing story about Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s frustrations at holding his useless position. Gov. Jerry Brown ignores him. Even the state Senate, which he technically presides over, gave him the boot.

It’s incredibly infuriating for someone who, until he took up his current position, held a national stage as the visibly and volubly pro-homosexual mayor of San Francisco, a world-class city that even has its own famous song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

But there’s an important, headlining function Newsom could perform: Campaign relentlessly for the elimination of his current job. Doing so would make him a state advocate for cutting government waste.

The vice president of the United States also used to be a useless job.  The first vice president, John Adams, branded it “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived.”

That was before the nuclear age. Today the vice president is “a heartbeat away from” having his finger on the trigger of 10,000 nuclear bombs.

But the governor of California has no nuclear bombs. So if he becomes incapacitated, California could do what Arizona does, and replace him with the secretary of state.

So Newsom should barnstorm across California insisting that his job be abolished.

As he said in another context, “it’s inevitable … this is the future.”