Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walters: Newsom Huffs and Puffs, Like the Big Bad Wolf
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 5 years ago on
November 20, 2019

Share

Remember the children’s fable about the wolf who was attempting to capture and consume the three little pigs?
If a pig refused to admit him or come out of its house, the wolf threatened: “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.”


Dan Walters
Opinion
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration that the state will stop buying vehicles from automakers that oppose its mileage and tailpipe emission rules is just such huffing and puffing.
While several car companies agreed to California’s demands, others refused and continued to support the Trump administration efforts to weaken Obama-era mileage and emission standards.
The ban on purchases from the recalcitrant firms — General Motors and Toyota, most prominently — is part of a broader decree that the state will stop buying gasoline-powered sedans altogether, except for those used by emergency service agencies such as the Highway Patrol.
“The state is finally making the smart move away from internal combustion engine sedans,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement to CalMatters. “Carmakers that have chosen to be on the wrong side of history will be on the losing end of California’s buying power,” Newsom added.

The State Purchased 2,672 Passenger Vehicles in 2018

California’s buying power? It’s pretty puny, when one looks at the numbers.
Californians, including governmental agencies, are on track to buy 1.9 million new light vehicles this year, according to the California New Car Dealers Association. About 800,000 will be passenger vehicles, sedans mostly, and the remainder pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.
The state purchased 2,672 passenger vehicles in 2018, with Chevrolets from General Motors about 1,000 of those. Those cars amounted to $27 million in sales, not even a flea bite for a corporation that makes and sells about 3 million vehicles a year worldwide.
The state’s purchases from other holdout companies, such as Fiat Chrysler and Toyota, are minuscule.
“In court, and in the marketplace, California is standing up to those who put short-term profits ahead of our health and our future,” Newsom puffed. But in reality, it’s nothing more than a symbolic gesture, on a par with Jerry Brown’s infamous ban on providing plastic briefcases to state bureaucrats when he became governor in 1975.

Trump Takes Every Opportunity to Ding California

As trivial as it might be, however, Newsom’s attempt to blacklist General Motors, et al, carries a deeper implication. It’s using governmental power to punish or coerce companies for taking political positions that don’t happen to square with the governor’s.

Trump takes every opportunity to ding California, particularly by portraying the state as an example of left-wing mismanagement that Democrats would impose on the rest of the nation, with emission rules one example.
Reasonable people can disagree on what the precise emission and mileage standards for automobiles should be. GM and other holdouts contend that the rules they reluctantly agreed to follow during the Obama administration are unworkable, and they are seeking a relatively small change.
This is all about political positioning, rather than the issue itself.
Trump takes every opportunity to ding California, particularly by portraying the state as an example of left-wing mismanagement that Democrats would impose on the rest of the nation, with emission rules one example.
Newsom, meanwhile, fancies himself a national leader of the “resistance” and wants to advance that image by any available means. The state has filed more than 60 lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Ironically, however, Newsom’s punishing of GM and the other firms for disagreeing with him on emission rules, however weakly, is fundamentally no different from what Democratic members of Congress accuse Trump of doing in their impeachment drive — using one’s official position for rankly political purposes.
CalMatters is a public-interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.
[activecampaign form=31]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

DON'T MISS

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

DON'T MISS

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

DON'T MISS

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

DON'T MISS

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

DON'T MISS

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Luigi Mangione Due in Court for Arraignment as Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

UP NEXT

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

UP NEXT

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

UP NEXT

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

UP NEXT

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

UP NEXT

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

UP NEXT

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

UP NEXT

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

UP NEXT

Luigi Mangione Due in Court for Arraignment as Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders Snubbed in NFL Draft’s Round 1 but Leads List of Top Available Players for Day 2

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

1 hour ago

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

1 hour ago

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

2 hours ago

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

2 hours ago

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

3 hours ago

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

3 hours ago

Luigi Mangione Due in Court for Arraignment as Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty

3 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Snubbed in NFL Draft’s Round 1 but Leads List of Top Available Players for Day 2

3 hours ago

Chargers Choose North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton in Effort to Boost Offense

4 hours ago

49ers Draft Georgia Edge Rusher Mykel Williams With the No. 11 Pick in the NFL Draft

4 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

A Fresno man has been arrested in connection with a decades-old cold case after DNA technology linked him to the 2004 murder and sexual assa...

1 hour ago

Robert Castillo (left), 61, of Fresno, has been arrested in the 2004 murder and sexual assault of Barbara Lee after DNA evidence linked him to the cold case and two additional rape investigations. (Fresno County SO)
1 hour ago

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

Willie Ray Butler is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for April 25, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

1 hour ago

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

A CHP K-9 unit discovered 13 pounds of cocaine worth over $600,000 hidden in a vehicle's exhaust tunnel during a traffic stop on I-5 in Fresno County on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (CHP)
1 hour ago

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

1 hour ago

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Picture taken May 12, 2021. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)
2 hours ago

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

Hannah Dugan speaks as she was seeking election to Milwaukee County Circuit Court during a forum at the Milwaukee Bar Association in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., March 15, 2016. Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images via (REUTERS/File Photo)
2 hours ago

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

A Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptor is seen during the third annual "Made in America Product Showcase" on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 15, 2019. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
3 hours ago

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend