Something is happening in California.
Gavin Newsom is facing an existential threat to his political career and the end of his hapless tenure as governor. Of the potential declared candidates who would hope to replace the well-coifed authoritarian, it's none other than former reality star Caitlyn Jenner who has emerged with the most effective message.
Interestingly, the announcement that the Olympic gold medal athlete formerly known as Bruce would be entering the fray was met with jokes, ridicule, and derision by members of the elitist, corporate media Left, while Republicans and conservative political commentators in California immediately took the candidacy seriously.
I host a conservative political radio show on KABC in Los Angeles every day from 10 am to noon. On the day Jenner announced, I asked my audience a simple, straightforward question: If it means getting rid of Gavin Newsom, will you vote for Caitlyn Jenner?
For two hours, I fielded phone calls from all over the state, and every one of my right-of-center listeners said, "Yes, in a heartbeat."
Today, Jenner has released an introductory campaign ad for the recall effort. Set aside the messenger for just a moment (don't worry, we'll get to the messenger in a moment), but take a look at the message itself:
This is a powerful message. In fact, it's the winning message. I'll go so far as to say that whoever emerges as the clear replacement for Newsom (could be San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, could be erstwhile candidate John Cox, could be yet-undeclared Richard Grenell) if they want to convince Californians that it's time to stop the hemorrhaging, get rid of Newsom, and start to renew the Golden State to its former glory, this is the only message that will truly get the job done.
The fact that the message is delivered by a former gold medal olympian with an enormous social media following, huge name recognition, and access to a broad spectrum of media outlets and venues, especially those that would never care to talk to or feature a politician but will line up and beg for a Jenner interview makes Jenner a candidate that would appear to be absolutely formidable.
Let's face it... If Caitlyn Jenner was still Bruce Jenner, wouldn't this candidacy be incredibly powerful? This brings us back to the messenger.
Will conservatives and Republicans rally around Caitlyn Jenner in the same way they may have for Bruce Jenner? Well, maybe the better question is, why wouldn't they?
As a conservative who leans very libertarian, I would say that our position has always been that what one does in one's personal life and how one lives one's life is entirely their own business. What concerns us is enacting judicial or legislative dictates on all of us to force adherence for those of us who may hold our own moral objection.
In this regard, Jenner has already come out (if you will) with a conservative message on trans legislation that has angered the Left to a degree that only Kurt Schlichter could envy.
I didn’t expect to get asked this on my Saturday morning coffee run, but I’m clear about where I stand. It’s an issue of fairness and we need to protect girls’ sports in our schools.https://t.co/YODLDQ3csP
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) May 1, 2021
Politico framed it in exactly the right way:
Caitlyn Jenner improved her national GOP bona fides with weekend comments embracing the party's prevailing view on transgender athletes — but now finds herself firmly at odds with a key California policy as she runs for governor.
Jenner, a former Olympic gold medalist who is transgender, told TMZ that banning participation of transgender student athletes in girls' competitive sports is "a question of fairness," the same position Republican leaders in red states have taken.
With this one issue statement, Jenner is already to the right of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who punted on legislation that would have done exactly what Jenner advocates.
And the issue perfectly illustrates the conservative view of this sensitive political topic. Jenner is transgender and now identifies as a woman. At the same time, Jenner is not in favor of forcing this issue into the government-run schools and wants to protect biological young women and girls from exclusion and trauma by having to compete with trans women like Jenner. As a trans woman and former Olympic athlete, Jenner has the moral high ground on the issue and is a perfect advocate for the conservative position.
Amazing, isn't it?
Listen, there's still a long way to the special election, and no doubt there will be many more candidates to declare for this incredible election. But, political commentators who write Jenner off will be wise to pause for a moment. If they also wrote off a famous reality star who was a political novice with a huge social media footprint and access to media across multiple platforms back in 2016, maybe they should sit this one out.
In the meantime, the other Republican candidates in California should watch Jenner's ad over and over again and figure out a way to adopt this message and make it their own. I'm not sure Jenner is the perfect candidate in this race, but so far, Jenner has the perfect message.