Well, there it is—the hope of putting California into the ‘up for grabs’ category for 2020 could still be alive after former Vice President Joe Biden decided to give AB5 a pat on the back last week. The law which was meant to protect contractors from being exploited by big companies has done the opposite. It’s led to a million or so jobs being put on the chopping block. From Vox Media, who laid off hundreds of people, to local artists and musicians, all have been impacted by this trash law that has led to the closure of some musical productions and festivals. The Lake Tahoe Music Festival, which has run for 40-something years was forced to cancel. The Washington Post at the time this bill was sailing through Sacramento said the law specifically targeted Lyft and Uber, which the publication wrote was an odd target since both companies are not yet profitable. How are they exploiting workers, especially ones who pick their own hours?
It’s typical liberal Democrat idiocy. And that idiocy has allowed a pathway to put California in play, or at the very least might lead to an aggressive ad buy that Democrats shouldn’t have to make in this deep blue bastion. People, regardless of party, are infuriated over this bill and RedState’s Kira Davis, who has been tracking, writing, and protesting this law, said that Trump could make Democrats very nervous here if he reaches out to those impacted by AB5.
“I’ve never seen so many Californians willing and eager to cross the aisle to vote Republican as I have in the last two months. There are many who will back me up on this,” she wrote in her post on RedState:
Obviously Trump can’t repeal AB5 as President, but he can do something that would be hugely effective for the lawmakers who are willing to do just that. What we need is for him to show up in all the places tradition says he doesn’t belong and make a simple statement…
I hear you. I know you’re hurting, this isn’t fair and AB5 is wrong in every single way. I’ll stand with you to fight this where I can.
I cannot stress enough what a game-changer it would be to have this president mention California voters and this bill by name. I know the popular vote thing has been a thorn in his side since 2020. If nothing else, a popular win in California would be quite a vindication. But besides what it would do for him personally, it could change the down-ballot elections significantly.
Democrat voters are desperate for help. Don’t shut them down because you hate their politics. Give them a reason to change their minds, at least for one election.
And what does Joe Biden do:
I support #AB5 in California, which will give workers the dignity they deserve in the workplace. I agree with @transportworker that we can't let corporations undermine basic rights by adding these exemptions to ground-breaking legislation. https://t.co/bouzgRLBU7
— Joe Biden (Text Join to 30330) (@JoeBiden) March 7, 2020
Also, you can see why Disneyland was exempt from the recent mandate from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who banned gatherings larger than 250 for the time being to contain the spread of the Chinese Wuhan virus, it is—as Kira noted—one of the few businesses making it in the state; they need the tax revenue. Guy has a more in-depth column about it for our VIP members.
Yeah, the "complex" and "unique" situation is that they're one of the few companies still making good money in this state. And now that we've just outlawed a million jobs we need their taxes. #RepealAB5
— Repeal #AB5; No #PROact (@RealKiraDavis) March 12, 2020
Hey, we all thought Biden was toast, and now he’s probably going to be the 2020 Democratic nominee. In an election with Trump, anything can happen. We’ve seen this, so yeah—let’s hope this becomes a reality. For now, the Trump White House has to deal with this Wuhan virus and the nonsensical media coverage that’s tanking the markets—perhaps on purpose.
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