In June 2026, former Newsweek and Time Magazine editor (and
one-time plagiarist),
now current CNN host Fareed Zakaria made a stunning admission about the Golden
State: “How
California became a study in failed governance.” To his credit, Zakaria has
not been afraid to discuss issues which the Left hides and the Democratic Party
runs from, like the strong connection between
Muslims majorities and rising terrorism.
On October 2nd, 2026, CNN’s Elex Michelson interviewed
his colleague about this article, whose subject was timely with the current
election season in California.
Yes, Zakaria has argued the obvious. If you want to see what
failure in the face of opportunity and plenty looks like, look at California.
The more compelling aspect of his admission is that a liberal pundit in the
national media is willing to state the obvious. We all agree: California is
dysfunction writ large. There is more to the story, but at least Fareed states
what his colleagues won’t acknowledge.
To his detriment, however, Zakaria outlines a bunch of
solutions that miss the mark and cover up the real reasons for California’s
precipitous and public decline.
At the outset of his interview, he claims that California projects
and programs have come to a standstill and can accomplish nothing because of
“vetocracy” throughout the state government, i.e., some apparatus or
decision-maker or rule frustrates any effort for reform, growth, or change. For
this term, he properly credited social scientist (and Trump-hater) Francis
Fukuyama.
Explaining his argument, Zakaria points out that the bullet
train approved by California voters in 2008 would have been built by now, but
for the constant environmental challenges. Homelessness could have been solved if
local leaders had cooperated with the state and left-wing homeless advocates
wouldn’t block enforcement measures with endless lawsuits. Reforms to improve
public safety, road repairs, and education could all take place if there wasn’t
the relentless interest-group hustle that stopped everything.
On the surface, this “vetocracy” argument makes little sense.
The California Democratic Party hegemon running the state legislation has held
veto-proof supermajorities since 2016. Republican opposition can only show up,
speak up, and vote “No!” on the worst stuff (sometimes, they vote with the rest
of the supermajority on bad stuff!), then cash their checks and campaign for
another two years to do the same rigmarole over and over. The Democrats have
carte blanche power to do whatever they want. They could pass laws to
streamline the bureaucracy, expedite change, enact better reforms, and fire the
executives responsible for accomplishing those tasks.
But they don’t.
Zakaria’s larger theme that California Democratic leaders
want to do the right thing, but can’t, is completely out of touch with reality.
As a lifelong California resident, I have no idea what Zakaria is talking about,
and why should he? He resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, another
bubble of the uber-rich and well-connected, a well of Deep Blue political
arrogance detached from the concerns and consequences of Democratic policy. He loves California, but how many times has he
visited? Has he ever lived there?
Regardless of California’s constant struggle, endless delays
and frustrations to get anything done, the problem isn’t that everyone wants to
work together but fails because of the bureaucracy. The supermajority
Democratic powers that be love the red tape, the litigation, the delays, the
incompetence, the virtue-signaling without virtue. They play into the will and
wishes of their major donors: labor unions, left-wing interest groups, and the
endless brigade of bureaucrats who consistently vote Democrat.
Performative politics among California leaders is the rule,
not the exception. Picture lame-duck (and long-shot no-chance Presidential
aspirant) Governor Gavin Newsom posing for well-timed photos in front of big
media journalists (in reality, propagandists) while picking up some trash along
the 405 freeway. Thanks, Gav, you picked up some garbage. How about enforcing
the vagrancy laws on state property so that illegal homeless encampments don’t
pollute our roads? Some twisted statistics, empty comparisons, and some jabs at
President Trump dominate Democratic pols attempting to make a difference.
There are other problems with Zakaria’s take on California’s
failed politics, or rather politics of failure, including his fawning treatment
of liberal voters. Zakaria claimed that somewhat educated people vote for
Democrats. They can’t be educated in any meaningful fashion if they are voting
against their own interests. Failed public safety measures (including lack of
coordination among departments) led to the Pacific Palisades inferno. The other
issues (homelessness, year-round wildfires, rising crime) grow worse year by
year, yet those educated keep voting for the same politicians who never fix the
problem. That’s insanity.
When Michaelson asked why the voters keep voting for the
same failed party leadership, Zakaria dodged their bad thinking and smeared
Republicans, particularly President Trump. He faulted their lack of “openness”
to diversity, immigration, and trade. He claimed that Republicans are “not
friendly to market economics.” What does he think of Democrats, then?
Zakaria won’t accept that the Democrats own the failures,
and Trump’s ascendancy in the Republican Party does not absolve them. Towards
the end of his interview, Zakaria actually claimed that the Democratic Party’s
heart is in the right place. Are you kidding me? If they have a heart, it’s
dedicated to the rich getting richer off government cronyism and cash (how do
“public servants” like Nancy Pelosi and Gavin Newsom get so rich having served
most of their adult lives in government?), pandering to diabolical identity
politics (LGBT celebrations, transgender sanctuary state laws, reparations for
African Americans in a state which entered the union as a Free State), and non-stop
Trump bashing. That’s former AG and current gubernatorial candidate Xavier
Becerra’s favorite sport, by the way, but at least his Republican opponent
ridiculed him for such weak answers in the face of California’s growing
problems.
Adding insult to his failed policy prescription, Zakaria
praised recently-elected San Francisco mayor Dan Lurie as a “cry for help” from
the voters in The City fed up with the broad array of failures. Crime
rates have dropped, homelessness
has decreased, and a more
moderate, pro-Lurie board of supervisors has taken power. However, the open-air
drug markets persist, major conferences
are not returning, and small businesses
have not bounced back. Lurie is moderate compared to the Democratic
Socialists of America, but simply dialing down the dysfunction should not be
the best standard for better governance.
Worst of all, Zakaria actually praised DSA New York City
mayor Zohran Mamdani. The former CNN contributor can identify all the problems
with California he can find, but to suggest that a vile, communist,
anti-Semitic perennial college student turned big-city mayor is focused on
basic issues is preposterous: the rise in hate crimes, onerous
tax policies, government-run
grocery stores, failed
rent-control policies, and hands-off
approaches to the police department all reveal a boy mayor trying to fill
shoes he cannot fit.
Democratic powerbrokers from Sacramento to San Diego follow
the Mamdani model, generating failure and incompetence due to their
“progressive” vision, all while ignoring reality, diminishing losses, and hiding
the truth about the plagued state, but at least they feel good about themselves.
Their vision is right, reality be damned.
When a political class celebrates such failure as success,
why would they change it?
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