Show Me the Money: Newsom Goes All-in on Vax Promo
... the “Vax for the Win” lottery/promo is like a big middle finger aimed at the #ChockFullofNuts set who saw dumping the Governor as a political opportunity.
Oprah Winfrey’s show wasn’t available for a last minute booking, so California Governor Gavin Newsom had to settle for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show to showcase the latest idea for getting constituents to get the coronavirus jab.
As it turns out, the Guv was the only non-staffer seated in the audience for the show. I’m not sure how many people saw the broadcast, but it’s more than likely that Sen. Ted Cruz was one of them, since he and Kimmel have been exchanging insults lately. They haven’t gotten to the “yo’mama level” yet, but it’s headed in that direction.
Speaking of yo’ mama, the field of candidates dreaming about replacing Gavin Newsom via a recall election has grown to 63, so if yo’ mama wants to run, she’d better get the paperwork filled out soon.
(More on the recall after this commercial break…)
So here’s the deal with “Vax for the Win”:
It’s a $115.6 million giveaway to incentivize vaccinations and reward people who have already done so.
The next two million vaccinated Californians will get $50 gift cards, starting now!.
On June 6 and 11, a state lottery will award 30 vaccinated Californians $50,000 each.
On June 15, the jackpot! — ten vaccinated winners will get $1.5 million each
The fine print:
Incarcerated people, humans under 12 years of age, out of state folks (esp. Zonies), and some government, public health and state lottery workers are not eligible.
Kids 12 and up are eligible, as are all Californians who have gotten at least one vaccination shot, “regardless of immigration status.’’
Should someone under 18 win, the prize will be put in a savings account until they come of age.
Prospective winners can decline the award, or they can accept and remain anonymous, though they are permitted to make their award public
More Details: https://covid19.ca.gov/vax-for-the-win/
Does greed work as an incentive?
Surveys by the UCLA Covid-19 Health and Politics Project found that about a third of those who were unvaccinated said a cash payment would make them more likely to get their shot.
Via CNN: A chance to win a $1 million prize has helped boost Ohio's Covid-19 vaccination rate by 45%, Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday.
How is California Paying for this?
Via the Union-Tribune: The cash for the vaccination incentive program will come from California’s general fund, a Newsom budget spokesman said. State tax revenues are projected to exceed earlier estimates by more than $75 billion by next summer, allowing the governor and lawmakers to fund a variety of programs.
Newsom intends to tap into money set aside for pandemic disaster relief and later replenish that account with a portion of the state’s $27 billion share of federal COVID-19 relief funds...
...If it takes shelling out money to get to that level of community protection, Newsom said, then so be it.
“This is about as, I think, as wise a use of resources as we can identify in terms of a public health emergency that needs to be tackled head on,” he said. “And we are still in that state of emergency. This disease has not gone away. It’s not taking Memorial Day weekend off.”
***
Moving on to the recall...
https://twitter.com/joshscampbell/status/1397686084104953859?s=20
Things aren’t going well for the GOP and assorted grifters: the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California finds the likely recall election of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom failing by a 57-40 margin, virtually unchanged from its 56-40 result in March.
The political assumptions underlying the recall campaign have weakened as the impact of COVID-19 wanes, state government is flush with money, and the “Vax for the Win” lottery/promo is like a big middle finger aimed at the #ChockFullofNuts set who saw dumping the Governor as a political opportunity.
As is typical for these folks, rather than regrouping to fight the Deep State on other issues, they’re doubling down.
Via Fox 5:
“He will not succeed. He will go down in August, he’ll go down in July, he’ll go down in December,” said Anne Dunsmore, campaign manager for Rescue California. “He is a bad governor and I’m on the verge of saying he’s a very dangerous man.
Sometime in the fall (it’s now looking like sooner than later) voters will be asked two questions – first, whether the governor should be removed from office. If more than 50% support removing Newsom, the second question would be picking from a list of candidates running to replace the governor.
The pro-recall people were financially focused on getting their question on the ballot. Those opposed had the luxury of (mostly) waiting until it was seen if the recall petitions met the necessary threshold.
Now that it’s virtually certain there will be an election, the forces supporting the incumbent governor have kicked their fundraising into high gear.
While the pro- or anti-recall committees can raise and spend unlimited sums of money, candidates can’t receive more than $32,400 from a single donor.
And those candidates have not as of yet inspired a wave of financial support outside of their own personal wealth.
Via CalMatters:
Darry Sragow, a Democratic political consultant and the publisher of the California Target Book, which tracks campaign finance data, said he sees no evidence that another wave of recall cash is on the way...
“...If I’m a Republican donor who is acting reasonably rationally, I just don’t see an argument for throwing a lot of money into the recall side,” he said.
With U.S. Senate, House and redistricting battles across the country, there is no shortage of more likely GOP electoral opportunities, Sragow added. “Republicans want to run the country. I don’t think they think they can run California.”
Here’s how the leading contenders running to replace Newsom are doing:
Businessman and 2018 GOP gubernatorial nominee John Cox: $5 million plus — mostly self financed. Cox is currently being sued for animal cruelty after his campaign dragged a drugged half-ton bear in chains to campaign events.
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer: $120,000. He’s the consensus ‘moderate’ GOP candidate, who can’t seem to gain any traction.
Former Congressman Doug Ose: $47,000, including $32,000 of his own money. Ose has gone full-on Trumpie.
Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete turned transgender rights activist and TV personality Caitlyn Jenner: $212,000. Somehow I don’t think the Swartzenager magic formula is working for her.
According to Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California, the recall isn’t gaining traction because not enough voters feel things would get better if Newsom were removed. While 47% of likely voters said that things would get better with Gov. Gray Davis removed from office in 2003, only 29% say the same of Newsom.
“For a recall election to gain traction this time, many more voters need to believe that things would get better afterward,” Baldassare said.
Two potentially negative things are on the horizon for Gov. Newsom, namely the lack of support from the state’s largest employee union (pay cuts instituted during early days of pandemic) and the possibility of major wildfires/power blackout later in the year.
***
Hurry up and get your shot before the vaxxer terrorists strike.
https://twitter.com/provaxtexan/status/1397709841582505987?s=20
Hey folks! Be sure to like/follow Words & Deeds on Facebook. If you’d like to have each post emailed to you check out the simple subscription form on the right side of the front page.
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com