The Conventional Wisdom is that the Republican-backed effort to recall Gavin Newsom in a special election this year is doomed to fail - and that the Democratic governor will emerge from the campaign stronger than ever.
As every school child knows, the conventional wisdom is always wrong.
Carla Marinucci, the human whirlwind who serves as chief California correspondent for Washington D.C.-based Politico, makes a return appearance to Newsmakers TV, not only to explain the nuts and bolts of the recall (Actual Facts!), but also to note that political prognostications of the recall's certain defeat (we name no names) may be at least a teeny bit premature.
In a fast-moving conversation, Carla sheds light on the ways and means by which pro-recall strategists believe they can boost turnout among energized pro-Trump Republicans and mainstream GOP types alike, creating an off-year universe of voters that will confound the pundits and put the lie to public polls now showing Newsom comfortably positioned.
Marinucci consistently has been out front in breaking stories and publishing lucid analysis of every aspect of the only-in-California recall clown car - from her decades-long history of covering Newsom to her scoops about Caitlyn Jenner's baffling voting record and her face-to-face encounter with John Cox's Kodiak bear (herein described in chilling detail).
A superstar among the state press corps, Costco Carla provides a seasoned and sophisticated perspective on both the substance and the silliness of this strange political moment, as she offers all the latest on the recall's cast of characters -- along with updates on what other major California players are up to, from Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, to past and present Attorney Generals Xavier Becerra and Rob Bonta, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker-in-Waiting Kevin McCarthy.
Despite her caveat of caution, Marinucci's bottom line on the recall: "I think (Newsom) survives (and) a lot of the recall looks like a circus."
It's all here, right now, on Newsmakers TV.
JR
Watch our conversation with Carla Marinucci via YouTube below, or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here.
CARTOON OF THE WEEK
Image: Via New Yorker subscription.