RUTHFULLY YOURS

I hear people talk about the recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom almost casually, as if talking about the weather or the price of gas.

Scars from the recent election, “stolen” in the eyes of 80 million or so great Americans, are still fresh and understandably many expect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her band of half-wits to find a way around the recall itself, subverting democracy once again.

Others have one eye on the horizon, looking over the shoulder of the recall itself to the possible replacements that have a chance to beat Newsom, like that guy at a party who talks at you whilst scanning the room to see whom he can prey on next.

And conflicts are forming around the potential candidates, even before some of them declare their run. The former Mayor of San Diego, Kevin Faulconer, has the backing of the Sacramento GOP chair but has already drawn the ire of Donald Trump’s eldest son after he declined to state whether he wanted a Trump endorsement ahead of his election. The word RINO follows him like a bad smell.

Kaitlyn Jenner also says she will run. For her it is an opportunity for publicity and to feel politically relevant. I would call it willy-waving but with Kaitlyn… well, let’s just call it self-promotion.

My email inbox is crammed with messages asking me to get Trump’s former Director of National Intelligence Rick Grenell to run, as if my sheer forcefulness will make him announce. I am certain he will, but he appears to be waiting for the recall to be official before he does so, which is proper. I hear rumblings that his sexuality might hurt his Christian Conservative vote. But surely with Trump’s backing and patriotic pastors by his side, these prejudices could be put aside for the greater good of California.

Overall, the voters will be presented with a choice:

Do they want to recall Gavin Newsom?

If those answering in the affirmative equal 50% of the total plus 1, the recall stands and Newsom is out.

Then they will select from the list of candidates for whom they want to replace him. It costs only $5000 to add your name to this roll, and there are mutterings that that list could be as many as 2,000 names strong, as Democrats seek to subvert the process and wealthy idiots who think this is a game look for a trophy to show their grandkids.

But to move so swiftly to candidates and the recall process itself is to miss out on the truth of the recall of the Governor of California.

At a BBQ hosted by friends kind enough to have me stay with them as I journey on the road bringing patriots together to feel better, I am talking to one of the women who has made this recall happen: Laura Nelson.

She has an inner calmness about her — and yet I can almost taste the metal core of steel running through her spine. It makes the hairs on my arms stand up even writing this now.

As she talks, I know I have to capture what she is saying because it is historic. I want to film her, but am scared to stop her flow of thoughts — so I run and grab my notebook and pen, so I can document what she says here at this BBQ in the California sunshine.

And it changes my view of the world.

This woman worked the recall stand at the Bass Pro Shop every single weekend from June 2020 through to March 2021, often both days, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

They brought in 350-400 signatures a day, handing out DIY envelopes to each signatory asking to take them home and collect just one more. She tells me in her typically understated way that these 10,000 DIY envelopes (containing 2 petitions, instructions and a return envelope and address) unlocked signatories in numbers previously unseen.

I listen to her and feel small. I imagine the days when maybe she didn’t feel so great, or the wind was cold or her family needed her to do other things, and yet there she was, every damn weekend, collecting signatures because she knew it was the right thing to do.

I ask her whether she ever thought, “‘What the hell am I doing?” and she barely blinks.

“Never,” she affirms. “The encouragement of the people is always enough.”

She tells me some would come running up to her desk to sign, thanking her for her time, promising to help get others to sign as well. Newsom’s own cousin and his wife came to her to sign, explaining that the family is ashamed of Gavin and the hypocrite he has shown himself to be.

There are 2.1 million signatures to recall Gavin because of this lady and others just like her.

I ask how it is that she seems so calm and composed despite all the uncertainty, and she says it is because she has found true peace through the recall, whatever happens:

Newsom has exposed himself, not only to the state but to the nation. He has exposed himself as a liar, a hypocrite, a cruel tyrant, and now everybody knows. Any hope he might have had of a Presidential run is over. And all because of this recall.

More than that, this recall brought us together. We didn’t let being shut down stop us, we made friends and have stayed together, and this effort gave us energy and made us certain we are not alone.

I could not love her more.

The recall is so much more than a petition. It forced a man to expose himself on the national stage. It sent a message to all other governors that they are not invincible. And it shows the sheer strength and power of grassroots patriots to have their voices heard, not only to make change happen, but to feel less lonely.

Grassroots patriots simply refuse to be beaten. All Laura asked of those signing the petition was to “find one more signature.” It is a lesson for life.

It is because of strong women just like Laura, dedicated to the fight without reward or recognition, that I feel ever-confident America will remain the Land of the Free.

As she leaves, she reminds me not to write about her, or to credit her, because so many others worked alongside her just as hard. And I give her my word, knowing that through her, they will all be seen.