Months of speculation and complaints about when, or even if, Gov. Gavin Newsom would give his annual State of the State address ended Tuesday morning with more of a whimper than a bang. At a few minutes past 10 a.m., Newsom posted a pre-recorded speech to his social media channels. Flanked by American and California flags, the Democratic governor solemnly warned that “the California way of life is under attack” by forces threatened by the state’s diversity, pluralism and innovative spirit. “Our values and our way of life are the antidote to the poisonous populism of the right, and to...
