A Guide to Larry Elder, the Right-Wing Extremist Who Could Be the Next Governor of California – Rolling Stone

After a circus of a summer spent hearing appeals from a motley crew of gubernatorial candidates, Californians will decide on Tuesday whether to recall Gavin Newsom. If they do, the man who replaces him will probably be Larry Elder, a libertarian radio host who rose to the top of a crowded field of small-time Republicans, including a guy who has been touring the state with a live Kodiak bear (we werent kidding about the circus).

The problem with the 69-year-old Elder is that hes no better equipped to run a state of 40 million than the man-bear duo, and more dangerous to Californias future than either of them. Current polling indicates Newsom will prevail, but to have someone as inexperienced, regressive, and bigoted as Elder come this close to assuming control the nations most populous state is a terrifying prospect for the people of California and for the rest of the nation.

How close isthis close? Californians will be asked two questions on Tuesday: Should Newsom be recalled and, if so, who should replace him? If more than 50 percent of voters say yes to the first question, whichever candidate voters bubble in most for the second will be the new governor. There are 46 (!) candidates on the ballot, and polling puts Elders support at around 28 percent, more than 20 points ahead of his closest competitor, a Democratic YouTube influencer named Kevin Paffrath. This means that if enough disaffected voter decide its time for Newsom to go, Elder will likely be on his way to Sacramento despite being favored by only around 25 percent of the 50 percent of voters who want Newsom recalled. Itd be a small miracle given Elders rap sheet, which weve broken down for you below:

The self-proclaimed Sage of South Central, Elder made a career as a Black man espousing conservatives views in a liberal state. Hes railed against Black Lives Matter. Hes claimed repeatedly that racism doesnt exists, or at least that its not a problem in America. Hes said the idea of voter suppression is a Democratic con job. Hes argued Barack Obama had less to overcome in running for president than did white candidates like Mitt Romney and John McCain, and that police are more inclined to shoot white Americans than Black Americans.

Hes also said that if he were in the Senate in the 1960s, he would have voted against the Civil Rights Act, the landmark anti-discrimination bill passed in 1964. To the extent that those laws mandate any kind of interference in the private sector, I would have voted against it, Elder said at a Libertarian convention in 1998.

Elders speech didnt end there. He transitioned from bashing the Civil Rights Act into bashing the Americans With Disabilities Act, saying he was upset that it exists. In August, Media Matters pointed out several other instances in which Elder has criticizes the law that prevents employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. Elder has called the ADA hideous, said it creates dependency that impinges upon our freedoms, and says he felt double-crossed when George H.W. Bush signed it.

In a 1996 ad promoting his radio show, Elder says this about women: Glass ceiling? Ha! What glass ceiling? Women, women exaggerate the problem of sexism. Not great, which is why a hand proceeds to slap him across the face in the ad, which was uncovered by CNN. He then says that Black people exaggerate the significance of racism and that Medicare should be abolished, with each line eliciting a new slap. Whatd I say? he says at the end of the ad, a grin on his face.

Elder wasnt joking about his lack of respect for women. He argued in a 2000 piece for Capitalism Magazine that women know less than men about political issues, economics, and current events, citing the results of a questionnaire. Elder went on to argue that the Democratic Party was hindered by its fidelity to SHE issues like Social Security, health care, and education, and that those pushing these issues namely women, with Elder citing how Bill Clinton lost the male vote in 1992 and 1996 were ill-informed.

Media Matters also pointed out that in his 2002 book, Elder railed against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Family and Medical Leave Act, positing that employers should be able to discriminate against women based on pregnancy.

Elders former fiancee Alexandra Datig told Politico in August that Elder would often threaten her, and repeatedly demanded that she get a tattoo that said Larrys Girl to prove her devotion to him.

This isnt why their relationship ended, though. No, Datig broke off their engagement in 2015 after, she says, Elder pulled a gun on her after hed been using marijuana. He checked if it was loaded while I was talking, Datig said. He wanted to make sure I saw that he had it.

Datig later in August filed a police report over the incident, also alleging that Elder pushed her in 2014.

Elder has denied he pulled a gun on Datig. I have never brandished a gun at anyone, he wrote on Twitter in August. I grew up in South Central. I know exactly how destructive this type of behavior is. Its not me, and everyone who knows me knows its not me. These are salacious allegations.

There are millions of Republicans in California, but the state is still overwhelmingly Democratic. California hasnt elected a Republican senator since 1988. It hasnt voted for a Republican candidate for president since Ronald Reagan. Every statewide office is currently occupied by a Democrat. Elder, who is vying to hold the states highest office, is close to as far to the right as one can get on several key issues. Heres a brief rundown on where he stands:

Once again, this man stands a reasonable chance of becoming the new governor of California.

Elder told reporters in August that Joe Biden won the election fair and square, but he reversed course a day later during an interview on a conservative radio show. Do I believe that Joe Biden won the election fair and square? Give me a mulligan on that one. No I dont. He then cited Alan Dershowitzs contention that the Supreme Court should have taken up the Pennsylvania election results, calling Dershowitz who has represented both Trump and Rudy Giuliani a left-wing professor.

It isnt surprising, then, that Elder has been drumming up doubt in the validity of the recall. You can also print your own ballot here in California, he said on Sean Hannitys radio show last week. What could possibly go wrong? We know about all the shenanigans that took place in 2020.

On Monday, the day before the election, Elder on his campaign site even said he had detected fraud in the election that resulted in Governor Gavin Newsom being reinstated as governor. This is before any results had even been released.

Just watch the clip until the end.

Stephen Miller is the vilest, most bigoted person to work in the White House in recent memory. Larry Elder is a huge fan.

The two go way back. Miller called into Elders show while he was in high school in the Los Angeles area, and Elder has supported the anti-immigration former adviser to Trump ever since. He even told Miller hed like to see him in the Oval Office himself. I hope to live to see the day when you become president, Elder once wrote to Miller, who responded by telling Elder he is the one true guide Ive always had.

Politicians suck. We know. At the same time, when running a government the size of Californias, it stands to reason that it might help to have some experience running a government, any government, or at the very least working in one.

The last, and only, person to slide into the Governors Mansion after a successful recall in California was Arnold Schwarzenneger, who became governor after Gray Davis was recalled in 2003. Schwarzenneger had no government experience and led the state into a financial quagmire before riding into the sunset with an anemic 22-percent approval rating.

Theres also, of course, Donald Trump, who won the presidency in 2016 despite having no experience in government and proceeded find creative ways to botch just about every problem that crossed his desk. This includes Covid-19, which has now killed well over 600,000 Americans due in no small part to Trumps ineptitude.

Elder indicated in February that he didnt really want to be governor of California. Id love to serve. Id hate to have to run, he said. I just dont believe I have the stomach, the temperament, the personality, the drive, the willingness to deal with these doofi in Sacramento for the next several years of my life.

Its hard to tell here if Elder is saying he doesnt have what it takes to run for governor, or to run for and then also serve as governor. The first part of the quote indicates the former. The bit about dealing with all the doofi in the states capital indicates the latter. Its also possible that making sense isnt a strong suit of Elders, something that could hinder his ability to appeal to a state of 40 million.

(Its also possible Elder just really wanted to use the word doofi, which is a little more understandable.)

Im not going to run, Elder added.

Four months later, he entered the race.

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A Guide to Larry Elder, the Right-Wing Extremist Who Could Be the Next Governor of California - Rolling Stone