Despite California’s reputation as a deeply liberal state, there are plenty of people who refuse to go down without a fight — and that fight will be a fair one. The era of political dynasties and their hand-picked successors ruling this state unchallenged has gone on far too long, and the patience of faithful Californians is running out.
2 He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man. There was no other Israelite more handsome than Saul; he stood head and shoulders above the people.
Governor Newsom calls to mind a modern-day King Saul. Tall, handsome, and beloved by his people, Saul thought himself invincible — until the moment he disobeyed God and was stripped of his kingdom. It takes more than good looks and political charisma to govern well. And by that measure, Newsom has failed California.
The infiltration of ideologically driven curricula into California’s public schools — including the imposition of Critical Race Theory — has bypassed parents, undermined objective truth, and turned classrooms into ideological battlegrounds. The border crisis, long simmering on the back burner, is approaching a full boil, and the lack of serious leadership at the state level has only made it worse.
The misuse of federal and state dollars — extending dependency rather than opportunity — has not lifted people up. It has kept them down. When government aid becomes a substitute for work rather than a bridge back to it, the result is not compassion. It is control. And the consequences ripple outward: businesses absorbing the weight of inflation, forced to raise wages not because the economy is thriving but because the cost of living has been artificially driven up. Those costs pass to consumers. And in the end, every Californian bears the financial burden of policies that were sold as generosity but function as dependency.
King Saul’s downfall was not his enemies — it was his own disobedience and pride. The lesson has not changed. Leadership without accountability to truth — or to God — does not end well. California deserves better, and there are plenty of people here who know it.
A question worth sitting with: King Saul was given every gift needed to lead well — and still fell. What does that say about the difference between talent and virtue in those who hold power over others?
Last week the recall ballot arrived — and with it, a genuine sense of hope, along with no small amount of confusion. The desire to see Governor Newsom removed from office is clear. Who should replace him is less so, and that discernment is still a matter of prayer.
What has become clear, however, is what the media’s response to the leading candidates reveals. The concentrated effort to smear Larry Elder’s character and dismantle his campaign tells its own story: he is a threat. That kind of attention from the press is not random — it is strategic, and it is telling.
Perhaps the most revealing attack has been the claim that Elder is Black only in skin color. Let that sink in. For decades, the political left has claimed to champion the advancement of Black Americans — and the moment one rises to prominence with the wrong set of views, the mask slips. His values do not fit the approved narrative, so his identity is dismissed. That is not advocacy. That is control.
One issue in particular demands serious attention: Elder’s stated intention to take on the California Teachers Union. It is past time. This is not a fight against teachers — the vast majority of whom are dedicated, hardworking people. It is a fight against an organization that has placed its own institutional interests above the welfare of children and the rights of parents. Parents are not stakeholders in their children’s education — they are the primary educators. The Church has always taught this. It is time for policy to reflect it.
Taking on that Goliath will not be easy. But David did not wait for a more convenient moment.
If conservatives really want this recall to succeed, we need to be united. How can this happen with 24 Republicans on the ballot? There are nine Democrats, two Greens, one Libertarian and ten Nones. Of all these names I am familiar with only two: Larry Elder and Caitlyn Jenner. Bruce Jenner has always been a conservative so I imagine that despite his new “they/them” his conservative views remain the same. The “Nones” really are a big concern because they are like wolves in sheep’s clothing; three of them are involved in education. I have eliminated all but two: Larry Elder and maybe John Cox. As much as I would like to write in a certain candidate, it would be a lost cause.
The Ballot
If conservatives really want this recall to succeed, we need to be united. How can this happen with 24 Republicans on the ballot? There are nine Democrats, two Greens, one Libertarian and ten Nones. Of all these names I am familiar with only two: Larry Elder and Caitlyn Jenner. Bruce Jenner has always been a conservative so I imagine that despite his new “they/them” his conservative views remain the same. The “Nones” really are a big concern because they are like wolves in sheep’s clothing; three of them are involved in education. I have eliminated all but two: Larry Elder and maybe John Cox. As much as I would like to write in a certain candidate, it would be a lost cause.
1 Samuel 8:6-7 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Can we not see what is unfolding around us? To many, it is unmistakable: God has permitted these trials to take place — not out of indifference, but out of providence. Did the pandemic shake us awake? The fires, the hurricanes, the earthquakes, the collapse of nations — have these calamities brought the soul to its knees, or has the noise of the world drowned out what God is saying through them?
Scripture is not silent on this. Throughout salvation history, God has used suffering, disorder, and consequence to call His people back. The question is never whether He is speaking — the question is whether anyone is listening.
The way of the world is despair. But despair is not the last word. Hope is. And that hope — not the shallow optimism of politics, but the theological virtue rooted in God’s faithfulness — is what remains on the horizon for California, no matter how dark the present moment appears.
No evil is wished upon Governor Newsom. Every soul is made in the image and likeness of God, and that dignity demands charity even toward those whose governance has caused serious harm. But charity does not require silence. Newsom has allowed disastrous policies to take root in this state — policies that have harmed families, undermined parental rights, deepened dependency, and left the most vulnerable without adequate protection. That record demands accountability, regardless of how the recall concludes.
A name can survive an election loss. It cannot as easily survive the verdict of history — especially when that history is written honestly. If it is, Newsom’s tenure will be remembered the way King Saul’s was: a leader given every advantage, who chose his own path over the one God required, and paid the price for it.
The door for repentance is always open. But so is the door of consequence.
Saul’s Death
The story of King Saul does not end well — and it was not meant to.
After God anointed David as the true king, Saul refused to relinquish his grip on power. He continued fighting battles he was no longer appointed to win, clinging to a kingdom that had already been taken from him — not by an enemy, but by his own disobedience. When the prophet Samuel died and God fell silent in response to Saul’s pleas, Saul did the unthinkable: he sought out the Witch of Endor, a medium, to conjure Samuel’s spirit from the dead. It was a final, desperate act of a man who had long since stopped trusting God and started trusting himself.
The parallel is worth sitting with. When leaders exhaust the counsel of the wise and find themselves without answers, the temptation is not to turn back to God — it is to turn to whatever voice promises relief. The question worth asking of any leader in crisis is not just what they are doing, but whom they are consulting. Policy does not emerge from a vacuum. It reflects the voices a leader has decided to trust.
Saul’s story ends on the battlefield at Mount Gilboa — surrounded, defeated, and without hope. Out of despair, he fell on his own sword. It was not the death of a warrior. It was the death of a man who had chosen fear over faith at every critical moment, until there were no more moments left.
The lesson is not one of condemnation — it is one of warning. Power without
Dear Lord,
Grant us Your wisdom in this recall election. May we, as Your children, be obedient to Your Word and not to the voices of the world. Guide each voter to choose rightly — not according to preference or fear, but according to what is true, just, and pleasing in Your eyes.
Lord, You are the God who brings hidden things to light. Just as You exposed the actions of those in power who have harmed the innocent, turn that same light upon the governance of our state. Let nothing that has been done in darkness remain concealed.
Prick the conscience of Governor Newsom, Lord. May he come to understand not only why he is being recalled, but why every act of leadership will one day be held to account before You. Soften his heart. Open his eyes. And if it is Your will, use this moment to call him back — not merely to better governance, but to You.
We place this election, this state, and its people in Your hands. Your will be done.
Amen.
