A Silicon Valley deal spells disaster for Cal Dems. In the wake of the sweetheart settlement allowing the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom are rightfully getting slammed for “caving to wealthy interests, particularly Paramount CEO David Ellison, after Paramount threatened to leave the state if the lawsuit was not dropped,” Reuters reported. Former Federal Trade Commission member Alvaro Bedoya got it right: “People want champions who are not afraid of rich bullies. Newsom, [gubernatorial candidate Xavier] Becerra, and Bonta did not meet that mark. The people who work in the film and TV industry and the small businesses who support it will suffer as a result. And so will everyone who values dissent in our democracy.”
Indivisible Co-Founder Leah Greenberg speaks for millions of progressives: “I want to be 100% clear: @gavinnewsom.bsky.social’s fingerprints are all over this deal and he owns the consequences. He has handed control of America’s media ecosystem to Trump’s top enablers and he should have to answer for it every day for the rest of his career.”
