Robert Greene

Commentary

Newsom handpicked a generation of California politicians. Can they help him run for president?

An entire generation of California elected officials owe their current jobs and their political prospects to Gavin Newsom.

By Robert Greene • June 11, 2026

Commentary

Mahan, Villaraigosa just learned why so few California mayors make the leap to governor

Few California mayors ever become governor. Their skills might be perfectly suited to the job, but those exact same skills, when exercised, may be precisely what makes voters wary of them.

By Robert Greene • June 3, 2026

Commentary

Few Angelenos thought Xavier Becerra could one day outshine Antonio Villaraigosa

Antonio Villaraigosa was always the man of destiny in Los Angeles politics. Now, in his second run for California governor, he trails a man he once defeated in a mayoral primary: Xavier Becerra.

By Robert Greene • May 13, 2026

Commentary

California judges defend their independence and the rule of law

President Trump, Gov. Newsom and other politicians pressured judges. But judges say they can’t bow to political or popular will, only to the law.

By Robert Greene • February 3, 2026

Commentary

Trump made a fact-free case against cashless bail with no authority to scrap it

President Trump is threatening to withhold federal funding unless states and local jurisdictions that have taken cash bail off the table reinstate it.

By Robert Greene • September 25, 2025

Commentary

It’s not just Trump. Much of deep-blue California stokes crime fears and distorts reality

Stoking crime fear for political gain is commonplace in American politics. In California, Democrats made a show of retail theft hearings in recent years and championed tough-on-crime bills geared more toward pumping turnout than affecting crime rates.

By Robert Greene • August 15, 2025

Commentary

LA County repealed its own justice reforms. Restoring them would require a shaky electorate

An unfathomable drafting blunder could wreck years of work to make Los Angeles County government more responsive. Restoring the voter-approved reforms will be difficult.

By Robert Greene • August 5, 2025

Commentary

The Trump regime targets California’s sanctuary status at the expense of the American creed

The federal government's actions and comments show they respect no sanctuary, no refuge, no protection in the very things they purport to be guarding: the law, the Constitution, the American people, and their safety, values and sovereignty.

By Robert Greene • July 21, 2025

Commentary

In battered Los Angeles, the Fourth of July feels very different this year

The twin assaults — January and June, nature and nativism, fire and fear — nip at L.A.’s soul. It’s hard to shake the feeling that half the nation is, along with Trump, relishing scenes of Los Angeles suffering.

By Robert Greene • July 3, 2025

Commentary

Trump’s military deployment in Los Angeles has little to do with the rule of law

The Trump administration has spent months denying basic constitutional protections and due process to people targeted for deportation. He cannot credibly claim that the military deployment in Los Angeles is about defending the rule of law.

By Robert Greene • June 10, 2025

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