Well, just when you thought the legislative lunacy out in Gavin Newsom’s California couldn’t possibly reach new heights of absurdity, they go and prove us wrong. It often seems the woke government on the West Coast won’t be satisfied until every last vestige of prosperity for hardworking citizens is meticulously dismantled, one baffling decree at a time. Their policy playbook reads like a “how-to” guide for economic self-sabotage, much to the dismay of anyone still clinging to common sense.

But hold on to your hats, because in a plot twist even Hollywood would find surprising, it appears a glimmer of reason has pierced through the California smog. In a shocking move that must have sent Newsom scrambling for his organic kale smoothie, a significant number of Democrats actually joined forces with Republicans to slam the brakes on one of the Governor’s most cherished, and frankly, hare-brained, eco-mandates. You heard that right – common sense might just be making a comeback.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Governor Newsom’s grand plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars in California by 2035. Using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a tool that allows Congress to overturn federal agency regulations, the House voted 246-164 to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency waiver that paved the way for Newsom’s decree. And get this: a whopping thirty-five Democrats crossed the aisle to side with every single Republican, showing that some on the left are finally waking up to the realities of these extreme policies.

California’s Electric Pipe Dream Goes Up in Smoke

Let’s not forget, this is the same Gavin Newsom who, back in 2020, grandly announced this ban on gas-powered cars. This was mere weeks after he himself had to admit that green energy had fallen woefully short of California’s power needs, even telling Californians to “sober up” about the flaws in alternatives to fossil fuels. Apparently, sobriety was optional when it came to his own pet projects. Unsurprisingly, EV sales, even in a state practically force-feeding them to consumers, have been “far short” of what’s needed to meet this utopian 2035 all-electric dream, as Breitbart News has previously reported. As Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) rightly put it, “These out of touch mandates abused by California should not be imposed on the entire country when it’s contrary to common sense and what the public wanted.”

The People’s Toolkit: Congress Steps In

The Congressional Review Act, the mechanism used for this repeal, is a fascinating piece of legislation. Signed into law by none other than President Bill Clinton, it was largely a sleeper tool until 2017, when Republicans used it effectively to undo a slew of last-minute regulations from the Obama administration. Now, it’s being wielded again to protect American consumers from overzealous state-level mandates that try to dictate national policy through the back door. The argument here is that Congress was voting to repeal a waiver of federal regulations, which the previous Biden administration unwisely granted to California.

From ‘the Wall Street Journal’ (via Breitbart News):

The vote was 246-164 for a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal the waiver that the Environmental Protection Agency granted California for its EV mandate. The waiver provision was written to let California address smog. But Sacramento Democrats lobbied the Biden EPA to let it apply to carbon emissions.

Newsom’s Meltdown: “Smoggy Again!” He Cried

Predictably, Governor Newsom didn’t take the news well, calling the repeal effort “illegal” and wailing that “Trump Republicans are hellbent on making California smoggy again.” Oh, the melodrama! He even invoked Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, bless his heart, conveniently forgetting that their environmental concerns were a far cry from his current crusade against affordable, reliable transportation. California Senator Alex Padilla chimed in, claiming the Senate Parliamentarian deemed such CRAs “not allowed,” conveniently ignoring the clear federal nexus of an EPA waiver. The counterargument, of course, is that Congress has every right to review and repeal federal agency actions, especially those based on dubious interpretations of existing law.

Even Democrats See the Writing on the Wall

Perhaps the most telling part of this whole saga is the defection of those 35 House Democrats. This wasn’t just a token gesture; it included representatives from auto-heavy states like Michigan (three of six Democrats) and Ohio (three of five), and even two from the “High Climate Church of California” itself, as the Wall Street Journal cheekily put it. As the New York Times conceded, “unity on climate change ‘is starting to fray’ among Democrats as voters face the real-world costs of environmental utopia.” It seems the sticker shock and impracticality of these green fantasies are finally hitting home, even for those who usually toe the party line.

Key Takeaways:

• Bipartisan House vote rebukes California’s extreme gas car ban.
• Key congressional tool halts Newsom’s federal regulatory overreach.
• Even some Democrats now reject costly, impractical green mandates.

Sources: Breitbart, The San Joaquin Valley Sun