In his Oct. 28 column, Gary Horton declares, “I don’t care which party he belongs to.” That’s an interesting statement considering the political leanings he’s displayed in his columns over the years.
In June 2023, Horton described himself as a “blue-blood Democrat.” Nothing wrong with that. At least he was upfront about where he stood.
But in March 2024, he praised Joe Biden’s State of the Union address while criticizing Trump and “MAGA reactionaries.” A few months later, he referred to the “Republican Lawlessness Party” and wrote about “parasites gnawing MAGA brains.”
Hardly the language of someone putting party affiliation aside.
Yes, Horton has praised Republicans such as Scott Wilk and Suzette Valladares. But that doesn’t erase the tone of his other columns.
Now he criticizes Gavin Newsom and some of California’s failures, and we’re supposed to accept that party affiliation doesn’t matter to him?
I share many of his concerns about California’s homelessness spending, high-speed rail, and Sacramento’s budget problems. But those problems have been around for years. Criticizing Newsom today doesn’t make Horton’s previous commentary any less partisan.
If Horton has reconsidered some of his earlier positions, I’d be interested in hearing about it. What changed? Does he believe any of his previous judgments were wrong? He hasn’t said. And if nothing has changed, why should readers view this latest column any differently from the others?
Horton complains about politicians being judged by their television performances, then spends part of his own column criticizing Trump’s speaking style and commenting on Newsom’s hair. I thought we were supposed to be judging results.
His plumber analogy is fine as far as it goes. But if we’re going to judge the work rather than the person doing it, shouldn’t we examine every politician’s successes and failures with the same scrutiny?
There’s also some irony in the name of Horton’s long-running column, “Full Speed to Port!” Port, of course, is left. Given the direction of much of his commentary, perhaps “Hard to Port!” would be more appropriate.
Horton is free to hold whatever political opinions he chooses. But readers are equally free to question his claim that party affiliation doesn’t matter.
To me, it’s partisanship in sheep’s clothing.
Arthur Tom
Valencia
