The Issue Is: Randy Economy, Wolfgang Puck, and Matthew Friend

This week, the potential recall campaign of Governor Gavin Newsom heated up, many restaurants across California were able to welcome diners back inside, and The Issue Is was over-run by political impressions.

To discuss these issues and more, Elex Michaelson is joined by Randy Economy, senior advisor to the RecallGavin2020 campaign, legendary chef Wolfgang Puck, and political impressionist Matthew Friend, who shows off his versions of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Presidents Trump and Obama, Senators Cruz, McConnell, and Sanders, Howard Stern, and even Michaelson himself.

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THE ISSUE: THE CASE FOR A RECALL

BACKGROUND: This week, some nine months after signature collection began, the deadline arrived for organizers of the effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom to collect the signatures required to place a special election on the ballot. Organizers claim to have garnered the support of more than 2.1 million California voters. Should 1,495,709 of those signatures be verified by the Secretary of State’s Office, then a recall election will be triggered for later this year. 

ECONOMY’S CENTRAL TAKE: "These are extraordinary times, and we have a Governor, that we believe has failed all Californians, not only during this pandemic, but prior to then… he locked down the sixth largest economy in the world, put us all basically under house arrest, he let out felons on early release programs, California is unrecognizable because of the homeless crisis, and under the California Constitution, we the people, have the right to be able to have Government taken into our own hands, and that includes holding our elected officials accountable in between elections… that’s why this recall, we think, is so important and that’s why we think it’s resonated so powerfully… let’s start the campaign Governor…"

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THE ISSUE: THE RECALL FIGHT INTENSIFIES

BACKGROUND: With the prospect of a recall election becoming more likely, prominent Democrats ranging from Rep. Karen Bass (CA) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA), to Governor Gavin Newsom and representatives from the White House, began to fight back, aligning the effort with far-right groups, and alleging that not only is the cost wasteful, but that with a Gubernatorial election set for next year, so is the timing. This, in defense of a Governor from deep-blue California, where Newsom defeated GOP rival John Cox by 23 points in 2018, and last year President Biden defeated former President Trump by nearly 30 points.

ECONOMY’S CENTRAL TAKE: "It’s his failed policies, and his policies haven’t just failed Republicans or Democrats, it’s failed all of us… the anger that is in the eyes of the voter here is real, and they’re taking the anger out on him, and they should, because, once again, there’s only one elected Governor, there’s only one chief elected official officer in California, and that’s Gavin Newsom… He can go ahead and spin this any way he can, I think he’s now hired nine or ten national political figures to actually oversee his recall effort against us, and we’re all a group of volunteers, so it’s kind of like Goliath versus the little, itty-bitty guy in the corner there, so we get that, recognize it, and we’re prepared, because we have the people on our side, and he has the politicians…"

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THE ISSUE: BAILING OUT THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY

BACKGROUND: This week, as Los Angeles and a number of other California counties reentered the less-restrictive red tier, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant reopened for in-person dining under a new $350,000 tent structure. With the restaurant industry hard-hit by the pandemic, an estimated $240B in sales being lost alongside some 2.5M jobs, Puck is now lobbying politicians to make in-person dining tax deductible in an effort to reinvigorate the restaurant industry.

PUCK’S CENTRAL TAKE: "Just like they bailed out the auto industry and things like that, I think to bail out the restaurant industry that would be an important part… I’m not a politician, thank God, but I think they were on television everyday, telling about the problem, and nobody was talking about a solution… [people] will spend more money in the restaurant, meanwhile, the waiters will make more money, the busboys will make more money… politics became the hurdle for this whole thing…"

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THE ISSUE: POLITICAL IMPRESSIONS

BACKGROUND: He’s amassed more than 300 thousand followers on TikTok impersonating some of the biggest names in politics and pop culture, now comedian Matthew Friend is stopping by The Issue Is to show off some of his best impressions, including…

…DR. ANTHONY FAUCI TALKING ABOUT THE COVID VACCINE:

… SENATOR TED CRUZ DISCUSSING THE SENATE FILIBUSTER:

…FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA TALKING BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN:

…TALKSHOW HOSTS ANALYZING THE POSSIBLE RECALL ELECTION OF GAVIN NEWSOM:

… AND ELEX MICHAELSON HOSTING THE ISSUE IS:

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The Issue Is: with Elex Michaelson is California's only statewide political show. For showtimes and more information, go to TheIssueIsShow.com