By Colton McAllister, Politics Reporter

Science isn’t a slogan. It’s not a campaign word or a governor’s talking point. Science is a process: open inquiry, freedom to question, debate over evidence, and the ability to admit mistakes. At its core, science demands objectivity — evidence must stand on its own, regardless of who delivers it.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s record shows he doesn’t believe in that principle. Instead, he’s waged war on it.

Back in 2020, while the FDA was authorizing COVID-19 vaccines under the Trump administration, Newsom set up a separate state review panel, saying “of course, we don’t take anyone’s word for it” and insisting California would move at the “speed of trust.” When Joe Biden took office, the very same vaccine process suddenly became untouchable. Newsom adopted the federal line wholesale — not because the evidence changed, but because the politics did. Now, with Trump back in the White House and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading HHS, Newsom has flipped again, forming a three-state “health alliance” with Oregon and Washington explicitly to oppose the new CDC.

That’s not science. That’s partisanship.

It’s not just vaccines, either. Newsom has yet to acknowledge the damage done by California’s extreme COVID policies: closed schools, shuttered businesses, families barred from visiting dying loved ones, and mask mandates that even many on the Left now admit did little to stop the virus. Real science would mean revisiting those policies with honesty, admitting mistakes, and asking hard questions about what worked and what failed. Newsom hasn’t done that.

The same mindset shows up nationally. Dr. Anthony Fauci once said, “I represent science.” But no one person, and no political party, is science. Science is a method — it only exists when dissent is allowed. And when Kennedy’s HHS raised questions about autism, acetaminophen use in pregnancy, and folate deficiencies, liberals didn’t counter with data. They piled on laugh-reactions and mockery. That’s not scientific skepticism. That’s political tribalism.

Here’s the consistent thread: for Newsom and his allies, “science” means whatever their side is saying in the moment. Question it, and you’re mocked, silenced, or cast out. That’s dogma, not science.

California deserves better than curated narratives dressed up as science. Real science thrives on open inquiry, not partisan loyalty tests. If Newsom cared about the truth, he’d welcome debate. Instead, he’s waging war on the very process that makes science real.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0