Watters Wants Federal Takeover of California, Martial Law: Danger

This column remains highly dependent on regularly blasting the ill-thought musings from Jessie Watters, the always-wondrous Fox News pundit who never disappoints when it comes to flammable hyper-partisan bullsh*t. But this one is a little different, it has a bit more of a burn to it, and if Watters’s thoughts below are the least bit indicative of current Trump-supporter thinking, we’re entering a very dangerous period. Apparently the wildfires that burned all too much of Southern California are somehow the state’s fault – perhaps even its just desserts, and the answer is for the federal government to step in and right these wrongs with as much force as it takes – even militarily.

With bodies remaining in the ashes and tragic deaths not yet tallied, one would otherwise have hoped that there might be a period during which the nation could come together with some compassion. That might have been the hope but Watters stepped up anyway:

“Liberal society’s gone mad. People have been institutionalized for less. California has been trying for years to destroy Western civilization. Well, this is what it looks like. They finally did it.

Did what? It is a serious question. What the hell did they do to bring about this hell? Wildfires happen to be a thing in the West where there is a lot of land, many mountains, forests of trees, few people, and very little water. That’s just the deal, no one “did it,” other than live there. Speaking of which, it is tough to hear that California destroyed Western civilization from someone who near certainly saw “Barbie.” What does “liberal society” have to do with anything? If you want to blame Californian culture for all that’s wrong in the world, get your movies and music from Nebraska – don’t partake in any of it.

“Primetime is calling for a federal takeover of California. When a state becomes this dangerous and the government becomes this reckless, where the lives of millions of American citizens are being destroyed, their homes obliterated, their infrastructure annihilated, we can’t wait for a recall election.

What? And the answer is a federal takeover? Watters likely tossed the idea out because an invitation to leave the nation might be too strongly considered and the federal government cannot afford to lose a rich state like California – that and that “Barbie” thing. After telling us that someone has been criminally negligent (If so, bring charges in federal court) and calling this a public health emergency, Watters goes on to say:

“Look at what we’re seeing. This is a war scene. And if anyone thinks the people who are responsible for this catastrophe are going to somehow rebuild, you’re out of your mind. If they’re left in charge to rebuild LA, they’re going to steal the money. Nothing’s going to get rebuilt. Everyone’s going to get screwed.

Make California a deal. For a three year period, the state can simply run a neutral budget, federal funds to California equating to those sent in – they’ll make a fortune as one of the blue states sending more, much more, money into the federal government than it receives, approximately $83 billion per year. Try that. And don’t discount the possibility that they’ll build back better than things had been. After all, we all wish the same for Florida – and who let them build right on the beach, anyway? It would be comprehensively un-American to want anything less for California.

And here is where it gets a bit scary:

“This is biblical-level destruction. And the city of LA is hosting the Olympics in four years. There’s no way we can showcase LA to the world. A full federal takeover is needed. Invoke the Stafford Act. The state’s overwhelmed. Martial law might have to be declared.”

And with that any remaining levity flies out the door. Why is there suddenly need for a “full federal takeover” – has anyone on Fox News ever floated such an idea? Or did it take a monstrous disaster in one of the bluest and richest states in the country, happening on the brink of an incoming Trump administration to surface such talk? When did small government conservatives somehow come to love martial law – the single biggest, highly federal, most stringent military takeover of basic police functions? And did it come about only accompanying a desire to have the Trump administration take a hammer to the same blue state referenced above?

The more important question goes to just how much Watters’s rant represents current Trump-supporter thinking. Is martial law a good thing when one votes in the reddest president, one who truly doesn’t give a flock what anyone else thinks? I don’t recall calls for martial law as President Biden took over amidst a COVID disaster that ravaged the Southeast at a higher per capita rate than anywhere else. We all know the answer. No good Trump-supporter – or real conservative, for that matter – would call for a federal takeover of anything under a Democratic administration. It is all state’s rights at that point.

One shouldn’t toss around words like “martial law” lightly. We haven’t read much about any law enforcement issues coming out of the wildfires – typically the underlying basis on which anyone even considers “martial law.” Is it more “the destruction of Western civilization” that requires such a federal takeover (And only under a Republican)? The answers are scary because this shouldn’t even be an impulse and yet there is the inescapable fear that it is, indeed – not so much an impulse as a plan. And no matter how many circles one turns, there remains the question as to why one would even want martial law. The only answer is the only answer – full federal control.

Incoming President Trump will hold his hand high awaiting almost unprecedented “control” already, with every branch of government currently under his thumb. Any belief that such control need be strengthened by steering disaster funds to or from a rich state like California, or even to go so far as martial law, is staggering and deeply cynical – coming just off an election in which martial law wasn’t once brought up as a real option or answer anything. It would seem that it should’ve come up. But again, why?

Thankfully, Watters isn’t the Fox host nominated to lead the Pentagon, but he might be the one most dialed into the MAGA id. Why Trump-supporters want to militarily impose their will on anyone requires a far deeper, much more studied answer – assuming there is one beyond “because we can.” For now, the questions arising out of this kind of rant simply serve as yet another “red” flag, one going into an administration with big plans.

Hope that this isn’t one.

God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected] and on X – at @JasonMiciak and now follow on Bluesky. 

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