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00:00Which theory do you subscribe to as a Democrat, of course? Was it candidate quality weighing on Republicans or was it money helping Democrats? Well, I think it was. It was both a candid quality, definitely separate in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona, leading to a number of losses there and elsewhere. But I really believe, Joe, the primary motivation for turnout on the part of women and young people was the Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court in June, which struck down a law providing reproductive freedom for women. Women voted in huge numbers. Young people, particularly Generation Y, came G rather came out in big numbers. They didn't like that decision. And they wanted to make their voices heard. So how do you rationalize the Los Angeles mayor's race and I have to talk about it because it's fresh here. Karen Bass becomes the first woman elected in the city's history, having been outspent by Rick Caruso by more than 11 to 1. It still looks like a typo to me when I see that, governor. How'd she do it? I think she'll be great. I think both candidates were very good people, I know them both. I respect them both. They've both done a lot to help the communities and Ross and us over the years. But Karen Bass has a very long relationship with the community. She was sharp as a social worker on a non-profit organizations to help the community. Was the speaker of the California Assembly and was responsible for helping us dig out of the recession, leading to 12 years of prosperity, and was one of three candidates on President Biden's shortlist to become the vice president. So everywhere she's on, she's been perceived as distinguished and effective. And she's gonna start on day one when she's sworn in. I believe it's December 12th signing a declaration of emergency on the homeless issue because there are serious problems, homelessness and crime. Or two that we have to deal with in Los Angeles and we have to deal with it quickly. So holding that thought here, homelessness and crime. Governor, Republicans are pursuing a big rethink, obviously, on the approach here following the midterm elections. Did Democrats have to do the same knowing they outperformed expectations? Republicans seem to own issues like crime, for instance, and the economy, inflation. What's the what's the family conversation inside the Democratic tent? As we head for a general election. Well, here's the difference, Joe. The Democrats actually did something about problems that people are really concerned about. For example, people want to see inflation come down. They want to see the price of gas come down, which it has. They want to see reduction in the cost of prescription drugs and legislation that show will do that. But they want to see more. They want to see results. You can have an investigation. You can get into name calling. They don't really care about that. They want their lives to get better. And that only gets better when you do things in Washington to improve your constituents lives. And Republicans just don't seem to be interested in doing that. Well, when you talk about results, though, obviously we cannot deny that the highest inflation that we've seen in 40 years to start there. I realize Democrats have tried to do a number of things, releasing oil from the SPRO, behalf of the administration, lower gas prices. We have the Inflation Reduction Act that's been passed. But people are not really feeling that, at least to the extent that they'd like to in their pocketbooks. Governor, at what point do Democrats need to show better results on those issues? I think people understand the Democrats are trying to do things and it will take two or three years for a say that the bipartisan infrastructure bill to really take hold and people see in their communities infrastructure being repaired, schools, dams, roads, bridges. The same thing with the Inflation Reduction Act. So I think starting January 1, Medicare and Medicaid, prescription drugs go down dramatically. All these things take time to kick in. But when people see changes in their real lives that are directly attributable to action Democrats took in Washington, then they're going to expect the Republicans to do the same thing. And if they don't do the same thing, they're not going to do very well in two years. Well, crime is another part of the conversation here. California and specifically Los Angeles and San Francisco, for that matter, are mentioned in this conversation frequently. Hear the smash and grabs. Crime and homelessness. We're getting to the point, Governor, and I'm sure you've seen this where major retailers like Target are writing about this in their quarterly reports, referring to shrinkage because of organized crime that they're having trouble keeping up with. How did Democrats get their arms around this story in time for the 2004 election? Well, there are many things we have to do. But I was very supportive of law enforcement when I was governor, I was in the military. I served as a captain in the Vietnam War. And I understand we need people to keep the peace. But what we're experiencing now was efforts in some parts of the country to defund the police is a discouragement on the part of police officer, and they're actually retiring in greater numbers than they can be recruited. The first thing we have to say is if the police acts properly, we have your back. We know it's a tough job. We expect immediate results. If someone is kidnapped, burglarized, hurt, and we need to police respond immediately and we do the right thing. We will stand behind you. We will give you the benefit of doubt. If you do not do the right thing, then we will hold you accountable, whether that's civilly or criminally. But just sending the message, look, we understand you have a tough job. You volunteer to do it and you do a reasonable job. We will stand behind you. We'll be a we'll start a healing process instead of people resigning in droves. They'll start signing up. I think our police force is authorized for ninety six or ninety seven hundred in Los Angeles. I think it's down to about ninety one hundreds or scab. No one is to send a signal that we want to work. They have to do the right thing, but they do the right thing. We're going to stand behind them. Well you know that that's going to come about of course in negotiations with police unions. Does the Democratic Party need to change its tune on the qualified immunity or some of the other issues that actually impact the lives of police officers and their families? I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of that, but clearly. Well, that's fine. I mean, when you talk about the messaging around this governor, if you don't want to get into qualified immunity, we heard about defund the police for the better part of the campaign. Very few Democrats, if any, are saying that still this was a messaging problem as much as it was a statistical problem when it comes to crime. Right. Joe Biden says in the State of the Union address, I want to fund the police, but it doesn't get through to the American people. How does he drive that message home? We have to work with law enforcement. We have to work with all constituencies to make our communities safer. Los Angeles, we will have lots of problems. We have a chance for a new beginning, a reset with Karen Bass. And one thing I'm convinced of, she's going to start moving on day one. And she understands the urgency of turning things around in L.A. They need a new beginning and more. They stay positive. They need positive results. Let's get back to where we started on our conversation. Gray Davis, we saw the Republican nominees or if I shouldn't say that, the likely Republican candidates for president on display in Las Vegas. There are any number of them when it's whether we're talking about young Ken Haley DeSantis, as far as Democrats go, knowing that Joe Biden has turned 80, now this he needs to announce his intentions. And with that in mind, if he's not going to run for re-election, is Gavin Newsom is your governor. The best thing that Democrats can bring in 2024. I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I'm a big fan of Governor Newsome. I think he's done a fantastic job. Given all the problems that were put on his desk, almost none of them of his making. But I think Biden has been one of the most successful presidents we've had since since JFK. I mean, look at all the stuff he got. There's tons of things he did during Covid to keep the economy alive. The Patient Protection Bill, so you can keep your employees on line. All the things he's done to deal with inflation, to do with prescription drugs, to deal with student debt. So why not run for re-election? That's totally up to him if he wants to. I'm a hundred percent behind. But he would have your support. Absolutely. I mean, you can't ask a president can be more successful in these difficult times. And at the end of the day, it's not rhetoric. It's not finger pointing. It's not investigations. It's making the people and your community better off by the work you did in Washington. If you've done that and you can point to what you've done. People re-elect you. If you haven't, they're going to kick you out.

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Davis on the Future of the Democratic Party

Gray Davis, former California Governor, discusses the future of the Democratic Party. He speaks with Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)