Buffoonology 101: Two of California's Biggest Buffoons Battle It Out!

California may be golden in name, but this week it’s home to two political stinkers vying for your vote. Step aside, Hollywood — the real drama is coming out of Sacramento and South L.A. by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Maxine Waters. In the wake of the L.A. riots, these two California buffoon are battling it out for our crown of shame that is Buffoon of the Week.

Each had a pretty significant public “whoopsie” that would have embarrassed a normal person.

It’s time once again for Buffoonology 101, where co-hosts / best buds Ross Galloway and Gene Berardelli each choose a politician in the news that acted such a fool that they earn a shot at our dubious distinction. If you’re new here and if we’ve piqued your interest, check out our Buffoonology 101 page for greater details about this wacky self-made game show, including our rules and process, the “science” behind our pseudo-science, and past winners and losers (or, losers and bigger losers-because let’s be honest: are there really any winners here?)

First and foremost, let’s settle some business from last week’s competition

KJP Ekes Out Last Week’s BOTW

In the closest vote yet, you all chose Karine Jean-Pierre (54.2%) over Tim Walz (47.8%) for Buffoon of the Week. Much like Jake Tapper before her, KJP prevailed thanks to her outrageous book grift, writing a tome about combating disinformation as an “independent” after years of disseminating partisan disinformation from the podium in the White house press room.

But enough about the past! Let’s get back to our present business of choosing KJP’s successor.

Gene’s Nominee: Maxine Waters

With the L.A. riots firmly set as a backdrop, few politicians in California looked worse than Maxine Waters – and that’s saying something.

Early on, Waters attempted to access the ICE detention facility in Los Angeles after SEIU head David Huerta was arrested and detained after he refused to move from block the facility’s entry point. Under the guise of exercising her congressional authority a la fellow buffoon Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), Water attempted to access the ICE facility to “check on” this union official.

ICE literally slammed the door in her face. And the best part? It was all caught on camera!

Undaunted, Waters would later state at a congressional press conference that everyone should ignore what they see out of Los Angeles, and believe her, instead.

According to the New York Post. the lunatic 18-term congresswoman told an “enormous whopper” when “there was no violence,” stating “nobody was shot, nobody was killed-get it in your head” and that the real story was not the “few incidents” we’ve all seen: it’s the Trump administration’s “escalation” via the National Guard and activation of the U.S. Marine.

Who the heck does she think she’s kidding in this age of social media, where we all have the ability to see actions in real time?

Ross scored Gene’s nominee using our patented Sharpton Buffoonery Matrix™, a grid which plots the relationship between one’s personal Buffoonish Nature (BuN) based on years of observing his/her political life, and their Buffoonish Action Magnitude (BAM) of the particular action highlighted:

BuN (Buffoonish Nature): 82 (Maxine’s got a Big Ol’ BuN, oh yeah!)
BAM (Buffoonish Action Magnitude): 5.5 Giga-Sharptons™ (when you think buffoonery, you think Auntie Maxine!)

Ross’s Nominee: Gavin Newsom

For his part, Ross nominated California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Throughout the L.A. riots, the only actions Newsom decided to take was to confront the Trump administration. It’s not like there were days of violence in the street, lives endangered, and property damage in the multiples of millions, right?

The event that perhaps typified Newsom’s frivolity was his farce of a national address earlier this week. Proving once again that he’s not ready to prime time, Newsom’s broadcast was fraught with glitches and mistakes. First, the audio feed wasn’t there. Then, the picture faded. And even again, the audio echoed like Newsom was in the Grand Canyon.

Needless to say, it did not go so well.

What little of Newsom speech got out was not so great, either. Newsom minimized the L.A. riots, saying them were “winding down” and “concentrated in a few square blocks,” and that Trump’s choice to escalate made a minor situation worse. Basically, Newsom blamed the Trump administration legal actions for increased criminality.

(Side note: Imagine the outrage if Republicans had dismissed January 6th as ‘just a few rowdy folks in one hallway.’ That’s basically Newsom’s playbook here.)

Newsom also highlighted his forum-shopped case against the Trump administration that claims Trump illegally activated the National Guard without Newsom’s say-so. As if the President’s actions can be blocked in such a way. Not surprisingly, a friendly San Francisco judge agreed with Newsom, but the legal battle will assuredly continue.

BuN (Buffoonish Nature): 76 (Gruesome Newsom care more about politics than violence)
BAM (Buffoonish Action Magnitude): 14.99 Giga-Sharptons™ (When in doubt, blame Trump)

Waters or Newsom: Who’s the Golden State’s Biggest Buffoon?

Once again, it all comes down to your thoughts and your votes. Who earns your vote? Is it:

“Auntie” Maxine Waters, who shows up to make a bad situation even worse, and then tells blatant lies right to your face, or
“Gruesome” Gavin Newsom, who seemingly cares more about positioning himself in national politics than he cares about his citizenry/

Vote in our poll, which you can see right above. Or head over to YouTube, Gettr, and/or X and you can duplicate your vote there! No ID required, just your intellectual curiosity and your disdain for dummies. Cast your vote now for your Buffoon of the Week