Crooked Media’s “What a Day!” newsletter delivered the news succinctly and with characteristic wit: “Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) emphatically slapped down the GOP recall effort on Tuesday, which means it is time to treat yourself to one (1) rare and luxurious sigh of relief. Enjoy!”

I did enjoy that sigh, as well as my Facebook feed filled with people marking themselves safe from California becoming Texas or Florida.

But mostly I feel angry. Angry at the Republican arsonists who keep setting fires we must put out. Angry at the colossal waste of time, energy, and money. Just administering this election cost taxpayers $276 million, and one estimate I’ve seen puts the cost of both Yes and No campaigns close to half a billion dollars. That’s a lot of moola that could have gone to fighting actual fires, or solving real problems instead of forcing us to deal with whatever havoc political arsonists are wreaking.

I’m angry at the anti-democratic recall process, as well as all the other anti-democratic power grabs across the country in the name of “election integrity.”

I’m angry at Gavin Newsom for his maskless French Laundry fiasco, even though every single person I know, including myself, has done something hypocritical and self-serving regarding Covid.

I’m angry with human nature, and our tendency to scapegoat. Sure, Newsom’s done some dumb stuff and can be too enamored of the sound of his own voice, but seriously? He’s to blame for Covid and its ravaging effects on the economy and schools? For the drought and fires? For climate change? He’s actually done a ton of good stuff, as this great piece by Ezra Klein notes.

I’m angry with Democrats’ tendency to be asleep at the switch (as they were about the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2016 election) until it’s too late.

Fortunately, we woke up on time this time, with great takeaways about boldness and fighting hard and mobilizing every voter.

California’s easy, though, compared to the rest of the country. First of all, it’s a deep blue state. Second, running against Larry Elder is a gift even bigger than the one Alabama Democrats got in the 2017 U.S. Senate special election, in which Democrat Doug Jones beat alleged child-molester and lunatic Republican Roy Moore.

So enjoy your one (1) rare and luxurious sigh of relief, channel your anger into action, and prepare yourself for the many and worse fires to come.