We’ll say this about Gavin Newsom: He clearly knows how tough it is to be a Democrat.

We don’t mean “tough” in the sense of getting elected or receiving favorable treatment by the media; those things come with the territory. What we’re talking about is holding to “progressive” positions on issues such as free speech, religious freedom, gun rights, border security, global warming, energy independence, student loans, and transgenderism. All of these issues have both a sane position, generally agreed upon by conservatives, libertarians, and independents, and an insane position promoted by progressives.

But perhaps the toughest issue of all for Democrats is reparations. It’s a lose-lose. Hold to the sane position that confiscating money from one group of people for the sins of their distant ancestors and giving it to another group for the suffering endured by their distant ancestors is just plain wrong, and you’ll alienate most black voters. But hold to the insane position, and you’ll alienate most non-black voters. Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, the as-yet unannounced Democrat candidate for president, understands this. And he understands that Democrats generally can’t win national office without overwhelming support from black voters. Which is why he seems to be having such a tough time figuring out whether to support or oppose California’s nascent reparations legislation.

To us, it seems a no-brainer. Setting all other considerations aside, slavery was banned in California before it was admitted to the union. But facts rarely get in the way of a good money-grab.

As we noted back in December, it’s no secret that Newsom wants to be president someday. Nor is it a secret that he’ll need at least 85% of the black vote if he’s to win the White House. Which is why in September 2020 he commissioned the California Reparations Task Force to study the issue, and why he seemed to support a plan to pay as much as $223,000 to black Californians, whom he said “must be financially compensated for decades of discrimination.”

Since that time, though, Newsom has been — shall we say — somewhat less enthusiastic. He’s refused to respond to requests for his views on the matter and whether he’d consider taking executive action if the California legislature doesn’t move forward with the recommendations of the task force.

Perhaps it has something to do with the numbers, which have gone up a wee bit from the original $223,000-per-person estimate. Earlier this month, as our Michael Swartz reported: “The task force presented a first draft of its recommendations — which were immediately dismissed by some participants as not enough. Yes, a payment of up to $1.2 million won’t cover the grievances for some, who demanded everything from a match to the $5 million apiece the city of San Francisco is considering as their own reparations, to the equal monetary worth of the ‘40 acres and a mule’ promised to slaves. With interest, that raises the price to an eye-popping $200 million apiece.”

Stunning, no? It’s no wonder that the cat has Newsom’s tongue. There’s also the little matter of finding the money to fund this extravagance. As ABC News reported on Friday, “California’s budget deficit has soared to nearly $32 billion, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday as he announced a plan that would cover the shortfall this year while potentially leaving the state with multibillion-dollar deficits in the future.”

This deficit matters too because, unlike Joe Biden and our spendthrift federal government, Newsom and California are required by law to balance the state’s budget. Thus, the task force’s $800 billion reparations plan runs squarely into Newsom’s budget proposal, which is just $300 billion.

“This has been an important process,” said a suddenly sonorous Newsom last week, “and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country. Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments.”

Newsom, though, declined to endorse any specific recommendations made by his task force, which voted in favor of paying eligible black Californians a minimum of $360,000 each, with a maximum payout of $1.2 million depending on other eligibility factors.

“Many of the recommendations put forward by the task force,” Newsom continued, “are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing: breaking down barriers to vote, bolstering resources to address hate, enacting sweeping law enforcement and justice reforms to build trust and safety, strengthening economic mobility — all while investing billions to root out disparities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare, and well beyond.”

Translation: We’re broke, and we’re already doing plenty.

“No matter what he does, he’s going to anger part of his base,” said State Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher. “It will take [some] absurd mental gymnastics to require California taxpayers, including new immigrants, low-income workers, and even some African Americans to pay for a wrong committed by other states more than 150 years ago, but that’s the position Newsom put himself in.”

Indeed, Newsom’s ringing non-endorsement represents a flip-flop from his original enthusiasm. Perhaps sensing this, Newsom quickly flipped back: “The sensationalized framing in pieces published by outlets like Fox News and others is inaccurate,” said Anthony York, Newsom’s chief communication adviser. “The governor looks forward to reviewing the final report — and all recommendations — when complete.”

Flip. Flop. Flip. And if he ultimately refuses to endorse the panel’s recommendations, he’ll add another flop. Contrary to York’s bluster, Newsom isn’t looking forward to anything. He’d love nothing more than for this issue to just go away.

Ultimately, we suspect, it will go away, when the state’s lawmakers refuse to sign onto this massive wealth redistribution scheme, and when Newsom himself realizes that he has neither the money nor the political will to see it through.

This serves him right. After all, reparations is a shameless pander. It’s nothing more than a leftist effort to play the races against each other, and it has virtually no chance of succeeding — even in a deep-blue state like California.

Put another way: Given that the Golden State is approximately 40% Hispanic, 37% white, and 15% Asian, what are the odds that this 92% of the state’s population is going to willingly cough up such a massive sum to the 6% that is black?

Not. Gonna. Happen.