That didn’t take long

The primary has only just ended, yet the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) has already decided to endorse Xavier Becerra for governor.

Shouldn’t you wait until the candidates have had a chance to make their case?

After all, Becerra’s party has presided over the decimation of small business, and an exodus of big business from the state.

But CalChamber didn’t even try to compare the candidates’ policies.

Maybe that’s because Republican Steve Hilton’s policies are obviously better — so much so that it would be embarrassing to endorse the Democrat once policy had entered the equation.

In its statement endorsing Becerra, it explained that it was choosing him becausehe “can work productively with both the private sector and our state legislature.”

Work on what, exactly?

Becerra’s policies are uniquely anti-business.

He was one of the only candidates — even among Democrats — to support the state’s absurdly high gas taxes, which place a huge burden on businesses and households alike.

He supports California’s costly “green” energy policies, which have made energy more expensive and less reliable.

Becerra also backs includes the wasteful high-speed rail project, which is a national laughingstock.

CalChamber also cited Becerra’s “deep experience at the state and federal level.”

Let’s talk about that experience.

Becerra was a partisan Democrat who had achieved little in Washington before Jerry Brown brought him back to California to take over from Kamala Harris as attorney general.

He encountered a small problem: His law license had lapsed.

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Once that was sorted out, Becerra presided over a crime wave that the state has only just begun to overcome.

He specialized in suing the Trump administration, not fighting crime. The $20 billion that was stolen from the state’s unemployment department during the pandemic, through fraud? That was on his watch.

As U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Becerra was almost invisible, notable only for imposing vaccine mandates and for losing track of migrant children.

He did nothing to tackle the rising health costs that are placing a huge burder on public and private employers alike.

If there is something Becerra has ever done for business, or for economic growth, CalChamber didn’t mention it.

And if there were some pro-business policy CalChamber could cite, it would have. It didn’t.

It’s clear what the game is here. Democrats are likely to win. So CalChamber is climbing on the bandwagon early, hoping to trade its early support for Bacerra now, for a seat at the table later.

“California needs collaboration, not conflict,” CalChamber says.

But sometimes you have to speak up.

California business needs strong and fearless advocates who will defend jobs, growth, and opportunity.

In short: The business lobby needs to grow a spine.