Gavin Newsom recently said he doesn’t understand why sports stadiums can be built so quickly but other large projects can’t. If you really didn’t know, you probably just learned.

Sports are popular. Not all public works. Some people hate it.

The Democratic-majority Congress gave the Democratic governor a lesson in real-world politics and policy-making. It said, “Don’t try to punch beyond your weight.”

The legislative branch, when united, becomes equivalent in power to the executive branch.

Newsom tried to push Congress through a last-minute proposal to expedite construction of aqueduct tunnels in the highly controversial Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Environmental groups and Delta people, including local farmers, are vehemently opposed to a $16 billion, 45-mile project that pumps water from the Sacramento River into south-facing aqueducts for irrigation and cities, including Los Angeles. .

Lawmakers confronted Newsom and categorically refused to consider his plans to speed up the tunnel, forcing him to recant and withdraw his proposal. It was a humiliating setback for the governor of California.

The Delta plan was part of an 11-point legislative package that Mr. Newsom belatedly announced on May 19 and brought it to budget considerations. Although it had no real connection with the budget, the governor’s move allowed his policy to avoid the scrutiny of the Legislative Policy Committee. His goal was to eliminate red tape and make it easier to build transportation, clean energy and water projects.

Successive legislatures and governors like Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger have offered regulatory shortcuts to make it easier to build football stadiums and basketball arenas. The stadium wasn’t built for a variety of reasons, but at least he had two fancy basketball his arenas built, for the Sacramento Kings and San Francisco’s Golden State Warriors.

“I love sports,” said former college baseball pitcher Newsom for the University of Santa Clara Broncos. “But I also love roads. I love transportation. I love bridges. And I love clean energy projects like the ones you see here.”

Newsom had announced an infrastructure acceleration package at a future solar farm near Modesto in May. He also had in mind the construction of wind farms, storage batteries and semiconductor factories. Include regional railroads, bridges, water reservoirs, and even delta tunnels to your list.

“It’s not just about stadiums,” Newsome continued. “And we’ve proven that we can do it in the stadium.

“So why can’t it be applied to all other projects?”

That’s a fair question. I asked myself this question in a previous column.

One answer is that stadiums and arenas are built by powerful billionaires with great political influence. They can help politicians run for re-election. At the very least, they could be called up to score playoff tickets.

But the more important answer is that professional football and basketball are very popular with voters. It’s bipartisan. Opposition to helping team owners build local competition facilities is only extreme.

Compare this to the proposed tunnel, a 39-foot-wide pipe that channels fresh Sacramento River water from the North Delta into the more saline South Delta channel. Delta is California’s primary water hub, serving 27 million people and irrigating 3 million acres.

The tunnel will run under the delta, depriving farmers and small communities of the freshwater that flows through what is now the West Coast’s largest estuary. And there will be less freshwater for the already endangered baby salmon to thrive.

Mr. Newsom and state water officials counter that the tunnel could save the Delta as a major plumbing facility in California. This will ensure reliable water delivery to farms and coastal cities in the San Joaquin Valley. Otherwise, the prognosis for the delta is bleak, with rising sea levels due to climate change and the possibility of earthquakes that could flatten the levees.

But Delta opponents argue that rising sea levels are another reason to keep the salt-repellent freshwater flow out of the San Francisco Bay. And they point out that no earthquake has ever seriously damaged the delta levee. In fact, there are no major fault lines under the delta.

The bottom line: Delta people don’t trust state water authorities to run tunnels in a way that protects them and their estuaries. They fear being drained like the Owens Valley was by the Los Angeles Aqueduct a century ago.

The Governor has been trying to build this project in one form or another for 60 years. They have been defeated either by voters or by a coalition of Delta people and environmentalists.

This time, Newsome tried to play hardball. He has threatened to veto Congress’ pet budget projects unless Congress approves his own proposal to accelerate construction of tunnels and other infrastructure projects.

Key to his plan is the dubious goal of shortening the time to close lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act. He hopes to set a 270-day deadline if the judge decides it is possible. It seems unrealistic.

Congressional leaders told the governor last week that the Delta bill was not a starter. He pushed them anyway, but finally gave up on Monday.

The remaining infrastructure acceleration packages were left for further negotiation.

Newsom could still pick up some wins. But at Delta, the old left-handed Hurler was taking a hit and should never have been on the mound.