Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Disclaimer: I'm a rare conservative (more conservatarian) living in the Bay Area of California. By "conservatarian," I mean that I am fiscally conservative and support significant cutbacks of government social net "benefits," requiring drug testing for welfare and food stamps, and absolutely loathe Obamacare. I think the current GOP is full of fiscal hypocrites. On the other hand, I believe gays should have the privilege to marry and divorce and I believe that government should legalize but seriously tax and regulate (in this case, it's fair to do so) all drug use.
However, California's conservative population stands at 30% of the electorate at the moment. Fiscal conservatives have made some gains this year as citizens have passed much-needed employee pension reform in San Jose and San Diego, as well as defeated a poorly-worded increase in the state cigarette tax. Ed Lee is the current mayor of San Francisco and about on par with Mayor Gray of Lexington, KY, a moderate Democrat; he's certainly right of the previous SF mayor, now-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Yes, California is politically one-sided generally and really has been since Gov. Pete Wilson left office. Even Schwarzenegger wasn't particularly conservative. However, California still serves as a world center of finance, elite higher education, scientific research, technological innovation, agriculture, cosmopolitan urbanism, the "new urbanism" known as L.A. (for better or worse), aeronautics, and shipping and distribution. Sure, politically and fiscally, California is very much struggling. But, I literally meet conservatives outside of CA who are afraid of the "gay agenda" or hate California because of "overcrowding" or groan about all the "hassles of getting to the beach" (and they don't mean traffic). I wish I was being a troll, but I kid not, and these people have never been to California.
Yet...FOX NEWS is based smack dab in Manhattan! The nation's largest conservative think tanks, i.e.: Heritage and Landmark Legal, are based in D.C. Some of the most prominent talk radio hosts, Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, and Ingraham, have been based in the Northeast. NJ has Chris Christie as their current governor. Yet the most urban parts of the Northeast are arguably more strongly democratic than even California (save for SF). I mean, you can easily venture into the San Gabriel Valley, Palos Verdes, Riverside, or Orange Co. and find more conservative areas around L.A. Let's not forget San Diego, also.
Guess what? Hawaii is even MORE liberal than California, Chicago or the NE and has the absolute closest rendition of universal healthcare that can be found in the U.S. Do you hate Hawaii?
I'm from the South and so many people there want to visit Chicago and New York. However, the most die-hard of the "Tea Party" types have no desire to set foot in California, and I literally can't get in a word edgewise with these die-hards when I defend the state. Kind of makes me glad I never went to a Tea Party rally.
So, fellow conservatives...what gives?!
#rantends
Last edited by EclecticEars; 08-03-2012 at 07:30 PM..
California isn't politically one sided. Not even close.
And the big California critics are usually just jealous fools that live in some pathetic dump in flyover country. I pay it no mind. Let 'em enjoy their tractor pulls and bi-weekly trips to Golden Corral. Must be a great life.
California isn't politically one sided. Not even close.
And the big California critics are usually just jealous fools that live in some pathetic dump in flyover country. I pay it no mind. Let 'em enjoy their tractor pulls and bi-weekly trips to Golden Corral. Must be a great life.
Anyway...moving on.
1. I disagree with you. It wasn't a one-sided state fifteen years ago, but more conservatives are leaving and continuing to be replaced by immigrants who usually vote Democratic.
2. Jealousy or not, it certainly is ignorance on the haters' parts. I guess ignorance is bliss.
Here's a few facts to give your California-bashing friends:
Which state is the number one destination for people who move from Texas? California
Which state is the number one destination for people who move from Arizona? California
Which state is the number one destination for people who move from Nevada? California
When Americans are asked which state they'd like to live in if they had to move, California is #2, second only to Hawaii. (California has been #1 for many years.)
And when Americans are asked which city they'd like to live in if they had to move, three California cities are in the top 15. (San Diego #2, San Francisco, #6, and Los Angeles, #13)
Here's a few facts to give your California-bashing friends:
Which state is the number one destination for people who move from Texas? California
Which state is the number one destination for people who move from Arizona? California
Which state is the number one destination for people who move from Nevada? California
When Americans are asked which state they'd like to live in if they had to move, California is #2, second only to Hawaii. (California has been #1 for many years.)
And when Americans are asked which city they'd like to live in if they had to move, three California cities are in the top 15. (San Diego #2, San Francisco, #6, and Los Angeles, #13)
If that's the case they why have so many from CA moved to Texas over the past 5 years ?
And polls are not FACTS. Here's some census data which are FACTS.
363K to be more precise. Census finds thousands of Californians flocking to Texas - Houston Chronicle
Census figures show more than 363,000 Californians moved to Texas over the past five years, helping the state to grow more than twice as fast as the nation as a whole since 2000. They come for jobs and for a lower cost of living.
Because it was once conservative, and is the home state of 2 presidents- Nixon and Reagan. And it is no longer conservative. It is also one of the largest states in the nation, and the state with the most hispanics and other minorities.
California goes big in all things. Jobs pay more, taxes are higher, big social influences start there, lots of problems that later affect other places grow there first, and the climate is still great year-round. There is a lot of yearning for the old California days, whenever they were, lots of white flight and even more yearning to get out, balanced by a lot of newcomers eager to move in.
It's all great fodder.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
