Are There Any Conservatives in San Jose Area? (San Francisco, Oakland: house, living)

[jinc1019]

San Franciso is known to be one of the bluest of blue areas (in a blue state), but is the same true for San Jose? I'm a libertarian, so social issues aren't much of a concern for me, but before moving to the San Jose area, I'd like to know just how liberal things are there. San Francisco is, in my opinion, as about as far to the left as an American city can get.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[bobby_guz_man]

Yes. The same is true for San Jose. The same is true for the entire Bay Area.

And SF is not the farthest left in the Bay Area. That would be Berkeley Actually, I think Berkeley is just straight communist LOL

[mstnghu2]

In my opinion, San Jose is very progressive but in no way extremist liberal like SF. I think, in general, people in the South Bay are moderately liberal/progressive but don't shove a liberal agenda down peoples' throats.

The South Bay is actually home to some huge Christian mega-churches...and at the same time is home to some large non-Christian temples (Sikh, Buddhist, etc.). People in the San Jose area are typically "live and let live" regardless of what peoples' religious/political etc. backgrounds are.

I grew up in the South Bay and come from a very conservative family background. I consider myself moderate but mostly "progressive" on many political/social issues and have never had a hard time fitting in. As long as you don't shove your opinion down peoples' throats you should get along just fine with most people in the area.

You will find conservative people living throughout the entire Bay Area but the Bay Area's definition of "conservative" is probably still different than what many other parts of the country would consider to be "conservative".

FYI, I agree with Bobby. SF is not the Bay Area's liberal stronghold. Berkeley is (along with parts of Oakland). I do like to visit Berkeley but actually don't particularly care for the vibe I get there. I get this weird "angry liberal" hypocritical vibe every single time I've been there.

[jinc1019]

Interesting, thanks for both posts! I've spent very little time in the Bay Area, so this is very helpful. My wife is from there, but she's politically/ideologically indifferent on many issues, so it's tough to get an accurate description of things from her. :-)

[sacreole]

From what I understand, conservatives in the Bay Area tend to be fiscally conservative/pro-business yet socially moderate to liberal (or libertarian). Although San Francisco definitely leans to the left for the most part, I concur with the earlier posts that Berkeley and Oakland are probably the most liberal/progressive burgs in the region.

[jinc1019]

Originally Posted by sacreole

From what I understand, conservatives in the Bay Area tend to be fiscally conservative/pro-business yet socially moderate to liberal (or libertarian). Although San Francisco definitely leans to the left for the most part, I concur with the earlier posts that Berkeley and Oakland are probably the most liberal/progressive burgs in the region.

Thanks for contributing. That seems to be what many people believe.

[dogandcat]

Los Gatos and Saratoga are always voting for Conservative party.

In general, I agree with all comments above.

[NickB1967]

Once upon a time, the state was not that bad, and the San Jose area in particular was not so bad. Well into the 1980's, the state was still predominantly Republican. The Commiecrat Left was back then offset by a Patriot Right. This Patriot Right consisted of:
--military personnel and their families
--aerospace and defense workers and their families
--computer hardware workers and their families

What happened? A great Irony Of The Cold War. US victory and Soviet defeat meant all of the aforementioned industries, and their voters, folded up in California.

Meanwhile more lefty sectors of the state grew, such as:
--media
--entertainment and arts
--computer software (as opposed to hardware, it was not linked to defense or manufacturing)

Another Irony Of The Cold War was "Teh Ghey" voters, who tend to be Left, sometimes far Left.

San Francisco, believe it or not, was once a military base town. The Presidio, Hunter's Point and Treasure Island Naval Shipyards, Fort Mason, Fort Funston and all that. Even neighboring Marin and Oakland had military facilities. All of which are now closed, and all those personnel, base workers, and their families scattered.

During WW2, then Korea, then Vietnam, Homosexual servicemen were dishonorably discharged, shipped backed to Fort Mason or Hunter's Point, later flown back to SFO, and dropped off. Disgraced from their families given the times, they settled in, you guessed it, San Francisco, which was large enough to fade into the woodwork, but small enough for a critical mass of them to take political control. Which, by the late 1970's, they did.

The Right that remains in California? It is a Leftover Right, really.

As for San Jose, the house organ, the Jerk-The-Knee-News, was and is quite Left, except when it was and is bad for business. It has always had a local 5th columnist, from the haughty Steve Lopez, to the whiny Pat Dillon, to the Reconquista traitor Joe Rodriguez, to the stooge Scott Herhold.

[aramax666]

Definitely true. Good for business. Stay out of people's religion and vaginas.

Originally Posted by sacreole

From what I understand, conservatives in the Bay Area tend to be fiscally conservative/pro-business yet socially moderate to liberal (or libertarian). Although San Francisco definitely leans to the left for the most part, I concur with the earlier posts that Berkeley and Oakland are probably the most liberal/progressive burgs in the region.

[WanderingFar]

Originally Posted by aramax666

Definitely true. Good for business. Stay out of people's religion and vaginas.

To echo the other posters, I think your perception will depend on where you're coming from. As someone who's lived on both coasts and in the Bible Belt, I've found that coastal-conservatism tends to be of the low-tax, pro-business sort. I've met few blue state Republicans who will admit to being anti-gay marriage, for example.

In the South, the conservatism was definitely more religion-based and sort of this backlash against "political correctness," which I wasn't used to. The economic issues were almost secondary, though obviously there was a strong emphasis on "bootstraps" and not giving out handouts.