When did all this "California is a liberal state" crap get started?

[dolstein]

Need I remind people that Republicans won four consecutive gubernatorial elections between 1982 and 1994? Need I remind people that the most popular Democrats in California -- Dianne Feinstein and Bill Clinton -- are hardly your typical liberal Democrats? And need I remind people that the California Democratic Party has benefited considerably from divisions within the state Republican Party?

Just because a state has voted Democratic in recent elections doesn't mean it will ALWAYS vote Democratic. And just because some Democrats have won statewide elections doesn't mean that ANY Democrat can win statewide.

[goobergunch]

1. Let's see...

Congressional Delegation: 33-20 Dem
Junior Senator: Barbara Boxer

more later...I have to run

[dolstein]

13. Yes, let's see . . .

Congressional redistricting has helped Democrats maintain a large edge in Congressional seats. But that edge isn't necessarily reflected of overall party strength -- just look at Texas, where Democrats hold a majority of Congressional seats.

Barbara Boxer has yet to face a strong Republican opponent. Besides, electing a liberal senator doesn't necessarily make a state liberal. North and South Dakota have sent fairly liberal Democrats to the U.S. Senate in recent years, but nobody expects those states to go Democratic in the presidential election. Bob Kerrey got elected governor and senator from Nebraska, which nobody would argue is a liberal state.

[Loyal]

23. Dolstein

Democrats hold a majority in the congressional delegation, true, but a lot of those Dems are pretty conservative. Ralph Hall, Chuck Stenholm, etc.

[DK666]

2. Southern California is NOT a liberal state

NFW is it iberal in my neck of the woods..... My whole local schoolboard were voted in using stealth tactics and now we have seriously right wingers in the school. It was told to me that so-n-so was voted in so the kids can beat up the gays and get away with it.

[frylock]

4. sounds like the grossmont district..

do you live in the East County?

[DK666]

6. Yep

Clantee

[frylock]

7. nice.. i grew up in el cajon..

finally moved up to La Mesa.

[DK666]

8. I made the mistake

of moving from la mesa to santee

[Melsky]

11. Hey, I used to live in east county

we lived in La Mesa but we sold our house and moved when my husband was laid off a year ago. Sometimes I really miss living there, but I don't miss the conservatism. I live in the desert, a very conservative town with a marine base, but since we don't have much contact with the locals it doesn't matter.

I lived in San Francisco and miss it. What a wonderful liberal oasis.

[frylock]

20. sounds like you live in 29 stumps..

err.. 29 Palms! Sorry about your husband being layed off. I was out of work for nine months myself last year, and thought sure that I would have to leave before I found work. I got lucky, and was able to stay.

[Melsky]

24. Yep 29 Palms

I actually like it out here, except for the republicans and scorpions. There is a big artist community out here, so I fit in.

[maveric]

10. My district!

My son is s HS senior and tells me of the "redneck" teachers and administrators in the Grossmont district.
SD county and grossmont is dripping in red.

[DK666]

17. Its sad

they want to push their agends without a voice from the students. I have horror stories. My son wore a piss on bush t-shirt and was ridiculed by teachers and students alike.....

[gristy]

9. Southern California is NOT a liberal state??

Actually, Southern California is NOT a state.

[DK666]

15. Sry

I know I forgot to clip the state...

[Brian Sweat]

3. Not everyone in California is liberal,

but the liberals outnumber the conservatives significantly. California had a short fling with conservatism in the eighties, but that is over. The California legislature is strongly Democratic, but it's senators are Democrats, its house delegation is dominated by Democrats and its governor is a Democrat. They have the toughest environmental laws in the country. The most liberal social programs in the country.

The evidence is very compelling. California is a very liberal state.

[Classical_Liberal]

5. Its demographics changed alot because of the cold war ending

and immigration. Less defense jobs, and more liberal immigrants creates a different dynamic. Davis is the victim of it, because he is too moderate to get people to warm up to him.

[smirkymonkey]

12. With the exception of LA,

Southern Cal & Northern Cal are LIKE two different states - there are conserv. & lib strongholds in both, but in general, Northern Cal tends to be more democratic, particularly around the Bay area.

[gristy]

14. crap? crap?

Such language. Maybe their strong dem majority in both the state assembly and senate, and their two dem senators have something to do with it. Can't find info on D/R ratio in US House. Could be a dem majority there too. So you're right, we're all just confused. :eyes:

[noiretextatique]

19. forget these naysayers, california DUers

californians will *terminate* the giant chimp on Oct 7th. and a lot of folks here will be eating their words...i am keeping a list :7

[pstokely]

16. what about the place that named a school after Chimpy?

nt

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. California is safely in the Dem column due to redistricting

but that is all.

It is actually three states under one roof. Southern California which has a large liberal metropolis in the middle of largely more conservative and well financed moderate voters.

Central California which is largely rural, agricultural and more conservative (yes even the DEMS)

and northern California which is largely liberal with a few conservative pockets.

There is some fundamentalism but Republicans also tend to be a bit more moderate and libertarian..which is why Jack Kemp had to move to the right to appeal to national Republicans when he was on the top ticket.

[chaumont58]

25. California is a LOT of different states,

maybe all large states are similar. I live in a sparsely populated country in the Sierra Foothills, geographically in the center. This is Bush country here, in more ways than one. San Fransisco and the rest of the bay area are liberal, and Marin County probably should be included in that catagory. It is a long way from San Fransisco to the Oregon border, with a lot of sparsely populated Repuke stronghold in between. Stanislaus County(Modesto), San Juoaquin County(Stockton) probably lean Dem, but there are oodles of gobs of rednecks(borderline freepers) in these two countiess. Of course Fresno County is the home of freeper land. The Oakies that once were in large numbers in Kern County(Bakersfield) have taken to the Bushies over abortion among other things.
California has a lot of people(maybe 35 million), too many to count as accurate a poll of 787 people.
PS: I remember when I was a GI 40 years ago. California took shit from homophobes because it tried early on to treat gays right. Gays wern't even called gays back then. I was stationed in Europe, and in the service club there was a book for each EM to signin on a page for his state. Califonria had the nickname of the Golden State, and some shithead had crossed it out and written in "the Queer State." That was in 1958.

[neuvocat]

21. We have a very low number of power plants

which did nothing but piss Cheney off because Haliburton couldn't do more business here.

What other examples would you like of this supposedly non-liberal state?

[izzie]

22. In college in Law 101 we learned that many progressive laws were ...

coming fron Ca. where Pa and Ma had always led the country in that.It was our most liberal state. I can believe that and also fads seem to come from their. Also where as Fr. was the cap. in new art it went to NY and Ca. .