Why did the Republican wave stop at the California state line? There will be much speculation about problems with the Whitman and Fiorina campaigns, and some of it will be valid. Nevertheless, much of the answer lies in the makeup of the electorate.
According to the exit poll, Democrats had a 13-point party identification advantage among California voters, compared with an even split nationwide. California voters approved of President Obama’s performance by a ten-point margin, whereas the national electorate disapproved by nine points. It’s just a different kind of state.
Indeed, sir, California is a different kind of state. That deduction needs to be remembered when the people of that state start running to Congress to bail them out financially of the deeper deficit that politicians like Brown will certainly put them.
Californians elected their big government politicians; they should now have to pay for them.
No more bailouts for California.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAs long as California prefers to be a "different kind of state" the rest of us can prefer not to throw a life preserver as it goes down for the third time.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCalifornia has a super-saturated electorate - their politics and politicians having pushed many of the conservatives, especially conservatives with means or easily-loosed ties to the state, elsehwere. Conservative Californians are now Arizonans, New Mexicans, Texans, Coloradans, Washingtonians, Idahoans, Utahns, etc, leaving the state to it's ever-more-concentrated blue electorate.
Which, having broken their economy, will now expect congress to bail 'em out, as American suggested in his/her comment.
Ooopsie.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe are not so different here in California; we had really bad candidates. Meg Whitman lost the election, when she did those Spanish-language ads showing her to be soft on illegal immigration. I could not pull the lever for her after that, and I suspect many other Conservatives couldn't either. She also ignored Palin and the Tea Party folks.
Fiorina was not electable in California. She had no answers for the debacle of her time at HP, and too many of us find her personally cold.
We await the nomination of true Conservatives to office in California. As for me, and I moving my business to the state of Virginia.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCalifornia voters are generally pretty clueless. Here in San Diego a local measure for a 1/2 cent sales tax increase failed by a huge margin but at the same time proposition 25 passed, which changes the requirement for passing a state budget from a 2/3 vote to a simple majority. Pretty much count on that resulting in massive tax increases.
Proposition 23 failed. That would have postponed until unemployment was lower, the job killing global warming requirements passed by a previous vote.
And the icing on the cake. The return of governor moon beam. Here is his plan:
External Link
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTo quote Forrest Gump, "It's like a whole other country."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCalifornians reflexively pull the lever for democrats. And then when the opposition is pro-life, as Fiorina is, their liberals hackles immediately get raised. I asked several of my friends who were planning to vote for Boxer a very simple question. Why? None of their answers had anything to do with her. It was either about maintaining the democratic majority in the Senate, or maintaining Roe v. Wade. When I explained that a Senator Fiorina wouldn't actually be casting a vote on that issue, ever, they turned to personal attacks that quoted directly from Boxer's campaign spots.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We are clearly insane here in California. As the saying goes, the people get the government they deserve.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJeffB, I'm in San Diego too. You just listed all the reasons why I'm leaving.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'd prefer to see California sane and prosperous but at least they can serve as a bad example. Let the rest of the country see what happens, even in a state with every natural advantage, when you put liberals in charge. Ideally while Gov. Christie demonstrates the alternative.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseConstitutional question. The Civil War pretty much settled that a state can't leave the USA, but does the Cobnstitution preclude us from kicking a state out?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFor those Californians lucky enough to be able to leave this sinking ship - we'll miss you.
But people like me are Third Class passengers locked in the depths of the ship and unable to make it to the boats.
Remember us in you prayers.
Except for the 2 beautiful daughters I have, I ask myself daily why I didn't just high tail it out of this state after I graduated law school. Now I'm stuck in more ways than one.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCalifornia is to the US as Greece is to the EU.
Let the austerity demands begin.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJohnG, are you saying then that conservatives went for Brown and Boxer because Fiorina and Whitman didn't measure up in conservative values? Are you saying you voted for Brown and Boxer? Or didn't vote, which is the same thing?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@American, you're forgetting that Jerry Brown already ran the state before, and he had a reputation for being very conservative fiscally. He even had budget surpluses! When was the last time you saw that in California? Has it *ever* happened after Brown?
The American Conservative praised Brown for his willingness to be tough with budgets, and I'm pretty sure The National Review has too. The word "certainly" has no business in your comment.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCalifornians, along with Illinoisians and New Yorkers are leaving their states in droves to get away from these politicians. The loss of revenue will trigger only more calls for higher taxes and socialist policies, which will drive even more residents out of these states. Perhaps Republicans should give up on CA and let the Left own the collapse in its entirety. Focus our efforts on states with more hope.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI think John G is closest to the answer. Both Fiorina and Whitman were bad candidates. California has tried the moderate approach, without success. I would be curious to see how a true red meat conservative would do. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, right? Let's try something different.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf Californians have to wallow miserably in their own political mistakes for a couple more years, they may come around.
Or they may come to Texas. We've got room. Just don't bring your big-government voting habits with you. Please. We just voted a couple of dozen of those folks out of the state legislature; and I hear they all booked a flight to California. First Class. On the credit card.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhen Brown was governor before he was riding the success of the previous governor, Ronald Reagan. Brown set the stage for future decades of failure by helping start the ball rolling of public employee unions.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@William
I'm not discussing Brown's fiscal policy, but rather his coveting of higher office.
Brown has always coveted higher office. Look for him to bail out quickly should Obama's numbers continue to diminish. When he does, he will leave the state to the tender mercies of those that Arnold had to deal.
I use the word 'certainly' for that is what will come to pass, if Brown is given an opportunity. He won't be tough on budgets if he isn't there.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe last time Californians did this to themselves we ended up with the circus of the Grayout Davis recall. I wanted a ballot option to recall the voters.
I wonder if they'll recall Brown in a year or two. Heaven knows who they'd elect then.
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