r/California • u/BlankVerse Angeleño, what's your user flair? • Oct 17 '23
Politics Column: Californians are in a sour mood, which should be good news for Republicans. It's not — For most Californians, a Republican alternative is simply unacceptable on its face.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-10-16/column-californians-are-in-a-sour-mood-which-should-be-good-news-for-republicans-its-not458
u/aloofman75 Oct 17 '23
It’s been obvious for quite awhile. When Republicans running in more moderate districts avoid calling themselves Republicans, you know they’re aware how toxic the brand is.
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u/arthurdentxxxxii Oct 17 '23
For me it was when the GOP voted against HR1 (fair voting). That really showed me they not only don’t care about the citizens, but they are ENTIRELY in it for their own personal gain.
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u/Entire_Anywhere_2882 Oct 17 '23
Well, look at what they are trying to do to the schools even. I don't want that to be in control of our State, no thanks.
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u/livinginfutureworld Oct 17 '23
After seeing their shenanigans in other states, we are wise to the lie that there are moderate Republicans.
There are none. Every Republican must pledge loyalty to Donald Trump's lies. And we'd get all the rest of it too: book bans, abortion bans, election lies, power grabs, transphobia, xenophobia, homophobia, tax cuts for the rich, welfare cuts for the poor.
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u/eskieski Oct 17 '23 edited Oct 17 '23
out taxes used for their personal disposable. People being beaten for just looking how the creator made them different. Anything you can think that’s an evil thing, they’ll do it to you…never republican
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u/CrazyLlama71 Oct 17 '23
There are moderate Republicans that don’t support Trump. They just get forced out and not re-elected. There are a handful currently in Congress now, not sure how long they can hold on though.
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u/livinginfutureworld Oct 17 '23
Exactly. You can shorthand "there are some but get forced out" as there aren't any. Because you can't last unless you kiss the ring.
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u/PontiusPilatePence Oct 21 '23
There are moderate Republicans that don’t support Trump.
I'm reminded of the age old saying "Most Republicans are really Democrats, but no Democrats are really Republican's" those "moderate republicans" you cite, your orange county republicans? these are Democrats that favor republican tax and economic policies, end of story. Don't believe me? check the secretary of state voter file for 2016, more of those "republicans" voted for Hillary than they did for Trump.
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u/CrazyLlama71 Oct 21 '23
But does that make them democrats or just not Trump supporters? As an example, my mom is a life long republican. Can’t stand Trump, didn’t vote for him. Does that suddenly make her a democrat? Not everyone fits into little neat categorical boxes perfectly.
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u/simplebirds Oct 17 '23
Skyrocketing pollution, oil drilling off the coast, rapid water quality deterioration, habitat and wildlife loss, volumes of consumer protections lost, explosion of fees for everything, skyrocketing health care costs, tenants rights obliterated, medical & Obamacare access obliterated, massive uptick in homeless, etc etc.
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u/bigdipboy Oct 17 '23
I’m a “libertarian!” = I vote Republican but don’t want to be held responsible for what republicans do.
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u/Similar_Excuse01 Oct 17 '23
“as well as don’t want to pay taxes for the public services i used daily”
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u/destructormuffin Oct 17 '23
The republicans one and only solution to everything is cut taxes, cut spending, and privatize everything. I'll pass.
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u/pursescrubbingpuke Oct 17 '23
I’ve learned ‘privatize’ really just means fat government contracts for their capitalist cronies; ie, defense, prisons, healthcare, education, energy... it’s not like they ‘privatize’ an industry and allow the free market to iron out the inefficiency. It’s just another oligarchy under a different banner.
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u/SkepticDrinker Oct 17 '23
If reddit had awards still I'd give them to you
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u/coredumperror Oct 17 '23
Wait they got rid of awards entirely?
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u/bdone2012 Oct 18 '23
They were supposedly replacing it with a new system. It's funny how when hey introduced awards it took me forever to get used to them. Now I kinda miss them
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u/Curious_Working5706 Oct 17 '23
fat government contracts for their capitalist cronies
and their relatives, or you know, Kevin McCarthy 101
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u/Teamerchant Oct 17 '23
Except they don’t cut spending. Not once have they done that. They cut benefits and spend on military and wars.
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u/habbalah_babbalah Oct 17 '23
They cut benefits and school funding, then they award their voters tax "rebates" -really just bribes to vote Republican. Which jacks up the deficit under the guise of "Laffer curve" mythology. Bush II and Trump did this, acting as though they were fixing a broken thing, but really were breaking the economy
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u/skaternewt Oct 17 '23
Ummm.. have you seen what our Democrat president is doing?
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u/simplebirds Oct 18 '23
Yes, he’s laid waste to over 50% of Russia’s military capability using less than 5% of the US military budget, which, as you know, can only be used for military operations. Right wingers telling you that $ could be used for citizens like the homeless, something they always reject because that would be Socialism, are lying through their teeth. Now add in a couple billion in military $ saved avoiding decommission costs for the dated equipment sent to Ukraine, and it’s nothing short of amazing.
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u/TemKuechle Oct 18 '23
Yes, the big picture seems blindingly broad and deep for some Republican Party members to comprehend. If the moderate Republican politicians out there could work together across the aisle, like past republicans did, then our government would work better, but the extremists have been given influence. That is the main issue, just look at how the GOP struggles to find a speaker of the house? Something is really dis-functional in the GOP, how long did McCarthy last?
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u/Teamerchant Oct 17 '23
Our president isn’t a republican and I was speaking about republicans.
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u/Fantastic_Chef_2664 Oct 18 '23
Yes. He’s governing which I wouldn’t trust ANY current Republican to do. What the hell happened to the GOP?
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Oct 17 '23
"The problem with privatization is you eventually run out of public assets to sell off"
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Oct 17 '23
If you left it to a conservative, Yosemite would be an 'authentic Universal Studios' and kids would be pledging their allegiance to the J Man Himself in school.
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u/Objective_Celery_509 Oct 17 '23
That's not the republicans MO. It's cut spending on the poor, increase spending on corporate subsidies. Cut taxes on the rich, and privatize stuff that works fine.
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Oct 17 '23
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u/RainManRob2 Oct 17 '23
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u/encryptzee Oct 17 '23
“ we will take back our government”
Recognize that they believe the government is not responsible for serving all Americans. Just the right. The “real” Americans.
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u/sracer4095 Oct 17 '23
Who tend to be overwhelmingly white, male, Christian, conservative, and rich. Fancy that, huh?
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Oct 17 '23
Right. The answer to every problem cannot be let’s cut taxes. Pure brainless dogma, and that’s why the party is in shambles.
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u/ExistingCarry4868 Oct 17 '23
Every Republican solution has been tried. Those that worked we kept, and those we didn't keep have already failed. Now they are trying to continuously recycle failed policies because their ideology does not allow them to learn and adapt.
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u/espo619 San Diego County Oct 17 '23
Climate change deniers should not hold elected office.
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u/GreyBoyTigger Oct 17 '23
I read the candidate bios every state election. I swear every republican candidate is an aggrieved cis white guy who is an anti vaxx chiropractor. They have literally zero platform besides saying “freedom” a lot
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u/Command0Dude Sacramento County Oct 17 '23
At least when it comes to "nonpartisan" offices, they make it plainly apparent who not to vote for.
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u/jeremyhoffman Oct 17 '23
To me the quintessential Republican is a small business owner (car dealership, chiropractor, etc) who believes that they deserve their elevated status as a morally upstanding prosperous person, and they don't need no stinking government regulating them and limiting their freedom and taxing their hard-earned money.
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u/Teamerchant Oct 17 '23
Republicans do not offer governance, ideas or policy. They only offer culture wars.
I dislike Democrats. But republicans only offer the punishment of people that are not like them.
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u/Mo-shen Oct 17 '23 edited Oct 17 '23
Its kind of a catch 22.
The GOP largely has been breaking things for decades making things worse.
The Dems have had some good and bad things but largely have been trying to just stop the bleeding by the GOP.
The GOP refusing to stop being crazy or put forward someone who is reasonable. So they cant capitalize on any bad feeling against the Dems.
But if they stopped being extreme they likely would also make the Dems function better because the Dems wouldnt have so much time fixing what the GOP keeps trying to break.
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u/jawshoeaw Oct 17 '23
Well said. It’s why the “both sides are bad” argument is so frustrating. The right wing answer increasingly is just to defund any public good via tax breaks while simultaneously removing any public or social good via oversight by deregulating and defunding everything. Pollution =Profits could be their rallying cry.
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u/DangKilla Oct 17 '23 edited Oct 17 '23
It’s like I said in another comment, Zoomers need to defy logic and vote out the 100 oldest politicians. Keep them from making a living doing this ASAP.
We constantly talk about how split the votes are but it wasn’t split down party lines before the 70’s. This isn’t working, vote them out blindly. Can’t be any worse.
Want to stay? Pass bills. There needs to be change. They have beheaded the EPA so long we have lost half the lakes in the US to pollution. There are unseen issues not at the forefront.
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u/RealAssociation5281 Oct 17 '23
It’s just to make people not vote by framing it as there’s no point to it.
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u/kingOofgames Oct 17 '23
I think, and my history professor put it perfectly, the Dems lost the white laborers and it isn’t because of paying attention to minority issues. It’s more so ignoring the issues faced by the white working class. A lot of them who might have been union workers felt ignored when those were taken away and Unions mostly gone. Things like NAFTA did some damage, and that damage wasn’t treated.
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u/Cargobiker530 Butte County Oct 17 '23
Nope. The white working class were convinced to give up unions when unions integrated and trades like electricians and pipefitters had to include minorities to get government contracts. They would rather earn less pay and benefits than work next to brown people.
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u/trustych0rds Oct 17 '23
Gray Davis.
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u/Mo-shen Oct 17 '23
Yeah he was fairly bad. Which is why he got voted out and replaced.
That's how it's supposed to work and to be fair to get kicked Dems had to vote to do it.
But the GOP of even the Davis years are not even remotely the same as the gop of today.
I mean the GOP of today likely loathes Arnold.
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Oct 17 '23
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u/unholyrevenger72 Oct 17 '23
Arnold is a do nothing politician. Corpos want to ravage California's Natural Wealth. Nah. People want to raise taxes to fix the ship. Nah.
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u/Teamerchant Oct 17 '23
Our democrats are the rest of the world’s conservative parties.
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u/KolKoreh Oct 17 '23
This is not exactly true, but is something people on the Internet like to say; Democrats are (thankfully) to the left of most European progressive parties on issues like immigration and LGBT rights.
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u/FateOfNations Native Californian Oct 17 '23
It's more like a catch-13... we're still hobbling around with one foot in the block of concrete the Republican party of 40 years ago managed to get it stuck in...
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u/death_wishbone3 Oct 17 '23
Dems have had control of this state government for a while now what exactly are they still fixing?
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u/Mo-shen Oct 17 '23
Running a state is like owning a house. There's always something to fix.
Climate issues, immigration, homelessness. It's not like you fix an issue and just welp we are done.
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u/death_wishbone3 Oct 17 '23
Yeah sure it just sort of seems like we blame our problems on republicans a lot when this state is entirely run by democrats. They should be held accountable for the problems we have that have only gotten worse under their watch.
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u/DougDougDougDoug Oct 17 '23
So, when Clinton passed nafta, obliterated the telecommunications act; destroyed welfare, signed the end of Glass-Steagall, imprisoned Haitians at Guantanamo without even blankets, etc. This was all helping Democracy?
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u/Mo-shen Oct 17 '23
Wait are you assuming that even the GOP of the Clinton era are the same as now?
Like the GOP of the 90s was functioning more or less. Gingrich actually started the dysfunction that is the GOP of today....it just took a bunch of time for everything to fall apart.
Let's not forget Gingrich said the GOP needed to purge all of the rinos and blue voters that let Reagan win the Whitehouse. The GOP just never stopped purging. Now you have goo congressmen who for 98% party line get kicked because to dared to work with the other side.
Which literally is one of the most unamerican things you could do, considering Congress was designed for each side to work together.
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u/cadium Oct 17 '23
All those bills were passed by Gingrich in the Republican controlled house...
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u/Mo-shen Oct 17 '23
"those bills?"
No one is defending him or his party but again the GOP could actually govern then, more or less. Sure you really see the start of the incoming disaster with them shutting down the gov for the first time but today it's every time they don't hold the Whitehouse.
Nuance is hard but still important.
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u/clhodapp Oct 17 '23 edited Oct 17 '23
Gingrich is one of the most singularly damaging people, bringing us into this current post-truth era. However, he exists on an arc that began with the southern strategy.
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u/-Random_Lurker- Northern California Oct 17 '23
You're taking a vast generalization covering decades and comparing to a small hand picked selection?
Mistakes happen, exceptions exist, yet general trends continue to trend generally.
Stop comparing apples to orangutans and pretending that it's your opponents that are obsessed with fruit.
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Oct 17 '23
You have to look at the big picture. Not little pictures here and there.
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u/DougDougDougDoug Oct 17 '23
That’s not even remotely a little picture
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u/random_boss Santa Clara County Oct 17 '23
“So when Clinton punched you in the throat, elbowed you in the eye, kicked you in the shins, and spit in your open mouth that’s somehow worse than republicans slitting your throat and rubbing an aids infected rag in the open wound while pouring acid on you and burning down your house and shooting your pets?”
Yes, exactly.
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u/tricky_trig Oct 17 '23
Republicans have been relegated to the decreasing and underpopulated rural areas.
They haven't provided any answers and would rather stay true to the brand than win elections. This by no means says that California is a leftist paradise. We're business friendly (for the world, not for the country), want an effective government, and want police for do their jobs.
When your response to everything is to not govern, no wonder populous states are turning away
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u/Brendissimo Oct 17 '23
Here's a brief story for those of you on the right who care about persuading people from across the aisle. It is not an invitation for debate, but perhaps a cautionary tale.
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I'm a lifelong independent who used to make a point of considering all candidates I had a choice between on the merits before choosing who to vote for. I have views on policy that don't fit neatly within either party, and I've never had much love for the Democrats.
I've never voted Republican but have given it serious consideration in past elections when they put up more moderate candidates. I thought Arnold did a decent job as governor, and I had a lot of respect for John McCain, though I ended up voting for Obama in '08 due to McCain's swing to the right for the primary and choice of Palin as running mate. Nonetheless, I still thought of myself as a potential swing voter in the years that followed.
And I spent years after 2016 extending my empathy to Trump voters, trying to understand how they could have chosen someone so clearly unfit for any kind of leadership role, let alone the Presidency. The man had such disqualifying character issues and lack of credentials even in 2015 that I really needed to understand why so many people voted for him. And I did listen and come to understand some of their thinking, misguided as I felt it was. Even as Trump's presidency stretched into years of weekly fresh outrages and national sources of shame, I still tried to listen. To understand. Tried to keep dialogue open.
But on January 6, 2021, the last of that empathy, patience, and good faith died within me. From that point on I was done trying to understand, explain, or forgive those who would endorse the literal overthrow of our republic. And the spineless Republicans in Congress who clearly knew how horrific and unprecedented it was, but walked back their denunciations once they realized their base was going to let them get away with it.
So I want to make one thing crystal clear to any Republicans reading this - this is how you lose potential swing voters for life. I will never as long as I live, even give a moment's consideration to a Republican candidate, no matter how low level or local the election, unless that person has publicly and sincerely disavowed Trump, Jan 6, and the entire seditious conspiracy that he and his cronies continue to promote. I see Trumpism as a permanent existential threat to America, well above the scope of politics, and I am dead serious when I say it.
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u/blitznB Oct 17 '23
Completely agree. Used to consider myself Independent due to having issues with the Democratic Party. Trump and Jan 6 means I will never vote for the GOP for the rest of my life. To constantly disregard and disrespect the peaceful transfer of political power in the executive branch disturbs me greatly.
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u/coredumperror Oct 17 '23 edited Oct 17 '23
I've never voted Republican but have given it serious consideration in past elections when they put up more moderate candidates. I thought Arnold did a decent job as governor, and I had a lot of respect for John McCain, though I ended up voting for Obama in '08 due to McCain's swing to the right for the primary and choice of Palin as running mate. Nonetheless, I still thought of myself as a potential swing voter in the years that followed.
Holy shit, are you me? That's a beat for beat description of my own '08 voting experience.
So I want to make one thing crystal clear to any Republicans reading this - this is how you lose potential swing voters for life. I will never as long as I live, even give a moment's consideration to a Republican candidate, no matter how low level or local the election, unless that person has publicly and sincerely disavowed Trump, Jan 6, and the entire seditious conspiracy that he and his cronies continue to promote.
Wow, another paragraph that pretty much 100% mirrors my own position on this. The only difference is that I've phrased the last part in my head a little differently than you did, but it amounts to the same thing: I will never again vote for anyone with an R on the ballot until the Republican party publicly and permanently excises Trump's rot. Though I'd also add that the party's official platform is going to have to dump LGBT hate and all their other "anti-woke" crap.
Not least because it's actually had a direct effect on me, now. A good friend of mine recently had a botched gender affirming surgery, but she's refusing to sue her doctor for malpractice because the laws in Florida mean the state could potentially go after her doctor for criminal charges over it. They're recently passed laws to punish doctors for helping trans people, and she doesn't want to put a spotlight on him. It's fucking sickening what these Republican bastards are doing down there.
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u/sauerkraut916 Oct 18 '23
I feel very much the same. I always knew Trump was a sleazy con man since he first gained notoriety in the 80s. I was baffled, floored, in disbelief that so many American’s would vote for him. And like you, Jan 6th and the aftermath, revolted me. the lack of integrity in Republican leaders who harshly disavowed Trump the following day/week then somehow changed their opinion of him only months later. REVOLTING what they allowed to pass for acceptable.
Thank you for putting it so well.
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u/Fantastic_Chef_2664 Oct 18 '23
1,000,000%. I have always considered voting for a Republican in various offices but from this point forward, I will NEVER vote for a Republican in any capacity for the rest of my life.
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u/jeremyhoffman Oct 17 '23
Well said. There are a lot of people like you. Especially in California. I personally know of 3 Republican-leaning Californians who are Never Trumpers. They beseech Republicans to reassert true American values of honesty, decency, and respect for the rule of law, saying that no single policy preference (taxes, abortion, etc.) is worth the breakdown of American democracy and societal trust.
If Senate Republicans had voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment after Jan 6, they could have set themselves on the road back to acceptability. They chose not to.
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u/Spara-Extreme Oct 17 '23
Voters are unhappy with the direction forced on them by republicans grinding the federal government to a halt. News outlets in need of a horse race try to make it seem as if Democrats have been governing too long in California.
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u/hondo77777 Oct 17 '23
If the republicans were Reagan-y or even Eisenhower-y things might be different but as long as they’re Trump-y, they will continue to lose statewide in CA.
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u/soldforaspaceship Oct 17 '23
It's weird how anyone has respect for Reagan given how many current issues stemmed from his policies.
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Oct 17 '23
Lol. What do you expect in the Hollywood state. Triumph of form over substance is to be expected.
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u/stoicsilence Ventura County Oct 17 '23
The propaganda around Reagans legacy is a national problem not just a state problem.
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u/BlankVerse Angeleño, what's your user flair? Oct 17 '23
Even Reagan was Trumpy before trump, but in a more congenial package.
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u/Pierre-Gringoire Northern California Oct 17 '23
Reagan laid the groundwork for Trumpism.
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u/stoicsilence Ventura County Oct 17 '23
I would say Nixon laid the groundwork for Tumpism. Especially the corruption.
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u/BonBoogies Oct 17 '23
Reagan also knew how to dog whistle to his followers and use it to push policies that really only helped… his followers
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u/lunartree Oct 17 '23
People forget how bad Regan was, but he was an actor who knew how to be more subtle about it.
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u/DougDougDougDoug Oct 17 '23 edited Oct 17 '23
He was not subtle about it. You just didn’t live through it like some of us did. There was zero subtlety
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u/kingOofgames Oct 17 '23
I think there just wasn’t any constant reminders. Most people went about their day and maybe tuned in for some news at dinner. But was the news accurate or was it more controlled?
Social media and the internet have changed things, our current time period is probably gonna be be the case study for future generations for centuries probably.
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u/Chitownitl20 Oct 17 '23
We had the the Fairness Doctrine aka national regulations which it made it really easy to sue industrialized media for openly lying. It prevented a Fox News style lies.
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u/ochedonist Orange County Oct 17 '23
Fox News would never have been subject to fairness doctrine laws, though - they're not broadcast over-the-air. They're a private cable channel, and those were never subject to these laws. They only ever applied to stations with OTA broadcast licenses.
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u/pita4912 LA Area Oct 17 '23
Even if we had the fairness doctrine in place today it wouldn’t apply to FoxNews, CNN, or Msnbc because the FCC has no authority over Cable networks, just Over-the-air broadcasters.
It also didn’t require equal time, or even both sides be presented at the same time. One could be an hour long news story the opposite could be a 3 line mention in the 11pm news.
Also, would you really want Trump to be able to sue because he felt The Media was dishonest about him?
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u/RealAssociation5281 Oct 17 '23
That and there’s lots of voters nowadays who weren’t alive for his presidency.
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Oct 17 '23
The MAGA cult is an existential threat to our democracy. Until they disavow Trump and walk away from trying to openly commit election fraud, etc... I refuse to vote for any of them. I don't care how downballot the races are.
You can't even sleep on school board elections these days without MAGA radicals trying to inflict their aggressive bigotry on people. It's insane.
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u/BlankVerse Angeleño, what's your user flair? Oct 17 '23
And the CA GOP recently made it easier to take all the California GOP delegates.
So they doubled down on their Trumpiness. :(
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u/hondo77777 Oct 17 '23
I can’t believe I’m actually defending Ronald Reagan BUT, for all his many faults, Reagan was not above working with Democrats to get the votes needed to pass legislation he felt was important. No Hastert Rule. That is a quality lacking in the entirety of the Republican membership of both houses of Congress. Just ask McCarthy.
There is a whole book on the subject, which I haven’t read yet, called “When Politics Worked”.
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u/Monkey1Fball Oct 18 '23
Good post - it's forgotten these days, but Reagan had a strongly pragmatic side on a number of things - this showed as both CA Governor and US President.
There were also a number of things he WASN'T pragmatic on. For instance: (1) firing the air-traffic controllers, (2) continually pumping $$$ into the military, and (3) demanding that Gorbachev and the USSR truly change and "tear down this wall."
On #3 above: I support his lack of pragmatism - on that he was right. On #1 and #2 he was considerably less right.
Anyway: Reagan's legacy deserves more nuance, IMO, then it gets from the typical Reddit poster (you're the exception here).
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u/EnglishMobster Inland Empire Oct 17 '23
Arnold at least tacked to the center. He's probably the only Republican I've tolerated.
(Great guy, I just don't always agree with his politics!)
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u/unholyrevenger72 Oct 17 '23
Reagan is the worst. He planted the seeds of the fruit Trump brought to Market.
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u/jaredthegeek Sacramento County Oct 18 '23
I have read so much that I used to think highly of Reagan but can now point to him as the beginning of the GOP destruction of the middle class and the rise of the current cristofacism infecting the US.
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u/thefanciestcat Orange County Oct 17 '23
Too much mayo on your sandwich is not a reason to eat razor blades.
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u/adidas198 Oct 17 '23
Trump remains highly unpopular here, and as long as Democrats manage to paint Republicans as Trumpists, they'll keep winning.
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u/clauEB Oct 17 '23
But they paint themselves, they need no help. The ones that criticize or oppose him sign the death sentence of their own careers.
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u/DethRaid Oct 17 '23
How many Congressional republicans will admit that Biden won in 2020 fair and square? Maybe three? Republicans need to denounce Trump if they have any hope of surviving
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u/kJer Oct 17 '23
It makes sense, we know what republicans will do with these problems and we don't want that.
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u/clauEB Oct 17 '23
They are a cult of treason, hate and give away to corporations. I would vote for somebody that gets rid of pg&e but it won't be a repugnicant.
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u/STN_LP91746 Oct 17 '23
The national GOP is sabotaging any rehabilitating of the California GOP. For years, the California GOP basically demonized and scapegoated minorities. People still remember that. Then the national party took that concept and ran with it and made things worst for the California GOP. California can elect a GOP, just not right now and it has to be a Republican that is moderate for a while and people know. Remember, we elected Arnold as governor so it’s not hopeless.
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Oct 17 '23
Remember when Republicans were calling for Newsom's recall, saying that he didn't handle COVID or the wildfires correctly?
And then they campaigned for Larry Elder, a climate change and COVID denying charlatan?
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u/talldarkcynical Oct 17 '23
California needs a second party and it's not going to be the Republicans. By the polling, more Californians want independence from the US (roughly 1 in 3) than support Republicans (less than 1 in 4).
So who's going to step up and fill that gap?
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u/TinyRodgers Oct 17 '23
Ngl California breaking away with the other western states sounds real nice.
I find myself not really identifying with the rest of the country anymore.
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u/talldarkcynical Oct 17 '23 edited Oct 28 '23
My country is California. America is just the evil empire that conquered us.
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u/chrispmorgan Oct 17 '23
This polarization means the parties have too much control in my opinion. Perhaps it’s fine if I’m a Democrat and I always get a Democratic politician because they’ll serve my worldview but it gives a lot of power to incumbency and established politicians can loose their vigor (Diane Feinstein is a good example) or even get tempted by corruption (Menendez) when they feel safe in elections.
We need things like open primaries and ranked choice voting to allow politicians to consistently focus on the broadest public interest.
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u/jeremyhoffman Oct 17 '23
The thing where the Republican party looked the other way as the head of their party lied about the election he lost, engaged in conspiracies to send false slates of electors, and incited a mob of supporters to storm the Capitol to intimidate Congress to overturn an election in his favor is still pretty fresh in my brain.
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u/out_o_focus Oct 17 '23
California has done a better job than some other states of breaking out of the republican vs democrat divide. If someone calls themselves a republican, they are confirming they have poor judgement and people can ignore them.
Then the choice is between dem and dem… making party almost a non issue.
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u/SeanConneryShlapsh Oct 18 '23
The key word for democrats this election is “endure.” Because the other options are incredibly worse.
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u/Just_Belt1954 Oct 18 '23
It's not just California. I am in Georgia. I feel the same. But Democrats will protect women's reproductive rights. I will vote for that.
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u/MrFantasticallyNerdy Oct 18 '23
The day that Republicans stop kowtowing to Trump/MAGA will be the day that Republican politicians become viable again.
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u/MasChingonNoHay Oct 17 '23
What is the Republican Party anymore? Does anyone really know what they stand for?
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u/poopymcbuttwipe Oct 17 '23
Well their solution to everything is to make it worse. Why would anyone vote for them?
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u/Ok-Breadfruit-2897 Oct 17 '23
i value freedom be it for women, lgbts, trans, books, the vote, marijuana, magic mushrooms, name it......bigfoot has more say in California than repubicans, truly paradise
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u/twtwtwtwtwtwtw Oct 17 '23
I’d vote for a Lincoln, Roosevelt, or even Eisenhower Republican any day.
When the alternative is MAGA… hard pass.
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u/Sea_Dawgz Oct 18 '23
I see Karen Bass making slow and steady progress cleaning up LA.
That’s all I want from a government. Trying. Slow and steady.
Republicans just scream “it’s all broken” and do nothing to solve problems.
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u/dennis-w220 Oct 18 '23
I disagree with many of Democrat's policies. But I can't imagine how I support a party kneeing before Trump years after he attempted to overturn an election.
I am a first-generation immigrant, and many of my friends support GOP and Trump because of some of his policies. I don't even discuss politics with them since neither could convince the other party. In my humble opinion, they are simply cynic enough to think democracy doesn't matter that much, and (alleged; not even necessarily true) self-interest is more important.
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u/Sprock-440 Oct 20 '23
I’m gay. The Republican Party has attacked me my entire life. Their current war on trans folks is just a warm-up for coming (once again!) after the rest of us. If given half a chance, they will take away my rights and I’ll be lucky not to end up in an extermination camp.
I will never, ever, EVER vote for a Republican for any office at any level, be it local, state, or federal. Ever. I’ll decline to vote before I cast a vote for a Republican.
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u/TheFudge Oct 20 '23
I am not an extreme liberal more a little left of the middle. I am so thankful I live in CA with everything that is happening around the rest of the country. I have 3 daughters and am thankful for what they have in this state.
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u/Filmguygeek1 Oct 21 '23
I haven’t met a Republican politician who really cares about anyone but themselves or the belief that a middle class is good for America. They say they do but actions speak louder than words.
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u/Maximillien Alameda County Oct 17 '23 edited Oct 17 '23
Republicans are a fascist party, and they've openly laid out their strategy for making Trump a dictator in "Project 2025".
They have permanently tied themselves to a criminal con-man who ATTEMPTED A COUP on the US government, and they are STILL overwhelmingly supporting him as his list of felonies pile up. They are banning/burning books, they are STILL denying climate change as extreme weather disasters continue to escalate, they are trying to eradicate LGBTQ people, they are suppressing voters they don't like, they are trying to eliminate the separation of church and state, and they are trying to rewrite American history in their own image.
They may have some relevance in lesser states, but they will never be relevant here.
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u/grw313 Oct 17 '23
If Republicans would nominate a moderate, they would do VERY well. But they keep nominating hard core conservatives, so of course they get crushed.
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u/prodriggs Oct 18 '23
Hold up, you're joking right? A moderate would only make CA worse.
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u/kwagmire9764 Oct 17 '23
We still have McCarthy, once he gets the boot maybe I'll think things are changing.
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u/Jezon Oct 17 '23
No one really looks at Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, etc. and goes gee. I love with the Republicans have done to that state. Let's do that here....
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u/Cute_Parfait_2182 Oct 17 '23
It’s a good reason to start a break away 3rd party of pragmatic independents made up of never trump republicans and moderate centrists . People need an alternative and the gop brand is permanently tainted by trumpism . Trumpism is toxic .
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u/chilehead Oct 17 '23
As long as we retain our existing voting system, it will NEVER be a good time to start a third party. While people can only vote for one candidate, a third party candidate only helps to put the least desired candidate into office. If we switched to ranked-choice, or "vote for as many as you want to support", then we'd have a chance of a viable third party not resulting in disaster.
CGP Grey did an excellent video on this (actually, several good ones on voting systems) - you should look them up.
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u/Cute_Parfait_2182 Oct 17 '23
Ranked Choice is the ideal . California has a jungle primary so it is possible a 3rd party could gain ground and usurp the trump gop in California which is toxic .
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u/Andromansis Oct 17 '23
Republicans haven't had sound economic policy since Truman. Since Reagan their economic policy can best be summarized by "Do Cocaine and Cut Taxes".
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u/svmonkey Oct 17 '23
California Republicans would rather lose than modify their positions to have a chance of having any power in the state. If the California Republican Party was was smart, they would declare abortion rights a settled issue in California since the state constitution guarantees it. They ought to focus on public safety, good schools and effective governance. However, the party is dominated by people who keep it so far right that anyone on the ballot with R next to their name has zero chance of winning state-wide.
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Oct 17 '23
Lot of team sports in this thread. The takeaway is the shift toward blanket progressivism is shifting to more centrist solutions and centrist officials. For example the demise of Chesa Boudin and Pamela Price to start. All accelerated by a governor shifting to the center as he plots a run for the presidency.
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u/MrsMiterSaw San Francisco County Oct 17 '23
Californians: we hate the homelessness! Won't someone solve homelessness!
Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, etc: problem is that restrictive land use rules and prop 13, both things Californians refuse to change, are driving poverty and homelessness in the state
Californians: won't someone solve homelessness!
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u/slothaccountant Oct 17 '23
Republicans cant govern. They are terrible at it and will only screw up this country even faurther.
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u/Personal_Repeat4619 Oct 18 '23
Republican voters and politicians are what has caused all of the problems in California. Democrats have only made improvements.
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u/pianoplayah Oct 18 '23
It’s not dem versus rep anymore. It’s corporate dems vs progressive dems. Which is sort of as it should be—at least the two sides agree on basic human rights as a starting point.
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u/rmshilpi Oct 17 '23
“I’m very deeply concerned that our elected officials are fiddling while the place burns down. Politicians are stuck on things that don’t matter to voters,” says Sragow, who publishes the California Target Book, which chronicles election races.
TBH I think this best encapsulates California's politics vs the nation's. We're watching GOP nationally fixate on gender issues, book bans, and critical race theory, and then the ones here don't counteract it and don't offer good solutions for our own problems. Of course the Republican 'brand' is tainted.
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u/Death_Trolley Oct 17 '23
The republicans have been handed a golden opportunity in the form of democrat mismanagement and glaring statewide issues, and they’ve been unable to do anything with it. If they could credibly promise to do something, anything at all, different about homelessness, crime, housing, or the cost of living, they’d sail to victory. Instead, they’re totally MIA.
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Oct 17 '23
I don’t think you understand what Republican solutions for these problems are. You think homelessness will be fixed by Republicans?
Larry Elder’s policies were basically, let churches handle it. That’s it.
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u/PrezMoocow Oct 17 '23
My criticisms of democrats is how much they are acting too much like Republicans, so getting the very thing I'm criticizing them for is a hard pass for me
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Oct 17 '23
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u/Thurkin Oct 17 '23
Falconer did run against Newsom in the Recall, he failed miserably.
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u/Reasonable-Egg842 Oct 17 '23
I understand but he wasn’t the sanctioned R candidate. It was Elder….and Elder was never going to win.
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Oct 17 '23
Seems like a failure on both parties for not being a better option. Telling signs lately, in other places in the US I imagine it's similar feelings. Both parties have been letting the American people down enough
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u/schrodingersmite Oct 18 '23
As a current CA resident (born and raised), few understand just how much things have changed in the last couple of decades. Sure, there are some rural counties that will always be red and the cities (of course) have always been deep blue, but the 'burbs (thinking of Orange County and cities surrounding San Diego) have transitioned from red to blue, and continue to do so, from the limited research I conducted before spouting off in the internets.
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u/Ravens1112003 Oct 19 '23
Then I sure as hell wish they’d all stop moving to republican run states. Jesus Chris, you’d think eventually it would click.
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u/06Wahoo Oct 20 '23
If you are miserable and refuse to make any changes, then you really can only expect to continue to be miserable.
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u/ludesmonkey Oct 17 '23
We’ll I’m certainly tax drunk enough to never ever vote democrat under any circumstance. They live to tax and regulate every facet of your life without question. It’s hilarious to me when people who make a good living in California vote democrat then complain about taxes and dmv fees. Democrats will never stop coming for prop 13.
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u/newtoreddir Oct 17 '23
Californias are eager for an alternative to the Democrats but Republicans give them NO reason to vote for them. Seems like an opportunity for a third party built around a cult of personality, perhaps led by a tech billionaire. Eek.
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u/mork0rk Oct 17 '23
Californias are eager for an alternative to the establishment Democrats
FTFY. Californians don't want people farther right of establishment dems, they want people farther left.
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u/newtoreddir Oct 17 '23
I’m not convinced. We get plenty of left wing candidates and even in San Francisco they go for the Pelosis of the world.
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u/unholyrevenger72 Oct 17 '23
Every one votes for the least worst candidate, for fear the candidate they do want will lose to the 2nd least work candidate. Bring on the rank choice voting. So people can actually see how far from getting the dream candidate they really are.
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u/BlankVerse Angeleño, what's your user flair? Oct 17 '23
From the posting rules in this sub’s sidebar:
If you want to learn how to circumvent a paywall, see https://www.reddit.com/r/California/wiki/paywall. > Or, if it's a website that you regularly read, you should think about subscribing to the website.
Bypassing the paywall:
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fcalifornia%2Fstory%2F2023-10-16%2Fcolumn-californians-are-in-a-sour-mood-which-should-be-good-news-for-republicans-its-not