'Kalifornian Katastrophe'

What the hell is going on in California?  As "seen through a glass darkly", it is beautiful, mostly warm, gently washed by the Pacific ocean, gallons of wine and, er, Hollywood!  However, whilst I pretend to no expertise, more and more of everything I read about the place tells me it is going to hell in that infamous handcart!  My latest despatch comes from the redoubtable Ann Coulter, courtesy of 'TakiMag'.  You will not be surprised to know that she blames the Democratic Party and even if only half of what she offers in evidence is true, then she is spot on!

California is wholly controlled by the Democratic Party. The governor is a Democrat. The lieutenant governor is a Democrat. The attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer are Democrats. All these positions have been held by Democrats since the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger (who was a Democrat). The state Senate is just under two-thirds Democratic, while the assembly is more than two-thirds Democratic. Both U.S. senators are Democrats, as are 46 of 53 members of Congress.

So there are no excuses, whatever the final outcome is for California, the Dems own it, lock, stock and barrel!  Of course, they maintain their power, even as the State crumbles about them, by empowering the immigrant vote irrespective of whether or not they are legal immigrants.

But starting with Gray Davis’ refusal in 1999 to appeal an activist judge’s announcement that it was “unconstitutional” for taxpayers not to give welfare to illegal immigrants — an initiative that had passed overwhelmingly just a few years earlier — California’s elected officials began an all-out war on its own citizens.

Currently, the position seems to be that the Democrat polit-bureau simply ignores the stated wishes of its citizens.  Take for example, the death penalty:

I doubt any other state’s voters have been more emphatic about their support for the death penalty than Californians, voting for it in statewide initiatives in 1972, 1978, 2012 and again in 2016 — just three years ago. But earlier this year, Gov. Newsom flagrantly disregarded the voters’ repeated endorsement of capital sentences and single-handedly imposed a moratorium on the death penalty.

Then there is the tricky situation concerning gun law:

This September, during a fiery debate on guns, the left demanded “red-flag laws” to take guns away from citizens after having their politics, their writings, their previous exercise of free speech examined on a granular level by bureaucrats empowered to revise the Bill of Rights. In the middle of that debate, Gov. Newsom commuted the sentences of 21 convicted felons — almost all of whom were serving lengthy terms for murder or attempted murder with a gun.  And get this: Newsom specifically cited the unfairness of enhancing a criminal’s sentence merely because he used a gun when committing a crime. [My emphasis]

And so it goes on and on.  Citizens are leaving in droves - but of course 'bought and paid for' immigrants, legal or otherwise, flock in.  Where will it end?  I do not know but I fear the worst.

 

 

Comments

[Bob]

The Democrats' takeover of California has been mostly a reaction to Republican Governor Pete Wilson, who assumed office in 1990. He signed a punitive "three-strikes" law that quickly expanded the prison population, and associated costs, with largely petty criminals. The law also restricted the discretion of judges and local governments. He also deregulated the energy industry and supported a program denying illegal immigrants social services.

All that turned out to be wildly unpopular. Intrusion of state government into local issues was resented by both the left and right. Energy deregulation resulted in CA being ripped off by energy companies, most famously PG&E and Enron. PG&E practices raised rates and increased wildfires. Enron created rolling blackouts so they could raise rates, among other activities that resulted in a huge scandal.

Most of all, picking on immigrants was self defeating. The state is largely agricultural and heavily dependent on immigrant labor. That annoyed the ag industries. Worse for Republicans in the long run, the number of Latino immigrants over the years, both legal and illegal, changed the demographics of CA earlier than most of the country.

California was the home of Ronald Reagan. Over here there's a saying, "As goes California, so goes the nation". Except for draconian law enforcement, Trump is pursuing a program like Wilson's on the national level, made worse by his trade wars. Deregulating energy has not revived the coal industry as he promised, but has contributed to negligent management. There will probably be a similar backlash nationally.

[Doctor Weasel]

The lunatics continue to run the asylum in Cali. Some of them want their asylum separated from the USA. It could unfold like this.

https://doctorweasel.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/calexit-and-civil-war-a-history/

[Jack the dog]

Thank you Bob.

Don't call us we'll call you.

[Whitewall]

Calizuela is like any place today where liberals have been in charge for too long. Liberal ideas cause liberal problems needing liberal solutions. When these fail, more liberal solutions are needed.

The very worst example is the left's near complete take over of the University.

[JK]

Bless your heart Bob.

[JK]

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bless%20your%20heart

Realizing David, y'all gots a lot o' furriners hanging around these parts I figured I'd best explicate.

[Bob]

You guys are pretty thin skinned. Can any of you prove me wrong about Pete Wilson and the reaction in California?

[Up2L8]

Victor Davis Hanson portrays a different picture.

(Snip)

No one would dare to connect the crumbling infrastructure, poor schools and failing public health care with the non-enforcement of immigration laws, which has led to a massive influx of undocumented immigrants from the poorest regions of the world, which often arrive without fluency in English or a high-school education.
Stores are occasionally hit by swarming looters. Such Wild West criminals know how to keep their thefts under $950, ensuring that such "misdemeanors" do not warrant police attention. California's permissive laws have decriminalized thefts and break-ins. The result is that San Francisco now has the highest property crime rate per capita in the nation.

[Whitewall]

Uppers,
It doesn't stop. Current governor Newsom, lefty trash, is at it again:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-15/california-governor-gavin-newsom-pardons-to-block-deportations

Decline is a choice.

[Up2L8]

You're right Whitewall, it doesn't stop.

The policies of the 1990's, Governor Pete Wilson, have very little to do with the policies enacted in Kaliforny since January 20, 2009. Has been steadily going down hill.

[Bob]

California's problems began in large part before the 1990's:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_California_Proposition_13

The proposition passed largely because older people were being taxed out of their homes as the '70's CA boom began and property values skyrocketed. However, the tax cut applied to all properties. That put the budget in a huge bind; something Republicans always love doing. Reagan's budgets generated deficits. Trump's is nearly $1 TRILLION. But that won't matter until there's a Democratic president again.

I really don't expect to convince some commenters here that all the evils in the world don't originate in foreigners and lefties. It just helps keep me on my toes.