Headlines

Joel Kotkin

California’s politics of farce

Unlike my conservative friends, I do not think the fault lies entirely with the Democrats. Instead, it has to do with the total eclipse of the state’s once-lively two-party system. As Starr has noted, California’s golden age of governance from the 1940s to the 1960s was largely a bipartisan affair, with power shifting between the parties. “Despite their differences,” Starr writes, “Democrats and Republicans saw sufficiently eye-to-eye” to embrace policies that drove California’s growth…

Before 1994, Republicans were capable of winning upward of two-fifths of the Latino vote. But after that, as the Latino portion of the electorate grew, from 7 percent in 1980 to more than 21 percent today, these voters became, much like the African-American vote, essentially a bloc owned by the Democrats. In 2010, Jerry Brown won nearly two-thirds of their votes in his bid to return as governor. Asian voters, despite their decidedly middle-class and entrepreneurial bent, sensed the whiff of nativism among Republicans and also turned to the Democrats. With minority communities’ share of the electorate growing every year, the GOP essentially has backed itself into permanent minority status.

This has set the stage for a bizarre political farce, where minority representatives in Sacramento – with few exceptions – consistently vote against the interests of their own constituents on issues such as water allocations in the Central Valley or regulations that boost energy and housing prices. In their clamor to join the “progressive” team, they, in effect, are placing the California “dream” outside the reach of the state’s heavily minority working class.

It’s almost surreal to see people who represent impoverished East Los Angeles and Fresno, for example, vote exactly the same way as those who represent rich, white and older voters in Marin County and Westside Los Angeles.

Read the Article

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

Trackbacks/Pings

Trackback URL

Comments

Lenin: You kill the middle class by grinding them between the twin millstones of inflation and taxation.

Abobo: Inflation = Wealth transfer to the rich (non-paper assets).
Taxation = Wealth transfer to the poor (net recipients).

abobo on January 6, 2013 at 9:35 PM

“Unlike my conservative friends, I do not think the fault lies entirely with the Democrats.”

Yes, it does…

Seven Percent Solution on January 6, 2013 at 9:38 PM

Yeah, the GOP is partly responsible for the California mess because the Dems won elections and implemented their policies.

Mark1971 on January 6, 2013 at 9:55 PM

But after that, as the Latino portion of the electorate grew, from 7 percent in 1980 to more than 21 percent today, these voters became, much like the African-American vote, essentially a bloc owned by the Democrats. In 2010, Jerry Brown won nearly two-thirds of their votes in his bid to return as governor. Asian voters, despite their decidedly middle-class and entrepreneurial bent, sensed the whiff of nativism among Republicans and also turned to the Democrats. With minority communities’ share of the electorate growing every year, the GOP essentially has backed itself into permanent minority status.

Why don’t libtards ever take credit for their propaganda work? The demonization of the party that actually brought about the civil rights movement? That’s a real feat. Dems were able to pander by race and identity and make non-pandering out to be the equivalent of racism. That “whiff” was a democrat invention. Yet they aren’t proud of it? Apparently because they now realize once in power, they may need to produce results? Probably the same way the republicans recommended in the first place. But then who do you demonize? No, take California. Own it libs.

MechanicalBill on January 6, 2013 at 10:13 PM

What routinely idiotic nonsense. Yes, the “whiff of nativism” is absurdly untrue and a complete defamation of rational, responsible voters who understand economics, fairness, and the role of the rule of law.

If “minority” voters and politicians reward the disastrously irresponsible, incompetent, and racist Dems – then they are a central part of the problem. And seeing the catastrophic laziness and incompetence of such voters (and their more than “whiff” of racism, in the case of Latinos, Filipinos, and of course blacks) contradict their practical interests is another yawner – has Kotkin talked to any “educated” Jewish voters lately?

And recall that “bipartisan” up to the 1980s meant Dems supporting reasonable public policies – not the toxic and unworkable mix of racism, lawlnessness, envy, and greed (public sector employees minus public service mindsets) that has been their thing for more than 20 years now. Competent, reasonable, appropriately priced public goods and services, and sane economic and tax policies, were indeed mostly bipartisan things during CA’s golden age. And – Joel, hint hint – it’s not the GOP, and particularly the CA GOP, that has changed 98% in the last 20 years.

Much as with the term “neocon”, the appearance of the word “bipartisan” in other than the most technical and factual sense is a very efficient signal from nature that the writer/speaker is clueless at best, and a pathetic creature of Beltway myths at worst. The word is used either to describe one or two idiot NE GOPers voting for the latest unconstitutional and idiotic Dem initiative, or as a reference to some gauzy, myth-shrouded past in which Dems who wouldn’t recognize today’s Dem party, office-holders, or voters happened to agree with Repubs on most common sense matters. The odious comparison is for today’s bizarre and disastrous Dem monster, but Kotkin and his ilk (and most of his readers) don’t have the smarts or knowledge to get it.

IceCold on January 6, 2013 at 10:40 PM

As Starr has noted, California’s golden age of governance from the 1940s to the 1960s was largely a bipartisan affair, with power shifting between the parties.

The Democratic party was quite different then. They believed in compromise. They believed in values. They believed in America.

Today’s Democratic party bears little resemblance to the Democratic party of yesteryear. It has been taken over by radical leftists bent on taking down our capitalistic system and replacing it with one similar to Europe or Soviet Russia.

UltimateBob on January 6, 2013 at 11:25 PM

Before 1994, Republicans were capable of winning upward of two-fifths of the Latino vote.

Which translates to R – 40, D – 60

In 2010, Jerry Brown won nearly two-thirds of their votes in his bid to return as governor.

Which translates to R – 33, D – 66.

I’m not blown away.

John the Libertarian on January 7, 2013 at 12:21 AM

An excellent read. As we speak, they continue to concoct newer and newer taxes. Sooner or later, its gonna be a wasteland populated by the Hollywood and Silicon Valley ‘rich’, the public sector pensioners and the illegals. What a waste.

tommy71 on January 7, 2013 at 5:37 AM

the Bill Lockyer video is always worth a chuckle

FineasFinn on January 7, 2013 at 8:00 AM