As a one party Progressive state, and given the ability of our federal system to allow states to implement many unique policies, it is time for California to unilaterally enact the Bernie vision. First, raise state income taxes so that the combined state and federal tax rate on all income above $1 million is taxed at 90%. No one needs more than a million dollars a year. With all the fat cat movie stars, singers, professional athletes, venture capitalists, and tech guys, this should raise more than enough to create a liveable guaranteed income for all Californians, including all the undocumented. Next, use state anti-trust law to break up all big tech, and highly regulate whats left. Make all college free, including graduate school. And include room and board in process. Bring back private sector unions, make all private sector businesses only employ union labor. Raise the minimum wage to a living wage, at least $35 per hour in most of California. Provide guaranteed inexpensive housing for everyone, as well as high quality health care. Allow only renewable energy to be used in the state. And ban charter schools as they hurt public school teachers. Let California be the laboratory in America to show the shining success of true Progressive policies. With current effective complete control of all aspects of California State government by Progressives, nothing but hesitation stands in the way.
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David Nunes and the death of the Republican soul—that’s a wrap, folks.
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Those unfamiliar with California's political reality need to understand that the central valley and rural regions of the state are typical ultra conservative strong holds consistently voting to keep (conserve) old ways despite changes in the economy, water availability, health information, and requirements for sustainability. The progress centers in California are mostly along the coast where a more comprehensive view of change and needs is used to determine how best to create a sustainable future.
Both groups have endemic problems and both share the problem of homelessness. The coastal regions are oriented towards high-tech applied to electronics, aero-space, defense, and medical research. The inner regions are primarily agriculture e.g. cattle, wine grapes, fruits and nuts. Nut crops are very water intense and crops are primarily exported.
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@Jim While you are correct that the Central Valley and the coastal regions have very different economies, its important to note that Republican losses in the Valley during the 2018 election were almost as dramatic as those in Orange County. Fresno County, home to the largest city in the Valley, also voted for Clinton in 2016. So while the Valley does tend be be far more conservative than some other parts of the state, the actual picture is far more complex.
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Ah yes, California and it's Democratic rulers ... rivals New York (another Democratic stranglehold) regarding it's stupefying degree of wealth inequality, highest per capita rate of homelessness, stratospheric housing costs, and,with the exception of the ultra wealthy enclaves, a depressingly inadequate system of public education. It's the wave of the future we are told by our pundits.
@BD and the 5th largest economy in the world, the leader in innovation in the USA (e.g. standards for toxicity in air & food), leader in worker safety requirements.
Homelessness amounts to 0.33% of the state's population concentrated in temperate and mostly dry areas. Homelessness in central states that have severe weather is low for obvious reasons.
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@Jim ... yes, quite right. I had forgotten that there are indeed benefits to living in an entrenched stratified society where our social and economic betters guide the overall direction of our lives.
And do I need to point out rampant poverty in Republican states from West Virginia to Kentucky ?
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The real story is, not that California has some Trump Republican pockets but, how quickly those areas are turning Democratic as conservatives turn away from the Republicans’ radical new agenda.
In those newly blue areas, the candidates, now labeling themselves as Democrats, are much more traditionally conservative than Trump’s new Republicans. Labels can be helpful but when labels are used to deceive they become meaningless tools of propaganda which fool some people some of the time but not everyone all of the time.
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I too was a moderate Republican in California, voted for Pete Wilson, and thought California could be better served from conservatives. Although after the recall of Gray Davis and having to endure years of Schwarzenegger, I have now become independent and supporting Democrats. It seems that the farther the GOP push to the right, the more they will lose constituents. I am long over having people without knowledge of Government running for high elected offices. It seems to me that if someone were seriously interested in governing, then they would learn how it is done before taking an office of Governor/Senator/Congressman/women. What we end up getting are people like an idiot reality TV star or a movie personality who didn't know the first thing of how a government actually works. Right now we need leaders who know government and have the courage to represent those who elected them and those that did not vote for them. It would be nice not to have first timers who seem to care more about themselves than those they represent.
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Of course California is on the front lines. They represent the future while the east coast represents the past. McCarthy and Nunes belong in the south.
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Devin Nunes only won by 5%p in 2018. He can be defeated in 2020. We flipped Central Valley's district 10 in 2018, we can repeat the feat for the district 22. Let's donate when the Democratic candidate is finalized and get this liar out of the office.
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@TK Sung Its worth noting that Nunes won by 5% against a fairly strong and well funded Democratic candidate in a blue wave election.
Nunes' district is gerrymandered to only include the wealthy areas of North Fresno, Clovis and the surrounding country while avoiding the more liberal and diverse southern 2/3 of Fresno and most of Sanger, which makes it a fairly safe Republican district. Same with the 4th district, which is larger than most states but strategically avoids any major cities.
Yes indeed. California is flexing its muscles like never before. And let’s not also forget this is Bernie country now. He’s going to win our delegates and then we’re putting him in the White House in November.
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Demographic shifts in California, and America more broadly, will continue unabated, no matter how high Trump builds his useless wall. It's actually sad to watch Kevin McCarthy try to shore up the 1990's version of California under Gov Pete Wilson, the sponsor of the anti-immigration Prop 187, by protecting and defending Trump. That Time Machine has been broken in California for years.
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Duncan Hunter’s constituents ought to be ashamed of themselves for not only electing a guy who was already indicted at the time of the vote, and is now convicted of criminal behavior, not to mention trying to protect himself by throwing his wife under the bus), but now having the gall to say they are disgusted by the liberal politics of California. Well, their neighbors are equally disgusted by their lack of a moral compass and support of criminals and blowhards, both locally and nationally. Pls move out to Montana and Texas so beautiful San Diego is not besmirched by the awful reps you elect and the shameless politics you espouse.
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As an example of moderate Republicans being driven out, I'd like to point to my state assemblyman, Brian Maienschein. Brian is the type of moderate republican that I would vote for,but I didn't, because the entire republican party is stained by Trump. Mr. Maienschein switched his party last year because he viewed the modern GOP as incompatible with his ethics and positions.
We need more lawmakers like him: balanced and pragmatic. The Republican party will become unappealing for most of the country if they lose their moderates and continue the rightward march.
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About a month and a half ago I wrote to Kevin McCarthy to tell him I supported the impeachment of President Trump and asked him to do the same. Here is his reply:
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-0523
January 24, 2020
Dear Mark,
Thank you for sharing with me your support for President Trump and comments in opposition to the House Democrats’ impeachment process.
Like you, I strongly oppose the House Democrats’ partisan impeachment process. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers, there would always be the ‘greatest danger’ that impeachment would be driven by partisan ‘animosities’ instead of ‘real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.’ Unfortunately, House Democrats engaged in an impeachment process feared by Hamilton. Weeks of closed-door hearings led by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff produced the fastest, thinnest, and weakest impeachment in the modern history of this nation....etc., etc.
Obviously, McCarthy sent the same thing to everyone who wrote to him regardless of their opinion.
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@Mark McIntyre
This is nothing that I would not expect from The G O P.
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Raised in SoCal, educated at Berkeley, I have seen CA politics from both sides. For decades there have been people demanding the recall of the Governor regardless of party. It's also a state known for its love of referendums. A place with many constantly complaining transients who came for milk and honey and were sorely disappointed.
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