It might be time to pay careful attention to the political entertainment in California. The Hill reports:
Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) turned out en masse at ordinarily sleepy party caucuses earlier this month, electing a slate of delegates who could be poised to take over the largest Democratic Party organization outside of Washington, D.C.
As final vote totals trickled in, Sanders backers claimed to have elected more than 650 delegates out of 1,120 available seats chosen at this month’s caucuses. Those delegates will choose the next state Democratic Party chairman, along with other party officials.
Sanders supporters say they hope to change the very nature of the Democratic Party.
. . .
California’s legislature has been at the vanguard of some of the most liberal policy programs in the nation, on everything from climate change to immigrant rights. Sanders supporters hope to leverage their newfound power to convince Democratic majorities in the state Assembly and state Senate to embrace even more aggressive progressive positions.
. . .
California is not the only state in which Sanders backers are trying to take over Democratic parties. The group is also organizing in Florida, Iowa, Colorado and Michigan, Jackson said.
“Hopefully, within a year or two, we’ll have a majority of the states covered,” Jackson said.
There's more at the link.
I find this very interesting, for a number of reasons.
- The Sanders bloc in the Democratic Party was actively sabotaged by the party establishment during last year's presidential election. Its activists were deliberately sidelined by operatives favoring Hillary Clinton. That's backfiring on the party right now, as the anger engendered by such discrimination is being funneled into this takeover attempt. I think it has a good chance of succeeding in at least some states, and possibly nationally as well, given time.
- It's going to pose a real challenge for the Democratic Party leadership in Congress and the Senate, which has just re-elected its old leaders again and sidestepped younger, more politically astute challengers. In other words, its political leaders no longer reflect the motivations, desires and policy positions of many younger Democratic Party activists. I think a clash may be inevitable.
- There's also the question of how to square a more activist, progressive, left-wing Democratic Party with the desires of voters, who clearly turned away from such positions to elect President Trump last year. How that will play out is anybody's guess, but I'd expect the Democrats to lose more elected positions and offices in the short term, before they can rebuild around their new core constituency.
It's going to be fun to watch. Pass the popcorn!
Peter
12 comments:
This is very similar to what happened in Britain after the last General Election: the moderate-Left Labour party that lost got hijacked at the grassroots level by lunatic SJWs who installed Corbyn, an unrepentant urban champagne Socialist, as leader. They're now unable to get rid of him and staring at a decade in the political wilderness. I speculated just after Trump's victory that Hillary's loss could lead to the Democrats thinking they weren't "radical" enough and putting a moonbat like Elizabeth Warren on the ticket.
California is toast, for so many left-wing reasons.
Suggested new state motto: Moonbats are us!
I'm wondering what it will take for sanity to take effect in the state. Maybe an actual secession? I'm thinking that reality will smack them upside the head fairly quickly if they do that.
I suggest a partition of California into North California and South California, with North California containing all the "red counties" in the north and east plus the 3-4 "light blue" counties that would otherwise make the partitioned areas discontinuous.
Partitioning CA into North and South has been suggested more than once, but the State government won't allow it. Too bad.
One more indication of the coming California meltdown... Can't pay their bills, companies are leaving in droves, and the tax base is melting away. Add that to their billions in arrears on various things like pension plans and it's going to be interesting...
Trading California to Mexico for a good left hand pitcher and some decent infielders has some interest to me. It would have to include a 99 year lease for the Navy and Marine Corps on their current bases.
Gerry
Did the Democrat voters turn away from the activist progressive position, or was Hillary just too corrupt, even for Democrats?
Maybe Sanders can also help change the new 'prostitution' law California's governor recently endorsed. Governor is an idiot, I'm thinking. This move on his part is a terrible shock to one's psyche.
While it is tempting to see the election of Trump as a turning away from Leftist politics, there is another explanation that bears consideration. Both major parties saw strong efforts to nominate somebody outside the Party establishment. The Democrats stifled their 'nominate an outsider' movement, picked a 'reliable' insider hack....and lost the general election to a Republican outsider. What if Trump's election is lead a rejection of Democrat politics-as-usual than it is a rejection of ALL politics-as-usual?
Start stockpiling popcorn, it's going to be a long - and interesting - show.
California has enough wealth for the festivities to continue for a while. Right until they don't. Reality can be defied as long as the money holds out, at which point the serious whining for an Uncle Sugar Bailout will commence. A Trumpian assault on Hollywood Accounting may accelerate the fall, but probably not signifcantly enough to notice. Farming in the central Cali strip will probably survive - that's where the dirt is - but availability of water will be an issue; businesses, however, aren't confined to well-irrigated dirt. At somepoint biz migration will force a tipping point.
As for a "California Re-Org" a better division would be the 50-mile-deep coastal strip vs everything else. And, bring your passport.....
Keep quiet and give those folks a bigger shovel!
Around 2000, CA imposed a yearly 10% surcharge on incomes above $1M. There were 15k in that category, and 1/3 of them bailed out of the state. IIRC, they have done this, in smaller increments, twice, again.
A perfect example of moronic levels of thinking in financial matters.
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