Saving California

The Golden State, California, has led the Nation with political and culturally trends for at least the last 50+ years. An iconic, revered state that many migrated to, spurred by songs like “California, Here I Come”, as they sought the epitome of the America Dream. Sadly, that’s not the case anymore.  The Old Gal is a shadow of her former vibrant, dynamic self.

49% of the Nation’s homeless citizen reside on the streets of every major city. The filth and human waste found on the streets of perhaps America’s most beautiful city, San Francisco, is appalling. Once a must-see tourist destination is now largely avoided. A third world hellhole on many streets.  The boulevards in Los Angeles are lined with tents and makeshift dwellings, an endless and tragic shantytown, reminiscent of the Great Depression.

California is now the center of the pandemic outbreak.  Despite 9 months of various draconian shutdowns, that have destroyed small businesses, the virus is raging through the population. Orders that require the closure of businesses such as bars, hair salons, museums, movie theaters and indoor recreational facilities have done little to abate the virus. Amazon is reporting record profits while Walmart, Target, Costco and other big box retailers are packed 

The tone-deafness of the state’s elected leaders is astonishing and comes from living in a bubble where political competition is scant. In California, Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly 2-1. Only two Republicans have won statewide office since 2000. The state is failing because of the death grip the progressive Democratic party has on the levers of government. California is what one party rule creates: the highest state taxes, the highest gasoline prices, and the highest housing costs in the country.  No wonder the middle class is fleeing the state, and the Governor is subject of a recall petition.

So how does what’s happening in trend setting California relate to the rest to the United States?  Look no further than Georgia. Fueled by the same liberal progressive donors and celebrities that turned California into the mess that it is, the state has elected two of the most radical Senators in the history of the nation. Both advocates of policies that would fundamentally change the very fabric of the United States.

First, Jon Ossoff, at 33, with a resume of personal achievements that could fit comfortably on a postage stamp, shamelessly based his campaign on racial identity politics claiming that his opponent would bring back the days of “Jim Crow".  That works evidently.  Ossoff makes Beto O'Rourke look like Teddy Roosevelt as Tucker Carlson opined. 

Then there’s the other future Senator, Reverend Rafael Warnock whose checkered past was completely ignored by local and national media. He was briefly charged in 2002 with obstructing a police investigation into suspected child abuse, the later, spousal abuse by his ex-wife, and has a video record of controversial racially tinged sermons that aren’t exactly ecumenical in nature.  A pastor in the mold of the great Al Sharpton. 

The fads/trends/ideas that start in California are no longer the guidons for the Nation to rally around. If there’s a state example to emulate, look no farther than Florida. A state that is flourishing in pandemic times, not governed by insensitive,French Laundry dining, progressive Democrats.

Unlike California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has allowed businesses large and small to remain open, while encouraging social distancing, masks and all manner of sanitary actions like hand washing. He has prioritized the inoculation of the most vulnerable members of the population with the COVID-19 vaccine. Not the chaos found in the Golden State by any stretch. Laws are enforced with respect to vagrancy.  Anyone seen pictures of tent lined streets in Florida? Is there a “poop patrol” working the avenues of Miami Beach? 

The radical Senators chosen by a bare majority of Georgia voters are reflective of the political mindset that has contributed to the spiral of California into the commode. Now our Nation is staring at a one-party government filled with advocates of the very policies that have flushed California’s cities to their current status.

The mess that is California could soon be what the entire Nation looks like. Unless citizens start paying attention to the governing positions of elected officials, and more importantly how some of these charlatans are portrayed in the media, a government unlike what the Founders envisioned will be upon us. It’s not too late to stave off the transformation of California or the country from a republic to a socialist state. It should be done peacefully, unlike the chaos in the Capital over the election results witnessed today.

“Some Americans will never appreciate America, until after they have helped destroy it, and have then begun to suffer the consequences”, stated Thomas Sowell, American economist, social theorist, and senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. 

Preventing the Californication of the United States is not a bridge too far…yet.