I don’t wish any ill on your FRiend, but I understand where he is coming from. At some point people need to vote with their feet although I know that is easier said than done for most of us.
I too am in a progressive wonderland although it is not as bad as California (yet). There are plenty of good conservatives in that state, but their votes won’t amount to a hill of beans because the big cities control the day. Having city slickers voting for policy that affects farmers and rural folks is downright aggravating. Take the wolves for example - they sit in their condo in a concrete jungle and vote to unleash pack predators onto my property never worrying about the consequences.
Yup you hit it. Voting with my feet right now for the next couple of years is out of the question. We’ve gotten along real well working around the liberal laws. The current broadside is in some cases 2 years out. One inventor has already come out with a product to bypass the “no bullet button” law. Where there’s a will there’s a way!