Election: The growing polarization of California

Sac Bee ^ | 2/29/04 | Mark Baldassare

[NormsRevenge]

When California voters head to the polls on Tuesday, Democrats will select a challenger to President George W. Bush and Republicans will pick their contender against U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer. Equally important, in a state where party control of legislative seats is all but assured by redistricting, it is these same Democratic and Republican voters who will determine which of the current primary candidates will go on to reap lopsided state Senate and Assembly victories in the general election this fall.

[NormsRevenge]

Mark Baldassare is research director at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California in San Francisco, where he holds the Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair. His recent book, "A California State of Mind: The Conflicted Voter in a Changing World," and the PPIC statewide survey mentioned in this article are available at www.ppic.org.

[NormsRevenge]

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[Betaille]

"pundits and pollsters have been obsessed with the notion that the nation is becoming increasingly split along party lines."

Yes, but the pundits are wrong. They are saying things like that to get traditional democrats back into the fold. For example, I voted for Gore, and I keep hearing from the news media that Gore voters are more solidly democrat now. But I am absolutely furious with the democratic party and am voting for Bush, and same with some of my freinds who were Gore voters. The reason the country is more evenly split now in terms of registration is because there are MORE REPUBLICANS and LESS DEMOCRATS. There has not been a solidifying of views, just an even-ing out of party registration.

[Seruzawa]

While there is a bigger split it is disingenuous to say both parties are becoming extreme. The Demoncraps have become shameless amoral fascisti and therefore anyone who stands for traditional American beliefs in freedom and the Bill of Rights only seems extreme by comparison. The "conservatives" today are simply mild socialists. The demons are totalitarian socialists.

[byteback]

There is now a 23-point gap between the parties over the idea that government should not interfere with a woman's right to have an abortion (Democrats: 82%; Republicans: 59%).

So in our attempt to oust Boxer we should pick?????

[Who is John Galt?]

Ping...

;>)

[No Dems 2004]

I still don't think California is unwinnable by conservative Republicans. I think there's always an exaggeration of these views. We'll soon learn, of course.

[umgud]

The CA blue/red map looks like the national version. The whole of CA is being dictated to by blue Dem strongholds. We really need to split this state up, but I know this won't happen.

[Savage Beast]

A few decades ago, no place on earth held more promise than California. The American Dream had settled there.

Today it teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, is essentially a Third World country, and is a mess.

This is due to "Liberal" politics and policies.

Anyone with a functioning brain will immediatly understand to significance of this.

Unfortunately, there are many stupid people in the American electorate. If this were not true, "Liberals" and Democrats, such as Kerry, Edwards, etc., would not even be under consideration for the presidency.

[Andy_Stephenson]

I think there is a real chance Democrats will continue to hold sway in California. Let me explain...I am a researcher on the Black Box Voting issue. I am running for Secretary of State in Washington on the BBV issue. Based on Research I have done, there is real danger in the new electronic voting machines that offer no paper. Now...I am running as a Democrat but the issue is non-partisan. I am more than happy for Republicans to win...the same goes for Democrats. But with no paper Ballot that you can look at when you are done voting...can you be sure that you vote was counted as cast? The biggest proponent of a Voter Verified Ballot in California is Jim March a Republican Gun Lobbiest. We may not see eye to eye politically, but we do see eye to eye on the need for a voter verified paper ballot. Paper...not vapor.

Andy Stephenson

[I_Love_My_Husband]

I love the comments on this thread. There are some amazingly great thoughts here. Thank you.

[Republic Rocker]

Lets split....we will take the military, jobs, corporations, traditional marriage and faith and give them the UN, welfare, unions, gay marriage and the secular society they so often seek...!

[MissAmericanPie]

I'm a lifelong Republican voter who has come to realize that we face extinction as a nation state from both parties.
The demonrat's agenda to go, hat in hand, to the U.N. and the international community for permission to blow our noses, and the Republican's agenda to lose the Constitution in favor of melting the USofA into a Free Trade no borders, no sovereignty entity of a trade zone under International Law.

The movers and shakers in both parties are the ones that are extreme, and both a tremendous threat to our survival as a sovereign nation known as a Constitutional Republic.

[Lancey Howard]

Since the stark pattern of "red states" and "blue states" first showed up on the U.S. electoral college map in the 2000 election,

That map is not nearly as instructive as the county-by-county map which shows that the Democrat votes were concentrated in the nation's parasite centers (cities). So in general, those states with more and larger parasite centers went 'blue' (Democrat) while those states with less and smaller parasite centers went 'red' (Republican).

[SAJ]

Any electronic balloting system that does not generate paper receipts and a complete audit trail of keystrokes, mouse clicks, and/or screen touches is absolutely 100% guaranteed to be used fraudulently -- likely enough from the get-go -- in, say, 50-60% of precincts/districts using them.

Mark you, it is in no way difficult OR expensive (compared to the initial cost of the systems, most of which are taxpayer ripoffs to start) to provide these safeguards, and anyone saying otherwise is either A) utterly ignorant, B) a liar, C) a corrupt politician or hanger-on, or D) all of the above.

[Lancey Howard]

....six in 10 Democrats favor higher state taxes and more public services, while a similar percentage of Republicans want to lower state taxes and are willing to live with fewer services.

This is where you have to lose respect for the author. He is lying and he knows it.
Democrats GET "services". Republicans PAY for "sevices".

[meenie]

There is a reasonable explanation for the polarization and areas of blue and red. The red areas are composed of American citizens tied to the tradition of conservatism. The blue areas are composed of nondemocratic masses of welfare, illegal aliens, socialist wannabees, and unproductive dregs of society interested only in trying to procure a living from the areas of red. In past generations, the population in red areas represented the norm even in the cities.

Since one man, one vote, the cities have become the epicenters of the Stalinization of American politics. Make no mistake about it, there will be a larger divide as time goes by, especially if our country has to face any crisis in economics or civil defense. The contrast between the areas will increase as the citizens flee the metropolitan areas and populate the suburbs and rural areas. Unity covers the red area and dissatisfaction and liberalism cover the blue areas. The culture war is as serious and destructive to American ideals as the war on terror.

[KC_for_Freedom]

Today it teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, is essentially a Third World country, and is a mess.

Worth repeating, Savage, this is why my first thought upon reaching retirement was, "What state in the deep south will I move to and make my home base?"

I still listen to Lee /Rodgers and Melanie Morgan in the mornings though, via internet

[NormsRevenge]

lol

T'anks for the setup line. :-)

[CurlyDave]

we do see eye to eye on the need for a voter verified paper ballot.

Actually we need something much stronger. We need two copies of a voter verified paper ballot. One that is kept by the board of elections, and one that is kept by the voter. Both have the same serial number which can not be traced to the voter by the government, but which the voter can use to determine that his vote was counted accurately.

Board of elections paper ballots are kept & are the only acceptable method for recounts. Voter copies are the property of the voter and the government must publish on the web a voter searchable database of how each ballot was counted.

This allows the voter to go home & check that his/her vote was counted properly, and gives a record which can be used in later proceedings to correct improperly recorded votes.

Couple this with some real penalties for election fraud and the system may work pretty well.