Have you asked all those seemingly regular people about their actual politics? The saddest thing is the case of Pombo. That is the archetype of what has happened to California and what will happen to the entire nation if action is not taken. We've gone from cowboys to Chomsky readers.
Point of fact, most of our friends out here are fairly apolitical. Of course, they vote how the San Francisco Comical or the Contra Costa Crimes tells them, which is not good.
Pombo's problem is that the last Gerrymandering (aka re-districting) put the fringe of the moonbats in Lamorinda in his district along with the ranchers of Tracy and the Central Valley.
I almost pity McNerney, when he does a Tracy townhall meeting in his Armani suit. Well, maybe not.