Cars are a populist issue. In my opinion, the Democrats' attacks on highway funding (pulling a Billion Dollars out of reserved California highway funds for the Davis energy crisis) and vehicle emmissions standards, along with their support for more expensive annual vehicle inspections, will all combine into one large popular backlash against them in California.One can look at the outrage over license fees in Virginia to see just how touchy this subject can become.
This is the sleeper issue of 2002. It is an issue that litterally affects, personally, millions of Californians.
And the Democrats are on the wrong side of it.
This is because the Democrats are beholden to the radical greens in their midst. Forget jobs. Forget transportation. Forget unions. Forget the economy. For Democrats, what matters over everything (including putting food on your table every night) is that "the environment" be protected (even if humans pay the price with their lives).