Republicans have been trying really hard to smear California lately...

Texas shouldn’t be bashing anyone right about now.

It seems like a coordinated smear job to me.

What are they doing? List examples OP.

"LATELY"?

They've had a California hate-on for years, OP.

posting examples could inadvertently spread their propaganda.

Rick Scott, The Texas Gov, Cruz, Rubio all are examples. They try to cram in California to their hate rhetoric. And seem to taunt the current governor Newsom.

Besides earthquakes, fires, mudslides, homeless people, high taxes, exodus of big companies, epicenter of Covid-19 in the nation...what's to smear? California here I cum!

R3 Seriously, have you not been paying attention? It's been relentless in recent years.

And, of course, it's not meant to have any impact on California... it just gins up the division and hate of the MAGA Base against "the elites"....

And is pervasive, and corrodes logic. I was in a meeting (in California) with some consultant from upstate New York. A born-again Christian, MAGA, home schooling her children. She was saying how scary and horrible San Francisco is... how the city has stations that distribute free drugs to any homeless person who asks. (We were meeting in SoCal). I shared, well, no, I am from NorCal and I know that's not true. She was adamant, saying I was wrong, she heard about it.

Direct testimony from someone who lives there couldn't shake her belief in what "she had heard." Houston, we have a problem in America.

[quote]Apparently the Republican must have gathered in their secret lair and decided that they are going to trash California and their government.

California beat them to it.

Jealousy.

Yep, I sure am jealous of people who have to pay $5 per gallon of gas and pay over $2000 a month to live in a shoebox that hobos will shit and do drugs outside of. NOT!

R10 You are so right. Stay away. Please

By OP's standard, everyone who contributes to this thread is a Republican:

^^ Near my house. Stay away.

[quote]Stay away. Please

Fuck you.

R14 So we agree... you'll honor all those Ohlone, Chumash, Hupa, Yurok, Coahuila, Gabrielino and and you'll stay away. Thanks.

And what the fuck is up with this Newsom recall movement? I lived there for 25 years and loved it but Californians can be really stupid sometimes.

R16 People really misunderstand that California (with more than 10% of the whole population of the US, fifth largest economy in the world, blah blah blah) is really not ONE thing. While the legislature in more than 2/3 Democrat... Santa Cruz is like Amsterdam and Bakersfield is like Tallahassee. Farm-to-table Michelin cuisine and death-diet fast food. California is so many things.

[quote][R14] So we agree... you'll honor all those Ohlone, Chumash, Hupa, Yurok, Coahuila, Gabrielino and and you'll stay away. Thanks.

No, you'll honor them and leave.

And you forgot the Tongva. Part of their land is where Disneyland is now.

[quote] ^^ Near my house. Stay away.

I'm supposed to be persuaded that nothing is wrong because of a poorly lit photo?

Republicans have always misinformed (LIED to) their base about how to improve public policy locally. I think now they are going to have a hard time with this strategy, as everyone is pissed off with the republican party for not investing in Public Health, Medical Care and Science.

Democratic Party will have to invest a lot in local elections now, and also expose how things got so bad locally. If anyone is here from DNC, you should plan NOW.

NOW IS THE TIME!

Texas and Florida are the worst offenders. I guess those two states truly think they are the California and New York of the Republican world.😂

California seems to fall into a lot of republican traps. They need to get the offense, not on defense.

And the California democrats need to get their act together because they are under siege.

[quote] And what the fuck is up with this Newsom recall movement?

Dead upon arrival. Republicans still think is the same state as when Gray Davis was recalled, which just goes to show how out of touch they are and how much of a Trumpian bubble echo chamber they live in.

R22 It seems you may think CA is fighting with the rest of the country? 2/3 of the legislature, every statewide office.. now with the new voting structure often the two candidates in a final election are BOTH democrats. I think the party's doing ok in CA, duh.

Soon the rest of the country will be bluer than blue and all opposition to Democrats will be effectively illegal as it should have been from the get-go. The First Amendment was a mistake.

R25.... you do realize you make no rational sense, yes?

California is larger than most European countries, has more people living in a single mid-sized (for California) city than in Montana, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota and South Dakota, and is the 8th largest economy in the world. Of course all those broke-ass red states are jealous.

But when it comes to recalling Gavin Newsom, the Republicans really don't know the can of worms they're trying to open. They think they'll Grey Davis him and install a buffoon like Schwarzenegger again, and they are sorely mistaken. We all know that California has its problems; what would any red state governor do that would result in better outcomes? No, we learned a very valuable (and expensive) lesson, and one we're not going to repeat.

The state Republican party is basically dead in California and California is the world's fifth-largest economy with a very diverse population--it's basically the GOP nightmare--an economic powerhouse run by Democrats.

The state does have its issues--some, like climate change--aren't under its control. Others, like the insane cost of housing in urban areas are the result of its economic success.

And, yeah, Texas's near catastrophic crashing of its grid is going to make tech companies do a double take--you think Internet companies want that kind of outage. No damn way. California's rolling blackouts, among other things, don't turn out the lights on corporations.

Economic powerhouse? Is that the oligarchy's euphemism for growing income inequality?

How would you solve it, R29?

R19 and that poorly lit photo is looking away from the problem.

[quote] How would you solve it, [R29]?

By doing the opposite of what they have been doing.

R30 As if somebody who votes Trump cares about income inequality or the state! The same Trump who waged endless war against the state every other day

R29, actually California is one of the better tax states for the middle class because of the income tax gradation--i.e. why Elon Musk is claiming to live in Texas. The big split is the result of the insane amounts of money generated by high-tech companies.

There's not a red state around that wouldn't love to have California's economy--high tech, entertainment, agriculture, tourism--not dependent on a single corporation (i.e. Arkansas and WalMart) or a single industry.

The SF Chronicle just did a dive into the supposed flight from the Bay Area--turned out that the people leaving SF are mostly going across the Bay and that, overall, few people are leaving and they're mostly going to different parts of the Bay area or California.

Housing is expensive because of demand--you don't get that sort of demand unless there are jobs. There are still jobs around here.

Personally, I'm hoping that telecommuting does spread the wealth around a little more. It would be better for the country.

[quote][R30] As if somebody who votes Trump cares about income inequality or the state! The same Trump who waged endless war against the state every other day

Would you have preferred he dropped bombs on Syria instead?

Most of the poverty in CA is rural (farmland and desert). Rural areas have less jobs, poor education and bad public transportation. Most of California is pretty rural and sparsely populated.

LA and SF has more visible homelessness because the weather is better all year round (same with Seattle and Portland). NYC and Boston in comparison has their homeless under bridges or squatting in buildings due to the turbulent weather.

So as usual, it's a rural and urban divide which is everywhere in The US. California's poverty rate is not uniquely their fault

[quote][R25].... you do realize you make no rational sense, yes?

The First Amendment made it illegal for the government to stop the GOP which would have stopped not only the Civil War but everything else bad they caused since 1854 merely by existing.

So you were in favor slavery?

Look at the unemployment rate right now and tell me which is worse.

Look at all the brown people growing carbs in the dirt and tell me that doesn't remind you of slavery at least a little bitty bit.

OP asks, “What gives?”

California, starting in 1992, realigned to the Democrats.

In the 23 United States presidential elections of 1900 to 1988, California was willing to carry for both parties because it was a bellwether state. It voted for all winners except prevailing Democrats in 1912, 1960, and 1976. In the latter two, it sided with losing Republicans Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. And by very small margins. The state voted closely to national margins.

Los Angeles County (with its county seat Los Angeles) voted for all presidential-election winners from 1920 to 1984. They were 17 consecutive elections. The Republicans lost Los Angeles County, in 1988, one election cycle before the state flipped to the Democrats. Los Angeles County ran about 9 points ahead for Democrats in 1988, carrying for Michael Dukakis, before the state flipped for 1992 Democratic presidential pickup winner Bill Clinton in 1992. The county-vs.-state margins became gradually more deeply blue with subsequent elections. For example, in 2016 Hillary Clinton carried Los Angeles County nearly 20 points above her statewide margin. This is significant because 12 percent of the country lives in California. And Los Angeles County, alone, has a population that is individually higher in count than 41 states (No. 10-ranked Michigan thru No. 50-ranked Wyoming).

The Republicans are effective dead in California.

If the Democrats start winning over Texas, and that they start winning it in a way in which it doesn’t become a bellwether state but actually realigns to the Democrats, the Republicans—for the sake of their electoral future—with have to counter the Democrats and go after states that are normally aligned to the Democrats. This would mean winning over states on policies. And it would mean counter-realigning their party vs. the Democrats so they become viable again in states like California and Illinois. (They are worthy mentioning because they are Top 10 populous states. And, from 1924 to 2020, which are the last 25 election cycles, California and Illinois voted the same in all but one cycle—1960. So, they vote alike.)

And then Texas will be full of homeless people, shit on the streets, and overpriced real estate. And if gas ever costs in Texas what it costs in California now, then you really will have fucked up.

R7 and for how long have you had these feelings of being picked on? It sounds personal and subjective.

California is a mess and that hypocrite Newsom should resign.

Eh, I'd say Newsom is the one person who benefitted from that mess in Texas--having dinner outside when it was legal to do so, v. running off to Cancun and LYING about it.

Texas turned itself into a gigantic mess in a truly impressive fashion.

By the way, SF doesn't have the most homeless (that would be NY) or the most per capita, (that would be Seattle.) It's hardly akin to slavery--urban homelessness has a high component of mental illness and drug addiction.

And you don't actually give a damn about them--it's simply a right-wing talking point--a means to evade how disastrous Republican leadership has been for a chunk of the country. Nothing beats the Republican-dominated South for deep poverty and horrific living situations.

Democrats have done a fantastic job of making California into a laughingstock that is bankrupt and close to default.

R45 So NY has more homeless than SF as does Seattle per capita. Can't blame the Republicans for the homeless problem in those places?

R46, please explain. The only reason California would be in debt is because of Covid and it has affected nearly all 50 states.

That would have happened regardless. The virus just exacerbated an existing decline.

Please send a link where you're getting your info, R49. Yes, the virus affected the middle and working class but there are a lot of higher income people in California whose wealth helped the economy. And they don't mind spreading the wealth a little unlike a Red State.

"Spreading the wealth"? To whom? To all the homeless people? To all the people who lost their jobs because their employers went out of business? To people still waiting for the second stimulus check?

It’s Bill Maher’s fault.

Cali is a mess and is easy to smear.

Republicans are trashing California because Kamala Harris is from California. And she’s the heir apparent to the White House.

It's funny because Reagan is from California and (gasp) was part of Hollywood.

Yeah, Republicans have a throbbing hateon for Cali, but it's not that difficult to point out its various flaws.

Silly Repubble haters upthread.... yes, California has serious and expanding income equality. Guess what, the world suffers that same problem.

And I am sure the California haters (who are likely MAGA adjacent) are loathe to embrace the solution - redistribution of wealth, with higher taxes for the oligarch class to pay for more social supports (food, housing, education, healthcare) - more collective bargaining to address the workplace problem of the last 40 years - higher worker production aligning with a higher % of the profits kept from the workers and accruing to the owner class.

Fun times, eh?

R56 Any state put under great scrutiny will demonstrate "flaw" - Check out poverty, healthcare, housing, education, child hunger, unwed mothers, in Mississippi...etc.

R53 I am truly curious - do you live in CA? Do you watch Fox?

They know they have a go-to for any issue with California. They are constantly taking shots at us.

The South, Midwest and rural Southwest has the most poverty hands down. California has a lot of income inequality as does New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and any other wealthy state but the poverty in these states are nowhere near as desolate as the Mississippi Delta, Native Reservations in New Mexico and the Appalachian states like Tennessee and West Virginia.

[quote] Native Reservations in New Mexico

Found the racist. Your California basher-bashing is just a cover-up for your white-savior racism.

California is a mess. A bunch of privileged millionaires and billionaires trying to rule the people.

They would be much better if all those companies like Facebook, Google, Salesforce, Oracle, etc., were liquidated and their money given to the people.

Then CA would be closer to equitable.

[quote] Found the racist. Your California basher-bashing is just a cover-up for your white-savior racism.

You're boring. You conveniently forgot to mention I also said Appalachian states like Tennessee and West Virginia which are predominately white and the Mississippi Delta which is predominately black. So what are you trying to accuse me of when I addressed three marginalized groups including poor whites?

First of all, you're a white savior so suck on that.

Second of all, it's "predominantly" - not "predominately".

Third of all, marginalize this!

R62 Makes.....no....sense. Just throwing out a word that you think wins points. That's not thinking kiddo, that's intellectual masturbation.

All the oligarch-generated talking points in defense of California are not actually defenses but deflections to poverty elsewhere. When the supposed fifth largest economy in the world cannot even house the entire ready of its people, that is their own fault and nobody else’s.

[quote] You're boring.

And you’re still a racist trying to lampshade your racism by bashing the South.

Most of the people with the strongest anti-California opinions have never been here nor have they left their own state.

Don't bother with that Trump-voting freak at R67! If he likes the South so much and hates California, why don't you fucking move there?

Wrong again as usual, R67/R68, you racist liar.

You're telling that a black person would deny that Southern Louisiana and Mississippi is poor? Those states are run by old white men who want to keep black people in their place. Anyone with common sense and eyes can see that the Delta region is dirt poor and desolate. That's not being a white savior that's being aware. And why do you think I'm white by default? Isn't that you being racist too?

Most of the people with the strongest anti-California opinions are criticizing from a point of personal experience. I live here. I’ve had family here since before I was born. I have been coming here since I was a child. I have seen the decline with my own two eyes.

The people defending the corruption, incompetence, and outright immorality of our elected leaders are fucking enablers of those things at this point.

R71 is the textbook definition of “ok boomer.” Update your talking points from 1965.

NO YOUR RACIST!

And since I’m Jewish, you’re a racist if you call me white and therefore an even bigger racist if you call me a racist. Calling non-white racist is racist.

Is Vice also pro-Trump propaganda?

maybe, depending on the content

San Francisco pays for secular ex-gay therapy with the taxpayers money. They are the real deplorables.

Perhaps things might be different if that stupid fucking [italic]Full House[/italic] had never premiered.

SF Gate is part of the problem. They are willing to throw gay people under the bus just to stick it to Fox News.

I'm black and have family who live in Alabama. They remember segregation even into the late 1970s there and they all agree that the politicians in power are still old white men who want to still hold onto how things were in the past. There's a culture of wanting to preserve things and a fear of change. California has a lot of income inequality but many black people moved there for a reason in the 1960s and 1970s because it offered more opportunities to us than the South did at the time. There is more optimism and the idea of making your own way which differs from the Southern hierarchy. Gentrification though is a big issue in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland and has pushed many black folk out into cheaper cities like Lancaster, Riverside and San Diego. While Atlanta is a popular destination for many black people, it is still unfortunately plagued by a lot of corruption, racism, crime and class inequality. The South is popular with black folk mainly due to the lower cost of living and having many relatives and cultural ties down there. But nobody would say that the quality of living, public education, crime rates or job opportunities are as good as the Northeastern or West Coast.

What, specifically, was racist about my post, r70?

California just keeps proving the South right time and time again.

The states that are growing the most are predominantly in the South, and California is not one of them.

Even in the North, guess which states are growing fastest? I'll give you a hint, it ain't Bernie's home state.

R67 Well, the US is the BIGGEST economy in the world, so there is no excuse for the horrible poverty in West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Arkansas (California has lower poverty rates than 25 other states).

R67 How rich that you mention racism and yet support the racist GOP which have enabled some of the worst policies against the poor and people of color

There is some truth to this. I have a friend in a different state who passively takes in a lot of conservative media (meaning he watches some fox news and radio occasionally but doesn't think much about it). He thinks california is a dumpster fire.

Name one, R84.

[quote]He thinks california is a dumpster fire.

Then I guess the Chronicle is right-wing, too.

Come on, baby, light my fire!

R86 Ha, where to start.... just track what the GOP has done in the last 20 years specifically to dismantle voting rights, and make it more difficult for black and brown voters to vote.. voter suppression has been a key GOP strategy. If you don't acknowledge this, there's not purpose in talking more.

I asked for one specific law, program, or policy, not MSNBC talking points.

Voter suppression is when the maker of voting machines sues you for accusing them of fraud.

No more laser fireballs please

California infrastructure is literally falling into the sea. I guess the New York Times is a deplorable hate rag now, too.

Why don't you ask Muriel why she allows Fox News posts but not CNN ones if you're so concerned about so-called "right-wing" propaganda. There is no "right-wing" in this country. If there was, all opposition to Trump would be lampshades by now.

New York, too.

My sister is a RWNJ who now lives in FL and posts all over FB how horrible socialist NY & CA are. She was born & raised in NY, has a pension from NY, returns to NY every 3 months to get her controlled drugs from a NY dr at a NY pharmacy. She takes 2 kinds of tranquilizers and a heavy duty muscle relaxant (she gave me one of the muscle relaxants once and I had to lie down from dizziness). But if one of her sons who lives in NY complains on FB about something, she jumps in & says “That’s just in NY & CA! It’s DINE here! Everything gets done fast and everyone is really nice. Not in NY!”

Guess what? She was one of those not-nice NY people. She worked in a hospital billing department & spent her entire day listening to the radio to win contests. She argued with & hung up on people who called the billing department. Now she’s Miss Priss

R93 Landslides on the Big Sur coast... ok, then. California bureaucracy responsible for the last 50,000 years of geology. Makes sense.

The republicans are really gunning for California. They want those 50 electoral votes.

It would be all over if they pull this off.

It is odd that Democrat wins at any level seem to be overlooked in fear porn threads like this. Here's one in Orange County.

CA is taking the pandemic seriously. You cannot confine homeless people to shelters in the middle of a pandemic. It's against public health recommendations, it is unsafe and it is inhumane. CA is burdened with red state homeless and it is a problem that is expensive and not easily solved. So there will be tent cities and shit in the streets until the pandemic is over.

No other state in the US has a solution for the homeless situation -- other than to send their homeless to CA -- but CA is best positioned to solve the crisis.

[quote] The republicans are really gunning for California. They want those 50 electoral votes.

Well, I really want to win the $159 million Powerball jackpot.

The Newsom recall isn't actually about removing him from office. Very few people believe that will happen. They're trying to damage his reputation enough to take him off the national political stage. They're trying to torpedo his ship before it sets sail for Washington DC.

NY too, in case you hadnt noticed

They are up to something.

Bump

It's being coordinated by the BRF. They are also planning to invade Montecito.

They are on a tear.

Clearly today’s agenda on the right:

Trash BLM

Blame left for cancel culture

Frame democrats for the violence last summer caused by alt-right bugaboos

And trash California and Newsom.

I guess channel 4 in LA has gone full-on deplorable:

This is such a hit job.

Look at Texas where everyone is forced to live like a caveman with no running water.

Or Florida where every day is a brush with death.

Florida is one giant OxyContin waiting to OD.

Denial is complicity at this point.

I guess this means the New York Times is practically Der Sturmer at this point.

Republicans want to smear california even though the bottom states are all republican controlled. That will always be the case because you have to be somewhat defective in order to identify with deplorables. Margery Greene is considered a success story in those states.