Democrat or Republican, no matter what race you are, I guarantee you don’t want to elect a model minority candidate. If they’ve decided to sell out their own people, why would they treat the rest of us any better?

Frank Shyong (LA Times)

California is the bluest of blue states, so conservative talk-show host Larry Elder could not unseat Democrat governor Gavin Newsom in the state’s recall election. However, Elder did out two truths about Democrat hegemony: (1) progressive orders and legislation have ruined a state “that was once a beacon of hope and prosperity,” and (2) hard-left bullies have created an Orwellian nightmare, cancelling and smearing critics of the state’s failed policies.

Elder is the black heckler at the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) magic show, calling out the real white supremacists. He accused the white governor of violating his own mandates, telling voters, “Newsom and his cohorts are destroying the state.” This set so-called liberals out to smear Elder, who’s part of California’s small (6%) black population, 58% of whom want to leave the state (source: NY Post). Not a good look for Democrat rule.

Hard-Left Bullies Keep Democrats in Control of California

California Democrats used to champion free speech and tolerance, but its press now champions single-party dominance. In the recent recall election, it was shameful how intolerant the “free press” was of a black conservative and how they attacked his “blackness” with hate speech. Not a word of encouragement for Elder, who would have been the state’s first black governor (30 years after Virginia, the former capitol of the Confederacy, elected its first black governor).

The LA Times supported the white governor by claiming the black challenger had done “nothing but solidify the Republican Party’s racist reputation.” The paper’s Erika Smith (Black) called Elder the “black face of white supremacy,” and Frank Shyong (Asian) called him a “sell out” because he sold black self-determination, which “just happens to comfort the most racist.” In fact, Elder grew up a “south central” kid, went to Brown, and was informed by his successful talk-radio show:

We elected the first Black president [and] know what the real problems are. They have nothing whatever to do with racism. Families have been destroyed because of the welfare state, the decline in the quality of public education [and] no jobs.

That’s hardly a “bunch of incoherent nonsense” as alleged in the Times. Because the facts were on Elder’s side, the left-wing bullies attacked him for being endorsed by Trump and not joining Black Lives Matter. His concession was rightfully angry:

We believe in the dream of MLK, judging people by content of character, not color of skin. I have an R at the end of my name, and suddenly I’m an Uncle Tom. I’m a sellout. I’m the Black face of white supremacy. I’m a bootlicker.

Elder’s treatment exposed a disconnect between the media, who defend Democrats, and everyday Californians. If the state is so “golden” today, why do a super-majority of Californians (66%) say its best days are behind it (source: NY Post)? It spoke volumes when local media spun Newsom’s lop-sided win as a rosy sign for national Democrats, despite 53% of all Californians wanting to leave the state.

The California Model Is Not Golden

California’s best days are behind it because it has bifurcated into two political markets.

Nancy Pelosi’s California is up-market, growing rich in the new economy (post-industrial disrupters), comfortably ensconced in gated communities, and supported by college-educated whites, 68% of whom voted to keep Gavin Newsom in power (9 points higher than when he was elected in 2018). They like the “nanny state” because they dine maskless, served by masked worker bees, and their kids go to elite schools.

Larry Elder’s California is down-market, disrupted by the new economy (fewer blue collar jobs), struggling with the high cost of “green” living, and frightened by “woke” law and order. Ranked against other states, California has the highest cost of gas, highest cost-adjusted poverty rate, second most expensive home prices, second lowest rate of home ownership, and fourth highest jobless rate. None of its metro areas are in the top ten for gainful blue-collar jobs.

Democrats hate Elder for criticizing policies that hurt black Californians. To wit, the state’s level of inequality (Gini coefficient) is higher than Mexico’s, because 28% of Blacks live in poverty (against 22% nationally). Black household wealth (average: $76,000) lags white household wealth (average: $355,000), and black incarcerations are 8.5 times higher than whites (source: Race Counts). The demography of the recall vote reveals who’s suffering under Democrat hegemony.

NBC reports Newsom’s black support (81%) was 5 points below 2018, and his Latino support (58%) was 6 points lower. So, here’s the real BIG LIE of 2021: California’s white elites grow rich and its working poor – of every color – grow dependent on federal welfare that’s funded by taxpayers in other states.

The Hypocrisy of California Won’t Fool Anyone

California’s elite think only dumb people go to church, live in Tennessee, or vote Republican. Really? How moral was Big Tech to ban Hunter-gate reports, after allowing Russia-gate posts and tweets? How smart was Biden to remove troops before citizens from Afghanistan? Did Democrats refuse Harvey Weinstein’s money, or not pay out $31 billion in unemployment funds to California scammers in 2020? Folks in Nashville know better.

California lost people to other states from 2010 to 2020, when 6.1 million moved out and only 4.9 million moved in, costing it an electoral vote (source: PPIC). Don’t long-time residents know the state better than recent immigrants? Yes, but even foreign arrivals fell: only 29,000 in 2020, when Florida’s (88,000) and Texas’s (65,000) rose. The guess here is the world is onto California’s problems.

Democrats are the problem. Compare today’s face of California politics to South Carolina’s. Who’d you trust with national security, Nikki Haley (R-SC) or Adam Schiff (D-CA)? Who seemed with it during the senate judiciary hearings, 66-year-old Lindsey Graham (R-SC) or 88-year-old Diane Feinstein (D-CA)? Who’d you trust to unite the races as president, Tim Scott (R-SC) or Kamala Harris (D-CA)? If the elected reflect the electorate, South Carolina IQs dwarf California’s.

The Politics of Identity Will Ruin America

California institutions have rushed recklessly into identity politics, buying into the Democrat pitch that the Coalition of the Ascendant will create a white minority and remain a pro-Democrat voting bloc. Ten years ago, this is how Bill Richardson (D-NM) put it: “The Hispanic community is going to stay with the Democratic Party…Republicans have no shot.” Because California’s demographic change (more Asian and Hispanic immigrants) coincided to Democrat dominance, entire economic sectors drank the KoolAid.

This just goes to show how dumb Big Tech can be (they promised “recessions are a thing of the past,” right before the Dot-Com bubble burst). They embrace “woke” activists and ignore a simple racial truth: black and white voters share a long (if imperfect) history as Americans. They are mostly native-born (90% of Blacks and 96% of Whites) and Christian (80% of Blacks and 70% of Whites). The working class of both races see illegal aliens as an economic (not racial) issue, and the church-going in both races hold similar cultural views (that are conservative).

Right now, 51 million foreign-born live in the USA, because it’s the #1 destination for the world’s immigrants, who come seeking economic opportunity (#1) and individual freedom (#2). They’re not liberals-in-waiting – – not even close. Muslim men don’t come seeking #MeToo. Venezuelans fled socialism, and Chinese fled Big Brother telling them what to think. Mexicans don’t dump Catholicism and Indians don’t lose “traditional” family values at the border.

By Any Measure, Florida Is the New Golden State

Yes, the West Coast has the sunshine and the girls all get so tan, but so does Florida, and it doesn’t tax personal incomes. This is probably why Florida grew by 2,700,000 people between 2010 and 2020. In fact, the 3rd largest state trumps California in many key metrics (see table below)

CATEGORYFLORIDACALIFORNIA
Unemployment Rate5.0%7.5%
Poverty Rate12.7%17.4%
Black Poverty Rate19.8%28.0%
High School Graduates88.4%83%
Mixed-Race Marriages10.2%4.9%
Median Home Price$237,000$550,000
State Government Debt$28.8 Billion$153.0 Billion

In spite of COVID, Florida reached full employment (5%) in August, because of GOP open-up policies (with 17,000 fewer COVID deaths than shut-down California). Florida has a lower poverty rate than California, especially for Blacks, and more of its citizens (88.4%) are high school graduates. Moreover, Florida is affordable – with lower home prices and great public universities.

Democrats call Florida the “most racist state” in the nation, but its inter-racial-marriage rates (10.2%) are more than double “woke” California. In 2020, Trump got 10% of the black vote and 48% of the Latino vote in Florida. And, when Florida elected black Republican Byron Donalds to Congress, Democrats denied him membership in the Congressional Black Caucus. Maybe this mean spirit is why Florida has 50% fewer registered Democrats now than in 1972.

I’ve lived in California and Florida. There is no discernible difference in my experience, except California taxed my income. This begs the question: how does Florida not tax incomes and end up with a state deficit that is one-fifth that of California? That’s a BIG RED FLAG, so ask yourself – which state is doing it right?

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By Spencer Morten

The writer is a retired CEO of a US corporation, whose views were informed by studies and work in the US and abroad. An economist by education, and pragmatist by experience, he believes the greatest threat to peace and prosperity are the loudest voices with the least experience and expertise.