by John Stevenson
It sounds sort of silly, but I imagine
the proponents are quite serious: California should secede from the Union. The impetus, of course, is the looming
presidency of The Donald.
Press and pundits initially scoffed and
proclaimed his candidacy a joke. Some
media outlets even refused to dignify the Trump candidacy as political
news---relegating coverage to the entertainment section. Celebrities threatened to leave the country if
Trump won (I believe Cher said she would move to Jupiter). But
the unthinkable has happened.
The very thought of Mr. President The
Donald is apparently so hard to swallow that there is now a movement afoot in
our State to secede from the Union. This
has been in the news lately. Here is a
sampling.
“Secession: California Liberals Want to
Leave U.S. Over Trump Win” in
townhall.com.
“Californians are calling for a
‘Calexit’ from the U.S.---here’s how a secession could work” in businessinsider.com.
“California secession organizers say
they’ve opened an embassy---in Moscow”
in latimes.com.
“California must lead, not secede” in
sfchronicle.com.
And from whatsupwiththat.com: “Some
private citizens in California, distraught at the prospect of an America under
President Donald Trump, are advocating that the State secede from the Union.”
So, nutty or not, there is a movement
underway that hopes to put a secession initiative on the ballot in 2018. Here are some thoughts about the November
election which might shed just a ray of light on that thinking.
Nationally, Trump lost the popular vote
with 63.0 million to Clinton’s 65.8 million---a deficit of 2.8 million. In California, Trump lost with 4.48 million
to Clinton’s 8.75 million---a deficit of 4.27 million. Californians voted almost two-to-one for Clinton over Trump.
Now get out your pencil and exclude
California from the national totals. In
all States combined (including D.C.)
except California, Trump got 58.5 million, Clinton 57.1 million---a
difference of 1.4 million in Trump’s
favor.
In a nutshell: Mathematically, Clinton’s entire 2.8 million
popular vote margin over Trump came from California. If not for California, Trump won the popular
vote by 1.4 million.
(Just an aside: one jurisdiction gave
Clinton an even larger share of votes than her 2:1 margin in California. That was Washington, D.C., where Clinton’s Soviet-sized
margin was a whopping 22:1. But back to
California.)
There’s no denying California’s blessings. The beauty of its coastline, Mt. Shasta,
Yosemite, the Sierras, the Golden Gate.
The agriculturally rich central valley and the energy resources beneath
our feet and offshore. Arguably the
best climate of all States except Hawaii.
California---the Golden State--- truly a gem.
Unfortunately, California’s
one-party-governance has not matched its natural splendor and great economic
resources. According to
taxfoundation.org, California has the highest State income tax rate in the
nation, and among the highest State gasoline tax and State sales tax.
Despite these sky-high taxation rates,
nationsreportcard.gov lists California’s public school children’s test scores
as 48th in the nation. The
original Bay Bridge took only 40 months to construct; the recent eastern span
replacement took over seven years---not counting the years lost to squabbling
over the design. California has the 16th
highest poverty rate among all States, and The California Budget and Policy
Center says “When you factor in our high housing costs…California has the
highest poverty level in the nation.” World
class potholes and other disrepair in Berkeley and on I-880 are legend. But
the nanny State of California leads the way in mandating such things as what kind
of grocery bags and soft drinks are permitted.
A Manhattan-based film critic and writer
for The New Yorker magazine famously said “I can’t believe Nixon won. I don’t know anyone who voted for him.” This illustrates the provincial thinking that
can develop in an echo chamber, where diversity of opinion is scarce. The lopsided political environment in
California, where one-party rule prevails, has left scant tolerance, let alone
encouragement, for dissenting thought or expression.
Based on the November election results, Californians
are certainly politically out of step with the nation as a whole. Like the Manhattan film critic of five
decades ago, the Calexit folks likely don’t know anyone who voted
Republican. Marinating in their insular bubble,
they don’t see this as an opportunity for introspection. Instead, they are sure it’s the rest of America that’s
out of step.
Really?
