The One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple Moderate Voter of California?

A commenter on an earlier post of mine commented that:

California isn't purple, it's Blue. I'm a Democrat and I voted for the Repub. candidates for governor and for insurance commissioner because I thought they would do the best job. I'd caution you not to read too much into the election, especially as any kind of an endorsement of the Republican party. As you said earlier the California Republican Party is still way too conservative for most Californians, including me. I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Shane, my point is that California voted Dem this year because it had little other choice. I still maintain that it is a Purple state because that is where it would fall on a Red-to-Blue spectrum.

Why is it that California thought Arnold would do the best job as Governor? He certainly wouldn’t have won the election by such a large margin if he had campaigned on star power alone. The reason is that he is reasonably in line with what most Californians are looking for, politically. This is the same reason Dianne Feinstein remains such a popular figure here. Both are political moderates that lean left socially and lean right economically.

California tends to vote Democrat because voters are left little other option. The California Republican Party is too conservative for voters. Economically, the state is moderate to right. Socially, the state is moderate to left. For the record, both of these generalizations are on the whole of the state.

My point is that because the California Republican Party keeps putting up such conservative candidates, Californians won't vote for them. The Democrats are not highly favored in this state, either. Economically, few are really in line with the sentiments of voters. However, outside of political blogs, academic settings, and financial institutions, who considers fiscal matters sexy? People can get riled up over social issues.

If the California Republican Party downplayed the social issues or moved a little left on them, it could gain a lot of power in statewide races. Local districts are very gerrymandered and it would take a whole new strategy for Republicans to win a majority in the California Congressional Delegation, the Assembly, or the state Senate. But that doesn’t mean California is Blue.

This election (and others before it) show that the median voter theorem is heavily at work in California. For statewide office, voters prefer a moderate candidate that is neither socially conservative nor economically liberal. This is why moderate Arnold handily beat tax-hiker Angelides. This is why moderate Democrat DiFi beats just about everybody. This is why pro-choice Pete Wilson won so often.

California’s median voter isn’t to be found in the San Francisco Bay Area or in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area any more than it is to be found in the Fresno/Clovis area. He (or she) is a strong moderate looking a little like Ahnold and DiFi.

Endorsements!

While I understand that many political crackheads have already submitted their ballots for the November election (I submitted mine almost a week ago), the elections are coming up. But you probably already knew that, unless, of course, you have been living under a rock for the past few months.

Here in the Land of Fruits and Nuts, we have a super-sized ballot full of ballot initiatives and statewide candidates for office. To help you make sense of the madness, allow me to give you some brief advice on your ballot.

GOVERNOR- Arnold Schwarzenegger
My endorsement absolutely goes to the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has a brilliant record on Gay rights and the economy and has proven his moderate credentials. Phil Angelides is a hack that would overtax the state and drive business away without providing any substantial improvements on Schwarzenegger's social policies.

Lt. GOVERNOR- Tom McClintock
What does a Governor Lite do anyway? Since this is a post primarily concerned with waiting for the real governor to leave the state, die, or otherwise vacate his office, it is hard to come up with a good reason to have a Lt. Gov.

A harder question to answer is who is Garamendi? McClintock is a proven conservative. While I definitely disapprove of his views on Gay rights, he is a fiscal watchdog that would do a fine job...if that had anything to do with the office of Lt. Gov. I will endorse him anyway because I really don't like the idea of a no-name Democrat keeping the seat of the Governor-in-Waiting warm.

ATTORNEY GENERAL- Chuck Poochigian
I have already posted on the reasons I am not supporting Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown for Attorney General. Despite the impact the office can have on Gay issues in California, Brown won't be tough on crime. Poochigian would be. It's that simple.

SECRETARY OF STATE- No Endorsement
I heavily considered giving my endorsement to Bruce McPherson, but he doesn't excite me. After former SOS, Kevin Shelley screwed up and was forced into resignation from office in a cloud of shame, McPherson stepped up to the plate to be appointed SOS. Well, sort of.

I think somebody forgot to tell him he was named Secretary.

His term was marked, well, by nothing. Granted that Secretary of State is not the most exciting office in Sacramento, but he seems to have kept things going as business as usual without any remarkable innovation.

Bowen, on the other hand, is a rebel rouser that seems to want to go totally back to paper ballots. While it is good to have a healthy fear of electronic voting machines, her fear of technology borders on paranoid.

CONTROLLER- Tony Strickland
Who would be a better person to elect as the official fiscal watchdog of the state than the man who successfully sued Gray Davis? Strickland was the youngest person to ever serve in the Assembly, was a powerful force in YAF, and would be a strong leader to preside over the Board of Equalization. And his opponent? Some Democratic unknown.

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER- Steve Poizner
I won't even pretend to have a rationale for why I am endorsing Poizner. Really, I just have a great disdain for Cruz Bustamante and his greedy ways. Cruz has spent the greater part of his adult life "earning" a paycheck in elected office. In his most recent gig, he didn't even have to do anything to keep making six-figures except wait around for a Governor to leave office...and he managed to do a poor job at that! Even more recently, Bustamante got caught taking large amounts of money from insurance companies in the form of campaign contributions. While this normally wouldn't be a big problem, he is running for a job that's sole purpose is to oversee regulations on those same companies. If that doesn't reek of impropriety, I don't know what does.

US SENATE- Dianne Feinstein
DiFi is one of my favorite politicians alive today! Sure I hate her history on gun rights and dislike her position on abortion, but she has managed to carve herself a niche as a pragmatic problemsolver. She has been a great representative of California in the US Senate to date, and I expect her to have several more good years in office. This Republican proudly supports DiFi for office.

DiFi v. Mountjoy

DiFi v. Mountjoy

This November, California will barely notice as many Republicans cross party lines and vote for a Democrat likely to get more votes than Arnold could ever dream of. It is already a foregone conclusion that Dianne Feinstein will return for another term in the US Senate.

Opposite DiFi, the most popular politician in California, the GOP has endorsed former California State Legislator Dick Mountjoy. Despite the funny jokes we can make about his name, little good has ever come from this man. In fact, this man characterizes everything that I believe to be wrong with my party.

Mountjoy is most notable for writing Prop 187 to deny all government services to illegal immigrants. Fortunately, that proposition was overturned by the courts before it prevented innocent children from being denied an education or service at public hospitals.

Further, Mounjoy is Dubya's ideological twin. He is against Gay rights, maintains that we are doing a wonderful job in Iraq, and claims to be a veteran. However, President Bush has a less dubious military record than Mountjoy's.

However, the worst product of Mountjoy is his own son, termed-out Assemblyman Dennis Mounjoy. Assemblyman Mountjoy, who bears a strong resemblance in appearance and mannerisms to the late Chris Farley, made headlines earlier this summer when he offended several of his colleagues by calling all Gay people sexual deviants and related his views that we deserve fewer rights in this society.

On the other hand, DiFi has been a remarkable voice of reason in the Senate. Far more moderate than her colleague, Babs Boxer, Feinstein has been a critic of the war in Iraq insofar as we must develop an exit strategy and eventually leave. Further, she is a notably strong supporter of Gay rights and of equal marriage. But she is no liberal!

Feinstein is well known for working both sides of the aisle to get the good work of the Senate accomplished. She has no fear in antagonizing her Democratic base by pushing for a more moderate agenda and criticizing the harsh and quick politics typically played by the Democrats (a la Kennedy and Boxer). Also, you would be hard-pressed to find somebody who would really call her a fiscal liberal.

In short, my Grand Old Party is crazy for even trying this year against DiFi. Worse, my party's leaders should be committed to a mental health hospital for trying to run Mountjoy against the most popular politician in the state. At least the GOP donors aren't wasting much money on him--his campaign so far consists of an answering machine at his Monrovia home.

I will leave you with this funny story that I read in the paper today about an event Feinstein spoke at recently. She asked the crowd of Democrat supporters if anybody had ever heard of Dick Mountjoy and not a single person raised their hand. She responded, "Good. And I want to keep it that way." She didn't mention him again in her talk.