California now plays smaller role in presidential politics

[CShine]

"California has become less typical of the country,'' said Michael Barone, author of the Almanac of American Politics. "With the high immigrant population, the big 'left' coast vote ... the people who have been generated in California for higher office have become less suited to be national candidates.''

California's Democratic leanings have made it more difficult for Republicans to emerge from the state, which now accounts for more than one- fifth of the electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Yet it was the Republicans who relied so heavily on the state for candidates.

Republicans had a Californian on every winning presidential ticket from Herbert Hoover's election in 1928 though Reagan's re-election 56 years later. Meanwhile, while several California Democrats have aggressively sought the presidency, including former Gov. Jerry Brown and former Sen. Alan Cranston, none has ever made it onto the ticket.

"We had an incredibly dry streak of anti-charismatic, not just non- charismatic, but anti-charismatic, people in the governor's office,'' said Bruce Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, offering another explanation for the lack of Californians on the national scene.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/06/12/MNG2F752AU1.DTL

[markses]

1. Translation: Bushies know they'll lose California by millions of votes

Why don't they just say "Blue states worthless, filled with non-Americans" and be done with it.

[LizW]

6. Exactly. Sour, sour grapes.

In case anyone is not familiar with Michael Barone:

http://www.michaelbarone.com/

"Michael Barone regularly appears on Fox News Channel."

Let's see, what would his agenda be?

[cyclezealot]

2. We left coasters.

Guess do not typify America.. Very few of California's Democratic congressman are moderates..Whatever that is..( Like definition..Only thing centrist is dead armadillos in the center of the road.")
So California Democrats have no chance since we have so few DLC types...So we can be taken for granted..Yet, we come up with such a bland senator as Dianne Feinstein..?
One event Democratic presidential candidates to come out for...Fundraising in Beverely Hills...! And then explain Gov. Arni..GOP ignore him..Religion, privacy issues. Guess eventually he will be margalized....
Goldwater used to say saw off New England..Maybe we should move the San Andreas Fault east, so as to seperte us from the RedNecks...
But then.Rednecks ...Ever been to Fresno.?

[cap]

3. no... CA sets trends for the nation...

we will become a majority non-white nation in 1-2 generations... It's us whites who need to "get with the program", not the other way around.

[bemildred]

4. Yeah, this is stuck-in-the-mud bullshit. nt

[Mz Pip]

5. Schwartzennegger

draws longer receiving lines than Bush. Pisses Rove off. Hateses California we do. California is trying to steal the precious from my Bushie. Yeses we hateses the Californias. Bad. Bad.

MzPip
:dem:

[Democat]

7. If it wasn't for the electoral college, presidential candidates...

Would have to care about California.

With the electoral college in place, national parties can ignore the richest state in the U.S. because the electoral college makes the voters of California second class citizens.

[Mountainman]

8. Hell, I'd rather remain a Dem state the have a president from here.

Screw the Repubs from CA. They can't win here because they are so anti immigrant.

[DBoon]

9. Sectarian and marginalized

Anti-immigrant, pro-gun, anti-gay - they only things that excite them are the things mainstream Californians find incomprehensible