CALIFORNIANS SCOFF AT REPUBLICANS’ CRITICISM
California, where Latinos make up 40 percent of the population, would seem the right state for these times.
As a result, the state seems to be joining Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader (who is from San Francisco) as a go-to motivator for Republican candidates looking for red-meat appeals to fire up supporters.
“Every crazy thing, public policy-wise, that comes out of California is just anathema to entrepreneurs and average voters,” said David M. Carney, a political consultant advising Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican running for re-election. “There’s something about the aggressiveness of the craziness of California regulating every aspect of everyone’s life that makes it a good example of what we don’t want to be.”
Abbott routinely begins his political speeches by pledging to build a wall — between Texas and New Mexico, “so we can keep all the Californians out.”
Another Texan, Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican up for re-election this year, talked at a recent rally in Katy about liberals wanting the state to be “just like California, right down to tofu and silicone and dyed hair.”
The Republican Governors Association issued a news release with this warning about the governor’s race in Florida: “Democrat Andrew Gillum Wants Floridians To Pay California-level Taxes.” His Republican opponent, Ron Desantis, picked up the theme as he campaigned in Sarasota.
“California is absolutely not the model for Florida,” he said. “It would be a historic mistake to go down the road of being a hightax, high-spending state.”
Sen. Dean Heller, R-nev., faces what is probably the toughest challenge of his electoral career this fall, from Rep. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat. But you might not know that from the tweet Heller fired off as the fall campaign got underway: “We can’t let California liberals take over our great state.”
Californians scoff at the attacks as reflecting jealousy of their state, where Americans have been streaming for almost 200 years.
“This is another sorry example of the current state of Republican solipsism,” said Jerry Brown, the Democratic governor. “The irony is that when they attack California, they attack the very engine of America’s prosperity and leadership.”
Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmentalist from San Francisco, whose organization has financed campaigns against Republicans in 11 states, including Florida and Nevada, said the attacks were a cynical political tactic aimed at diverting voters’ attention from issues Republicans do not want to talk about.
“Do I think California is perfect?” Steyer said. “Hell, no. But do I think we have a functioning democracy that is trying to deal with these issues? I think we do.”
In some ways, California makes itself an easy target, with laws regulating plastic bags andplastic straws — the kind of restrictions that would seem particularly anathema to voters in states with deep skepticism about big government. But it is not only the smaller issues: California has come to represent a vision of government — expansive and expensive — than is not nearly as welcome in states like Nevada.
“The Californians come here, and they want to change things around,” said Patrick Casale, 57, a health insurance broker and Republican who lives in Las Vegas. “They want us to pay more taxes. They want to make Nevada a sanctuary state. They want to impose their way of life on us.”
There is wariness also of the ethnic diversity that California has come to represent.
“There is a little bit of coded language there — about ‘the other,’” said David Damore, a professor of political science at UNLV.
“They don’t have much to campaign on substantively,” Damore said of Republican candidates generally. “They are not campaigning on the tax cuts. The Affordable Care Act blew up in their face. So they are trying to draw support from the idea that our way of life is under attack.”
In the Colorado race for governor, the Republican Governors Association weighed in early with an advertisement titled “Radicalifornia.” It was directed at the Democrat in the race, Rep. Jared Polis, who is running against Walker Stapleton, the Republican state treasurer.
“Jared Polis wants to turn Colorado into Radicalifornia,” the announcer said. “Polis wants higher taxes. Polis wants to put tens of thousands of energy jobs at risk. And you can forget fixing our traffic problems.”
But David Flaherty, a Republican pollster in Colorado, said he believed that advertisement had fallen flat.
“Are Californians moving here and changing our state, which is arguably what happened in Nevada?” Flaherty asked. “I don’t feel that is a prevailing thought in voters’ minds. We are not there yet.”
William Mccurdy II, the Democratic leader in Nevada, said he had become inured to the invocations of California by Heller and Laxalt, who is the state attorney general, and doubted they would make much difference.
“What they are doing is looking at another state and fearmongering,” he said. “It doesn’t resonate with a majority of Nevadans, who care about issues like health care and economy.”
Still, candidates and strategists say Republicans are tapping into a genuine concern with this line of attack.
Jeff Hays, the Republican leader in Colorado, said he has seen rising resentment among some Coloradans over an influx of Californians.
“We don’t want the housing costs,” he said. “We don’t want the traffic problems. We don’t want the taxes.”