The 2004 Political Controversy

"...I truly believe there is something distinctly alluring about the state in and of itself -- not just the geography but the California of the mind....
"But focus hard on the reality of 2005, and what we see is a golden state of dysfunction.
"...The underlying problem is the detachment between decision-makers and the results of their decisions. It is a state so large, hobbled by so many initiatives and expectations that not even a life-and-death issue jars the status quo."
- John King, San Francisco Chronicle


The Current Blue/Red State Controversy. The 2004 national election has elicited much discussion on the web about having California remove itself from, or be thrown out of, the Union. This discussion has even received some review in the traditional press. Those responding negatively to the idea have correctly observed that the Civil War settled this issue and that Californians are clearly integrated into the American scene both historically and culturally. And the California economy is too much a part of the national economy to simply separate it out.

Too many people in other parts of the nation see California as someplace weird, out of the norm of the country, because of the press emphasis on Blue/Red, liberal Hollywood, and gay San Francisco . That is a very uninformed view. Consider the last two presidential elections using maps of the results by county:

2000 Presidential Election Results

2004 Presidential Election Results

These two maps should remind you of the national maps of red and blue states. They would seem to be an indicator that the national "values" divide exists inside California.

But is it really a difference in values or just historical inherited partisan loyalties? Fortunately we have the results of ballot measures to examine in 2004:

Stem Cell Research Funding

Mandated Employer Health Insurance

What these two maps indicate is that California includes regions that usually will vote socially and economically conservative (red on the stem cell map) and regions that usually will vote socially and economically liberal (green on the employer health insurance map). California even has "swing counties." Consider a map of another ballot measure that established a 1% income tax on income over $1,000,000 to pay for county mental health programs compared with the 2003 recall election of Governor Gray Davis and you will find potential "swing" counties:

Mental Health Tax

Recall Gray Davis

Politically California is as divided as the nation. As a country on its own, it would have the world's 6th or 7th largest economy and it would be the 59th largest country in area and the 34th largest in population (out of about 237). So it too could become a "divided" nation, but why would anyone propose that?

More logically, it should become more than one state. The intent of this blog is to provide information regarding the idea of dividing California.