Democrats have a mega-majority in the California Legislature. Expect them to swing for the fences

[TexasTowelie]

Californians can be forgiven if they’re slightly nervous about the new two-year legislative session that’s starting. Democrats haven’t wielded this much power in 136 years.

Even a devoted Democratic voter should wince at the overwhelming one-party rule. It’s not exactly what the nation’s founders had in mind and bears watching closely. Exhibit A: One-party Republican control in Washington the last two years.

In Sacramento, the Democrats’ power will be checked only by themselves. There won’t be enough Republicans and moderate Democrats in the Legislature to beat back liberals on most issues even if they wanted to team up.

Any serious legislative squabbling will be solely among Democrats. And there’ll undoubtedly be intraparty fighting over turf and goodies.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-skelton-democrats-legislature-supermajority-20181203-story.html

[Autumn]

1. I'm not about to wince at the overwhelming one-party rule. It wasn't a problem when Pukes

were doing the one-party rule to get their shit done that harms people. I can live with the overwhelming one-party rule that will get stuff done that people need.

[zipplewrath]

2. Oh, it can be a problem

The largest problem will be one of ethics. Single party rule tends to allow for abuse of power on a small scale, that can blow up at some point. But for a couple of years they could get some really good work done. As goes California, so tends to go the country. They banned smoking indoors well before most states.

[Mr.Bill]

3. I would like to see some help with

the cost of Medicare and the supplemental insurance needed to go along with it, even if only for those with low incomes. Many people don't realize it, but Medicare is not free. My wife and I together pay over $500 a month for Medicare and the supplemental policies we have. We can barely afford this, and many can not.

[Merlot]

4. "...intraparty fighting over turf and goodies?"

Ohhhh, noooo, libruls are taking over! They will enforce veganism throught the state, just you watch! They won't govern, they'll just fight amongs themselves brcause there will be no one "to beat back liberals."

So far, California has been doing pretty well with one party rule. Californians seem to remember when the republican governor arnie ran the economy into the ditch.

[Tikki]

5. Should be in direct contrast to brownback's Kansas rule.

Let us see which works out best for the State’s residents.


Tikki

[lostnfound]

7. Ha. Funny how the papers don't have handwringing over THAT. Nt

[Hortensis]

6. Ouch. TT, please, I'm a liberal. Don't use it to mean

left-wing zealots. That's not who we are. Good thing since roughly half of all humans tend naturally liberal in feelings and reactions. Republicans deliberately made it a dirty word, not us.

A problem I see is that ultimately it's unsustainable. As a liberal, I know that roughly half the nation falls generally along the conservative side of the spectrum and that another maybe 5-8% (?) are the kind of leftists who seem hard wired in eternal opposition to how Democrats are ruining the nation.

Ordinary, non-radical liberals can't be a majority on our own, and we can't control the destabilizing effects of the far left and the far right as a minority. Stable government must reflect the wishes of a solid, workable majority of voters. Elective government's "base" must be made up of both conservatives and liberals who agree on most things, and know they do, and it must be strong enough to hold against the constant efforts of extremists from either or both sides to overset the majority's choices.

Right now acting, through the state's Democratic Party, California's voters have formed that large bipartisan front against the extremism of today's Republicans,. But it's exposed to left wing extremism. The party is increasingly dominated not just by mainstream liberals capable of cooperating with conservatives but with more extremist left-wing factions who think that's almost literally a crime.

It's likely that that many conservatives are going to be disaffected by attempts to move the party too far left for them and that their support will transfer back to, and hopefully but not necessarily dominate, California's Republican Party. The question is when. This would be inevitable anyway some day, but wouldn't it be a good thing if it did not happen in 2020, just in time to elect another Republican president and regain their losses from 2018?

[Auggie]

8. Some are DINOs

My senate rep in particular, Bill Dodd. Life-long repuke until he realized his political career was over unless he flipped. I vote against him in every election but he has too much name recognition. He was behind the PG&E bailout earlier this year.