But I love her

Jay Nordlinger:

How bad does California have to get, before the voters turn from the Democrats? How dire does the state’s economy have to become? Going down the tubes, Californians still know how to do one thing: reach for the Democratic lever. As far as I’m concerned, that’s like grabbing an anvil when you’re drowning.

And as the Republicans vote with their feet, California will become “bluer,” I’m afraid. Businessmen, entrepreneurs — they’ve been hightailing it to Nevada, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina. They will probably hightail it further, seeking a state that will allow them to flourish.

When I moved from California to New Hampshire a little over a decade ago, it was only supposed to be for a few years. Alas, life had other plans. The years have slipped away, but the dream of returning to my warm, sunny, west coast home have endured. In the last few years, however, the dream has begun to fade. I've still not come to think of NH as "home", but neither anymore is CA. I hang in limbo betwixt two coasts.

I've watched CA starve itself over the last decade, and that's played no small part in the continuing dissolution and disillusion of my dream. I weep a little, and shake my head at how, like a woman in an abusive relationship, Californians can't seem to connect the dots, break the cycle.

I wasn't at all surprised to see Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown elected again -- I predicted it, in fact, observing often that CA is reliably disappointing in the end -- and yet I hoped, as is my wont.

And that's on me, of course. In that way, I'm the one who can't connect the dots, break the cycle. And in that way, I remain a Californian.

Maybe next time. . .