Is California criticism justified? GOP convention delegates who live here agree with Donald Trump
At a convention marked by calls for law and order, tax cuts, and the end of environment regulations, Republicans this week have taken aim at the policies and practices of California government.
In his acceptance speech Thursday night, President Donald Trump cited California as an example of the danger of divesting from fossil fuels and support renewable energy, as state Democrats have done to combat climate change.
Blackouts in California over the last two weeks have prompted some state government officials to confront tough questions about how the state’s shift to solar panels and wind turbines could make it more susceptible to outages during heat waves.
“These same policies led to crippling power outages in California just last week,” the Republican president said, mocking Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s effort to frame the election as a battle between dark and light. “How can Joe Biden claim to be an ally of the light, when his own party can’t even keep the lights on?”
On Monday, Kimberly Guilfoyle, the partner of Donald Trump Jr. and ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also slammed California Democrats, who she said had turned the state “into a land of discarded heroin needles in parks, riots in streets and blackouts in homes.”
Vice President Mike Pence called attention to a protest earlier this year in Oakland, where a federal officer was shot and killed. Oakland residents were quick to criticize Pence for insinuating the death was caused by Black Lives Matter protesters, when in reality, one of the suspects had ties to white supremacist movements, federal authorities said.
Another speaker criticized California Democrats’ support of “deceptive teachers’ unions.”
For the state’s Republican convention delegates, that’s just fine.
“California really has earned the right to be bashed,” said Jim DeMartini, a Republican Supervisor in Stanislaus County who was tapped as a convention delegate for California’s 10th Congressional District. “You look at where Democrats have been in charge for decades and the cities there have just been destroyed.”
DeMartini said he’s also fed up with the high taxes of California, and plans to move to Nevada at the end of the year when his term in local government ends. He said he’s tired of Democrats “throwing away money” at the homeless population, and, as far as San Francisco, seems to be of the same mind as Guilfoyle.
“I don’t ever intend to go to San Francisco again,” DeMartini said. “It’s not a safe city. This is what happens when liberals take over and they just eventually destroy the economy.”
Republicans are decidedly out of power in California, where they make up less than 25% of registered voters. Democrats hold a supermajority in both houses of the state Legislature, all statewide constitutional offices, and both U.S. Senate seats.
This year, the party’s activists were also largely deprived of gathering with like-minded activists at the national convention. With events in Charlotte limited to only 300 delegates, California GOP delegates felt they were missing out.
“I just can’t tell you how disappointed I was to not be able to be a part of it,” said Betsy Mahan, chair of the Sacramento County Republicans, who was supposed to attend the convention this year as a delegate for the 7th Congressional District. “Every single day, all day long, people come into our headquarters saying, ‘Oh I wish I could put a yard sign out. I wish I could have a bumper sticker on, but I’m afraid of being attacked.’ And I don’t think that’s right.”
A big issue for her has been the protests that have turned violent in major cities around the U.S. It’s something she thinks has been glossed over by Democrats.
“I think there is, in California, just a tremendous amount of mismanagement,” Mahan said.
Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris has also been a popular talking point at the convention, with many claiming the California senator will bring lawlessness and socialism to the country. Mahan said she’s followed Harris since she was California’s attorney general.
“Her reputation here, amongst people who don’t support her philosophy, is that she’s just always looking for her next gig,” she added.
Dr. (MD) Jay Grassell, a Republican delegate for District 3, said he’s not happy with the direction the Democratic Party has taken, both in California and nationally.
“I’m really concerned about the authoritarian direction that the Democratic Party has taken,” he said. “They traditionally portray themselves as the party of tolerance and diversity, but not diversity of opinion anymore.”
As far as having a Californian on the opposing ballot, Grassel said it doesn’t make much of a difference in his mind.
“I’m not interested in parochial regionalism,” he said. “I’m looking at the philosophy that’s overtaking the political party.”
It’s easier to be a Republican in more conservative areas like Stanislaus County, DeMartini said, but added that in San Francisco, “you can’t say anything. They got all the political correctness. They’re in new speak.”
As the convention ended, Mahan said she hopes voters take a look at the issues from both sides, and consider the Republican perspective.
“I think that we all want to solve the same problems. Nobody wants crime except criminals. Nobody wants homelessness. Nobody wants poverty. But we have very different ways of going about solving these problems,” she said. “And I think it’s really important for people to hear our perspective on how we would approach these issues.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 4:31 PM.