Orange County, CA Turns Blue For First Time in Decades

Sunday, November 18, 2018

In 2016, the conservative bastion of Orange County, California, voted for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since the Great Depression. Two years later, Democrats succeeded in capturing all of seven of its congressional seats ― a stunning feat in what has traditionally been a seat of Republican power that catapulted both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to the White House.

Posted by corky at 11:32 AM | 12 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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"The densely populated county ― which comprises cities like Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, and Huntington Beach ― has been growing more diverse and less conservative for years. But what may have harmed its GOP House representatives most was President Donald Trump and his nativist rhetoric about immigrants and penchant for controversial remarks, which alienated both minorities and college-educated women there.

"Those forces finally combined in 2018 to wipe out the GOP in what was for decades the most Republican big county in America. It is a political failure of biblical proportions," said California Democratic strategist Garry South."

"Democrats also succeeded in flipping districts carried by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), the infamous Russia-friendly congressman, and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who led the Benghazi investigation before retiring this year.

What is stunning about the Democratic gains in Orange County, also known as the cradle of conservatism, is not just how many seats they flipped but how they did it.

In the state's 48th congressional district, for example, wealthy real estate executive Harley Rouda defeated Rohrabacher by campaigning on progressive issues like Medicare for all, tuition-free college, and a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage."

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#1 | Posted by Corky at 2018-11-18 12:51 AM | Reply

by campaigning on progressive issues like Medicare for all, tuition-free college, and a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage.

An empty promise.

Dems are fools for pushing the "free everything" type of policy.

Government should be there to help citizens, not hand them things.

#2 | Posted by jpw at 2018-11-18 01:36 AM | Reply | Funny: 1 | Newsworthy 1

And how is assuring the availability of affordable healthcare NOT helping citizens? The same can be said for providing the opportunity to advance themselves, to say nothing of earning a living wage. And none of these things would be 'free', just that for those who would benefit from them the most, they would be achievable, which is NOT the case for many people today.

OCU

#3 | Posted by OCUser at 2018-11-18 11:47 AM | Reply

In California, the UC system was tuition free till the 70s, all the way from the institution's inception in the late 1800s. This is not a new idea.

#4 | Posted by dibblda at 2018-11-18 12:47 PM | Reply

"An empty promise."

Maybe, but it was once reality.

But I guess you're saying it was bad that California made higher education free for about a century. I mean, look at what a -------- California is today.

#5 | Posted by snoofy at 2018-11-18 01:53 PM | Reply

Home of the John Birch Society...turned blue!!! I sincerley hope Robert Welch is spinning in his grave.

#6 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2018-11-18 03:27 PM | Reply

In California, the UC system was tuition free till the 70s, all the way from the institution's inception in the late 1800s - dib.

In 1921 they started charging an "incidental fee" call it what you want, and it's never been free for non residents.

It's also not free, because since the 60s the universities look more and more like big government. Administrators now out number professors, and command a bigger salary, it's a disgrace.

One can be for education and against the University Industrial Complex.

#7 | Posted by AndreaMackris at 2018-11-18 03:47 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

"by campaigning on progressive issues like Medicare for all, tuition-free college, and a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage"

When you're college educated, these are economically conservative ideas.

#8 | Posted by IndianaJones at 2018-11-18 03:56 PM | Reply | Funny: 1 | Newsworthy 1

"In 1921 they started charging an "incidental fee" call it what you want, and it's never been free for non residents."

Which was negligable all the way up to the 70s.

Out of state kids should pay tuition. Their parents didn't pay taxes in the state. It's a state institution which should primarily benefit residents and their children. Their own states can implement the same system if they choose.

Your comment about university governance, not entirely wrong. A better analogy would be corporate management, which is largely bloated, inefficient, and unresponsive to the public. The regents needs a serious shakeup, the state needs to reinvest and reassert more control to make the system more accountable to the public.

#9 | Posted by dibblda at 2018-11-18 04:10 PM | Reply

When the blue disappears, dentures are clean!

(Sorry, old commercial. And old guy who remembers it.)

#10 | Posted by cbob at 2018-11-18 07:02 PM | Reply

"One can be for education and against the University Industrial Complex."

That's like saying you support the troops but you oppose war.

That's like saying you support football players but oppose the game of football.

#11 | Posted by snoofy at 2018-11-18 09:15 PM | Reply

I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa
Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa
Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa

I have a blue house with a blue window
Blue is the color of all that I wear
Blue are the streets and all the trees are too
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue
Blue are the people here that walk around
Blue like my (Prius), it's in and outside
Blue are the words I say and what I think
Blue are the feelings that live inside me

I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa
Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa
Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa

I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa
Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa
Da ba dee da ba daa!

#12 | Posted by donnerboy at 2018-11-19 01:52 PM | Reply