“It’s not that liberals aren’t smart, it’s just that so much of what they know isn’t so.”
– Ronald Reagan
November 18, 2024 — We continue on our mini-tour of the United States today, taking the pulse of the nation as we go.
Today, we’re on the Left Coast, or as they call it out here, the Best Coast. It’s here where Vice President Kamala Harris saw a 10-point win over Donald Trump, as about three million more voted for the Veep than the former and now next President.
It wasn’t always this way. California is the state where Richard Nixon built his political base. And where Illinois native Ronald Reagan earned a governor’s seat.
Looking back, the state voted for FDR, Harry Truman, and even LBJ. So if anything, California was more of a bellwether state, at least until 1988, the last time the state voted Republican, for Bush the Elder.
California’s shift to more permanently Democratic can be marked by the end of the Cold War. The downsizing of the defense industry, once a major business in the Golden State, took with it considerable jobs. So did the downsizing of military and naval bases – and with it, blue-collar workers and military members who would often vote Republican.
Add in the high cost of living, from housing to state income tax rates, and it’s clear that unless you’re living in Hollywood or Silicon Valley, it’s been a struggle.
And why so many middle-class Californians have done a reverse Grapes of Wrath style migration to other states.
Our Portfolio Director Andrew Packer, who grew up in the foothills of San Diego County quips, “When I moved to Florida in 2009 and told people I was a “California refugee,” I’d get blank stares. People get it now.”
Today, California solidifies its “Team Blue” nature even further. How? It’s ground zero for the “resistance” against Donald Trump as he heads into his second term.
In Trump’s first term, the resistance was more than some peaceful protestors in self-described “pussy hats.” It included entrenched bureaucrats who slow-walked paperwork and Trump’s agenda.
Hmm. Perhaps that’s a reason for the strong push for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But it was also the investigations into how an outsider like Trump could have won in the first place. Why, some say, it must have been Russian collusion!
One of the members of Congress who pushed this ultimately false narrative was Adam Schiff. Despite being censured by the House for his misrepresentations, the people of California rewarded Schiff with a Senate seat earlier this month.
We have little doubt Schiff will find new ways to torment Trump in his second term. Hopefully it’s not just Russian Collusion II. But Schiff’s district was near Hollywood, so it’s no surprise if he’s as bereft of ideas as the mainstream entertainment complex.
Schiff’s ascension up the political ladder is just one sign that the resistance against Donald Trump is alive and well, and will rear its ugly head (and potentially even create some Grey Swan events) in Trump’s second term.
For a look at what’s going on at the state level to resist Trump, and how that’s working out, we turn now to James Hickman over at Schiff Sovereign. ~ Enjoy, Addison
What Are You Resisting, Gavin?
James Hickman, Schiff Sovereign
The blood isn’t even dry on the corpse of Kamala’s billion dollar presidential campaign, and the opportunists in her party are already shamelessly jockeying for power.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has just called a “special legislative session,” to “Trump-proof” his state and “safeguard California values”.
Naturally we’re left wondering, what exactly are those California values?
Luckily, Newsom gave us a demonstration earlier this week. As a classic tone deaf politician, he wandered around Los Angeles’ skid row neighborhood in his $1,200 shoes, with his $8 latte— and very fancy tailored suit— while being heckled by the neighborhood’s residents and homeless.
Apparently, he expects to be greeted as a hero everywhere he goes, completely oblivious to the destruction he has caused.
It appears that the value he aims to protect is that he, and he alone, should be in charge, at everyone else’s expense.
Obviously preparing for a White House run, it is also so interesting that Newsom, over the past couple of years, has gone out of his way to compare and contrast his state against his arch nemesis, Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida.
The left seems to think Florida is the worst place in the world.
MSNBC host Joy Reid captured the angst of the left, howling that America might turn into Florida: “that kind of extreme, extremist right wing fascist type government.”
Ah yes, fascist Florida, the state which did not lock down its residents for years in the name of COVID, did not shutter business, require masks, force injections, or arrest people for walking in parks.
The state with a booming economy, with a balanced budget, despite having NO state income tax, with massive net migration, and constantly improving infrastructure— despite being pummeled by hurricane after hurricane.
God forbid America turns into Florida!
But this is one of the beautiful things about America.
As the Founding Fathers were framing the US Constitution in the 1780s, they baked in the idea that states should have tremendous autonomy.
They had all read Adam Smith’s 1776 work, The Wealth of Nations. They understood that competition between states would make America a marketplace of ideas and policies, where the best ones could win out.
And while the federal government has amassed way more power than was ever intended, you can still see the results of capitalist-style competition between the states.
It’s why California, New York, and New Jersey are losing population amidst unsustainable state government debts, crime waves, unchecked illegal immigration, and high taxes.
And it’s why states like Florida and Texas are booming— because Americans all have a choice of where they live.
But still, if you want a government that spends $35,000 per homeless person, yet doesn’t reduce the number of homeless, you can move to California.
If you want a state that promises high speed rails, but 16 years and $35 billion later has nothing to show for it, California is calling!
If you want a Governor who raises taxes on oil and gas, shutters nuclear power plants, and insists on inefficient “renewables” unable to keep up with electric grid demand from the electric vehicles he mandated, Newsom is the guy for you!
If you want to live in a place where shoplifting is decriminalized, Newsom is your knight in shining armor.
The Founding Fathers gave Americans the option to build their own Plan B… as well as Plan C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, and M to choose which of the original 13 states they preferred.
Today, you can freely choose from 50 states to move to without asking permission.
If your number one concern in life is making sure your children have access to drag queen story hour, there are plenty of options for you in the United States.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to live in a state with sounder government finances, safer streets, better performing schools, and lower taxes, you also have options.
You even have the additional choice of the territory of Puerto Rico, if you want to legally avoid having to pay federal income tax.
And there are also about 170 other countries on earth to choose from as well, for a cheaper cost of living, access to inexpensive healthcare, a better climate, or your preferred lifestyle.
Obviously, there is still a mountain of problems to fix and challenges to overcome for the country as a whole.
But the fact that Newsom thinks he’s the guy that can get it done it just hilarious.
His idea of “Make America California” is so blind to everything that has happened in his state, including the countless residents and businesses who have fled California in disgust.
He’s also blind to the fact that “make America California” was already on the ballot in this election. And it got complete destroyed.
That’s essentially what Kamala and the guy who shakes hands with thin air were doing.
The results are clear: Americans are weaker, poorer, the country more chaotic, less unified, more pessimistic, and less respected internationally.
Newsom is so delusional he still thinks people want more of this. Honestly, it’s hilarious.
And as I wrote last week, this is actually good news for the most part.
The risk, of course, is that if the incoming government isn’t able to move the needle in the right direction and get the country back on track, there may be another giant turn to the left in a few years, not to mention some pretty severe social and financial consequences.
This is why it still makes sense to maintain a solid Plan B.
But as long as there are Inspired Idiots like Newsom who think people actually want more destruction, more likely the Left will continue to lose… and hence the better chance that the country and the world will have a brighter future.
~~ James Hickman, Schiff Sovereign
Regards,
Addison Wiggin,
Grey Swan
P.S. Reader Daniel writes in:
“Why would Addison want to go to San Franfeces at all and why meet Willie Brown?”
Why does a mountain climber climb a mountain? Because it’s there. And the collapse of law, order, and clean sidewalks in “San Franfeces” is a cautionary tale to consider and learn from today.
And, to use a phrase that’s unfortunate in this situation, we’re still fans of doing boots-on-the-ground research. Don’t worry. We’re treading carefully.
Send more thoughts our way: addison@greyswanfraternity.com