GOING RED:
The Truth about the
California Exodus
A published Op/Ed
By Summer Lane
You’ve heard the line: “Don’t turn my red state blue.” Or,
“Californians and New Yorkers are NOT welcome in my red state.” In fact, as I
was working last week, covering a Save America rally hosted by President Donald
J. Trump in Conroe, Texas, I noticed a few of the pre-rally speakers making
disparaging comments about Californians who are fleeing the communistic
policies of the Golden State and seeking refuge in strongholds for freedom and
individual liberty, like Texas and Florida. Yet as I heard the comments
decrying Californians who supposedly bring progressive policies with them into
red states, I wondered: is that true? So, I did what I usually do…I dug in and
did some research.
As a red-blooded California voter myself, I frequently tell
people that, as a journalist and career writer and columnist, I am working
“behind enemy lines” here in the Central Valley. In California, we all know
that we not only suffer under the burden of a leftist-driven legislature and
radical progressive governorship, but we also bear the brunt of disastrous
immigration policies. In fact, according to the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, under the embarrassingly absent Biden administration, America was
flooded in 2021 with just shy of 2 million more illegal migrants…many coming to
a city near you, thanks to California’s reputation for providing sanctuary for
those seeking to enter our country without abiding by our laws.
Interestingly enough, California is perhaps the most
geographically diverse place in the United States, boasting a wide variety of
climates, from the burning Mojave Desert and the snow-laden Sierras, to the
sparkling Pacific Ocean and the fertile farmland of the Central Valley. Thanks
to its diversity, which has created a super economy ranging from agricultural
goods to booming tourism, it’s no surprise that California has one of the
largest economies in the entire world, and yet, it is also one of the most
corrupt and poorly-run states in the country.
Californians in the Central Valley eagerly point to disastrously-led
cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles as the source of their woes, and
indeed, this certainly does seem to be the case. These behemoth population
centers notoriously vote for socialistic policies and politicians like
clockwork, therefore subjecting the entire state to damaging ideologically-based
legislation.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, for example, Gov. Gavin
Newsom (D) has odiously held on to his endless “emergency” powers in the state
of California, haphazardly attempting to enforce ludicrous lockdowns, mask
mandates, and vaccine requirements for California citizens and workers. In
December 2021, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reinstated an
indoor mask mandate, which is slated to expire on February 15th…but
we all know how that goes. Despite the hard, scientific data that clearly says
masks do not protect anyone from transmitting or catching Covid, we are still
being asked to wear muzzles like animals, dogmatically falling into line with
what the “experts” tell us. SF Gate even reported in Dec. 2021 that CNN medical
analyst Dr. Leana Wen said that masks have no place in preventing contracting
Covid, and likened them to “facial decorations.”
And yet, in California, the bad policies seem to march ever
onward, no matter how hard the millions of conservatives fight against them.
This, of course, brings me to the reality that conservatives, who have fought
long and hard against socialism in California, are finally packing up and
leaving. This begs the question: are Californians who are taking flight in
light of the horrendous policies in California fleeing to red states and
corrupting them with blue-leaning policies? Personally, I believe this is
untrue.
Let’s look at some statistics. Last year, it was reported
that Floridian registered Republicans, for example, had surpassed Democrats for
the first time in the state’s history. In 2021, Business Insider reported than
an estimated 900 people were moving to Florida every day. Additionally,
Texas has become an alluring location for freedom-loving Americans to relocate
to, coming in a close second to Florida as a relocation area for inner-state
migration patterns, according to Move.org. It stands to reason that, as states
like Florida grow redder along with this massive influx of new citizens, there
is a causal relationship to be found therein, which suggests that there is
indeed a correlation between those two things: voters moving out of blue states
and moving to Florida, for example, and Republican voters outpacing Democrats
like never before.
Here, I present a contrary theory to what you normally hear:
I think red voters are fleeing blue states and turning red states redder. I
think that, when you hear about Californians turning Texas blue, what
politicians really are referring to are the California-based corporations who
come to Texas seeking looser tax regulations and laws, bringing their leftist
socialist doctrine with them. I think that, based on the data available to us
regarding inner-state migration, we can see that blue states are not feeding
blue policies into red states. If anything, escapees from the hellish economic
and social landscape of California are contributing to keeping places like
Texas and Florida permanent and irrevocable bastions of conservatism.
GOP establishment politicians need to watch their rhetoric when they are lambasting Californians who are seeking refuge in states like Texas and be sure not to mock or tear down American citizens who are merely looking for a place to live in peace with their families. There is a big difference between a megalithic corporation relocating to Texas and a California family who wants to give their kids a chance to grow up safe and free.
References:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (2022). https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics
Sargent, Joshua. (2021). Experts Warn that cloth masks don’t
work. SF Gate. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/experts-warn-that-cloth-masks-don-t-work-again-recommend-tests/ar-AAS3Wmn
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