Thoughts on whatever...

According to the California Secretary of State’s office, Fresno County, in which I reside and voted in, went for John McCain, along with most Central California counties (Tulare, Madera, Kings, Kern).  But while McCain won by a few thousand or even tens of thousands of votes in other California counties (yes I know he lost overall, because the major metros all went heavily Obama), he lost here by 26 votes.  TWENTY-SIX VOTES.  94,814 to 94,788.  I doubt there was a closer margin in any county in the U.S.  Fresno County is home to roughly 900,000 people, and roughly 192,000 or so voted in this election…that’s something like .0002% margin of victory.  Insane.

Proposition 1A, the high-speed rail bill, appears to be passing, but there’s still some votes left to be counted.  What’s interesting is that the measure seemed to be alot more popular along the Central Coast and in the Bay Area and parts of the Valley (Fresno and Merced counties) than it was in Southern California…the prop is winning or has won in Santa Barbara and LA counties, but not in the OC or San Diego.

Prop 2, the animal rights bill, has passed as expected.  The funny thing about it is that it did not pass in any of the counties that would be primarily affected by the law that pertains to farm animals: Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings, Merced and Stanislaus counties as well as Sutter, Colusa, Glenn and Tehama counties all voted against the proposition.  Is there a trend developing here?

Prop 5, which would substantially reduce many drug possession sentences and allow for rehab to be assigned instead of prison, went down in flames.  It did, however, pass in San Francisco, Humboldt, Marin and Mendocino counties….I wonder why???

Here is a shocking turn of events: Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban, is right now leading by about 300K votes with 81.8% of precincts reporting.  This will come down to the remaining precincts in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties.  If precincts like West Hollywood and Long Beach in LA county and the Hillcrest area of San Diego have already reported, this proposition might actually pass, and wont THAT create some drama in the morning!!!  I can already see this proposition, if it passes, being dragged into a court battle, much like Prop 187 in the 1990’s.  However: if the precincts that are coming in late are in heavily Hispanic sections of those counties, or in the suburban or exurban parts of those counties, I predict that this proposition will pass, a major blow to gay rights activists nationwide.

Another major California ballot proposition is Prop 11, the redistricting initiative, which is currently leading by about 100K votes with many votes still to be counted in LA, San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, Ventura, San Diego and Imperial counties.  This is one that I support and voted for, and I’m pleased to see that it’s doing well.  California is one of the worst examples of jerrymandering in the nation, and it has led to many California assembly and congressional seats being held by the same party for decades to the point that many members run unopposed every year!  I’m a believer that districts should be developed using a formula of population and geographical continuity: the state should essentially be a grid of large and small boxes.  This would ensure that more seats are up for grabs for BOTH parties in EVERY election, as well as helping third-party candidates get involved, as well!  I’m hoping we do pass this, and other states will follow suit!!  Otherwise we guarantee ourselves continued dominance by the same people over and over and less accountability from our elected officials.

Finally, I was very proud to see that Prop 12, the bond measure for veteran’s loans, passed with flying colors – as of now the measure leads by 2.1million votes.  I’m glad to know, as a veteran, that our service is respected by the vast majority of voters in my state.  Every single county has voted for the bill, even liberal bastions like San Francisco and Alameda.  Thank you, California, for always being the best state for veterans.  My only question: who are the 3 million assholes who voted against this proposition?

This brings me to my conclusion: California, despite our reputation as the land of fruits and nuts and the fact that we are probably the most Blue of the Blue States, is possibly the most politically diverse state in the union.  I’m sure most of the “experts” would think that a gay marriage ban would go down in flames in California…yet it just may win, even in supposedly liberal areas like Los Angeles and San Diego!  The fact is, our large Hispanic population is alot harder to quantify than the experts like to admit.  In Central California, where Hispanics make up the majority or a large minority of many counties, they have a limited political presence, leading to the conservative leaning of the area.  In Southern Califoria, especially in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, the Latino vote is king, but due to the fact that many Hispanics are Catholics and often very socially conservative, many issues such as abortion notification and gay marriage won’t go the way they would with other heavily Democratic blocs.  The Bay Area is dominated by the liberal elites, and can be counted on to go that way on every issue, but unless the behemoth that is LA county falls in line, the Bay Area isn’t big enough to sway the course of statewide elections by itself.  How Southern California goes, so goes the State of California.