Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez argued that California Republicans are also partly to blame for the poverty, homelessness and crime currently plaguing the state.
Lopez acknowledged that Democrats are “naturally in a bind” given that they currently control all statewide offices, but explained, “This didn't happen overnight, and it didn't happen only under Democratic leadership.”
“For decades, under Democratic and Republican leadership, California has made the mistake of not building enough housing to keep up with the influx of people moving to take jobs in the state's fast-growing economy. This is one of the many contributing factors to today's soaring home prices and rising homelessness.” Lopez wrote Saturday.
Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez argued that decades of Republican and Democratic leadership have caused California's decline. (Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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He directly blamed Republicans for crime and illegal immigration, based on his support for gun rights and the agriculture industry.
“Many of them come here to work in the conservative agribusiness industry that turns a blind eye to handing campaign cash to Republicans. Even more come to escape drug violence in Mexico, where 70 percent of the guns are sourced from the U.S.,” Lopez wrote. “It's a bit hypocritical to blame the crazed and reckless security of California when no amount of carnage at home, including shopping mall and school shootings (one left two students and two teachers dead at a Georgia high school on Wednesday), has loosened the gun lobby's deadly grip on Republicans.”
Lopez acknowledged that Democrats are currently “in a tough spot” in California. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
He also criticized Republicans for refusing to expand their base and take back power in California to fix these problems.
“In a state that proudly celebrates inclusion and leads the resistance to the politics of race-based scapegoating, climate change denial and the stripping of women's reproductive rights, an out-of-touch Republican Party is hell-bent on downsizing. Reagan, who signed an abortion rights bill as governor and an immigrant amnesty bill as president, would be ostracized by today's Republican Party,” Lopez wrote.
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“None of them have offered winning solutions to deep-rooted problems. As the electorate becomes more diverse, Republican voter registration has fallen to roughly 25 percent, and it may be too late for the party to revive itself. You can't blame Democrats for that,” he concluded.
Lopez blamed Republicans for the party's fading presence in California. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
California hasn't had a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger, who served from 2003 to 2011.
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