As someone who collects any and all articles, dissertations, and books on Orange County history, this past Sunday's Page One New York Times story on how our fair land “is no longer Nixon country” was the literary equivalent of Rick Bayless talking about Mexican cuisine in Los Angeles.
Too many people have sent me Adam Nagourney's story, in which he claims OC is no longer a retrograde conservative hellhole. Why? Because we have coloreds! Because people aren't registering as Republicans much anymore! Because of SanTana! Because Irvine has a Korean guy as mayor!
Give me a pinche break.
Oh, I can go on about this story–and I will!
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Actually, you can hear me rail about the story mañana at 8:20 on KPFK-FM 90.7's Uprising program, but what I focus on briefly for this post is Nagourney's basic premise for his story: that the historically low registration of Republicans in Orange County means that our conservative way is going the way of Ethan Edwards.
No, it doesn't. Does anyone really believe Democrats will be able to take out any Republicans in state legislature or congressional elections that aren't part of SanTana and Anacrime? I don't like Beth Krom, but I like Congressman John Campbell even less–nevertheless, Campbell will win. I like Phu Nguyen, despise Allan Mansoor–nevertheless, even money says Menso-or gets the victory in their State Senate seat. And how will you like that, Adam? OC will have an associate of a bona fide hate group representing them in Sacramento! REAL change of the political scene there–that is, here.
And even if Orange County was somehow more liberal than in the past, what good have our so-called liberal leaders have done? The two truest Dem towns, SanTana and Irvine, are paragons of spiteful, wasteful, dirty-tricks political machines (run by friends Larry Agran and Don Papi Pulido, respectfully) that would make Daley's Chicago seem like Mayberry. The Dems spend more time playing footsie with their Republican opposition than cultivating strong candidates–hence, the painful slaughter they experience in nearly every partisan race every two years.
I can go on…but tune in mañana, instead!
