Death Spiral, On-Going

Crazy California takes another swirl around the toilet bowl on its way to the cesspit of history. Demographer-turned-pundit Joel Kotkin is there to describe with horrified fascination the takeover of an already leftist CA Democratic Party by those further left. His deathwatch account appears at City Journal.

California’s current prosperity is largely due to the legacy of Governor Pat Brown, who, a half-century ago, built arguably the world’s best transportation, water, and power systems, and created an incubator for middle-class prosperity. Ironically, the politician most responsible for undermining this achievement has been Pat’s son, Governor Jerry Brown.

Long skeptical of his father’s growth-oriented, pro-suburban policies, Brown the Younger put strong constraints on growth, especially when these efforts concerned the fight against global warming—a quasi-religious crusade. Battling climate change has awakened Brown’s inner authoritarian; he has lauded the “coercive power of the state” and embraced “brainwashing” on climate issues.

And yet, liberal as he’s been, Jerry Brown is too centerist for today’s progressive activists. Like Sen. Diane Feinstein, Jerry is more history than icon among today’s CA tech/glitterati Democrats.