I live in CA. For weeks and weeks before the election, teabaggers were on the corner

[county worker]

where most people driving home from work could see them. Night after night they had a bull horn and signs and that yellow don't tread on me flag. They were all supporting a bunch of State candidates and propositions.

Not a damn thing that they were supporting passed!

[eleny]

1. K&R!

[Fresh_Start]

2. disappointed on a couple of propositions

but otherwise a great election

[arbusto_baboso]

3. Same thing in my neighborhood. Many drivers also flipped them off.

I will admit that I did also.

[slackmaster]

4. Were the teabaggers supporting the two local tax increases that got voted down?

P2010 and S2010?

[county worker]

7. They were not supporting tax increases so I stand corrected

[slackmaster]

14. They probably would have failed without Teabagger support anyway

As did pretty much every tax increase up and down the state.

The big one in San Diego was city Proposition D, which would have imposed a "temporary" half-cent sales tax.

[Uncle Joe]

5. I'm wondering if having prop 19 on the ballot helped California Democrats?

Thanks for the thread, county worker.

[stopbush]

17. I don't think so.

I know that the country obsessed over Prop 19, but Prop 25 was a much, MUCH more-important Prop to get passed, just as it was important to defeat Prop 23.

I voted for Prop 19, but of all the Props that were on the ballot, it was the least-important one to me, and its going down to defeat is no big deal.

[meegbear]

6. Which begs the question ...

"Don't you people have jobs? What government handout are YOU living off of?"

[eissa]

8. I can't tell you how happy I am

to be a native Californian right now. Between going solidly blue in the election, to watching our Giants spank Texas in front of the bush clan, it's good to be living in this lovely state.

[barb162]

9. I didn't see any of that kind of stuff in IL. THANKFULLY. N/T

[frazzled]

11. Heh, maybe it would have helped to have teh crazies out

Cause we lost (at least the Senate).

Actually, I did encounter these folks once, near the end of the health care debate. OFA had asked us to go up to Rep. Melissa Bean's office, to show support for the bill so she could get off the fence and vote for it. Within half an hour the Tea Baggers had been called and showed up with their goofy signs.

[barb162]

19. There was no big mandate for Kirk and his lies about being a centrist

He won only by 2%, not some big landslide. Kirk's a dirty little slimeball. And Alexi was not the best of candidates, too much baggage with that bank, etc. I wished during the debates that some interviewer had asked Kirk why he voted to raise his own pay while voting down increases in safety net programs.

[GSLevel9]

10. California is a unique state...

maybe it's the water they're drinking... pump it to the rest of the country!!

[stopbush]

13. The Latino vote is what sunk the Rs here.

Demonizing others as did the R candidates in this state has stopped working.

The Rs are on their way to being inconsequential in CA. The just lost their filibuster power in the state legislature as well, as Californians voted Yes on Prop 25 which eliminated the need for a 2/3 majority to pass legislation, returning it to a simple majority. The R minority was able to block every piece of legislation in Sacramento. Now, they can't. They have been tossed to the curb in the legislature, in the Governorship and in EVERY major administrative position. Hooray!

Between Ah-nold, the state legislature Rs and the general race baiting that Rs across the spectrum engage in, I think that CA is going to be a majority blue state for the foreseeable future.

[GSLevel9]

25. yes, amazing... each and every state-wide office is held by a DEM. nt

[The Croquist]

12. An interesting take on things

We lose over 60 seats in the House, 7 seats in the Senate, 7 Governorships, 600 plus state slots and you see this a some kind of victory? I hate to see your idea of a loss.

[county worker]

15. Why do some people have to start a food fight with everything someone posts?

I didn't say anything was a victory. I'm merely pointing out that the majority of CA voters didn't agree with their stand

You know something. If you just come here to pick fights why don't you go to a board where that is the reason for existing?

[The Croquist]

22. I'm not starting a food fight

I'm adding a dose of reality.

Spin it anyway you want but it was our worst loss since WWII. One more election like this and we might as well get used to saying "President Palin".

Denying a problem is no way to deal with it. We got our butts handed to us Tuesday night and we might as well admit it. For months, probably over a year, I've been reading how the "Tea Baggers" are a bunch of ignorant racists to be laughed at. Tuesday night these ignorant racists orchestrated the biggest election victory in over half a century. They scare the Republican establishment to death. Have you seen how Karl Rove attacks Sarah Palin? What scared me is that they didn't scare the Democrats. Judging from what I read here they still don't scare allot of Democrats.

Flipping off Tea Party members is not an effective strategy nor is referring to them as "Tea Baggers". it's a sophomoric act.

[stopbush]

16. Er, because CA is the richest, most-important and most-influenctial state

in the country?

Maybe that's it.

Or, perhaps the country follows Idaho's lead these days.

The fact that the Ds have entirely recaptured CA government, coupled with the fact that the Rs lost their filibuster power in the state assembly means that CA is once again poised to get major things done and - most importantly - to lead.

[Raine]

20. It was a VICTORY in CA and the rest of the country

should take note because they can do it too. For God's sake CA is where Ronnie Raygun got his start(!) it was repuke here but this shows that things can change ... IT IS A VICTORY!

[The Croquist]

23. Bill Clinton started in Arkansas

It's a red state now.

Jimmy Carter started in Georgia.
It's a red state now.

Lyndon Johnson started in Texas.
It's a red state now.

Barack Obama started in Illinois.
We'll see but we had a bad night there on Tuesday.

[barb162]

21. For the ecomony to be in the shape it's in, I'm surprised

there weren't more losses. But I look at the good that happened, like Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman lost, Harry Reid won big and is still in, Democrats still control the Senate, etc.

[Sirveri]

18. Except for most of the props...

http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/ballot-measures/
19 - N
20 - Y
21 - N
22 - Y
23 - N
24 - N
25 - Y
26 - Y
27 - N

How *I* voted:
19 - Y
20 - N
21 - Y
22 - N
23 - N
24 - Y
25 - Y
26 - N
27 - Y

The only area my vote differed from the laprogressive group was 22 (which I made because I believe we should allow the legislature to maintain control of funding as opposed to locking them into situations). But hey, I guess winning 2 props, 1 of which was no contest, was great...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=141x38547

[XemaSab]

24. Don't be too self-congratulatory

Santa Barbara County went 49% for Jerry Brown, 49% for Barbara Boxer, and 60% for Gallegly.

Yes, Capps won decisively, but you live in a swing county, and don't kid yourself otherwise.