Biden Won, but Did California?
Like much of the world, the California National Party (CNP) has waited these last few days to learn which path the United States has chosen to take. While we are grateful that American voters have rejected four more years of Trumpism, we ask our fellow Californians to recognize that nothing has fundamentally changed for us. A victory for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party is not a victory for California.
Are we still massively and unjustly underrepresented in the Senate, leaving us virtually powerless in determining cabinet members, international treaties, and judicial officials, including the Supreme Court? Does the Electoral College render our votes for president largely meaningless, while a handful of wealthy, partisan Californians fund political battles thousands of miles away? Can one of the world’s largest and most influential economies still not control its own international trade?
Do our taxes subsidize states who denigrate us and call us their enemies? Does over $70 billion dollars a year of California money still finance the United States’ bloated military budget while the health and welfare of our people are neglected? Is nearly half of our territory under control of the federal government? Is Sacramento still run as a corrupt, one-party state of the Democrats, who see no need to compromise or negotiate with those outside their own elite power structure?
The answer to all of these questions is, of course, yes. As global citizens, we breathe a sigh of relief that the immediate threat of Trump is over, but as Californians we must recognize that the need to work for autonomy and eventual independence for our home is as great as it has ever been.
We must remember that Trump was not a cause, but a symptom of a larger issue facing the United States. Despite his loss, 70 million Americans indicated their support, or at least acceptance, of a form of government in which division, hatred, and authoritarian measures are acceptable tactics. In a few months, popularly elected followers of the baseless and absurd QAnon movement will walk the halls of the United States Congress. A Supreme Court that opposes many basic California values has now been installed for decades to come. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, which is united by little more than their opposition to the Republicans, is likely to fall into factional bickering rather than effective governance.
Here at home the California Democrats continue to dominate, becoming corrupt and unresponsive as they settle into a position of unchallenged and unchecked power. For nearly a decade, Democrats have held both a monopoly on executive offices as well as massive majorities in the California legislature. In that time, the housing crisis has only intensified, rampant government inefficiency and wastefulness continue to grow, and necessary environmental regulations are rejected by legislators who take money from American and foreign companies. Clearly one-party rule is not the answer to California’s problems.
The CNP asks all Californians to recognize that solutions will not come from Washington D.C. or a single-party political system, but from Californians communicating, cooperating, and finding solutions as neighbors. We cannot succeed if we replicate the animosity that has become ingrained into the American system. California must not allow itself to be divided into red/blue, urban/rural, inland/coastal, or north/south. Instead, the CNP will continue to work to bring us together as one California to address our mutual problems together.
