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I would also add in California’s case that California isn't that liberal/progressive

Its conservative laws get struck down by the 9th circuit and its progressive laws stick

could probably just move the 9th circuit courthouse out of San Francisco and everything would drift to centrist quickly

I would argue that California really isn't that progressive even in the blue cities. And when things get really progressive, like with SF's school board, voters take it back. Actually the SF schoolboard election where non-citizens are allowed to vote probably helped that swing, since Asians and Latinos (more likely to lack citizenship) are more conservative on average (try telling a Chinese parent that math is racist...).

Back when I lived in Portland 20+ years ago, just as it was starting to turn into the version of itself that would be sent up in Portlandia, I used to tell relatives back east that culturally Oregon is to California what California is to the rest of the country.

Not sure how true that remains these days, it's been a while since I've been up there.

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