Al Jolson's "California Here I Come" once depicted all that was good about the Golden State

“California, here I come
Right back where I started from
Where bowers of flowers
Bloom in the spring
Each morning, at dawning
Birdies sing and everything

A sun-kissed miss said, “Don’t be late”
That’s why I can hardly wait
Open up that Golden Gate
California, here I come.”

(California, Here I Come – Al Jolson)

As one who has lived most of my 58 years in Southern California I can attest to the fact California is indeed one of the most, if not the most, beautiful states in the U.S. to live in.  Where else can you ski on snow covered mountains and then head down to a warm weather beach to work on your tan?  Or camp in a humid free natural environment after spending the day in an air conditioned casino that showcases some of the best stage acts available…all this within a few hours of each other.  Yes, as far as having it all, there is absolutely no place on earth that compares to the Golden State. Or so it used to be.

Today, the land that Jolson sang of so many years ago is still beautiful, but only in an aesthetic sense. Its once vibrant independent spirit and robust economy has been defaced like so many of the graffiti covered walls and signs we see today in its inner city ghettos, rural roads and freeways. And as I watch the latest circle jerk exhibit we know as our State Legislature once again attempt to convince us they have figured out how to make us think they are actually concerned about our state budget, I can only ponder what brought us to this point?

California politics is a lesson in complacency.  The complacency that comes when hedonism recklessly breeds with prosperity and is then ignored like an unwanted bastard child.

California was once a very conservative stalwart. Most of our residents came here from the East for the same reasons our forefathers left England, to escape government interference in their lives and to search out more rewarding opportunity. This state prided itself with governors in the mold of Earl Warren (before he became the activist liberal Supreme Court Justice he is remembered as being. Warren was the only Republican to be endorsed by both Democrats and Republicans while serving three terms). And of course there was Ronald Reagan (though unlike Warren, Reagan was a Democrat who became a conservative). Even Democrats elected were at the very least “Blue Dog”.  Edmund “Pat” Brown (Jerry Brown’s father) though ideologically progressive was one of these. He ran first as a Republican and later as a Democrat defeating staunch opponents like Richard Nixon in his re-election in 1962 before being finally unseated by Ronald Reagan in 1966.  Yes, it seemed California was indeed the invincible state with the Golden Gate.

But after Reagan things began to change. The change came with Jerry Brown’s (Pat Brown’s son) first term. Capitalizing on his father’s popularity he rode on his coat tails into office and began to change the atmosphere from one centered on individual liberty and prosperity to one of social reform funded by wealth redistribution.

There have been 3 Republicans to serve since Brown’s first tenure. But Jerry Brown’s effectiveness in transforming California politics to one of social issues required that Republicans hold a middle of the road ideology to win office. George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger were all moderates (social liberals/fiscal conservatives) who brandished the conservative title but showed little in actual practice.

The point is we conservatives took for granted California would forever remain independent and never imagined that we would be the primary experiment of socialist indoctrination and implementation. Once our government looked the other way on illegal immigration for the purpose of monetary gain and then allowed enough to stay here to warrant seeking their endorsement for office our slide into demise began in earnest.

With Jerry Brown now once again in office to complete what he began nearly 3 decades ago our transition to socialism within a Republic has come full circle. And only now do we seem to truly recognize that our past complacency has literally bitten us on the ass. And it may be too late to lick our wounds and heal.

Those in states like ours should observe the failed experiment of socialistic reform in the name of equality and fairness. Within a national perspective as we watch the current administration try to implement our experiment on the grand scale it would do good to heed the warnings our evolution illustrates.

In 2004 then mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsome (now Lt. Governor) defied law and began to issue marriage licenses to gay couples under the pretense that he was actually exercising a constitutional right saying “Denying basic rights to members of our community will not be tolerated.”

He later claimed arrogantly that, “As California goes, so does the rest of the nation.” Unfortunately even after voters chose to define marriage as between a man and a woman by inserting this into our state constitution through the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008 it was abruptly overturned by of all people, a gay judge. Three years later we are still locked in battle in the courts as the people’s will is thwarted time and again with rulings by activist and in many cases gay judges.

If this country fails to learn from California’s history and allows this President a second term, Newsome’s claim may be seen in the future as prophetic by the likes of Jerry Brown, those who seek oppression as the means of utopian government. Ultimately it may be the anti-Christ himself who declares, “As California went, so did the rest of the nation.”

Jon Matthews, is the President of Terra Productions in California. He produces and hosts the weekly conservative talk show “Right & Wrong Radio” which broadcasts live every Friday at 12 PM (PST) from Puka Shell Studios in Garden Grove, California. View his website for information and show archives at: www.rightandwrongradio.com. You can contact Jon at jon@rightandwrongradio.com.