OC “Mex-In-Chief” on the “maremoto azul” and crushing Trump’s baldheads.

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I recently heard an early description of the stunning defeat of the OC GOP in a radio interview conducted by an Irvine professor, interviewing one of the most well-known OC-born journalists:

“Orange County, California, was the political starting point for Nixon, for the Barry Goldwater presidential campaign, and for Reagan—as Republican as any place in America. But starting in January, not a single Republican will represent Orange County in the House. It’s solid blue. Gustavo Arellano will explain how it happened – he’s a weekly columnist for the LA Times, and wrote the legendary column “Ask a Mexican.”

In anticipation of the potential upset, several interesting articles on the history of the county were written in the weeks ahead of the elections (see here ). The NYT polls were an indication of this upset, and not even the OJB editors expected this outcome. One of those editors must have been very relieved, as the defeated Young Kim had used quotes from one of his posts against Cisneros (without context.)

Undoubtedly, the Trump phenomenon and his administration policies played an overriding impact on this election.  Moreover, the willingness of the majority of the GOP to take advantage of the dynamics presented by controlling most of the branches of the federal government led to them embrace the most abhorrent aspects of Trumpism. Not only the Mitch McConnell, the Paul Ryan, the Shawn Steel, but also the Shawn Nelsons. They’ve gotten a Supreme Court that will perpetuate their values for decades, imposing them on a divided nation.

The OC GOP’s invitiation to the loathsome racist Steve Bannon, to be main speaker in their 2017 convention in Anaheim was a prelude of how extreme they were willing to go.

A year earlier, we had read warnings like this one: “It’s not true that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump only represents the extreme wing or “crazies” of the GOP. As a leader in numerous polls, Trump exemplifies the true colors of the GOP: xenophobic, mean-spirited and pro one-percent.”

The pendulum may eventually swing back again. The OC GOP got two significant victories, one in Santa Ana with Cecilia Iglesias elected to the city council, and with Tyler Diep in the Westminster area. Diep has been criticized for alleged corruption, and Vern calls him a “sleazy communist.”  (Is he a modern Chinese type of communist, or a Vietnamese sleeper agent infiltrating the GOP?)

Let’s see how the Dems will perform. Will “Medicare for All” be adopted or continue to be a wedge issue, will Comprehensive Immigration be finally addressed, will the power of corporate money in politics be curtailed, will Climate Change be addressed with the urgency it needs?

In the meantime, let’s enjoy this message sent to Trump’s and Bannon’s followers by Bob Marley from beyond the grave:

Here comes the conman
Coming with his con plan
We won’t take no bribe
We’ve got to stay alive

We gonna chase those crazy
Chase them crazy baldheads
Chase those crazy baldheads out of the yown

P.S. Gustavo will be a keynote speaker at OCCORD’s annual Gala this Friday; Editor Vern will be reporting from that event.

About Ricardo Toro

Anaheim resident for several decades. In addition to political blogging, another area of interest is providing habitats for the Monarch butterfly. http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2013/12/caterpillars-crossing-in-a-city-at-a-crossroads/