Why is the West Coast so left wing?

[k-onmmunist]

??

[Bo]

Many conservatives left the area in droves in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Most urban and coastal areas are left-wing.

[Magic 8-Ball]

Was it the departue of Ronald Reagan from american politics?

Don't be silly.  It's because it's on the left side of the country.

[bgwah]

California has lots of minorities. The coastal parts of the PNW was initially settled by lots of New Englanders and Canadians.

[Jensen]

The far-right has hijacked any rational opposition.

[DS0816]

Democrats won California only once from the 1950s to 1980s: the uncommon 44-state landslide delivered by Lyndon Johnson against Barry Goldwater in 1964.

In the meantime, two Republican Party presidents hailed from Calif.: Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. One of them, Nixon, was vice president for a previous eight years prior to running in 1964.

Reason Calif. stopped voting Republican is the same as other populous states like Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. As well as the New England region that involves Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont (which voted for the GOP since its first election, in 1856, all the way up till 1988 with exception of LBJ): the Republican Party platform lost them!

[opebo]

It isn't very left wing.  Leans left would be a better way to put it, or 'center left'. 

[Guderian]

Minorities in California. Tree-huggers in Oregon and Washington State.

Also the dysfunctional state government sent many Republican Californians in exile.

[Bo]

Also the influx of minorities in the last three decades made the West Coast more left-wing.

[rebeltarian]

From the eyes of this midwestern-bred, california-dwelling boy, the west coast is a very individualistic and culturally disintegrated place.  It isn't so much "left wing" as it is "do your own thing!"  It's a very different atmosphere from the midwest or even the east, where family lineage and provincialism runs deep and thus, midwesterners, southerners and east coasters are more prone to want to preserve their tradition and status quo.  Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland have a very creative/alternative/academic feel to them; which is sort of the anti-thesis to the extreme populist, anti-art and anti-intellectual vibe of the "foxnews conservatives".  Tolerance for different people/cultures is high on our list of values.  The anti-war/peace sentiment is also much stronger out here than the rest of the country.  As individualistic of a place as it is, many west coasters are naturally fiscally conservative, but they still see the Democratic Party as the better choice for protecting their cultural values.  Of course, many of these people are naive hipsters who are simply misunderstanding the concept of freedom; that left-wing economics are inherently authoritarian; but that's not what's been grabbing the headlines in recent years.  The Iraq War, the Patriot Act and Sarah Palin have not helped Republicans out here.  If the Republican Party was less like Mike Huckabee and more like Ron Paul, they would be more popular out here. 

[All Along The Watchtower]

Mainly due to its population being concentrated in multicultural urban areas and college towns.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I still say that it was the departure of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan from american politics. They both proved powerful vote getters on the west coast.

Lets look at history...Nixon was Eisenhower's vice president for two terms. They carried CA twice. Nixon lost to Kennedy in 1960, but he swept the west coast. Nixon ran again in 1968 and again won most of the west coast. He swept it again in 1972. Reagan swept the west coast in both 1980 and 1984. He probably helped swing California into the winning column in 1988. Then after 1988, the west coast has become very democratic.

I think that Reagan did not prove to be as effective of a campaigner in 1992 because, though people loved him, they would not let him influence their vote as much as they had in the past. Just my opinion.

There's been a major change in demographics. Don't forget that.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

I still say that it was the departure of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan from american politics. They both proved powerful vote getters on the west coast.

Lets look at history...Nixon was Eisenhower's vice president for two terms. They carried CA twice. Nixon lost to Kennedy in 1960, but he swept the west coast. Nixon ran again in 1968 and again won most of the west coast. He swept it again in 1972. Reagan swept the west coast in both 1980 and 1984. He probably helped swing California into the winning column in 1988. Then after 1988, the west coast has become very democratic.

I think that Reagan did not prove to be as effective of a campaigner in 1992 because, though people loved him, they would not let him influence their vote as much as they had in the past. Just my opinion.

I doubt that Reagan and Nixon themselves had that much to do with California's leftward trend.

[Mechaman]

Because in 1988 Bush Sr. took the votes of the West Coast for granted (as did arguably every GOP candidate after him), assuming that they would automatically vote GOP. If the GOP had put just a little bit of attention to the West Coast in every election since 1988 I bet they would be singing a different tune.

[Vepres]

From the eyes of this midwestern-bred, california-dwelling boy, the west coast is a very individualistic and culturally disintegrated place.  It isn't so much "left wing" as it is "do your own thing!"  It's a very different atmosphere from the midwest or even the east, where family lineage and provincialism runs deep and thus, midwesterners, southerners and east coasters are more prone to want to preserve their tradition and status quo.  Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland have a very creative/alternative/academic feel to them; which is sort of the anti-thesis to the extreme populist, anti-art and anti-intellectual vibe of the "foxnews conservatives".  Tolerance for different people/cultures is high on our list of values.  The anti-war/peace sentiment is also much stronger out here than the rest of the country.  As individualistic of a place as it is, many west coasters are naturally fiscally conservative, but they still see the Democratic Party as the better choice for protecting their cultural values.  Of course, many of these people are naive hipsters who are simply misunderstanding the concept of freedom; that left-wing economics are inherently authoritarian; but that's not what's been grabbing the headlines in recent years.  The Iraq War, the Patriot Act and Sarah Palin have not helped Republicans out here.  If the Republican Party was less like Mike Huckabee and more like Ron Paul, they would be more popular out here. 

I would add that Colorado and Arizona are/were trending Dem for very similar reasons.

[Derek]

I know why it's so far left. A bunch of potheads that's why.

[Mechaman]

I know why it's so far left. A bunch of potheads that's why.

I smoke lots of pot and I am not a far leftist, in fact I'm probably more fiscally conservative and pro free market than you are.
I bet I could say that for quite a few other pot smokers I know.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Because in 1988 Bush Sr. took the votes of the West Coast for granted (as did arguably every GOP candidate after him), assuming that they would automatically vote GOP. If the GOP had put just a little bit of attention to the West Coast in every election since 1988 I bet they would be singing a different tune.

Um, Bush Sr. won California in 1988, and I don't think any GOP candidate after him took the West Coast for granted or even expected to have a real chance there.

[Magic 8-Ball]

Because in 1988 Bush Sr. took the votes of the West Coast for granted (as did arguably every GOP candidate after him), assuming that they would automatically vote GOP. If the GOP had put just a little bit of attention to the West Coast in every election since 1988 I bet they would be singing a different tune.

Um, Bush Sr. won California in 1988, and I don't think any GOP candidate after him took the West Coast for granted or even expected to have a real chance there.

W. wasted a lot of time and money there near the end in 2000.  Why, I'll never know.

[Mechaman]

Because in 1988 Bush Sr. took the votes of the West Coast for granted (as did arguably every GOP candidate after him), assuming that they would automatically vote GOP. If the GOP had put just a little bit of attention to the West Coast in every election since 1988 I bet they would be singing a different tune.

Um, Bush Sr. won California in 1988, and I don't think any GOP candidate after him took the West Coast for granted or even expected to have a real chance there.

Just because he won it doesn't mean he took it seriously. Plus Reagan campaigned for him.
You want Youtube proof?

Here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-52n_qaL6BE&feature=PlayList&p=9C7D46601A52EE2A&index=5

[CultureKing]

Also I think people need to understand the international nature of the West Coast. For example the Pacific Northwest is the most trade-dependent part of the country. This allows for a large exchange of ideas and thus a much more liberal area. Also there is the history of the region as it has almost  always been a progressive haven:

“There are forty-seven states in the Union, and the Soviet of Washington,” Postmaster General James Farley joked in 1936.

[Mechaman]

Because in 1988 Bush Sr. took the votes of the West Coast for granted (as did arguably every GOP candidate after him), assuming that they would automatically vote GOP. If the GOP had put just a little bit of attention to the West Coast in every election since 1988 I bet they would be singing a different tune.

Bush did not take the west coast for granted. He campaigned for himself and also for senate candidates (Pete Wilson in California) in 1988. Both he and Ronald Reagan appeared on the west coast campaigning for the Bush/Quayle ticket. What specific source source do you have that says that Bush took the west for granted in 1988?

Also, the republicans have put attention to the west coast. Dole campaigned hard in California in 1996. And Bush made stops on the west coast in both 2000 and 2004. I think that if it had been Clinton vs McCain in 2008, then McCain would have worked more on the west coast because he would have had a better chance there against Clinton.

But, it is just not true to say that the republicans did not campaign on the west coast since 1988.

Where the hell did I say they did not campaign on the west coast? I simply said they didn't pay enough attention to it, that they decided to focus more on the South and Midwest.
Lack of communication fail

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Because in 1988 Bush Sr. took the votes of the West Coast for granted (as did arguably every GOP candidate after him), assuming that they would automatically vote GOP. If the GOP had put just a little bit of attention to the West Coast in every election since 1988 I bet they would be singing a different tune.

Bush did not take the west coast for granted. He campaigned for himself and also for senate candidates (Pete Wilson in California) in 1988. Both he and Ronald Reagan appeared on the west coast campaigning for the Bush/Quayle ticket. What specific source source do you have that says that Bush took the west for granted in 1988?

Also, the republicans have put attention to the west coast. Dole campaigned hard in California in 1996. And Bush made stops on the west coast in both 2000 and 2004. I think that if it had been Clinton vs McCain in 2008, then McCain would have worked more on the west coast because he would have had a better chance there against Clinton.

But, it is just not true to say that the republicans did not campaign on the west coast since 1988.

Where the hell did I say they did not campaign on the west coast? I simply said they didn't pay enough attention to it, that they decided to focus more on the South and Midwest.
Lack of communication fail

You said every Republican took the West Coast for granted since 1988.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

I know why it's so far left. A bunch of potheads that's why.

I smoke pot, frequently. Look at my PM.