The people’s republic of California is not Trump country. It’s a bastion (and by that, I mean cesspool) of progressivism in America, loaded with voters who are intolerant, condescending, and gives a whole new meaning to snobby. It’s the hub for America’s tech and social media empires, another channel from which liberal America can push their agenda. Yet, a new poll by UC Berkeley shows that President Trump isn’t nearly as reviled, as you would think, with healthy numbers supporting his policies, specifically on immigration and the deportation of illegal aliens. About half of Californians support these measures, along with Trump’s travel ban. The group that conducted the poll was apparently triggered by some of the results (via Mercury News):
About half of Californians say they support President Trump’s Muslim travel ban and more deportations of undocumented immigrants, according to a new poll that challenges the conventional belief that residents of the left-leaning Golden State are overwhelmingly allergic to the administration’s hard line on immigration.
The survey released Wednesday by UC Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society shows that while residents of the country’s only sanctuary state value diversity and inclusion on all fronts — from economic and racial justice to immigration reform — their viewpoints on politics, race and culture are sometimes complex and even contradictory.
“It’s a state whose progressive movement has grown and matured… and yet we’re still seeing high levels of inequality across the state and other social justice issues that are problematic,” said Olivia Araiza, director of the Haas Institute’s Blueprint for Belonging project, which commissioned the survey. The group, which opposes Trump’s policies, said it found some of the results unsettling.
About 24 percent of the survey’s participants said it’s “very important” for the U.S. to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants, while 35 percent said it’s “somewhat important,” according to the poll. That viewpoint even held true in the Bay Area, where 25 percent of those surveyed said increasing deportations is very important and 35 percent said it’s somewhat important.
And about 49 percent of Californians support temporarily banning people from Muslim-majority countries, according to the poll. In the Bay Area, 44 percent of residents support the ban, the least out of any region in California.
[…]
“This is a purple state and there are fairly blue areas and fairly red areas such as San Diego and the Inland Empire,” she [Melinda Jackson] said. “There are plenty of conservatives in California. I think we forgot that millions here actually did vote for Donald Trump and do support his policies.”
Melinda Jackson, a political scientist at San Jose State, said people tend to think of California as a “solid blue state.”
“But we do have some real political differences in different regions of the state,” she said. “We’re kind of in the most liberal political bubble here in the Bay Area.”
Now, the poll showed sky-high support for a pathway to citizenship, even more so for the so-called DREAMERS. Also, with all due respect, California is a deep-blue state. I grew up in New Jersey. Morris County was very Republican, though the state always had a Democratic governor and state legislature for most of the time my family lived there. Chris Christie was the exception, but California Democrats dominate the legislature. They have a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Are there shades of purple? Yes. We’ll see if the California GOP can make a comeback, though the party hasn’t won a statewide race since Arnold Schwarzenegger was in office. Are there millions of conservatives and Republicans in California? Sure—but not enough to win elections. Still, the amount of support for immigration enforcement in a state that adopted a sanctuary mindset on immigration and its relations with federal agencies that enforce the laws, it’s a bit eye opening, maybe even a glimmer of hope that perhaps some day the state could see a Republican win something in that deep blue pocket of America. Still, the fact remains that Trump’s policies of law and order, especially the enforcement of our immigration laws is what allowed him to dominate the GOP primary and defeat Hillary Clinton.
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