California Has Passed Peak Progressivism

As someone who lives in the Los Angeles area, the past few days have been nothing but mind-numbing yet shocking. I can gratefully report that everyone in my family is safe and have not been threatened by the wildfires that have ravaged Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

These wildfires have been called the perfect storm. If one expands the scope beyond the fires themselves and include the luxury beliefs and criminal negligence built into state and local law, policy, and culture that have taken place over the past few decades, this claim simply can’t be argued.

Whatever the priorities Governor Newsom, LA Mayor Karen Bass, and the LA County Board of Supervisors had before the wildfires, it had nothing to do with the main responsibilities of local governments – education, fire, police, courts. The local infrastructure has been ignored at the expense of pet progressive projects for so long, they exacerbated the helplessness local fire and police had during the first hours of the firestorm. It is a miracle the death toll isn’t nearly as extensive as it could have been.

It may seem unfair to bring politics so early into this crisis, but California politics has been unfair for a very long time. I, for one, see no need to play fair when state and local authorities have been derelict in their day jobs while demonizing those of us who have objected to turning southern California into a progressive paradise.

All utopian projects end in misery and destruction. This one is no different. While I wish the mostly naive elites living in West LA and the San Gabriel Valley could have come to this realization on their own terms, many of them are realizing this as they ponder the ashes of their former homes. They and their families have built decades of cherished memories in these once beautiful abodes, and it’s all gone.

There have been concerns raised about how Democrats, who have been controlled by globalists for years, may use this destruction as an opportunity to turn LA into a 15-minute city; a digital prison, if you will. They point to city documents, published during the social equity dreams of 2020, detailing such plans.

There are two reasons why I think the likelihood of LA becoming a digital city is close to nil.

First, if city leadership is as craven and incompetent as it seems (and it is), how could it possibly rebuild the city that way? They may have the desire; they may even have the will. What they don’t have is the competence to pull such a gargantuan project off.

Second, if the Democrats wanted to build such a city, they couldn’t have angered a worse group of LA’s residents before doing so.

Some of the wealthiest, most talented, and energetic elites in LA live in Pacific Palisades. They vote overwhelmingly Democratic, and have donated enormous sums to the party. If the Democrats/globalists think that these people are going to be told that they won’t be able to rebuild their homes that were destroyed partly because of the state’s criminal negligence, these criminal clowns have another thing coming.

Elite LA Democrats, having been mugged by a very stark reality, have a lot of soul searching to do. The honest ones, at some point, will recognize that their support of the Democratic party have helped contribute to the very conditions that led to the destruction of their neighborhood. Such a journey is not easy for anyone, least of all for those who considered themselves powerful in any way. However, by seeking and gaining clarity, they have an opportunity to understand what it will take to not only rebuild their homes and neighborhoods, but California and the United States as well.

One of the reasons Trump won the 2024 election is that a subset of elites in the Silicon Valley recognized that the Democratic party would eventually destroy their businesses and industries. Some of these elites, such as Elon Musk, Marc Andreesen, and David Sachs, have made enormous strides in their understanding of the destructive role governments play in society. They recognize that after decades of foreign policy disasters, interest groups being favored over everyday Americans, and monetary debasement, America needs to refocus on rebuilding communities at home, rather than seeking to create yet another fever-dreamed utopia.

Unfortunately, many Los Angeles elites have begun learning this lesson in a very hard way. The scales are falling off of their eyes. Regardless of whatever schemes Sacramento may come up with to fight Trump’s agenda or rebuild Los Angeles based on insane notions, it will need to contend with a rising group of former supporters within southern California who are no longer willing to play ball with them anymore.

This originally appeared on A Simple Fool.

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