Democrats have had an iron grip on power in California for at least the last decade; without Arnold Schwarzenegger’s celebrity governorship, it would be more like a generation. Democrats have supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature, control all of the statewide offices, and haven’t elected a Republican to the US Senate since Pete Wilson in 1988. The Golden State has turned so blue that last year’s general election to replace Barbara Boxer featured two Democrats and no Republicans at all.
That grip on power might get threatened now, Politico reports, thanks to burgeoning sexual harassment scandals within the party. Will this give Republicans an opening for a comeback in California? (Spoiler: Naaah.)
…
Where it won’t end is in a bounceback for the GOP, but we’ll get to that in a moment. Just how bad is this scandal, anyway? Bad enough for some progressive activists to claim that the Democrats are hiding rapists and molesters among their leaders:
…
The political environment in California appears similar to what we’ve seen nationally, only with perhaps even greater intensity. As alleged victims come forward and get a respectful hearing, others feel more comfortable in coming forward, too. It’s taken decades for the lid to come off, so this will continue to intensify as those claims emerge. Since the accountability structures in the California legislature for abuse are similar to that of Congress — which is to say next to nothing — there may be a whole lot of abuses left to uncover. And since Democrats have had Sacramento mainly to themselves for the last few decades, the abusers will overwhelmingly be Democrats.