Quote Originally Posted by drone View Post

And if the religious right leaves the GOP, I'm fine with that.
Yes. Reagan was a great communicator of (largely Goldwater's) conservative ideology, but the religious element he ushered into the party that used to be content to vote for candidates who were outspoken in their personal religious beliefs are now increasingly and actively supporting candidates that seek to translate their personal religious beliefs into policy. It is eroding the support base for the party. We need to get back to Nixon.

There is no reason California should be off the table. There is nothing in the water in California that predisposes people to high taxes and big and dysfunctional government. The reason such places are no-go zones for the GOP now is because of cultural attitudes. The GOP is now the Christian party with some other tax positions in many people's minds instead of the small government party with a healthy respect for religion. That works well in places where religiosity is still strong, but it is a losing proposition in the long term. Nixon had no problem winning all across the country.