Jerry Brown and his Attorney General, Xavier Becerra are certainly not silent during the latest flashpoint in the war between Donald Trump and California. Brown is understandably angry about Jeff Sessions’ harassment suit against them individually and the State of California, filed yesterday in Sacramento, but he’s showing admirable restraint and leadership.
This lawsuit debacle is like a scene out of Calexit. If you haven’t heard of Calexit, it is a comic book set in a Trumptopian reality where California has risen up against an autocratic president, seceded from the union due to irreconcilable cultural conflicts, and is under siege from the federal government.
The story of “Calexit” hits some themes that resonate with today’s political discourse:
- The story begins after the election of a U.S. president who signs an executive order to deport immigrants.
- California declares itself a sanctuary state.
- A “resistance” army emerges, led by a Mexican immigrant named Zora.
- The story mentions a vague reference to a federal investigation into “collusion.”
Now compare this with the New York Times and once again, truth is stranger than fiction:
The Trump administration escalated what had been a war of words over California’s immigration agenda, filing a lawsuit late Tuesday that amounted to a pre-emptive strike against the liberal state’s so-called sanctuary laws.
The Justice Department sued California; Gov. Jerry Brown; and the state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, over three state laws passed in recent months, saying they made it impossible for federal immigration officials to do their jobs and deport criminals who were born outside the United States. The Justice Department called the laws unconstitutional and asked a judge to block them.
The lawsuit was the department’s boldest attack yet against California, one of the strongest opponents of the Trump administration’s efforts to curb immigration. It also served as a warning to Democratic lawmakers and elected officials nationwide who have enacted sanctuary policies that provide protections for undocumented immigrants.
And this is nothing new. California doesn’t have to secede to be fighting an autocratic president. There are two cultures, America and AmeriKKKka, vying for supremacy and Lady Liberty weeps at night. This liberal state and this kkkonservative administration is at war, make no mistake.
When drivers entered California recently from the borders with Arizona and Nevada, they were greeted with signs welcoming them to an “official sanctuary state” that is home to “felons” and “illegals.” It was a prank, but the message was clear: By entering California, they might as well have been entering foreign territory.
And in many ways it feels like that these days, as the growing divide between California and the Trump administration erupted this past week over a dizzying range of flash points, from immigration to taxes to recreational marijuana use.
What had been a rhetorical battle between a liberal state and a conservative administration is now a full-fledged fight.
Just as Californians were enjoying their first days of legal pot smoking, the Trump administration moved to enforce federal laws against the drug. On the same day, the federal government said it would expand offshore oil drilling, which California’s Senate leader called an assault on “our pristine coastline.”
When President Trump signed a law that would raise the tax bills of many Californians by restricting deductions, lawmakers in this state proposed a creative end-around — essentially making state taxes charitable contributions, and fully deductible. And California’s refusal to help federal agents deport undocumented immigrants prompted one administration official to suggest that state politicians should be arrested.
What’s happening, to distill it down to real basics, is that the political paradigm has inverted and traditional roles have flipped. The traditional Republican stance has been states rights, in order to assure the continuation of white supremacy, both before and after the Civil War. Now in order to assure deeper American principles of freedom and equality, states rights principles are being invoked, first and foremost by California. Brown has called Trump and Sessions liars, which they are, and he knows exactly why this political stunt is being pulled. RawStory:
“This is basically going to war against the state of California — the engine of the america economy. It’s not wise, it’s not right, and it will not stand.”
Brown went on to say that Sessions’ lawsuit is more designed to appeal to President Donald Trump’s base than accomplish any good — and he said that Sessions sounded “more like Fox News” than an actual attorney general.
“I do think this is pure red meat for the base,” Brown said. “I would assume, but this is pure speculation, that Jeff thinks Donald will be happy with him and I’m sure Donald will be tweeting his joy.”
There are RWNJs that have spoken openly about, “the treasonous huckster from California, Jerry Brown...that guy should be hanging from a rope in the town square...”. That’s how bad this is. Brown’s assassination has been called for on RWNJ radio.
Evidently they can’t handle the fact that Jerry Brown, is a leader, unlike Trump and this state is working, unlike dysfunctional Trumptopia.
One thing's for sure: when Brown says California is "a state that's really working," he's right: according, once again, to The New York Times, "California has accounted for about 20 percent of the nation’s economic growth since 2010, significantly more than its share of the population or overall output." By some measures, its economy is larger than all but five countries.
Trump hates California because he didn’t make it in Hollywood beyond being considered a caricature and a joke. He did nothing for us during the wildfires and we were not surprised. We learned during the most recent drought that we might have to make it on our own without federal aid and we can. Additionally, California has always been in the vanguard of cultural change and progress. The world mimics and echoes themes that arise in California and that’s been the case for the past hundred years since the early beginnings of cinema. We are a remarkable state. California is fighting the good fight and we shall prevail. You listening, Donald? You’re going down sooner rather than later. We.Shall.Overcome.