It's hard to describe what California is now only in terms of the politics. Despite everything, the state has enjoyed a strong economy for many years, and that

It's hard to describe what California is now only in terms of the politics. Despite everything, the state has enjoyed a strong economy for many years, and that results in the symptoms of transcience: so many people enter the state to advance their career, then go elsewhere after getting established. They never fully engage with the politics. It's not just that it's too expensive or too liberal, rather, the local political machinery has grown accustomed to not actually being beholden to constituents in any long term sense. They get plenty of tax revenue and businesses clawing for attention.