4 out of 25...

[Watchman]

I guess I see things a little differently. It's from being on both sides of this situation.

I watched as Oregon, my home state, was overrun by liberal Californians during the tech boom.
I watched as natives were outnumbered and outvoted by the newcomers. I watched as natives were priced out of housing, crime and drugs skyrocketed, and every other facet of California big city life became the norm.
I resented it, of course. And I hated that my state had been commandeered by the left. So I moved.

When I reached Iowa, I didn't announce where I was from. It's hard enough to gain acceptance in a small town atmosphere without starting out with the stigma of coming from Portland Oregon. People here tend to wait to see what you do and how you present yourself in your dealings and manner before allowing you into their circle.

A man's character determines who he is, not where he hails from. Deeds, not words. A good man conducts himself the same way no matter where he is or whom he is dealing with. He speaks the Truth. He's honest in his dealings. He helps his neighbors, volunteering when he sees the need without being asked. He minds his own business but won't turn a blind eye to evil. And he does what he can to support the American way, the Constitution, and his community.

I'm sure that many here would have believed that my presence here in Iowa would be detrimental, and that I would only be bringing my West Coast values to Iowa. And they would be half right. Half of the West Coast is conservative.

I brought my conservative West Coast values with me, and instead of trying to turn Iowa into California Norte, I immediately became involved in local politics in an effort to make Iowa more conservative. Especially in the area of gun rights, but also in all states rights issues and Constitutional issues. I have been a net gain for conservatism in Iowa, regardless of my origin.

Redhawker, I would be proud to have you as my neighbor. I've seen your posts over time, and I think you too would be a net gain for Iowa. Just as I am. Not all Californians are liberals. They deserve a chance to show that.

Just don't tell anyone if we're out having a beer somewhere. It's not important.

 

[trebor44]

It's not the political leanings, it's your presence polluting the culture when you move to where you are not wanted. Now you know how the 'Natives' feel or felt!

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

45 years and almost a month ago I moved to Texas and heard comments about my home state , California .
It was and still is odd to me.
I left California, a state that did and does issue ( not easy) a license to carry.
I moved to Texas they didn't.
I moved from California after it tried to elect Ford.
I moved to Texas after it helped elect President Jimmy Carter
Texas elected Democrats as Governor for 100 years. California hasn't ( yet )
I could go on.
Never did understand why ....well I do.

Texas was a Democrat strong hold until people moved in and changed it.
California became a Democrat strong hold because people moved there and changed the state that gave us the Governor / President Reagan.

Hmmm...your history knowledge about Texas politics is lacking. Texas' Democrat leanings run to the post-Civil War reconstruction era, when carpetbaggers (ever hear that term?) moved into Texas and, with great help from the US government, essentially took over the local governments. They brought with them a determination to ignore the interests of Texas' farmers and ranchers. [Remember, Texas was overwhelmingly a farming/ranching oriented state with a very small percentage of the population living in cities.] Sam Rayburn (Democrat speaker of the House for 18 years during the period from 1940 - 1961) was a staunch Democrat who steered legislation favorable to Texas' rural population. Rayburn was the mentor for LBJ, another Democrat who early in his career likewise catered to his rural voters. [Johnson, however, was also a "power politician - he'd support anything that would keep him in office, including policies that Texas' rural voters found unacceptable.]

Born in Dallas in 1948, I'm a 6th generation Texan (my ancestors moved here in early 1840s while Texas was still a Republic). Except for my father, all of my ancestors were lifelong Democrats for reasons described in the preceding paragraph (I learned this from conversations with my grandfather, a lifelong Democrat who was born on a farm in Texas in 1900). My father (born on a farm in 1924), served the Navy from 1942-1945, then came home and figured out that Texas' Democratic leaders were no longer advocating for the interests of Texas' citizens, but rather for the citizens living along the east coast. [Don' argue with me on this - I'm only relaying what my father told me about why HE became a staunch Republican.] My uncles (all WW II veterans and native Texans) and their children (my cousins) eventually figured this out too, each converting from a "I'm voting Democrat - who is running?" political viewpoint to a viewpoint that focused on the issues.

At the same time Texas' cities grew more rapidly than did Texas' rural population, and Democrats increasingly used the promise of governmental largesse (entitlements) to "bribe" voters to vote for all Democrats. This increasing polarization of Texas' population - central cities vs suburbs and rural - brought with it great voter disagreement over the role of the government. Lifelong Texas Democrats, particularly those in Texas' rural areas, began to question whether the national Democratic party's platforms were good for Texas. I'd also add that Texas' culture - Texans are taught in primary school that Texas is a Republic, and by the way also happens to also be a state - became increasingly at odds with the federal government's policy of buy-votes-by-paying-greater-entitlements. So, Texas' rural areas turned from Blue to Bright Red within about 25 years. And this rural-voter conversion had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with outsiders moving into Texas.

Txramfan - my family moved to the farm community of Richardson in 1953, when that town's population was about 1,000. One year later Texas Instruments (TI) opened its semiconductor plant/corporate headquarters in Richardson. By 1967 (when I graduated from high school), Richardson's population was 40,000 - and more than one-half of the heads-of-households held college diplomas, primarily engineering and business degrees. (Engineers and business majors tend to vote conservative.) Richardson's growth spilled over into Plano. When my new bride and I moved to Plano in 1978, its population was less than 20,000. Business growth spawned by TI and other technology businesses fueled Plano's growth - it's now about 300,000 and full-grown. But much of Plano's growth came from people fleeing the 1979-1985 Rust Belt economic disaster - specifically the Chicago/Milwaukee/Detroit/Cleveland area. These immigrants soon learned that Texas' more conservative approach to government was more satisfactory than what they'd previously experienced, so many of them likewise became conservative voters.

That's a good thumbnail sketch of Texas' journey from rural Democratic state to islands of blue Democrat largesse surrounded by pink conservative suburbs and bright red rural areas.

By the way, you claimed that California hasn't (yet) elected a Democrat governor. I suspect you know better - Grey Davis (1999-2003), Arnold-the-RINO (2003-2011), Governor Moonbeam Jerry Brown (2011-2019), and Governor Good Hair Gavin Newsom (2019-present, married to Nancy Pelosi's niece).

Bottom line: you are wrong to claim that Texas became a Republican state because outsiders moved here. Texas became a Republican state because the Democrats walked away from Texas' voters' libertarian values.

 

[txramfan]

Hmmm...your history knowledge about Texas politics is lacking. Texas' Democrat leanings run to the post-Civil War reconstruction era, when carpetbaggers (ever hear that term?) moved into Texas and, with great help from the US government, essentially took over the local governments. They brought with them a determination to ignore the interests of Texas' farmers and ranchers. [Remember, Texas was overwhelmingly a farming/ranching oriented state with a very small percentage of the population living in cities.] Sam Rayburn (Democrat speaker of the House for 18 years during the period from 1940 - 1961) was a staunch Democrat who steered legislation favorable to Texas' rural population. Rayburn was the mentor for LBJ, another Democrat who early in his career likewise catered to his rural voters. [Johnson, however, was also a "power politician - he'd support anything that would keep him in office, including policies that Texas' rural voters found unacceptable.]

Born in Dallas in 1948, I'm a 6th generation Texan (my ancestors moved here in early 1840s while Texas was still a Republic). Except for my father, all of my ancestors were lifelong Democrats for reasons described in the preceding paragraph (I learned this from conversations with my grandfather, a lifelong Democrat who was born on a farm in Texas in 1900). My father (born on a farm in 1924), served the Navy from 1942-1945, then came home and figured out that Texas' Democratic leaders were no longer advocating for the interests of Texas' citizens, but rather for the citizens living along the east coast. [Don' argue with me on this - I'm only relaying what my father told me about why HE became a staunch Republican.] My uncles (all WW II veterans and native Texans) and their children (my cousins) eventually figured this out too, each converting from a "I'm voting Democrat - who is running?" political viewpoint to a viewpoint that focused on the issues.

At the same time Texas' cities grew more rapidly than did Texas' rural population, and Democrats increasingly used the promise of governmental largesse (entitlements) to "bribe" voters to vote for all Democrats. This increasing polarization of Texas' population - central cities vs suburbs and rural - brought with it great voter disagreement over the role of the government. Lifelong Texas Democrats, particularly those in Texas' rural areas, began to question whether the national Democratic party's platforms were good for Texas. I'd also add that Texas' culture - Texans are taught in primary school that Texas is a Republic, and by the way also happens to also be a state - became increasingly at odds with the federal government's policy of buy-votes-by-paying-greater-entitlements. So, Texas' rural areas turned from Blue to Bright Red within about 25 years. And this rural-voter conversion had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with outsiders moving into Texas.

Txramfan - my family moved to the farm community of Richardson in 1953, when that town's population was about 1,000. One year later Texas Instruments (TI) opened its semiconductor plant/corporate headquarters in Richardson. By 1967 (when I graduated from high school), Richardson's population was 40,000 - and more than one-half of the heads-of-households held college diplomas, primarily engineering and business degrees. (Engineers and business majors tend to vote conservative.) Richardson's growth spilled over into Plano. When my new bride and I moved to Plano in 1978, its population was less than 20,000. Business growth spawned by TI and other technology businesses fueled Plano's growth - it's now about 300,000 and full-grown. But much of Plano's growth came from people fleeing the 1979-1985 Rust Belt economic disaster - specifically the Chicago/Milwaukee/Detroit/Cleveland area. These immigrants soon learned that Texas' more conservative approach to government was more satisfactory than what they'd previously experienced, so many of them likewise became conservative voters.

That's a good thumbnail sketch of Texas' journey from rural Democratic state to islands of blue Democrat largesse surrounded by pink conservative suburbs and bright red rural areas.

By the way, you claimed that California hasn't (yet) elected a Democrat governor. I suspect you know better - Grey Davis (1999-2003), Arnold-the-RINO (2003-2011), Governor Moonbeam Jerry Brown (2011-2019), and Governor Good Hair Gavin Newsom (2019-present, married to Nancy Pelosi's niece).

Bottom line: you are wrong to claim that Texas became a Republican state because outsiders moved here. Texas became a Republican state because the Democrats walked away from Texas' voters' libertarian values.

Ummm, go read what I posted again.
I pointed out Texas did only elected Democrats as Governor for 100 years and California hasn't ( yet ).

I've been in Plano 39 years and 11 months, other family has been in Plano 44 years. So I'm well aware of how this town has grown n changed.
I'm also aware of how Democrats suddenly became Republicans in order to keep getting elected. Rick Perry is good example. I doubt he would have changed if only 3,4,5,6,7 generation Texans lived here.
History shows how Republicans were bad in the South after the War of North Aggression and Democrats ruled.

I stand by my original post, sorry if you don't agree.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

@txramfan - That's OK by me. You have the right to be wrong. I forgive you your ignorance of Texas history. Specifically, your ignorance of how all those rural Texas democrats magically turned into Republicans despite all of the "savior" conservative in-migration having been to the central cities and their close-in suburbs.

What, pray tell, is your explanation for rural Texans' overwhelmingly Red (85+%) conservative voting record over the most recent 15-20 years?

 

[txramfan]

They got fed up with being under Democrat rule for 100 years.

 

[Zeke38]

I am an Idaho native, lived here for 7 decades. Spent 5 years in my late teens and twenties seeing the garden spots of the west coast courtesy of Uncle Sam. Moved back to Idaho after the military and graduated college in Idaho. Spent my working career in Idaho even though many of my family moved to California. Since retirement those family members moved back. Back to lower prices, slower life style and freedom. That's ok! My gripes are these:
1. Rising real estate prices from Idaho being "discovered" has put a lot of Idaho people. earning Idaho wages and salaries out of the housing market, and old timers like me see our property and school taxes go through the roof., and it puts homeownership in jeopardy in many cases.
2. I agree, leave your politics behind, we don't want your California "services" or problems here. You crapped in your nest in whatever state you were fleeing, don't start over with the defication here. Idaho politics, Idaho people, Be one!

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

Following is a link to the census data by decade, which allows you to toggle by state and shows the source of immigration during each 10-year period. Its a very interesting set of data for every state, should you be interested.

Migration history for any state 1850-2018

Americans have always been a moving people, coming from other places, moving to new places. Here are interactive graphics and maps that allow us to track the changing population of each state decade-by-decade since 1850. Select a state and see where people were born, both other countries and...

depts.washington.edu

 

[noahmercy]

In a post I did Friday regarding the power being turned off in So. Commiefornia on purpose on Thanksgiving day I mentioned it was one more reason to put on the list of reasons to leave this screwed-up state. Within a little over a day, there were 25 responses to the post, 4 of them (16%) pretty explicitly saying, in one way or another, I would not be welcome in their state - which wasn't really even the subject of the post. Wow! So, you've got a fellow gun owner, a straight red voter for as long as I can remember, Trump supporter, churchgoing, amongst other things that I believe probably most of us on this forum agree with or believe in, and you tell me to basically pound sand if I want to move to your state in the free part of the United States. The funny part is these are probably the same people when they see someone in another thread complaining about a new Commiefornia gun control law or some type of Commiefornia craziness forced on the school kids will say, "well, leave. Move out". As for moving out for most of us still stuck behind the Newscum curtain, if we could, we would. Some of us are working on it right now but ya gotta get the ducks in a row first. Yeah, there are idiots that will move into your states that just don't get it and will continue to vote against your interests (and their own even if they don't realize it) but after communicating with people who have left or are planning to leave I think that is a minority. To put it in simple terms if any number of people moved into your state if 50% of them were libs their votes would be offset by the other 50%, which are conservatives, that are moving in. And, I think, in reality, more red voters are moving in than libs as that is one of the big motivators to move, so there should be a net gain in red votes. So, where does the slide toward blue votes come from? Consider the hundreds of thousands of 18 - 24-year-olds that have gone off to left lib indoctrination centers (college) and then return and start voting the way they've been brainwashed to vote while they were gone. That's where most of this is coming from.

I would like to give you some example of why some folks may be resistant to having someone from California- despite being a conservative patriot- move to their area. This is based on what is happening right now in my podunk little mountain town.

Here in Sheridan, Wyoming, we have had nearly 1,000 Californians move into the area in the last couple years. When a city has fewer than 20,000 to begin with, it is a significant number. They sell their modest homes for half-a-million dollars or more, come here, and instead of buying an existing property, purchase an ugly cookie-cutter spec home in a subdivision that used to be a hay field filled with deer, pronghorn, and turkeys. They pay twice market value because they have so much cash left over from selling their home on the left coast. This, in turn, drives up surrounding property values. Great if someone wants to sell, but for those of us who don't, the 45% increase in taxes in two years means many are being forced to sell or lose their homes. In fact, only Jackson, Wyoming has a higher property tax rate than we do now within the state. Home insurance rates also jumped...in my case by $500 a year (rather a stiff jump on what was an $1,100 annual policy!). The roads here are not designed for heavy traffic, and most west-coasters drive like idiots; speeding, tailgating, pulling out in small gaps, and cutting off folks left and right, because that's how they did it back home, and they are unable to adapt. They are wrecking into deer and- now that the roads are slick- trees, ditches, power poles, and other vehicles like crazy, which has driven auto insurance rates up ($600 increase this year). I live out of town, but now it sometimes takes five minutes for me to be able to pull out of my driveway, because so many Californians want to live "out in the country", which apparently means in a warren of homes close enough to one another that they can chat with their neighbor while they are each taking a crap. They complain that we don't have this or that restaurant or store. Our crime rate has shot up. Walking paths are littered with garbage and used needles.

So I am sorry some may make you feel unwelcome, but I hope this helps you understand that sometimes folks have legitimate reasons for wanting to maintain the status quo. In our case, the influx of Californians has resulted in a dramatic reduction in my family's quality of life and that of thousands of my fellow Sheridanites, with absolutely no positive impact on our community. Long-time residents are being forced out of their homes, traffic is horrible, and cost-of-living is creating worker shortages. (Many households, even with dual income, cannot afford to live here comfortably, so young families are being forced to move to other parts of the country.) Our beautiful open spaces are being covered with big ugly houses that do not look like they belong in the mountain west, and all the wild animals we used to see are being displaced.

How would you feel if the roles were reversed?

 

[Kevin]

They sell their modest homes for half-a-million dollars or more, come here, and instead of buying an existing property, purchase an ugly cookie-cutter spec home in a subdivision that used to be a hay field filled with deer, pronghorn, and turkeys. They pay twice market value because they have so much cash left over from selling their home on the left coast. This, in turn, drives up surrounding property values. Great if someone wants to sell, but for those of us who don't, the 45% increase in taxes in two years means many are being forced to sell or lose their homes. In fact, only Jackson, Wyoming has a higher property tax rate than we do now within the state. Home insurance rates also jumped...in my case by $500 a year (rather a stiff jump on what was an $1,100 annual policy!).

Thank you for saying what I was saying. I appreciate it.

I see Ride1949 liked your post. Isn’t that just so nice? 😀

 

[Ride1949]

Kevin:

Let it go. You ran away from this thread earlier, and now you feel the need to snipe at me? Pretty childish. Grow up! I'll forego commenting on your posts, you do the same and we'll both be happier.

Edit: Read the rest of noahmercy's post instead of cherry picking parts that you feel vindicate you.

 

[NC FNS]

I’ll just offer one personal recollection that might cause folks to dislike the imports - In Manchester, VT about 25 years ago, many taxpayers with no children (most likely imports) put up a strong fight to not have to pay school taxes. I don’t recall if they were successful or not.

 

[Kevin]

Kevin:

View attachment 11448
Let it go. You ran away from this thread earlier, and now you feel the need to snipe at me? Pretty childish. Grow up! I'll forego commenting on your posts, you do the same and we'll both be happier.

Edit: Read the rest of noahmercy's post instead of cherry picking parts that you feel vindicate you.

Ride1949:
First, I love that picture! Honestly, I’m not upset or anything. I feel that if we were to meet in person, we would get along just fine. I like your sense of humor.

Truthfully, I certainly hope there are no hard feelings on your side.

 

[pyth0n]

I can understand what Redhawker's saying. Back in 1970 I finally got my foot in the door with the Weather Bureau. The job was in Winnemucca Nevada. I know, where in hell is Winnemucca? Part of the job was collection weather observations from the Battle Mountain airport which I did using a hot line. On slow days, we'd spend time talking guns and hunting and they invited me to do a hunt with them come opening day if I could get off. About a week before the hunt they remembered I was originally from California and all of a sudden I was personna non grata. A year later they sold their FBO to a family from Montana and we got to be pretty good friends. He became one of my hunting partners and we with one other fellow hunted together for they years I was there. The local townspeople literally shunned me for years and in 1979 one of the big shot local politicians stopped by asking for my vote. He saw a picture of my paternal Grandmother and asked who she was? When I told him, he said I didn't know you were Basque. Guess what, neither did I. Funny ting happened, I stat getting invites to hunt on private ranches, places that had turned me down during the time I was there. Seems like the Basque people were the power in that town. My Grandmother always insisted she was French so that's what I thought she was. Three months after finally being accepted I get transferred to Tucson. Just my luck. Anti-California sentiment was pretty strong in that small town. From what I understand it's almost a boom town now. More's the pity. A lot of history there. Butch cassidy's last big bank robbery took place there. The old gunsmith I worked with part time actually saw it take place.
Paul B.

I'll only comment on your words about Tucson. I left there in 2015 and it was referred to as Commieforina east. The politburo there was anti gun, & pro agenda 21 even though the state banned agenda 21 around 2013. But the politburo doesn't care. 😢

 

[FFguide]

I was not going to comment again about this topic, but the posting by noahmercy described exactly what has happened in many places in Montana. Shameful. I do not believe noahmercy is describing the adverse changes in a hateful way, but much more out of frustration. I feel the same. I have mentioned to my better half, that every time I pull onto Route 93 my blood pressure rises dramatically. Too much competition.

 

[black1970]

And you CA fools stay out of West Tennessee. You would probably make fun of our BBQ anyway.

 

[Ride1949]

Ride1949:
First, I love that picture! Honestly, I’m not upset or anything. I feel that if we were to meet in person, we would get along just fine. I like your sense of humor.

Truthfully, I certainly hope there are no hard feelings on your side.

Glad you liked the picture. It's one of my favorites. Kind of a subtle way to say something without getting censored. No hard feelings here.

 

[Paul B]

"I'll only comment on your words about Tucson. I left there in 2015 and it was referred to as Commieforina east. The politburo there was anti gun, & pro agenda 21 even though the state banned agenda 21 around 2013. But the politburo doesn't care. 😢"

No argument from me. I'm permanrnrtly banned from any town hall meeting where Raul Grilava is attending. I called him a (ex[;etive deleted) communist to his face and dared him tp deny it. He just grinned as sercurity not too gently escorted me from the building. I've never been afraid of calling some politician out. Somebody has to say it and it might as well be me.
Paul B.

 

[mistermills357]

If you live in California, and want to move to Florida, then come on over.
There is no magic thinking here in these parts, the Tampa electric outfit has decided to go from coal, to gas I think. And I just sit here wondering why.

Come on over.

 

[AzShooter1]

Come to Arizona as long as you try not to make better with all the rules you want to leave behind. Gun Free and lots of opportunities go shoot here.

I was transplanted here 50 years ago. Fell in love with the state and vowed not to leave it. Got a " promotions" to California and only lasted 6 months. Too many rules and the people I worked with thought I was a terrorist because I owned guns and reloaded my own ammo.