If California progressivism were the answer to Donald Trump's MAGA-inspired populist bluster, then we'd be watching news of President-elect Kamala Harris' Cabinet appointments. Instead Trump swept the swing states, won the popular vote and saw Republicans secure control of both houses of Congress. The message voters sent might not be entirely clear, but they certainly didn't say, "We want California values!"
Harris, of course, was a product of the San Francisco Bay Area political machine. Her tenure in the U.S. Senate was marked by support for standard-issue progressive platitudes. She wisely tacked to the center, but never detailed a compelling alternative agenda—although she did walk back some of her more liberal positions. One cannot defeat something with nothing, even if the something is ominous.
