San Mateo County GOP RIP
By John Horgan
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 6:20 am in Uncategorized.
The San Mateo County election results of June 3 were shocking in one very significant and historic way: The Republican Party on the Peninsula is no longer an after-thought; it is invisible, a complete and utter non-factor. Claude Rains, come on down. Just look at the semi-official final numbers as posted by the County Election Office. Of the 71,071 votes cast, 41,827 were by Democrats, just 17,752 by Republicans. Of the so-called undeclared voters, 4,191 requested Democrat ballots; 640 asked for the Republican version. For the GOP, once the dominant political party in the county, these are exceedingly tough times. In fact, for the first time in anyone’s memory, those who say they are members of no particular party outnumber registered Republicans. That is a stunning development. There are well over twice as many Democrats as Republicans here. And the trend is becoming more pronounced. This latest election, though the turnout was weak across the board, was just one more stark reminder. To say that county Republicans are dispirited and depressed would be a gross understatement. Let’s face it, the party barely has a pulse rate. The Peninsula, for all intents and purposes, is a one-trick political pony. And it figures to stay that way for a very long time indeed.
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June 4th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Remember the old joke about the definition of a Republican: a Democrat who was just mugged. There is no shortage of muggers, either on the local or the global level, and no reason to believe that pacifist Democrat-cy will retain its allure. Even if the intellectuals who flock to the Bay Area don’t change, they aren’t a majority here. Look at what’s happening within the Democratic Party in Oakland… the progressives who elected Ron Dellums are getting beaten up over street crime and his lack of engagement with voters. The same dynamic could happen here in San Mateo County with dissident Democrats, decline-to-states and Republicans all playing a role.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:24 am
You may be right. But the trend is certainly alarming if you are a person who tilts even slightly to the right. There is no debate here, no real discussion of issues, no competition in the realm of politics. It’s quite boring and, ultimately, damaging.
June 9th, 2008 at 1:30 am
I don’t hear any Democrats complaining about this, except when the topic of the presidency and all those red states comes up. Funny none of the local Dems is worried about the damaging lack of Republicans by the Bay. But it is boring.
June 9th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
And it isn’t healthy. A one-party system, no matter Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Whig, whatever, is a bad idea.
June 18th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Well you can count me as one of the registered Democrats…who happens to vote Republican half the time. I can’t be the only one out there. As I enter middle age I continue to feel estranged by the party of my youth. Although I’m not completely ready to switch parties, I feel free to vote for the person I think will best represent me, no matter their party affiliation.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
bring back high school civics and j arthur younger!