San Francisco Democrats and California Dreaming

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I am in the City by the Bay, where the cable cars climb halfway to the stars. But I have not taken one since the fare was raised to $5.00.

When I moved from San Francisco, I did not leave my heart behind. A city that once was my sanctuary is now a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

It is also a safe haven for the homeless who camp out in doorways surrounded by their sh stuff. That is, when they're not panhandling and generally making the streets of San Francisco rather grim.




Right now, polls show Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton lead John McCain in the Golden State. That's good news for Democrats. But there's also some ominous signs on the horizon.

The California Supreme Court earlier this month overturned the will of the people and sanctioned same-sex marriage. Mind you, I'm old-school so I'm all for loving the one you're with. That said, I think marriage is between one man and one woman.

Not so in San Francisco, where 4,000 same-sex marriages were performed at City Hall in 2004. The court stepped in and voided the "marriages."

Also in 2004, a same-sex marriage initiative on the Ohio ballot was credited with peeling away black voters. In the run-up to the general election, a Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies poll showed President Bush's approval ratings among African Americans were 30 percent favorable to 67 percent unfavorable. Still, Bush received 16 percent of the black vote in Ohio, up from nine percent in 2000.

Since President Reagan's reelection campaign, Republicans have used the metaphor "San Francisco Democrats" as code for a party that is out of touch with the values of small town Americans (read: Reagan Democrats).

With the California Marriage Protection Act on the ballot, Democrats may not be California dreaming in November. Instead, they may have nightmares knowing that they again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

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