California Legislators Vow to Fight: Trump’s Values Are Not Our Values

When the Electoral College convenes in December and, presumably, elects Donald Trump as President of the United States, California’s electors will be voting for Hillary Clinton. Naturally, California’s state legislators aren’t thrilled at the idea of a Trump presidency, and so, in a joint statement released on Wednesday, California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, both Democrats, declared that California would “set an example” for the rest of the states, strangely ignoring the 18 states and the District of Columbia that will also be voting for Clinton.

Their letter begins by saying, “Today, we woke up feeling like strangers in a foreign land, because yesterday Americans expressed their views on a pluralistic and democratic society that are clearly inconsistent with the values of the people of California.” It goes on to praise California as “The largest state of the union and the strongest driver of our nation’s economy,” with “its surest conscience as well.” It calls California “a refuge of justice and opportunity for people of all walks, talks, ages and aspirations – regardless of how you look, where you live, what language you speak, or who you love.”

The legislators say that they will be actively preparing for Trump’s swearing in, saying that they “will be reaching out to federal, state and local officials to evaluate how a Trump Presidency will potentially impact federal funding of ongoing state programs, job-creating investments reliant on foreign trade, and federal enforcement of laws affecting the rights of people living in our state.”

If any of that doesn’t drive home the point of how much better California is than every other state in the Union, the two legislators sign off the letter with a final line that really does the job: “California was not a part of this nation when its history began, but we are clearly now the keeper of its future.” Clearly, the two have good intentions, but addressing the entire country with smug condescension (especially when Clinton won the popular vote) doesn’t seem like the best tactic in these contentious times.

You can read the full letter here.