Democrat overreach in California has the potential to backfire on them

Thomas Lifson:

I know, I know: California is supposed to be the bluest of blue states. But the law of unintended consequences is at work and there’s trouble in paradise for Democrats – even beyond the embarrassing fact that their absolute control over the state government seems to have produced the highest poverty rate in the nation. This isn’t just embarrassing; The Dems are worried that they could actually lose some races that matter. The New York Times baldly headlines:

Fearing Chaos, National Democrats Plunge Into Midterm Primary Fights

 The article covers more than California, but the Golden State is the main event. Here is the nub of the issue for Dems:

…the state’s nonpartisan primaries present a unique hazard: State law requires all candidates to compete in the same preliminary election, with the top two finishers advancing to November. In a crowded field, if Democrats spread their votes across too many candidates, two Republicans could come out on top and advance together to the general election.

And, as it happens, the political fevers animating the Dems during the Trump presidency, and the experience of Bernie Sanders running an insurgency that almost worked, have attracted a lot of people to a first time run for office as a Dem. And, the visible thumb on the scale squelching the Sandernistas in favor of Hillary (ask Donna Brazile) makes interference from the national party pooh-bahs anathema to lots of grass roots Dems. As an earlier Times article (they’re really worried) put it:

But any attempt by the party to interfere is complicated by the strains between establishment Democrats and the more liberal wing of the party, which have been on particular display in this state. Democratic leaders are wary of coming across as old-school bosses stampeding the concerns of grass-roots activists.

Nonetheless, the national Dems are intervening in a number of primary races for GOP-held House seats in California that the Dems have targeted for pick-up.

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There are also two major issues on which the liberal Democrats are on the wrong side of the voters.  A majority of voters support deportation of illegal immigrants which the state has tried to block with legislation punishing cooperation with ICW.  The second issue is the high-speed rail boondoggle which is way over budget and way behind and unlikely to ever be built despite the billions already spent.

On the immigration issue, there is already an open rebellion against the Democrats' resistance to enforcing immigration laws.  Several large political subdivisions have moved to join the Trump adminsitration in overturning the California restrictions on cooperation with ICE.