In California, ’Moderate Democrat’ Is an Oxymoron

From what I can tell, there is no such thing as a CA moderate democrat.

Thus, “moderate” goals are more about process than ideology. Or more about politics. Democrats in conservative- leaning districts will occasionally take a fiscally hawkish position on a meaningless issue to burnish their moderate credentials. When it really counts, they vote as the Democratic leadership demands.

Legislators considered moderate in California would be considered left-wingers in almost any other state. They have no principled objection to increasing the size of government or the tax burden, although they tend to represent more working-class and rural areas and are less enthusiastic about some boutique policies that emanate from San Francisco and Santa Monica, such as bans on plastic bags and a proposed 1 percent tax increase on lumber products.