In case people missed it - California shifted to the right as well

[Sympthsical]

2. I'm still watching those races as well

Of course various races will include local factors. There were a few cases in Alameda that doomed Price, but her whole attitude and approach in the face of them really pinned down what her rhetoric was going to be in practice.

But Prop 36's success, given that it is statewide and our governor opposed it, feels like a pretty far-ranging push back against crime and drug policies promoted by the party in recent years. Its success aligns with local results we're seeing in deep blue areas.

There's definitely a sense of "We've had it." I know my county, which is 2/3 Democrat, discusses quality of life decline non-stop. Fortunately, because this is California, people getting fed up doesn't automatically translate into Republican wins.

I'm not pulling the fire alarm over the state any time soon. I just wanted to illustrate that what happened on Tuesday was truly national in scope, and that there is enough in all this that should be telling us that we need a rethink.

People are saying, "It just happened, give it time." But narratives get formed quickly. We're already seeing a lot of, "We're fine. It's just some Rogan bros and Latino machismo..." forming. And this has been happening a lot over the past ten years when we lose. "We're not wrong. It's the voters who are wrong." Or "Some heretofore unseen voting situation no one could have predicted happened!" ignoring the fact people have been shouting to the rafters about some of this stuff for ages.

That thinking just kills us, and that narrative needs to be dead in its crib this time around if we'd like to reverse trends.