Bullying Continues to be Official California State Policy

 

Once again, California adds to its program of bullying the residents of other states over issues that have no effect whatsoever on any resident of California.

The Golden State has demanded that Iowa residents submit to their demands on a policy that will have no effect whatsoever on any resident of California, and seeks to punish the residents of Iowa for not submitting. This is a textbook definition of “bullying.”

California wants Iowa taxpayers to pay for “gender transition” surgeries for other Iowans. Since Iowa voters have chosen otherwise, California has prohibited state-sponsored travel to the midwestern state. (The expectation is that there is so much travel from California, Iowans will suffer if it’s cut off.)

Some state governments, notably California and New York, have more frequently made such bullying official policy. They want to punish residents of other states who don’t submit to their demands. California and New York obviously think that they are so big that they can behave as typical bullies. Since bullying is official government policy, no one should ever believe a government anti-bullying campaign.

Published in Domestic Policy
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 21 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Full Size Tabby: California prohibits California state sponsored travel to Iowa.

    However will Iowa survive?

    • #1
  2. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    What

    • #2
  3. DonG Coolidge
    DonG
    @DonG

    California should ban travel to all states in the name of protecting Gaia from Global Warming.

    • #3
  4. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    The Los Angeles Times did a story last month showing how the ban is more virtue signaling than anything else — at least when it came to places where state officials (or state university athletic teams) from California could be regularly expected to have to go or want to go, including to locales outside of the United States:

    Assembly Republican leader Marie Waldron of Escondido cited as one example Gov. Gavin Newsom’s April fact-finding trip to El Salvador to determine the reasons so many migrants from that country have fled to the United States.

    “The travel ban was virtue-signaling at its worst,” Waldron said. “El Salvador doesn’t allow same-sex couples to marry or adopt children and discrimination is rampant. Where was the outrage from legislative Democrats when Gov. Newsom traveled there?”

    Some California officials have cut back on their travel to the states targeted by the law. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) are among the many lawmakers who are opting not to attend the annual summit of the National Conference of State Legislators, scheduled to begin this week in Nashville, Tenn.

    “If any legislators or staff were to attend, they would be traveling to Tennessee with private funds,” said Pablo Espinoza, a spokesman for Rendon.

    Records show Mitchell spent $1,950 of her campaign funds during the last two years on trips to Montgomery, Ala. and Nashville to attend conferences by the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women, or NOBEL Women, which she helped found as a staff member and for which she serves on the board of directors.

    The bullying effort goes only as far as to the point where it inconveniences the bullies.  If they want or need to go to a state on the banned list, they find a way around it.

    • #4
  5. Quietpi Member
    Quietpi
    @Quietpi

    This would be downright funny – if it weren’t instead evidence of a state whose government has gone bat guano crazy.

    • #5
  6. The Great Adventure! Inactive
    The Great Adventure!
    @TheGreatAdventure

    The next US Civil War will be about forcing states like California to leave the Union.

    • #6
  7. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    The Great Adventure! (View Comment):

    The next US Civil War will be about forcing states like California to leave the Union.

    And I say we build a wall around THEM while we’re at it.

    • #7
  8. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    Sad.  Now Iowa will go the way of Chick-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby.

    I hope the entire Democratic field of candidates acts in solidarity with California and refuses to campaign there. 

    • #8
  9. Cato Rand Inactive
    Cato Rand
    @CatoRand

    Maybe Iowa ought to prohibit the sale of agricultural products to California.

    As an aside, I think there’s a decent argument that California’s behavior is unconstitutional under the so called “dormant commerce clause.”

    • #9
  10. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    Hey, we won’t actually pay for it, but you can use that bull castration thing we have out in the barn . . . free of charge.

    • #10
  11. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    The Great Adventure! (View Comment):

    The next US Civil War will be about forcing states like California to leave the Union.

    And I say we build a wall around THEM while we’re at it.

    Leave a door for those of us who have relatives in Texas, OK? 

    • #11
  12. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Jon1979 (View Comment):
    The bullying effort goes only as far as to the point where it inconveniences the bullies. If they want or need to go to a state on the banned list, they find a way around it.

    Yes. The “private funds” dodge only speaks to the way the rule is written — “No state funds…” etc. So they are not violating the rule. But that assumes that most Californians would be offended if their tax money was used to travel to such places. Well, of course, most Californians would prefer they have less tax money to spend, period. Whether they travel to “backward” places is waaaay down on the priority list. So since it is the legislators themselves virtue signaling and not some groundswell of righteous anger by the California people, then use of private funds is no justification for their conduct, given their claimed sensibilities.

    • #12
  13. Roberto, Crusty Old Timer Inactive
    Roberto, Crusty Old Timer
    @Roberto

    Cruz had an interesting observation on this move. 

     

    • #13
  14. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Courtesy of the Babylon Bee

    After California added Iowa to its growing list of states to which the government will not fund trips, all the other states began clamoring to get added to this ban list.

    • #14
  15. Eridemus Coolidge
    Eridemus
    @Eridemus

    Didn’t my state of N.C. lose something (? Circ d’ Soliel performances along with some conventions) when there was the “no dressed up men allowed in women’s bathrooms” thing going on. After Obama, I don’t even know what happened to that. I think the governor changed but the replacement didn’t risk overturning established custom anyway. Only government buildings have the “any human” signs and only on door closing type single use restrooms. Iowa will survive.

    • #15
  16. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Eridemus (View Comment):

    Didn’t my state of N.C. lose something (? Circ d’ Soliel performances along with some conventions) when there was the “no dressed up men allowed in women’s bathrooms” thing going on. After Obama, I don’t even know what happened to that. I think the governor changed but the replacement didn’t risk overturning established custom anyway. Only government buildings have the “any human” signs and only on door closing type single use restrooms. Iowa will survive.

    They lost the ACC women’s basketball conference tournament.  My daughter plays basketball in the ACC, and they had to have their tournament in a small facility in Myrtle Beach, if memory serves.  She said it was completely inadequate for such a big tournament.

    All because of virtue signaling over trans-gender bathrooms, which didn’t exist until a couple years before.  So did those courageous virtue signaling politicians suffer?  Of course not.  Who did suffer?  Girl’s basketball players and fans.  What a steaming pile of virtue signaling…

    • #16
  17. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    Maybe the solution is (a) drop the triggering words “men” or “women” from the restroom doors and replace them with graphic images/icons of relevant genitalia.  You must use the room the image for which your anatomical condition most closely matches;  (b) you can use the other bathroom but only if you complete a federal background check.  We will need a federal program to train and deploy federal bathroom attendants at all restrooms to enfored the policy but that is a small price to pay to achieve this civil rights breakthrough.

    • #17
  18. MSJL Thatcher
    MSJL
    @MSJL

    Does anyone know if anyone in Iowa has noticed yet?

    • #18
  19. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    Maybe the solution is (a) drop the triggering words “men” or “women” from the restroom doors and replace them with graphic images/icons of relevant genitalia. You must use the room the image for which your anatomical condition most closely matches;

    I’ve suggested that for years – just change “Women/Men” to “Innie/Outie”.

     

    • #19
  20. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Eridemus (View Comment):

    Didn’t my state of N.C. lose something (? Circ d’ Soliel performances along with some conventions) when there was the “no dressed up men allowed in women’s bathrooms” thing going on. After Obama, I don’t even know what happened to that. I think the governor changed but the replacement didn’t risk overturning established custom anyway. Only government buildings have the “any human” signs and only on door closing type single use restrooms. Iowa will survive.

    They lost the ACC women’s basketball conference tournament. My daughter plays basketball in the ACC, and they had to have their tournament in a small facility in Myrtle Beach, if memory serves. She said it was completely inadequate for such a big tournament.

    All because of virtue signaling over trans-gender bathrooms, which didn’t exist until a couple years before. So did those courageous virtue signaling politicians suffer? Of course not. Who did suffer? Girl’s basketball players and fans. What a steaming pile of virtue signaling…

    When I lived in New York state, which is also one of the major bullying-is-official-state-policy states, it appeared that collegiate athletes were the people most affected by the travel bans. I think that may have been intentional, as a key part of the state bullying campaign seemed to be to get the athletic conferences to threaten to relocate their tournaments as the lever to force the other states to submit to the whims and wishes of New York. 

    • #20
  21. Phil Turmel Inactive
    Phil Turmel
    @PhilTurmel

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    Maybe the solution is (a) drop the triggering words “men” or “women” from the restroom doors and replace them with graphic images/icons of relevant genitalia. You must use the room the image for which your anatomical condition most closely matches;

    I’ve suggested that for years – just change “Women/Men” to “Innie/Outie”.

     

    Belly buttons?

    • #21
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.