The main reason this occurred, is that Shasta County is very white, rural, and is threatened by imaginary minorities who practically do not exist in the county.
The amazing thing is the Central Valley Project has several large dams in the county, that has provided employment and recreation for nearly 70 years. Moreover, Redding is the county seat, with government employment making up nearly 30% of the work force. But the in political thing is to hate government.
Lately, the local paper has decided to actively push the Tea Party's Agenda. Today, for example, the front page of the paper was devoted to celebrating the political clout the Tea Party has now in local politics.
The Tea Party, although considered a splinter conservative and barely Republican movement in most of the country, is considered now a mainstream political entity in Shasta County. The radical right wing positions that are propagated are seen as "interest in local politics", and "refreshing to local politicians" by our local newspaper.
Of course, the fact that the paper is a sounding board for conservative nonsense is "quite coincidental", there could not be a connection. In fact, the connection is obvious in that the paper is pushing the radical conservative agenda down everyone's throats.
The effect of this right wing movement is that progressives are leaving the town. Moreover, businesses that considered moving into the area, are discouraged by the conservative rage that is constantly in evidence.
This is really a tragedy, given that Shasta County could be a real hotbed of solar energy development (sunshine is a constant here).
But, to bring families into this conservative "Eden" is problematic. All government is constantly under attack. Educational institutions are attacked because teachers are some of the best paid employees in the county (I am not kidding).
It has become so bad, that now city counsel members are being identified by party label (all Republicans save one). What used to be a "non-partisan" office has become partisan.
This has resulted in a "growth policy" that of late is pushing a "big box" development north of town along I-5. A couple years ago, I kid you not, the same "pro-growth" forces almost got an "auto-mall" approved in south Redding. This would have been a disaster, given economic developments of late. Meanwhile, the retail vacancy rate in the town is at record levels for vacancies. Our beloved conservative wing-nut mayor recently traveled to Washington D.C. seeking funding for the "Big Box" development, with his trip being paid for by the prospective developer!
Amazingly, he saw nothing wrong with this obvious conflict of interest, but did give the money back and use city funds once he was "discovered". True to good conservative principles, this bribery was depicted as "pro-business" and good for the economy. Amazing!
There is much evidence that a regressive growth policy is being foisted on the area by conservative ideologues. This has resulted in NO growth, an unemployment rate far in excess of California's, and a misery index that is off the scale. The fools just keep building empty buildings, to satisfy the conservative "Builders' Exchange", with no employment or positive growth even hinted at.
Meanwhile, the paper continues to push anti-education, anti-labor, anti-everything, and gleefully celebrates the Tea Party as a positive political entity.
Every once in a while, there is a serious racial incident, but Redding is touted as a "No Racism" town. Nothing could be further from the truth.
So, Redding and Shasta County slide further into economic collapse, with radicals running the show.
Isn't it grand?
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