Mick-

As an actual native of this state, native to the SF Bay Area to boot, I have a unique perspective on this place and it's distinction in the sense of being foriegn to The States.

Most everyone here is from somewhere else. Lots of folks from other places within The States. Seems most of those folks from around wherever they came from came here to get away from whatever it was at home that they needed to get away from -- family, community, economy, religion...
And they vote. They typically don't think about much besides what they'd want to have voted against back home if they though they could get away with it or vote to see how far they can push things -- often seems to me that they get here and don't bother to settle in and glass the land, rather they come into the place with a sense of creating something new (whatever that'd be for them)
Sounds great for a lot of people, and in principle it seems like a great thing. The problems come up when it comes time to put the effect to the political landscape and you see such complete bullshit results as the overall state of gun control or what's happened to our public school system...

Most of the native-to-this-state folks I know are anything but what comes to most minds around the thought of 'the typical Californian'

And Mick, have faith I'll do all I can do out here in Oakland to keep the good word of the DRSS in order.
Come on out for a safari some time, we have Cougars, Jaguars and Impalas, Vipers and Cobras...Running wild in the streets!

--Tinker