Robert Stark

Dec 12, 2023

I quit the Calexit movement about 2 years ago, in part, because it went in a hard left direction. In contrast, Calexit was initially a big tent movement that included populists, libertarians, and even some Trump supporters. I have family in California going back generations, since at least the 1890s, and I genuinely embraced a Californian rather than American identity. While I was perhaps naïve to shill for California exceptionalism, I agree with Calexit’s premise that America is fundamentally broken.

The pro-independence, California National Party, which is marginal even by third party standards, has become extremely woke, even if the Party originally had a more populist, decentralist bent. The CNP platform has a lot of leftwing stances on identity issues. For instance,  “Because institutional racism is compounded by a broad lack of diversity in local and state government employment, California should implement affirmative action hiring initiatives for executive- and mid-level positions across all state and county agencies.” Another plank is “Upon independence, the CNP is committed to addressing the historical wrongs suffered by specific racial and ethnic communities. We will begin this process by establishing a committee of experts drawn from different fields to recommend a fair and feasible manner in which to address these historic injustices.” Plus the Party supports requiring “that all businesses formed or operating in California with 50 employees or more provide bi-annual reports to the California government certifying the general equity and pay equality conditions in their workplace.”

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