[reissbaker]

In general I think as a majority-minority state, applying a primarily UK-focused take on California misses a lot. The largest group in CA is Hispanic-Latino (40% of the population), and that's a group with neither Puritanical nor Scots-Irish background ideology. And 15% of the state is Asian-American... A very small percentage of CA descends from either Puritans/WASPs or Scots-Irish!

[0xDEAFBEAD]

An underrated aspect of California, I suspect, is that California's "political class" is not all that representative of the state at large. For example, I seem to recall that Prop 16 was endorsed by numerous major figures, and opposed by none, yet it lost by a large margin in the general election.

If you look at the Latinos and Asians who are politically involved in California, I would predict that they are far from typical, and they're much more likely to be assimilated into the state's progressive political traditions.

[zachrose]

My read of Albion’s Seed and American Nations is that they’re more about how a regional culture was germinated and founded, under the idea that the culture (including legal and economic systems) is even more durable than a specific group. So it’s not exactly connected to current demographics.

[reissbaker]

Fair enough, although the Hispanic Latinos also predate the Scots-Irish and WASPs in California, so they've got to have at least some impact...

[zachrose]

Yes, that’s exactly the connection that American Nations makes and the OP ignores

[TinkersW]

That is todays numbers.. obviously the article is taking a historical view.. not that I necessary agree with it.