Democrats struggle to cope with reality.
That’s never more apparent than when they push their environmental extremist agenda.
And Democrats turned white as a ghost when they realized how this ultra-left-wing county cast their ballots.
On Election Night, Alameda County, California – home of the woke extremist stronghold of Berkeley – sent a resounding “No” to one of Democrats’ environmental extremist dreams.
Specifically, voters in the left-wing enclave rejected a proposal to ban gas stoves and require owners of larger buildings to pay hefty fees to use natural gas.
But 68% of the voters on Tuesday told the environmentalists to pound sand.
Like any Democrat plan, if you can’t outright ban it, then put a prohibitive tax on it and don’t call it a ban.
In 2019, they went for an outright ban, but the California Restaurant Association stepped in and sued to have the policy overturned in 2023.
And this proposal wasn’t targeting new businesses – it was targeting existing businesses.
Even left-wing labor unions got on board for banning gas stoves.
You don’t need to be a Nobel Prize winner to realize that a proposal like this would have driven up costs for restaurants, which would lead to higher food prices.
And food inflation is already stinging folks pretty hard.
So the folks in Alameda County saw the writing on the wall that businesses would have to raise prices, move out of the county, or go out of business altogether.
Left-wing environmental extremists have little regard for the financial costs they impose.
They’ve pushed Americans hard toward electric vehicles, despite being considerably more expensive than gas-powered cars.
To close the gap, Democrats bribe Americans with a $7,500 tax credit to coax them into vehicles that they likely wouldn’t purchase otherwise.
And that’s not to mention all the other requirements car makers are required to make, such as fuel efficiency standards or safety standards, like automatic braking.
Now, electric cars have some upside; they accelerate faster and are quieter, but their batteries also struggle in extreme temperatures.
Remember this?
Any honest weatherman will tell you the weather is unpredictable.
Each new requirement has its benefits but also its costs.
Cars are now more expensive to buy, and there are more things to fix.
It is nice my car has sensors to tell me my tires are not inflated, but when dust gets on the sensors, an error message flashes even though they are inflated properly.
Is it worth fixing, or do I just drive around with an error light on?
Gas stoves cook very evenly and most restaurants use them – you’ll notice Gordon Ramsay only cooks with them in his restaurants.
And gas itself is typically cheaper than electric, although that may vary based on where you live.
But Democrats believe thoroughly they know what is best and you must conform or be punished.
Whether it is fuel efficiency standards, what qualifies for free speech, vaccination mandates, what kind of stove you use, how much water your toilet uses, which electric bulbs are allowed to be sold, which schools you can attend, whether you are required to pay union dues to work, and on and on, the regulatory state hits us from all angles.
