I wonder if we still have a democracy in California.

To get a sense of California zeitgeist in this election, hop in a car (for now, forget about high-speed rail) and start driving due east from San Jose—away from Silicon Valley, into the Central Valley and California’s 12^th State Senate District.

Spoiler alert: there’s not much drama at the top of the California ballot this year.

What has transformed the Democratic party into an anguished progressive movement that incorporates the tactics of the street, embraces maenadism, reverts to Sixties carnival barking, and is radicalized by a new young socialist movement.