The last California gubernatorial debate was fundamentally and indisputably unfair.
For starters, the Bay Area got 50 percent more debate than the rest of us.
That’s right. If you lived in the Bay Area, Tuesday’s debate ran for 90 minutes on television, starting at 630p and running through 8p. But those of us in Southern California and elsewhere only saw an hour.
What secret stuff were they talking about in the Bay Area while the rest of us couldn’t watch?
Actually, the meatiest policy of the debate. The Bay Area got into detail on housing, redevelopment and what little was said about health care during the debate.
The pan-California hour was much broader and about issues that move the needle nationally—like immigration and Trump. As a policy matter, it was less detailed – and let’s be blunt, dumber – than the Bay Area’s exclusive half-hour.
Do you think that’s because they think the Bay Area is smarter?
Actually, the answer to that is yes. Or to be more precise, Southern California TV stations think we’re dumber.
The Bay Area NBC affiliate was willing to carry the full debate. But other stations weren’t.
This reinforces a growing political and economic reality. The Bay Area runs California. The other regions are just colonies of it.