Are the natives upset? You betcha.

Anthony Cannella really upset a lot of folks when he cast the crucial deciding vote to pass a new round of gas and car taxes in California.

Cannella posted on his Facebook page Friday: "I think I'm going to stay off social media today..."

That just fanned the flames.

Here's a sample of the comments that followed:

Brandon Toney-James: "Staying off social media? Yeah, because you're a coward and a RINO. You will be remembered when you're up for re-election."

Ken Baughn: "You are nothing more than a coward and a sellout. You basically flipped off every voter who put you in office. You have no integrity, no morals, and no class. Resign now and try to salvage what's left of your pathetic career, jerk."

Lisa Guthmiller: "You just went against all the people who voted you in office. Way to sell out. Typical politician. And people wonder why Trump got elected. What a disappointment you are. Should be ashamed!"

Jonathon Sherwood: "You might as well step down while you're at it. It's bad enough we're already getting robbed to make up for the California Dems gross misallocation of funds and now you're being bought by the hour."

Linda Carlton: "Judas! You took a payoff to sell out people who struggle to make their bills! Another tax that won't be used the way they promise."

Paul Ciley: "That's a good idea. Turn coat. Hope you enjoy the pork for your district at the expense of hard-working families who will pay much more for food and everything else that gets to our stores in the back of a truck. Why don't you declare a different party affiliation in your free time hiding from social media?"

Jim Brown: "You are finished in California and finished as a Republican. You can go off social media, but we the people are not going anywhere. You are through. Might as well switch over to the Democratic Party because you do not stand for lower taxes. Bye traitor. Will someone start the RECALL on this a-hole."

Erik Elness: "Dear Sen. Cannella....I don't live in your district, but I'm a Republican neighbor living just outside your district. I have lots of friends in your district. I know for a fact many of your constituents drive long distances for their work. I don't know what made you vote ‘Yes' on SB-1, but you made the wrong decision & strayed from your Republican values. Whatever deal you made...is the damage, the hardship, the cost, and really the theft that the new taxes will inflict on your district and all throughout our state....is that worth whatever you got in exchange for your ‘Yes' vote? Progressives aren't about compromise. Senator Cannella....they're about total tyranny. Your vote today was a big mistake, no matter what Gov. Brown offered you. I hope you'll reflect on your vote on this big government expansion and when you do, I hope you'll see your error and return to Republican values. I know you're taking a lot of flak on posts tonight. I don't mean to offend, but I'm upset. Our state is deteriorating, driving business and taxpayers out and this bill contributes to that. I hope we can rely on you to stand against the Democrat wave of lawless oppression and return to the Republican values of limited, Constitutional government that many hardworking commuters in your district put you there to implement."

Not all were unhappy. On Monday, Ceres City Manager Toby Wells praised Cannella for "standing tall" on SB 1 and snagging ACE train extension funding. "Those efforts were definitely noticed..." said Wells.
I'll say they were.

* * * * *

Cannella may have thought he did his district good. It was a severe disappointment to know he was the only Republican in the state Senate to vote for the taxes, which will hit hardworking Californians.

I have previously voiced my obvious displeasure at the notion of raising taxes. Cannella essentially was bought off by pork in the form of a $400 million pledge to build the ACE train line from Lathrop to Ceres and Merced. So if you never ride it, you still get to pay for it. Isn't that wonderful? What will it cost you and I? An extra 12 cents per gallon at the pumps starting Nov. 1, on average of an extra $50 per year for some stupid new annual Value Based Transportation Improvement Fee, which is charged annually in addition to the current vehicle registration fee, and would be $25 for cars valued at less than $5,000, increasing gradually to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more. And if you drive an electric car, never mind the Democrats' lure to get you to go greener with the no-fees-pledge. You get to pay a new $100 per year fee now. Aren't the Democrats and Cannella great news for you? And if you drive diesel, you get to pay a four percent increase in diesel fuel sales tax from the current 5.75 percent to 9.75 percent; and an increase in the diesel excise tax from 16 cents per gallon to 36 cents per gallon.

The state wants its cake and eat it too. They routinely drive businesses out of California with excessive regulations and taxes but then complain there isn't enough tax revenue for roads.

As George Runner, a member of the State Board of Equalization, says, "As both California and the Bay Area so aptly demonstrate, high taxes do not guarantee good roads. If our leaders have failed to properly prioritize and manage our existing tax dollars, is it really wise to give them more?"

Those of you licking your chops to donate to his opponent, there won't be a next time. Cannella cannot run again because of term limits. Because of that fact, the ACE train extention to Merced won't be named the Anthony Cannella Memorial Expressway.

* * * * *

The unhinging continues.

I'm talking about the left unhinged over Donald Trump.

I endured eight years of Obama. Those on the left now know how we felt but we survived. So will they.

Really, folks, get a life. Like it or not, Donald Trump was elected president - despite the cries that his election is not legitimate - for the next four years.

I had a good chuckle when I received a press release from Patty Hughes of the Democratic Women's Club of Stanislaus County announcing they are planning a Modesto rally to shrilly scream to demand President Trump release his tax records. The event is so silly I won't even mention the date of it.

Hughes states that: "By failing to release his tax returns, President Trump has violated two of our country's most fundamental values. Those values are transparency and accountability in government. We believe that public servants are accountable to the people who elect them. The American people have a right to know the financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest of their elected leaders."

Maybe Trump should wait as long as it took Obama to release his birth certificate. Just a thought.

The Sacramento lefties have totally lost it, too. State Senators Mike McGuire and Scott Wiener have crafted legislation to require any candidate for president to disclose five years of tax returns before being allowed on the California ballot. Besides being unconstitutional and a downright hijacking of the democratic process, do you think it scares national Republican candidates not being on the California ballot? Think about it. Who was the last Republican president to which California gave electoral votes? George H.W. Bush in 1988! This state is so loaded against Republicans that it's prompted talk about splitting the state.

We really do need a part-time Legislature. They have too much time on their hands to be as petty as McGuire and Wiener are being.

* * * * *

Talk about nutty, there is a movement underway for California to secede from the United States. The California Freedom Coalition has been launched. Its mission is to "educate Californians about their political rights and freedoms, and to support the California Nationhood movement and its petition 16-0011 for a citizens' initiative on the 2018 mid-term elections." The movement is called "Calexit."

I don't see this going anywhere, but if it were to succeed, I'd be gone. This is one editor who would bail to another state - like Texas, Nevada, Missouri or Colorado to remain in the United States.

It makes far more sense to split California into two states. The coast of California, which is a bastion of liberalism from San Francisco to Los Angeles, would make one long narrow state while those of us inland, the so-called farm and Bible belt of the state, would become our own, more conservative red state. We'd keep the State Capitol in Sacramento, and they could build their own in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Of course, the new state would have to figure out where their water comes from. We'd build more dams for our farms and they could harbor all the illegals they want as their crime skyrockets. They could raise their taxes sky high as well and leave the rest of us in the forgotten hinterland alone.

I like that plan much better. Don't you?

* * * * *

Speaking of California, were you aware that we have the highest poverty rate when factoring in cost of living? Looks like more will be impoverished thanks to our legislators.

Do you have any feedback about this column? Let Jeff know by emailing him at jeffb@cerescourier.com. He will read it, promise.