‘We’re losing and hollowing out our middle class in California,’ says Republican Shawn Steel

Day two of the broadcast portion of the Republican National Convention starts tonight. Like the Democrats, the GOP convention is mostly virtual. But the Republicans did carry on some in-person convention business on Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

One of the Republicans there is Orange County Lawyer, Shawn Steel.He’s a former chair of the California Republican Party, and now a member of the Republican National Committee. He argues that California’s Democratic leadership serves as a warning for a more liberal federal leadership in the future.

“One party rule — and that includes Republicans — one party is in charge too long, things corrode. … You get into those hard, hard Democrat-controlled areas like Oakland, Los Angeles and San Francisco, it’s not good,” he says, referencing the rising homelessness and decreasing tourism in the state.

Republicans also recently fell to the third-most populous party in California, behind Democrats and “no party preference.” Steel says that’s not because people are changing their views, but because Republicans are leaving.

“We’re losing and hollowing out our middle class in California, and you know it. That hurts my Republican base. So we’re exporting Republicans to the rest of the country,” he says. “The war against the middle class is remorseless.”