| Please welcome guest host Scott Wilson, a National reporter based in California. The country is divided along many different political, racial and cultural fractures. In politics, the one most recognized is the blue-red divide and its consequences for federal legislation, voting rights and the next national elections. But large segments of the country are dominated by one party. In the coastal West, that party is Democratic and its agenda and ethic, among its ascendant activists, reflect those of the national party's most liberal wing. Without much interference from the Republican Party, Democratic rule out west is moving to fulfill some of the withering ambitions of the national party. I live in California and work regularly in several western states. This year, I'm hoping to spend as much time as I can writing about how life is lived — and how policy is made — in this deep-blue region of the country. Most stories will be told from California, a fertile liberal policy lab, but I will also report from some of its neighbors. The agenda out here not only involves public policy, but also the collective sacrifices inherent in living by liberal values. Life is demanding, of time and of money and of patience. Taxes are high, and so is the homeless rate. But there are changes in the works to address the racial inequities in prison sentencing, unaccountable policing, a single-payer health-care system, undocumented immigrant benefits and affordable housing. There has always been a compromise for those living in the west — a beautiful, perilous, expensive, highly regulated region at the continent's end. More and more are wondering whether that compromise is worth making anymore. I want my work this year to explore this issue and the first story in the series is a look at how San Francisco is confronting a homelessness crisis.  (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) In San Francisco, one of the bluest cities in America, leaders struggle to balance Democratic principles with the practicality. By Scott Wilson ● Read more » | | | |
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