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Can anyone tell me about Bakersfield California?

Posted on 12/17/2008 6:36:52 PM PST by mainestategop

Im travelling down to California in a few days. I was wondering if anyone can tell me about Bakersfield California? I heard multiple views, one that it was the most conservative major city in the state and a safe haven against liberalism, the other that it was the poorest and worst place in the country and the state and that there was nothing to do. Im moving through there and might plan to stay there on the way to Lancaster.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Travel
KEYWORDS: bakersfield; california
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1 posted on 12/17/2008 6:36:52 PM PST by mainestategop
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To: mainestategop

Hot and dusty is all I remember from around 1967. Sorry I couldn’t help.


2 posted on 12/17/2008 6:40:28 PM PST by unkus
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To: mainestategop

Bakersfield is pretty conservative but whoever told you there is nothing to do over there is right. There really isn’t anything there to do. It’s a very small city


3 posted on 12/17/2008 6:41:52 PM PST by Sarah Barracuda
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To: bannie

ping!


4 posted on 12/17/2008 6:43:21 PM PST by null and void (Hey 0bama? There will be a pop quiz every day for the next four years...miss a question, people die.)
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To: mainestategop
....that it was the most conservative major city in the state

In CA, Bakersfield is a minor city, despite its 330,000 population. San Diego is the most conservative major city in CA, and it's a paradise by comparison. Bakersfield is one of those places I've driven through many times.

5 posted on 12/17/2008 6:43:52 PM PST by Mr. Mojo
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To: mainestategop
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakersfield,_California

Bakersfield differs from many California cities in that it is overwhelmingly conservative. In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, John McCain carried Kern County by a 17.8% margin over Barack Obama, with Obama carrying the state by a 23.9% margin over McCain.

Never been there myself.

6 posted on 12/17/2008 6:45:36 PM PST by TheWasteLand
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To: mainestategop
It's been almost 40 years since I've been there, but I'd hazard a bet that it is NOT one of the more conservative (but....FAR from the more liberal) areas of the state.

Continue on to Lancaster, and you'll find a whole lot more conservative minds. IMHO, no need to consider Bakersfield as any sort of roosting place.

Since you'll have to pass thru at the I-5/hwy 14 interchange on the way to Lancaster, take a look at Santa Clarita......the eastern portion (Newhall, Canyon Country) remains solidly red country.

7 posted on 12/17/2008 6:47:34 PM PST by ErnBatavia ("Zero"..STILL using that stupid "Office of The President Elect" podium....)
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To: mainestategop
Do you like cows?

p.s. is this breaking news?

8 posted on 12/17/2008 6:50:49 PM PST by GnL
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To: mainestategop

It’s West of here, somewhere! Maybe a little North, too!


9 posted on 12/17/2008 6:51:14 PM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (THE SECOND AMENDMENT, A MATTER OF FACT, NOT A MATTER OF OPINION)
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To: mainestategop
Heck just move to Barstow it is not far from Lancaster.

Wonder if it has changed since 1950?

Barstow Calif1

10 posted on 12/17/2008 6:51:25 PM PST by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: mainestategop

Bring yer sh*tkickers.


11 posted on 12/17/2008 6:51:57 PM PST by skeeter
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To: mainestategop

Stop in Kingsburg instead. 30 miles south of Fresno on the 99. Best kept secret in the valley.
Have a burger at the 3 Crowns or some Swedish pancakes at the Dala Inn on Draper St. A very conservative town.


12 posted on 12/17/2008 7:02:10 PM PST by BigFinn (Valkommen.)
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To: mainestategop
The Onion Field
13 posted on 12/17/2008 7:04:36 PM PST by Snurple (VEGETARIAN, OLD INDIAN WORD FOR BAD HUNTER.)
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To: Sarah Barracuda; mainestategop
There really isn’t anything there to do. It’s a very small city

I would hate to see your definition of a large city.

As of 2007, the population was estimated at 372,320 within the city limits, making it the 11th largest municipality in California and 59th largest city in the nation according to U.S. Census estimates.

It gets hot as hell in the summer, very dusty and has some of the worst air pollution in the nation. Pretty much a typical central/ southern valley city with very nice mountains to the east and a 4 hour drive to Las Vegas.

14 posted on 12/17/2008 7:06:00 PM PST by A message
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To: mainestategop

Last time I was there was about 20 years ago. All I remeber is Hookers, Cowboys, and Truck Drivers everywhere.


15 posted on 12/17/2008 7:06:35 PM PST by Woodman ("One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives." PW)
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To: Red_Devil 232

I had a car/stroller or whatever it was called almost exactly like that. You must have been born around 1951 too. No need to age yourself like I just did if you don’t want to.


16 posted on 12/17/2008 7:07:27 PM PST by unkus
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To: mainestategop
Here's all you need to know

 

Streets of Bakersfield

I came here looking for something
I couldn't find anywhere else
Hey, I'm not trying to be nobody
Just want a chance to be myself

I've done a thousand miles of thumbin'
I've worn blisters on my heels
Trying to find me something better
On the streets of Bakersfield

Chorus:
You don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

Spent some time in San Francisco
Spent a night there in the can
They threw this drunk man in my jail cell
Took fifteen dollars from that man
Left him my watch and my old house key
Don't want folks thinkin' that I'd steal
Then I thanked him as I was leaving, and
I headed for the streets of Bakersfield

Chorus:
You don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

You don't know me but you don't like me
You say you care less how I feel
But how many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

How many of you that sit and judge me
Have ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?

 

17 posted on 12/17/2008 7:08:04 PM PST by txroadkill (I am Senate Candidate No. 5)
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To: mainestategop

You might want to check out city-data.com. You’ll find hundreds of posts about Bakersfield from people who live there. You’ll also find a lot of other interesting stats, including the city’s political composition. (And, yes, it IS conservative.) Hope that helps.


18 posted on 12/17/2008 7:08:13 PM PST by Flycatcher (Strong copy for a strong America)
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To: Red_Devil 232

Sorry, I didn’t read the top of your post.


19 posted on 12/17/2008 7:08:25 PM PST by unkus
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To: mainestategop
I think I went through a Wendy's drive through there once. I was in my Subaru, about 22 years old, buff and handsome. The girls in the restaurant were flirting with me and saying things like "welcome to california" and stuff.

The meal doesn't spark a memory, so it must have been as expected. I wound up in Santa Barbara, but that's another post.

20 posted on 12/17/2008 7:11:23 PM PST by the invisib1e hand (appeasement is collaboration.)
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