There was never a time in my life when California was not known as a libertarian type place, no matter who the governor was, you can see it in old books, movies and TV shows, California was known as moderate and tolerant, open minded, and all the other words for not being social conservative, a place that had no standards, no identity except for play and leisure, no deep religious core, a place like that will be devoured by the left since it is made of of weak bloodless people
Social liberals are either already democrats, or are rino republicans, they are not conservative warriors.
You are correct about California’s lack of a moral foundation and the refusal to object to destructive behavior. It was founded by fortune-hunting, gold-digging, hard-drinking, gambling miners and thieves. And then the prostitutes showed up. Hardly the kind of stable, hard-working agrarian people our nation was founded by.
Having grown up in CA, and then marrying a lovely Tennessee girl and living in the South most of my adulthood, I have the Californian libertarian republican upbringing with a complete indoctrination into full-on Southern conservatism.
I believe the way to go is somewhere between the two. We must have a moral foundation and respect for others as well as for ourselves. We also must learn to mind our own business and stop trying to force our personal standards on others. Be responsible, be free, and don’t enable irresponsibility in others.