How California is building its own wall of resistance against Trump

On a street corner in Santa Monica, about 20 people,most of them students,are nodding their heads to the beat of a drum, gathering up their signs,ready to march.

Their destination is symbolic of how far left California is shifting.

These activists aren't targeting U.S. PresidentDonald Trumpor evena Republican politician;they're storming the Los Angelesoffice of Democratic Sen.Dianne Feinstein,urging her to adopt a sweeping and controversial climate change and jobs package known as the Green New Deal, championed by a newly energized progressive faction within the Democratic Party.

California has a long history of left-wing activism,but these days there's renewed energy among progressives, says NatalieRotstein, one of the organizers of the march, which took place late last month.

The 21-year-old neuroscience student at UCLAisan activist with the Sunrise Movement, founded in 2017 by young progressivesthatadvocatepolitical action on climate change. The group gained national notoriety a week after November's midterm elections, when 200 activists held a sit-in in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and were joined by 29-year-old Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has championed the Green New Deal.

Watch: Young activists stage sit-in protest at Nancy Pelosi's office

Rotstein says grassroots resistance in California is growing bolder because the state is at the confluence of two issues that define the Trumpagenda.

"Anything involving border policy affects us, anything involving climate policy affects us," said Rotstein. "All the [Trump]administration issueshit California harderthan a lot of other places."

And with Trump ever-focused on building his wall along the Mexican border, many California Democrats are responding with their ownwall of resistance.

On Friday, California's new governor,Gavin Newsom, announced that the state plans to sue the Trump administration over the president's declaration of a national emergency in order to appropriate funds for the construction of thewall.

"President Trump is manufacturing a crisis and declaring a made-up 'national emergency'in order to seize power and subvert the constitution," Newsom said in a statement. "Our message back to the White House is simple and clear: California will see you in court."

Earlier in the week,Newsom hadordered the removal of hundreds of the state's National Guardtroops deployed at the border at Trump's request a move the governor dismissed as "political theatre."

And heused his first State of the State address to portrayhimself as a shield against thepresident, rebuking Trump's visionof America as "fundamentally at odds with California values."

A 'bit more partisan'

California's new governor seems "a little bit more partisan" than his predecessor, Jerry Brown, according toChristianGrose,a political scientist at the University of Southern Californiawho studies partisanship.

"Now that he's governor, he seems to be wanting to make the case that he's going to be pushing back against the Trump administration, especially regarding immigration and social policy," said Grose."I think it's an easy way, in a Democratic state that doesn't like Trump very much, to stay popular."

Trump's approval ratings in California are among the lowest inthe country. Grose saysthe results of November's midterm elections may be playing a part as well:CaliforniaDemocrats picked up seven Republican-held seats in the House, giving thema 46-7 advantage in the state's congressional delegation.

"Democrats got more votes in nearly every state in the country for the U.S. House in 2018 compared to 2016," Grose said. "In California, it was even bigger ... the swing in the direction of the House was really huge for the Democrats."

Health care as resistance?

That might explain why California's Democrats have tried to stymie Trump's agenda with legislation and lawsuits.

Newsom hasproposedthat Californiaoffer its own health-insurance subsidiesto families earning up to $150,000, and wants to expand the state'sMedi-Cal coverage to all Californians until they're 26, including undocumented immigrants. He also signed an executive orderthat would create a single-purchasing system for medication.

In January,CaliforniaAttorney General XavierBecerra, along with 16 other attorneys general, appealeda ruling by a federal judge in Texas that declared the entirety of the Affordable Care Actunconstitutional. It's one among almost 40 lawsuits launched by the state in the last year-and-a-half on a variety of federal issues, from the Clean Air Act to net neutrality.

Even though Grose acknowledges voting patterns show California has become "more Democratic and, maybe more importantly, less Republican,"there'sa danger that these new progressives will push Democratic politicians so far left that they'll be out oftouch with mainstream voters.

It'll be up to more middle-of-the-road Democrats, he says, to act as a political rudder.

"I think they haveto have a moderating influence or else they won't win in 2020," said Grose."Youcould see this swinging back to the Republicans, with the right kind of Republican."

But many California progressives point to demographic trends, which suggest the U.S. electorate is becoming younger and more diversea Democratic advantage. If they want to energize this growing base, playing it safe isn't an option.

"Being a Democrat isn't enoughnot by a long shot," saidJon Pelzer, whomounted an unsuccessfulchallengefrom the left against the incumbent Democrat in California's 30th District during November's midterms.

But he says he's still determined to push Democratic politicians past their progressive comfort zone.

"During the original New Deal, a civil rights leader came to FDR [Franklin DelanoRoosevelt]with some legislation that he wanted him to support. FDR said:'That's great. Now go out and make me do it.'

"We're out here to make them do it."

As for the protesters standing outside Feinstein's officein Santa Monica, thoselike Brendan Lettsay it's only through grassroots movements that California can becomenot just the resistance, but the alternative.

"It doesn't work anymore to be part of the establishment Washington is so separated from the people," saidLett."And Trump is just kind of an example of why."