As a Texan that hears that frequently among my right winger friends / family, I think its mostly (plain old) ignorance and indifference. When I talk about liking California I get -- effectively -- dirty looks. But concomitantly, if I press for details there are none. So I think it is just one of those talking points that's taken on a life of its own, probably exacerbated by the housing prices that also get blamed on Californians. If I wanted to reason about it from a policy standpoint, I might argue the electoral college plays a significant role. Since in presidential elections the right doesn't need Californian votes, they are fee to demonize it at will -- its free points in a sense. No hills I'd die on, just my 2 cents.