My column at Capitol Weekly about Ron Shepston's experiences during the Southern California wildfires is up here. It's really a pretty amazing story.
As the flames closed in, and evacuation was recommended, Ron and his family packed up. One of his neighbors, a 37-year retired battalion chief with the Orange County Fire Authority named Mike, had plenty of experience with fighting fires, and with the limited official resources, he thought he could help protect the community if the fire engulfed the canyon. The problem was that his body was beaten from years of service. After escorting his family to safer ground, Ron told Mike he was willing to help. "I'll be your legs," he said.
Ignoring a mandatory evacuation, Ron and Mike went to work, setting up hoses, hooking into hydrants, watering down wood structures, and clearing fuel away from danger. They also provided assistance to federal, state and local firefighters about prime lookout spots to view the progress of the fire, and the local terrain. This lasted for 10 days, a non-stop firefighting effort in an attempt to protect the community. "I could hear the roar of the flames on the ridge," Ron said, "There were flames rising 100 feet."
Go throw me a bone and read the whole thing. There's some discussion of Orange County's failure to protect its residents by gutting firefighting operations, as well as the stark contrast between a leader like Shepston and Gary Miller, who has yet to make even one public statement about the fires. This will be an issue in the campaign.
There's some real data in the form of third-quarter fundraising numbers to pore over, and events in Washington and at home have served to focus on some of our Congressional candidates here in California. Plus, believe it or not, we're only about a year out from Election Day. Let's take a look at the top ten races.
As usual, I'm going to rank them in order of most possible pickup, including their number from the last roundup. I'm also, as usual, including the "Boxer number." Basically, seeing how Boxer fared in her 2004 re-election against Bill Jones in a particular district is a decent indicator of how partisan it is. If I put "57," that means Boxer received 57% of the vote. Anything over 50, obviously, is good. (over)
(Look, this has to be promoted, despite the author's wish that it not be. A congressional candidate volunteering to head out in the woods and battle a raging fire? Is there any better expression of leadership? This should be on CNN. - promoted by David Dayen)
(This is a x-post from Daily Kos; accordingly, this was written for a less California-centric audience, but it should be OK here.)
Many people have contacted me over the past few days asking me whether Ron Shepston (aka CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream on DKos), whose campaign for Congress I'm managing, is OK. Ron lives at the top of Silverado Canyon, in the Silverado 92676 zip code that has taken much damage from the Santiago Canyon fire. I last spoke to Ron on Monday morning when I was at the airport preparing to fly back from Chicago; I encouraged him to post an update for people who knew he was in the area and might worry. Since that noon PDT comment, neither I nor anyone from the campaign had heard from him, which is why I haven't been able to reply to questions.
I just spoke to his wife, Belinda. He's OK. He dropped Belinda off from the danger area and then went back in. His friend and neighbor is an ex-fire chief living in the Upper Canyon, and if I understand correctly Ron is involved in efforts to protect the canyon from fire jumping over from Modjeska Canyon.
OK, I'm getting this in just under the wire. Time for the House roundup for September. There are a little over 13 months until Election Day, and with the end of the 3rd quarter on Sunday (donate), this election is really not that far away. In fact, CQ Politics has put out their initial assessment of the House landscape. It's favorable for Democrats, but predictably, there are only two California seats on that radar: CA-04 and CA-11. But there have been a lot of developments in the other races throughout the state as well.
I'm going to rank them in order of most possible pickup, including their number from the last roundup. I'm also, as usual, including the "Boxer number." Basically, seeing how Boxer fared in her 2004 re-election against Bill Jones in a particular district is a decent indicator of how partisan it is. If I put "57," that means Boxer received 57% of the vote. Anything over 50, obviously, is good. (over)
With the San Francisco and Los Angeles Quarterlies ready to kick off tomorrow (watch out LA, I'm coming), let's take a pictoral tour through last week's San Diego event. Consider this an open thread, but focus on how great Calitics is :).
Some of the last revelers of the night (L to R: cmanaster, Ron Shepston, orangeclouds115, Major Danby, a very demonic looking Lucas O'Connor)
I won't able to do blog roundups until week after next -- any blog roundups between now and then will be created by the far busier members of the editorial staff, so make sure to thank them.
We have 15 months to go before Election Day, and it's time for another roundup of Congressional races. I am going to continue to focus on the top 10 challenges to Republican incumbents. There is certainly a concern in CA-11 with the Jerry McNerney/Dean Andal race, particularly after McNerney's "I'm a moderate" comment seemed to depress supporters. On the bright side, he did vote against the ridiculous FISA bill. And as we go into September, I would hope he would continue his efforts to end the occupation of Iraq. I will certainly cover the McNerney race in future roundups.
But for now, let's take a look at the top 10 challenges. I'm going to rank them in order of most possible pickup, including their number from the last roundup. I'm also adding the "Boxer number." Basically, seeing how Boxer fared in her 2004 re-election against Bill Jones in a particular district is a decent indicator of how partisan it is. If I put "57," that means Boxer received 57% of the vote. Anything over 50, obviously, is good. (over)
It's been quite a wild week in the 42nd Congressional District. Ever since Ron Shepston announced that he's running against Dirty Gary Miller, there have been quite some interesting developments that have occurred in the race to replace Dirty Gary. We've had the bloggers talk about going offline. We've had the California Democratic Party go online to announce its new website targeting Dirty Gary. We've heard rumors that a former Republican politician might reemerge to challenge Dirty Gary in the primary. Oh yes, and what did Ron say about John Kerry?
Follow me after the flip for all the latest dirt on Dirty Gary...
Over the past few weeks, there has been a wealth of information in the series of posts regarding the first Congressional run by a member of the netroots, and a campaign run by members of the netroots. In fact, the entire list of posts is below, so you can go back and see the most excellent things that have been written about Ron Shepston and his historic run for Congress.
We were treated to posts that outline the district demographics, the incumbent and his myriad of ethical issues, the political landscape in the district as well as some of the very fine people who are working on this campaign, and why Ron is both an awesome guy and the right man for Congress (and no, those two terms are NOT mutually exclusive). But what I want to talk about is why this oh-so-very important on many levels.
(What a way to get to know the candidate! : ) - promoted by Andrew Davey (atdleft))
Major Danby asked me to write a diary for Ron Shepston, Congressional candidate for CA-42, ages ago. I've been stalling and stalling, since I didn't know what I could possibly write about. Do I know CA-42, or the dirt on Gary Miller? Not even slightly. I first visited CA-42 only two weeks ago.
Do I know every single one of Ron's positions on all the issues? Nope. He's a true blue progressive, same as the rest of us. I've got a hunch once we start going down an exhaustive list of issues, we'd agree on 99% of things - but as Ron reminded me the other day, the issues that are big now will all have changed by the time he gets to DC.
But, then I realized what I can contribute. I know Ron. As Bush would say "I know his heart."
This is part of a series of diaries rolling out the Congressional campaign of Ron Shepston -- the veteran, aerospace engineer, athlete, and grandfather whom you may know as CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream. For anyone who doesn't yet know, Ron is running against the ethically-challenged Rep. Gary Miller, who apparently believes that his role in Congress is to make money for his out-of-district friends, in CA-42. I'm running his campaign full-time.
Something significant to our campaign happened yesterday. We met with a representative of the DCCC. More below.
Something amazing is happening tomorrow. DFA Campaign Academy is coming to Southern California! Tomorrow, progressive activists from all over Southern California will be coming to Orange County to learn how to win next year and in future elections. And guess what? All of us activists will be learning from the experts who know a thing or two on how to win.
Oh, and here's some more good news. Even though registration for attendance is already at 160 people, DFA is still accepting sign-ups for tomorrow! That's right, even if you haven't signed up yet, you can still come to DFA Training! So what's happening at DFA Training? Follow me after the flip for more...
It's great that the netroots candidacy of Ron Shepston for Congress is getting so much attention. His race against the unfathomably corruptGary Miller represents a progressive hope and a decided alternative, and people are so excited that, at press time, he's raised over $5,300 dollars through ActBlue in just a couple days.
Superlative. Outstanding. Fantastic.
Now let's really look at what he's getting into. The campaign has asked me to contribute a guest column to the rollout providing the lay of the land. We'll start with the bad news and move slowly into the good.
(This is a cross-post of my diary diary about Ron on DailyKos.)
In case you haven't yet seen the news, a Kossack is running for Congress. His name is Ron Shepston, and he's running in California's 42nd district against one of the most corrupt Republicans in Congress. And did I mention--his campaign manager is also a Kossack.
Now you know who the candidate is--but today, on Blogosphere Day, I wanted to share with you some thoughts I had about how all this started, where it's going, and what it might even mean for the future of our political system.
(And if you're in Southern California, YOU can also meet Ron Shepston at EITHER ORANGE COUNTY DRINKING LIBERALLY TONIGHT! Come to Rancho Santa Margarita at 7:00 PM and/or Santa Ana at 9:00 PM tonight, and meet the candidate! : ) - promoted by Andrew Davey (atdleft))
Yesterday, if you made your way to DailyKos, The Liberal OC, or right here to Calitics, you probably got the word that the blogosphere's own Ron Shepston is running for Congress in California's 42nd district against Dirty Gary Miller. His campaign is being managed by DailyKos and Calitics poster Greg Diamond (aka Major Danby), and as you can see from his rollout yesterday Shepston's starting out on the right foot. He's already hit on many of what I consider to be the most important elements of a campaign that's insurgent and forward-thinking without abandoning everything good about traditional values and expectations. So, for these and the other reasons I'll dig into on flip, and in keeping with the newly established procedure for gaining Calitics endorsement, I nominate Ron Shepston to join Charlie Brown, Jerry McNerney and Mark Leno as an official Calitics Endorsed Candidate for 2008.
(Woo-hoo! A REAL netroots candidate in Orange County! What more could I possibly ask for? Oh yes, and you can also enjoy this at Daily Kos and The Liberal OC! ; ) - promoted by atdleft)
(photo from Wikipedia)
I posted this over at dKos but really wanted to put it here because it's such an important site in California netroots.
Caution is preferable to rash bravery - Sir John Falstaff, King Henry the Fourth, Part I
Falstaff may be beloved, but he was not who you wanted leading you into battle. Political challengers today need to be brave, brash, maybe even a little rash.
In World War II, when the gates came down in LCVPs (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel), exposing the marines and soldiers inside to uncounted barrages of fire, they didn't sit around discussing whether it was prudent to charge ahead with the goal of defeating a formidable enemy. No one had to order them to go to give their lives; they just did it. They had a world to save and they gave their lives for a cause they believed in.
Today, those of us who would defend the Constitution have a new fight. Today, as a Democrat, a veteran, and a longtime member of this community, I’m marching off to that fight.
(OMG, THIS IS HUGE!!!! Oh yes, and you can see this at Daily Kos as well! : ) - promoted by atdleft)
Blogging is largely about talking the talk – and that’s important. This diary is about walking the walk.
A few months ago, another member of this community and I made a pair of expensive decisions -- decisions to do what we felt we were obligated to do as patriotic Americans. He -- the good-looking, likable, established-in-the-community one -- decided to run for Congress if I would manage his campaign full-time. And I agreed to manage his campaign (at a steep discount from standard “Democratic consultant” rates) if it would be more than a token run.
A brain trust of Southern Californian bloggers – people like thereisnospoon, hekebolos, Shockwave, OrangeClouds115, occams hatchet, dday, atdleft, vernonlee, honorary Californian clammyc, and many others – were there at the beginning and have provided support and sage advice since. Others have joined the train since then. Tomorrow at 9 a.m. PDT, with the announcement of the name and handle of the nominee, the train leaves the station.
We want you on that train with us. We're ready to crash that train right through the gates of Congress – and you know that that means we’re going to make a lot of noise.
The best way to answer this question is to answer two other questions. Why should we allow such a corrupt individual to stay in office? And what has Gary Miller done for his constituents that has earned him the privilege of earning our votes for reelection? Once we figure out these answers, we can answer those other questions.
You may be surprised by these answers, so follow me after the flip for more...
(OMG, I can hardly wait for the 18th! : ) - promoted by atdleft)
It is a rare privilege to be present at the creation of something extraordinary--but it is an even rarer priviliege to be the first to announce that creation to the public. Today, I am greatly honored to introduce to the netroots community and the world the creation of a new kind of campaign--a campaign of bloggers and onine activists, run by bloggers and online activists, managed by managed by online activists, and with a homegrown blogger as its candidate.
And it's not just any campaign: it's a campaign for Congress. It's a campaign against one of the most corrupt and reactionary Republicans on Capitol Hill (which is really saying something). It's a campaign that, until a few short months ago, had no credible Democratic candidate to offer--until that is, someone stepped forward to take on the challenge. And that someone turned out to be one of us.
It is a rare privilege to be present at the creation of something extraordinary--but it is an even rarer priviliege to be the first to announce that creation to the public. Today, I am greatly honored to introduce to the netroots community and the world the creation of a new kind of campaign--a campaign of bloggers and onine activists, run by bloggers and online activists, managed by managed by online activists, and with a homegrown blogger as its candidate.
And it's not just any campaign: it's a campaign for Congress. It's a campaign against one of the most corrupt and reactionary Republicans on Capitol Hill (which is really saying something). It's a campaign that, until a few short months ago, had no credible Democratic candidate to offer--until that is, someone stepped forward to take on the challenge. And that someone turned out to be one of us.
