Vikingkingq published an excellent diary here and Calitics on Wednesday and a follow-up on Thursday about this issue. I too ran into the same tactics he described at UCSB here in Orange County on Thursday afternoon.
It appears there was a statewide effort by the company collecting the signatures to hide what they were doing. Reports of this tactic have come from Davis, Santa Barbara, Berkeley and Orange County. The story that keeps coming out is that petitioners approached registered voter, made their pitch to get a signature for the children's cancer hospital initiative and then asked the voter to "sign multiple copies".
Yesterday, I posted a diary about possible ballot petition fraud going on in Santa Barbara, California related to the Electoral College Initiative that seeks to split California's electoral votes by congressional district.
There have been some developments, so I've decided to post an update.
(An interesting personal account of the dirty tricks. - promoted by shayera)
NOTE: cross-posted from DailyKos.
First, I should explain that I'm a graduate student at the University of California Santa Barbara.
Today I witnessed what I think is an incidence of ballot petition fraud relating to the electoral vote apportionment initiative - the proposal to apportion California's electoral votes by congressional district, unilaterally giving 19 of California's electoral votes to the Republicans in 2008.
Outside the UCEN (student center plus bookstore plus food court) at UC Santa Barbara, there were a number of people with cardboard clipboards soliciting people to sign ballot petitions for a proposal to spend $1 billion on cancer hospitals for kids. If you agree to sign, they tell you "you need to sign 4 times." What they do not tell you is that the three pages after the ballot initiative on cancer hospitals are different ballot initiatives: the second proposes to abolish eminent domain, the third proposals to abolish rent control, and the fourth is the proposal to apportion California's electoral votes by district (the so-called Dirty Tricks Initiative).
I should note that the clipboard is arranged such that a rubber band holding the petitions to the cardboard is positioned on the top of the page, across the actual ballot language in question - thus, partially hiding the text of the ballot initiatives on pages 2-4 unless you actually stop and pull down the top of the page.
I agreed to sign the cancer initiative, but the comment about signing four times raised a red flag, because I'm familiar with the structure of ballot petitions, so I paused before signing and looked at the other initiatives. However, I'm absolutely sure that most of the people signing, young college students on a rush to get their lunches and off to class, did not take this step.
What they are doing is getting people to sign for ballot initiatives without their knowledge or informed consent, using young peoples' desire to do a good thing and their lack of familiarity with the legal paperwork of initiative petitions. If this is not illegal it is certainly deeply unethical. The moment I realized what was going on, I told the petitioners that they shouldn't be telling people to sign for ballot initiatives they're not aware of. Immediately after, I called the school newspaper, the Daily Nexus, the Courage Campaign, the Santa Barbara Democratic Central Committee, and the California Democratic Party. After that, I have sent in a form to the Sec. of State as well, reporting this.
I almost feel bad for the Governor. I mean, he can't get his programs passed in the legislature, as Republicans think they are too liberal, and Dems think they are too conservative. Almost. But, I certainly would not want to be him when he goes into Indian Wells this weekend to make a speech to the California Republican Party's convention. As the LA Times points out in the title of its article about the convention, "Republican Schwarzenegger, GOP don't get along"
The governor has shown little interest in throwing the organization a lifeline. And some party leaders leave the impression that if one were to come their way, they might just throw it back. "He doesn't agree with the vast majority of Republicans on most issues," said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, which works to elect conservatives.
"I imagine the gathering will not be a particularly happy one," said Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. (LA Times 9/7/07)
We've discussed this in the past, but there is a very real possibility of the split growing at this convention. The GOP has been kowtowing to the social conservatives, and now they are just beginning to realize that social conservatives alone are not enough to win, especially in California. So, they are bereft of purpose while they struggle to find a purpose within the state, the underlying question is can the GOP "big tent" survive Schwarzenegger in California.
This has long term implications in the state. If Arnold decides to run for Senate in 2010, will the GOP be united behind him? Will social conservatives stay at home knowing his pro-choice and other social progressive views? A major split could put his Senate ambitions at risk.
Among other sources, the AP reported yesterday on the many issues up for debate as Republicans consider overhauling their current platform. Schwarzenneger has lined up support from GOPers in the legislature to move away from divisive (and presumably NOT post-partisan) "values" issues like gun control, abortion and gay rights. Arnold is pushing for a more practical, Reagan-worship focus, hoping to distill things down to just low taxes, strong defense, and small government. And if you think those three items were intentionally ordered to contradict themselves, you're quite right.
In 2004, well below most people's radar, the FDA approved the implantation of VeriChip and other forms of RFID chip in human beings. While "chipping" is a lifesaver for pets, there is a certain "squicky" factor about implanting chips in human beings.
It was very stupid of the Dems to not hang the FDA decision around George W. Bush's neck. After all, "chipping" was the method used to enable the Mark of the Beast in the "Left Behind" series of bestselling books. Bush has been wrapping himself in the Bible now for his entire presidency. Why we didn't put leaflets about "Bush Administration approves Mark of the Beast" under windshield wipers of cars at Evangelical megachurches is beyond me.
We missed that opportunity. Here's another we cannot miss in 2008. I'll explain after the flip.
Arnold Schwarzenegger sure had a lot of success in the past year and a half, governing like a moderate. Rudy Giuliani is doing well in blue states. Will the GO be the Schwarzenegger-Giuliani party Peter Schrag asks. Quick answer: No.
Moderates like Schwarzenegger and Giuliani will do well in traditional Democratic strongholds, but face strident opposition from the party's core conservative base. That split is perfectly encapsulated in the immigration debate. Tom Schaller has an excellent column in today's Salon on that point. Rush Limbaugh is calling the immigration reform bill the "Comprehensive Destroy the Republican Party Act." Schaller argues that Limbaugh is right.
I didn't get around to posting the Republican Field poll. After all, I'm pretty sure that most people who read this blog are slightly less interested in that primary. However, here is that GOP primary poll (PDF), it was released yesterday. Without Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich, Guiliani leads McCain and Romney 36-24-7. With those two Guiliani leads McCain 29-21, with the others all garnering less than 10%. But, the really good news? Each of the three leading Dems are leading comfortably over both Guiliani and McCain.
Bush, on the other hand, is an albatross for all of the Republicans. Today's Field Poll pegs his support in California at 26%. Yes, you read that right Just slightly more than 1/4 of the state's voters approve of the President. Is there a floor? Who knows? 20%? Now, he's clearly losing his base. Oh, and the fact that 72% view his handling of the Iraq War negatively can't help things.
This just in from our friend Fleischman at Flash Report:
The FlashReport would like to congratulate the three members of California's Congressional delegation who have been tapped with 'high honors' from the National Taxpayers Union -- receiving their coveted "Taxpayer Friends" rating... And the winners are... Dana Rohrabacher, Ed Royce and our own FR Beltway Correspondent John Campbell!!
OK! So I guess if you're a best buddy of Jack Abramoff, or you have the state buy you a Mustang Saleen AFTER YOU ANNOUNCE YOUR RUN FOR CONGRESS (!!!), or you direct a $300,000 State Department grant to a Russian hospitality school run by your wife's employer, then you're a "Taxpayer Friend"...
Want to find out more? Follow me after the flip...
(My word, that race is getting nasty. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
As the Orange County special election approaches, the Republican Party is becoming desperate. The Democrats have united behind Former Assemblymember Tom Umberg, while the Republicans remain divided. We Democrats are working our patooties off, hitting the streets to talk to our neighbors about the need for us to have an ally of working families on the OC Board of Supervisors. Meanwhile, the Republicans feel that the only way for them to pick up a Supervisorial seat is to resort to fear and gay-baiting.
It's getting a bit tired isn't it? In yesterday's Sac Bee, it was reported that some fraudulent registration applications from their SoCal grassroots people.
Several GOP voter-registration workers created fake individuals in documents submitted to the California Republican Party, which said Thursday that it discovered the fraudulent activity through an internal review and forwarded its findings to Secretary of State Bruce McPherson.
GOP spokesman Patrick Dorinson said the party caught the undisclosed number of falsified voter affidavits early enough that it avoided registering any fraudulent names with the state. (SacBee 9/1/06)
Uh, yeah, sure you did. I'm sure you caught all of the fake people, the dead people, etc. You know, that large spike in GOP registration did seem a bit on the large side. How many of those people really registered?
And Mr. McP says's he'll be all over this scandal, just as soon as he's done campaigning on the state's dime. Yeah, I'll buy that promise right after I finish completing my "Facts of Life" Tootie Video Montage. Which is to say, the 12th of Never. So, need I mention that Debra is on the Calitics ActBlue page?
Following up on a post I did a couple of weeks ago about Arnold supporting Bush, I'd like to post two things. One is a new CDP ad with footage from Arnold's GOP Convention speech, the other is the FilmLoop I ran last time. Enjoy!
Is that gross? Well, it's true. In the span of 5 minutes or so, the local news says that:
Arnold's CRaP Convention Speech was the best of his career.
Praised his comedic timing.
Stated that Arnold has a "keen understanding" of the issues.
Praised his "charm".
Angelides has not made things tough on Arnold. The tax plan is blowing up on Phil.
Arnold is seen as a kindler gentler politician.
Ick! It's been a long time since I've seen such an obviously tilted to the right report like that in the Bay Area. But, let's just break a few of those down. First of all, comedic timing isn't a prerequisite of the job. Second, as for Arnold's keen understanding of the issues, let's just look at one issue, immigration. We've seen Arnold twice praise the Minutemen only to retract that praise. He's called for closing the borders, then quickly retracted that as well. He has a keen understanding when he's been scripted to have a keen understanding. We don't need some sort of actor who's pumped with a script to answer some questions. We need a real leader.
Let's not forget about the tax issues. Those issues only blew up in Phil's face if you ask a room full of GOP activists. Oh, right, that's what the CBS5 Reporter did. He went into the CRaPpy convention and asked the delegates how they felt about Phil's fiscal plan. Surprise, Surprise, they weren't a big fan of it. But, guess what, they aren't a representative sample. They really like the free lunch that Arnold's planning. And they don't much care about Arnold saying that the our university tuition is too low. And they don't care if our infrastructure withers away. It's no big deal to them, because they will all be living in one big gated community together in a few years.
Phil offers a plan that works to correct the structural defecit (an issue that Arnold "has no plan for"), reverse the massive tuition increases at public universities and community colleges and repay the Prop 98 funds owed to K-12 schools. That he asks the richest in our soceity to help with those goals is just part of living in the greatest civilization in the history of the World. But, if the CRaP likes third world infrastructure with third world education services, perhaps they can take their little experiment elsewhere.
I wanted to point out the excellent coverage of the state GOP (CRaP) convention by Todd Beeton of the Courage Campaign. Arnold has been having a little issue with his base not being convinced of him. (See the Friday LA Times.) So, he knows he's got to toss a little red meat their way:
But I guess it works for him, especially when he follows it up with the red meat:
“My opponent wants to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses!”
Crowd: “NOOOO!”
“Being an American means learning English!”
Ahh, can you smell that? Yeah, that's the subtle wiff of racism. Check out Todd's post for the details of the event along with his conversation with Bruce McPherson.
(A more balanced perspective on Arnold's speech at the CRaPpy convention. - promoted by SFBrianCL)
OK, maybe not crashing so much as buying a ticket and attending, but hey, I spent the weekend with Republicans so you don't have to.
Arnold spoke to GOP activists (umm…and me) at the California GOP Summer Convention in Los Angeles yesterday. You can follow my adventures at the convention this weekend over at The Courage Campaign including what I discovered about their grassroots efforts, their election integrity fears and just how much common ground I found there.
(More Lamont spin...this time from the GOP - promoted by SFBrianCL)
It didn't take long for the Lamont spin to make its way into California politics. Let's take a look at what they're saying. (in the Contra Costa Times.
Jerry Lewis, just as most politicians, isn't known to be a quiet man. But now he seems a bit reluctant to trumpet his own virtues.
In a handful of interviews and several prepared statements one of which asserted erroneous information the Redlands Republican has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. But Lewis, chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, has declined to comment specifically on any aspect of the investigation. ... Weeks later after hiring a distinguished legal team in mid-June, which as of mid-July had been paid $200,000 from Lewis' campaign funds Lewis remains aloof and largely unavailable.
He has hired Barbara Comstock, a high-profile spokeswoman who not only has represented the Department of Justice but also embattled Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to be the voice of his legal team. Specht now refers questions on the matter to Comstock.
Comstock did not return multiple phone calls over the past 10 days.
With so much media attention on an issue that Lewis has not addressed with any real detail, the federal investigation has led to mounting concerns about the future of the Inland Empire's greatest benefactor who has enjoyed a sterling reputation. (San Bernadino County Sun 8/3/06)
The article actually has some good info on the entire context of the Lewis scandal. The man has questions surrounding him, but chooses to issue no response. It's a troubling sign for a politician to refuse to speak to his constituents about ethics issues. For whatever else Congressman are, they are first and foremost servants of the district that sent them there. They should not forget that so quickly.
