Congratulations to the Democrats of San Bernardino County! As you can see from these numbers, which are apparently from this morning at 6am, Democratic registration exceeded that of the Republicans in the largest county (by area) in the nation.
Blue County's Dream is half realized! We have become a Blue County again! According to the San Bernardino Register of Voters, the number of registered Democrats now outnumbers registered Republicans by 312,000 to 311,000 Countywide. Since Blue County was organized in February 2007 there have been over 50,000 new registered Democrats due to the great efforts of voter registration drives by clubs, individuals, and candidates throughout the county.
The effort was facilitated by Blue County, a PAC set up for the effort. I'll let them explain their mission over the flip. You'll also find the SB Dems press release there too.
Another one bites the dust as we turn Red California into a nice shade of purple on the way to blue. Good work!
(The man who would be Governor... - promoted by jsw)
Title updated.
When Republican State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced with California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring on August 28, 2008 that he would contribute enough money to pay $5 for every new Republican voter registration, no one expected a voter registration card "slamming" program.
In San Bernardino County the California Republican Party with their local Republican affiliates hired a firm from outside California called YPM - Young Political Majors, owned by a man named Mark Jacoby and run out of Florida and Arizona - to commit the same voter fraud that got YPM run out of other states.
"It's amazing how little we know about the science of our environment and a thing called climate change. Before we automatically throw money into this subject matter we ought to know what we're talking about. Global warming is apparently a problem, but global cooling can be as well."
Yes, believe it or not, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Scandal) actually said that. So why exactly did he say this? And why is anyone taking him seriously? Follow me after the flip for more...
Will embattled 15-term Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis (CD 41) retire from the United States House of Representatives at the conclusion of the 110th Congress? Longtime Capitol Hill reporter Bob Novak is reporting in the Washington, D.C.-based publication Human Events that "both on Capitol Hill and in California, Republicans say that Rep. Jerry Lewis (R) is unlikely to seek re-election."
(Cross-posted at Trash Dirty Gary, Southern California's resource for revealing Gary Miller's true record of disservice to his constituents... AND a place for action in restoring honor and integrity to the 42nd Congressional District.)
What is it about Gary Miller doing all these troublesome land deals? The San Bernardino Sun has now unearthed yet another troublesome deal involving land, money, and sweet favors:
The Lewis Group of Companies has built thousands of homes and dozens of shopping centers, office buildings and industrial parks from the San Gabriel Valley to the High Desert.
But the Upland-based company has helped shape more than the region's physical landscape: It's emerged as both a major philanthropic force and a significant political player as well.
Over the years, Lewis has given millions to charitable causes and - in the past six years alone - nearly $2.3 million to political campaigns.
In recent months, it's the politics that have made headlines, focusing on the company's long and close relationship with Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, who also represents Diamond Bar, Chino and Chino Hills.
Oh, great! Here we go again! Developers are buying off Gary Miller, so what else is new? Well, get a load of what I'm about to tell you after the flip...
I think this is a significant development in the future of California, both political and otherwise. According to this report (PDF) from the California Budget Project, job growth in the inland counties of the state grew nearly FIVE TIMES LARGER than job growth in the coastal counties between 1990 and 2005. In fact, they've contributed to more than half of the total job growth in the state, despite having only 1/5 of the jobs currently. What used to be bedroom communities in the Inland Empire of SoCal, for example, are now very much self-sustaining and thriving, particularly in the western edges of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
If this trend continues, it could either be very ominous or a great opportunity, depending on your outlook. On the one hand, it tracks with a pattern of population shift from areas that are reliably Democratic into areas that are reliably Republican. On the other hand, it represents a demographic shift in those "red" areas, and could lead to opportunities to build a Democratic resurgence inland, as possibly evidenced by Jerry McNerney's victory in CA-11.
Whatever the case, it's something that progressives must deal with. The power bases in LA and SF are only going to retain their power for so long. Places like Ontario and Auburn are goin to have more and more importance, and it's time RIGHT NOW to ensure that there's some Democratic infrastructure in place to identify and engage people in those areas who share progressive views. Take Back Red California is an organization of Democratic activists trying to do just that, but more attention must be paid. This is a generational shift, and it will only grow and grow.
I hope to see more of our friends from the inland counties here in the coming months.
