John McCain and Sarah Palin are heading to the Los Angeles area this week.
You know you want to come out and, um, let them know how you feel.
WED. OCT 1ST:
John McCain in Los Angeles
When: Wednesday, October 1, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Where: Corner of Constellation Blvd. and Ave. of the Stars, Century City
Hyatt Regency, 2025 Ave. of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067
How: Signs will be provided. Public parking available at the Westfield Century City Shopping Mall
SAT. OCT. 4TH:
Sarah Palin in Los Angeles
When: Saturday, October 4, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Where: ADT Tennis Stadium, The Home Depot Center
18400 Avalon Blvd., Carson, CA 90747
How: Parking will be available at 10:00 AM
Please arrive as early as possible
For More Information:
Email - rapidresponse@cadem.org
((I'm told that Act Blue is back up and running, so you can donate now. And we're almost to our goal! $180 left! Who will put us over the top?) - promoted by Robert in Monterey)
Thanks to everyone who has supported our five candidates in the Calitics Match thus far. We're past halfway to our goal, and Debbie Cook has well surpassed our $500 match (way to go!).
Today is crunch time. It's the final day before the end of the third quarter, which is the reporting deadline for federal candidates. This is the best opportunity to make your donations the most meaningful; the quarterly fundraising announcements are key to gauge support, and money put into field and messaging now will pay bigger dividends in the future than a quick cash infusion at the last minute. Please support these candidates and Calitics will match you dollar for dollar.
The Yacht Party Republicans still think you're stupid. They believe they can hide behind the gated communities they've created through gerrymandering, and that Sarah Palin's presence at the top of the ticket will lift their hopes. No, really:
A statewide poll this week underscored the effect Palin has had on the Republican base. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, GOP satisfaction with their presidential choice has doubled since Palin joined the ticket. Unfortunately for McCain, that has not translated into gains against Democrat Barack Obama in California, which has gone to the Democratic presidential candidate in the last four presidential elections.
Still, state Republicans were rejoicing at the possibilities. Thomas G. Del Beccaro, the state party vice chairman, said new volunteers were streaming in faster than at any time since the 2003 recall election. Republicans, he said, were hopeful that a resulting increase in voters would help the party in legislative and congressional races where they might not have been as competitive otherwise.
This is bravado. The wingnut base wasn't going to stay away from a Presidential election. It's the growing decline-to-state base, along with increased Democratic registration statewide, that has the potential to sink the Yacht Party just as Sarah Palin's favorable ratings have sank as voters face the terrifying prospect of her in a position of power. This is the real shift in the electorate:
Since the two parties largely settled on presidential nominees in April, voter rolls have increased by roughly 19,500 - or 2 percent - in Placer, El Dorado, Sacramento and Yolo counties, according to new figures from the California secretary of state's office. Democrats accounted for 10,500 of those new voters. Just 2,400 were Republicans. Most of the others declined to state an allegiance.
The regional numbers mirror a statewide trend. California's Democratic voter rolls have increased by 181,118 since April while the number of Republicans grew by 6,823. Republicans saw a net loss of registered voters in 25 counties, including a loss of more than 15,000 in conservative Orange County. Similar trends are playing out nationally, in several battleground states.
You can see the data for yourself. Particularly in this financial crisis, Californians are ready for a new direction away from failed conservative policies.
All that stands between our five candidates and victory in November is making sure they have the resources to compete. We can help provide that today. Please visit the Calitics Match Act Blue page and give what you can. We'll double your donation to make it that much more meaningful.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was to star at two major California fundraisers and an Orange County rally for 15,000 next week, has canceled her two-day swing through the Golden State, campaign sources said.
The change is a shocker, because Palin's presence had electrified the GOP base in California. Party insiders were distributing 15,000 tickets to her Sept. 26 rally in Orange County -- and fundraisers reported an almost instantaneous sell-out of her two $1,000-a-head Sept. 25 fundraising events in Orange County and Santa Clara.
What will be interesting to find out is just what Palin will be doing next Thursday and Friday instead. Maybe they're going to try to use her to shore up Ohio and Pennsylvania, given the way the polls are swinging back into Obama's favor?
It's an open question whether the fundraising events--designed to benefit the RNC and the CRP--will go on without her or will be cancelled. It's hard to imagine, though, that all the conservatives who made contributions--apparently up to a whopping $40,800--to hobnob with the GOP's rising star would be willing to fork over that money for an event with no star power.
The fact that the McCain campaign would cancel Palin's appearances at two fundraisers that were apparently going to be wildly successful events--most likely so that they can keep her parked out in swing states--indicates a certain amount of desperation.
Why are we all in shock that a woman whose current residence is the Governor's mansion in Juneau would be chosen as the GOP vice presidential nominee? Perhaps it is because she is so cold to our view of democracy and women's rights that her ideals could have a terrifying effect here in California. She is the poster mom for the film Juno whose storybook tale of a teenage pregnancy has become incarnate in Bristol Palin. While her story is certainly played out in thousands of households across America, we all know the sugar-coated tale that winds from Hollywood to Alaska isn't the norm for teenagers facing this monumental issue.
Teenage pregnancy is an issue that we Californians will be facing once again on our November ballot. Like a bad movie sequel, it's a three time re-run for us in California. Proposition 4 will force voters to assess the idea of promoting parental notification for underage abortions. Twice before voters have rallied against this because they know it doesn't really work. Yet again we have to fight the fight for reproductive choice.
But never before has this ballot proposition had a limelight example like we do today.
The day before she was announced as John McCain's vice presidential pick, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin called on Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto a landmark bill that would levy fees on cargo containers at state ports to raise money for pollution mitigation standards. The air around California ports, especially LA-Long Beach, is among the worst in the nation with major negative health impacts on nearby residents. But Palin doesn't care:
"Enactment of Senate Bill 974 will have negative impacts on both Alaska and California," Palin wrote. "For Alaskans, a very large percentage of goods [90% or more] shipped to Alaska arrive as marine cargo in a container."
Palin said many Alaskan communities lack road access and depend entirely on goods shipped by container, something that has significantly increased in cost in recent years. Many of those containers pass through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports before arriving in Alaska, and Palin argues that the fee will add even more to the cost of goods shipped to her state.
"This tax makes the situation worse," Palin wrote. "Similarly, the tax may harm California by driving port business away from its ports."
The letter concludes by requesting that "due consideration be given to our state and that you not sign Senate Bill 974."
State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, author of SB 974, had a devastating response to Palin's interference:
On Thursday, with the Palin letter hitting the Internet, Lowenthal invited the Alaskan governor to travel to the Southern California ports to see first-hand why the fee is needed.
"We are losing about 3,400 Californians each year because of pollution," Lowenthal said. "No matter what Gov. Palin would like to see happen, the impact is killing Californians. I don't think Gov. Palin truly understands the impacts going on here."
RUMBLE, RUMBLE. That's the hum of my community, so close to the nation's largest port complex. The air tickles your throat, but my daughter and I are not laughing. We've been living in Long Beach for ten years. The doctor first diagnosed her with asthma when she was six. It's been traumatizing to watch my child suffer. Through my involvement with the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, I've learned about managing my child's asthma, including controlling triggers inside the home. Unfortunately, it's impossible to control the environment outside, when you live next to the largest fixed source of air pollution in greater Los Angeles. I believe there are solutions to these problems. I don't believe industry's claim that reducing pollution will hurt our economy. These companies make a lot of money while I spend money on medicine and miss work and my daughter misses school.
Adriana Hernandez
I LIVE NEAR I-710: a parking lot of nearly 50,000 cargo trucks daily. Next door is Wilmington, an area pockmarked with refineries. We get hit with pollution from all sides. My youngest son was born with a closed trachea and his left vocal cord paralyzed; he still takes speech classes. He also suffered from severe asthma attacks. I had to medicate him and connect him to a breathing machine, feeling desperate that my child couldn't breathe.
This is what Palin, for whom motherhood is such a central part of her message and appeal, is enabling with her effort to squelch California's clean air laws - Palin is supporting pollution that is hurting working families.
Her interference in California's lawmaking process is bad enough, but it's a harbinger of what we can expect from a McCain-Palin Administration. As we saw with the EPA waiver the federal government has the power to preempt California clean air rules, and Palin is signaling that if she and McCain win they will likely use that power to undermine our efforts to provide healthy lives for our families.
California may not have the same role to play in the election that swing states like Nevada and Ohio do, but we can help Americans understand exactly what they'll be getting from McCain-Palin - more of the same attacks on our health, our environmental laws, and our states rights.
• Arnold opens up to Der Spiegel. The interview ranges the gamut from his level of contact with the Republican party (little) to the appearance of the GOP VP nominee ("good looking woman") to the fact that he'd dig being in the next administration after he finishes out his term.
• I missed this from a few days ago, but in CA-42, Gary Miller is in trouble. Ed Chau has an internal poll showing some pretty good numbers.
• Oh, this is just rich. Apparently Dean Andal, the Republican nominee in CA-11, thinks his campaign is going along swimmingly. Yes, because fundraising numbers that barely register and corruption allegations are all a good sign.
Last night, the country was officially introduced to John McCain's Vice Presidential pick, Governor Sarah Palin. She gave a speech full of vitriol, condescension and outright lies, but perhaps nothing was more shocking than her belittling insult of community organizers. Trying to minimize the work of Barack Obama, she said "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."
Shocking. Just a quick sampling of community organizers would include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Founding Fathers of the United States, and Jesus. Much, much further down that list would be organizations like the Courage Campaign, which exists expressly to empower online and offline grassroots activism. Because we know, like so many others, that concerted community effort is what it takes to bring about meaningful change in this country- something we could really use after eight years of Bush/McCain policy.
Well last night Sarah Palin laid out how the McCain/Palin ticket intend to run this country: With scorn and belligerence for anyone who tries to bring their communities together to make things better. The Courage Campaign has spent years trying to empower exactly the sort of grassroots initiative that's vital to bringing about meaningful change. If we're ever going to address the fundamental failings of our government, we need a new presidential administration that doesn't try to squash the little guy.
• Everybody's waiting to see what Sarah Palin will have to say at 7:30PT. I'm on record; she's going to do great, and she'll be feted by the media for it. Very little of it will be true, but she's on home court and is an engaging speaker. Some speech samples here. The speech is going to be tough and straight-up politics of resentment. We'll see if she can channel her anger at being called out for ridicule this week; I think she's up to the task, and this backlash stuff is standard Republican politics when they are put up against the wall. Stoller is asking the right question - will this be the right way to introduce yourself to the whole nation, including independents?
• Turning locally, while Arnold missed the festivities in St. Paul to look very serious about the budget, Pete Wilson made it out there in his stead - and he slammed Schwarzenegger's call for a tax increase, clearly temporarily forgetting the increase of his own. And when he was reminded, he said, "The situation was very different."
• Among the bills about to land on the Governor's desk is an equal pay bill. This has become a big issue in the Presidential race, and I'm glad to see the legislature on the right side of it.
• This is a good Chris Hayes piece from The Nation about union members at the RNC, but the California-specific part about the SEIU-UHW fight I found just right:
The more I talked to the UHW members and heard their grievances, the more I thought about the fact that organized labor has two goals that can often come into tension: power and dignity. We tend to focus on the power aspect in politics: the power to collectively bargain, to make sure labor captures a fair share of profits, to demand higher wages--all of which have been in sharp decline. That's the objective nature of unionization. The subjective nature of unionization, though, is dignity. It is the process by which working people come to believe that their views and their ideas and their demands are important. That they should be listened to. These two values can be in tension, as I suspect might be the case in California. Sometimes maximizing power might (I stress might, because the UHW-SEIU situation is very, very complicated) require people to fall in line, but the prerogative of dignity is to speak out and stand up.
• I'm interested in hearing more about Prop. 5. Anything that rolls back our stupid and shortsighted drug war is positive, in addition to addressing the prison crisis. Martin Sheen, of all people, has joined up with the No on 5 crowd, being run by the people who brought you the pro-Denham team during the aborted recall.
• Just noting the prison guard payoff to Don Perata because nobody else has.
California Rep. David Dreier said Palin's daughter's pregnancy demonstrates her connection to other families who have similar issues.
Ah, empathy from an unmarried congressman who is trying to connect with voters instead of answer the questions about McCain's vetting process for who he thinks should have their finger on the trigger if his cancer catches up with him.
But it isn't about the daughter of Palin (who will probably join the Harriet Miers club faster than you can say "troopergate"). It is about McCain's reckless recklessness. Here he goes again, the polls showed that if he put Joementum on the ticket he'd be hated by everyone but Joe Klein so instead he over-reacted to his advisers and put on somebody with literally no qualifications and obviously zero vetting as troopergate is more than enough for her to look less mentally unbalanced than Eagleton.
But here in California, once again we have David Dreier working against the facts. Nobody thinks an abstinence-only/creationism debate is going to help the GOP, yet David Dreier sticks out his credibility once again to be a Rubber Stamp for the Bush Administration. This time, the Third Bush Administration.
By and large the Democratic response to the Palin pick as McCain's running mate has been strong, especially when you contrast it to the feeble words from the Republicans after Obama's big speech last night.
Sen. Barbara Boxer just issued this fantastic statement about Gov. Palin, who is a weak pick for McCain and a huge gamble. Boxer goes right after her.
The Vice President is a heartbeat away from becoming President, so to choose someone with not one hour's worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice.
If John McCain thought that choosing Sarah Palin would attract Hillary Clinton voters, he is badly mistaken.
The only similarity between her and Hillary Clinton is that they are both women. On the issues, they could not be further apart.
Senator McCain had so many other options if he wanted to put a women on his ticket, such as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison or Senator Olympia Snowe - they would have been an appropriate choice compared to this dangerous choice.
In addition, Sarah Palin is under investigation by the Alaska state legislature which makes this more incomprehensible.
Interestingly, Hillary's statement is much weaker, but I think by design.
"We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate."
Clinton is going to be all nice and then spend the next several months tearing into her. This pick guarantees an even bigger role for Hillary Clinton. She will be the one continuing to make the argument to her supporters that Barack Obama is a much superior choice than the anti-choice, anti-equality, anti-working class ticket of McCain/Palin.
