(Not totally a local issue, but it involves a lot of local players, and continues on a subject that gets a lot of attention around here, so I thought I'd share. Reprinted from my site.)
There's something of a consensus that Netroots Nation didn't offer enough adversarial panels and instead largely consisted of bloggers agreeing with one another. But that's not true. I personally witnessed the most adversarial panel of the weekend, and it was spectacular, because finally, both factions of the debate about health care policy on the left were able to come together and understand the political contours of the brewing fight in the Congress.
A lot of people are talking today about Sen. Obama's stance against Prop. 8; it's a recommended diary on Daily Kos. We had this on Calitics two days ago and nobody noticed. The Sacramento Bee reports on it and suddenly it's on everybody's lips.
I don't begrudge the Bee writing about the issue; it's newsworthy, and the result of a letter read to the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, not some secret. I'm glad they picked it up. But I'm very disturbed by the fact that progressive media is not supported to the point of being ignored, but when a dead-tree source goes with the same information it becomes a top story. I expect that out of the traditional media, but not the blogosphere. There is no question that Brian was the first person anywhere to report on Sen. Obama's letter to the club. And I can tell you that I did at least some behind-the-scenes work to promote the scoop to progressive media and blogosphere leaders. Didn't work.
I don't care that the Bee didn't report that Calitics was the first source to break this; would have been nice, but not totally necessary. But could bloggers at least note that we had this two days before the traditional media? If we aren't self-reinforcing we're never going to get anywhere.
Coachella, CA - Early this morning Manuel Perez declared victory in the Democratic primary in the 80th Assembly District. Perez won an overwhelming victory by building a strong multi-ethnic and diverse coalition in Riverside County and Imperial County.
"People power made the difference in this election," declared Democratic nominee Manuel Perez. "My message of hope and values resonated across both counties as voters yearned for new leadership, new energy and common values."
Progressives around the state could really learn from this guy. I met Manuel Perez almost a year ago and was really thrilled by the transformative nature of his candidacy, someone who understands the issues facing California but can also put together the progressive argument in a broad and powerful way. Plus he can reach out and help build a new generation of Hispanic leadership in the desert area that will leave its mark long after he's out of the picture. Mark my words, there's a leadership position in this guy's future, sooner rather than later.
The great thing is that the best chance we have for a pickup in November is not a Lou Correa-type Democrat but a real fighter for progressive values. You don't have to be afraid of your beliefs, you can speak to them and win. That's what Perez' victory signifies.
A few months ago, observers were shocked when no Democrat filed to run in the 15th Senate District against Abel Maldonado, despite the fact that the district is plurality Democratic. One such observer was Dennis Morris, a local resident who got his ballot in the mail and saw that he had no Democrat for which to vote. Instead of shaking his head and moving on, Morris decided to do something about it. And so today he is mounting a last-minute write-in campaign to get his name on the November Ballot. From the SLO County Dems:
The San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party endorsed Dennis Morris on May 14th in his write-in bid to run against Republican Abel Maldonado for the 15th Senatorial District which includes all of San Luis Obispo County as well as parts of several neighboring counties. The Party is urging all Democrats in San Luis Obispo County and elsewhere in the 15th Senatorial District to WRITE-IN "Dennis Morris" for that office on their JUNE 3rd BALLOT.
There are TWO steps to the process. First, the bubble to the left of the write-in line MUST be darkened. Second, the name "Dennis Morris" without quotes, must be written in on the write-in line provided on the ballot.
If enough Democrats write-in on their June 3rd ballot, Dennis Morris will be able to appear on the November ballot as the Democratic Party candidate for the 15th District Senatorial Seat.
This is crucially important. With the possible demise of the Denham recall and an unopposed Maldonado seat, Democrats were missing out on two of their best opportunities to achieve a 2/3 majority in the State Senate. Morris' bid at least provides the opportunity for a real race in one of them. Don Perata allegedly prevented top local Dems from running in this race. But this is a people-powered action that could actually be more impactful.
My spies tell me that Morris would make a good candidate. He's a non-politician, a former legal scholar who retired to grow grapes on his vineyard. There are parallels to Jerry McNerney's first candidacy, accomplished through a write-in ballot in 2004. That ended well. Maybe this will too.
I'm scrambling to get more information from Morris and hopefully set up an interview.
In order to rise from a relative unknown who lost to Chicago legend Bobby Rush in 2000 to the cusp of a Presidential nomination today, Barack Obama did not only have to court all elements of the varied coalitions that rule over politics in Chicago, he had to build the pie of voters large enough to be someone all those coalitions wanted to rally behind. In 1992, Obama, working as a community organizer, registered 150,000 residents throughout Chicago to vote in what ended up being a landmark election, as Carol Moseley Braun became the first female African-American ever elected to the US Senate.
This weekend I attended an Obama Vote for Change rally in South LA which ended up registering 615 new voters. It was one of over 100 events all over the country; here's a report of another one in Birmingham, Alabama. Over 400 volunteers attended the Los Angeles event, heard from a few speakers, were trained in voter registration (most of them were doing it for the first time), and sent out into the surrounding area. Now, 600-some new voters in the LA area isn't going to sway much politically or ensure an already-fairly-assured Democratic victory in California. But it does build the tent, not only for the general election but beyond. I've written at length about how Obama's gamble is to build an electorate that's so big that he has a serious, almost insurmountable advantage for both his election and his agenda. A nationwide effort maximizes resources, keeps that army of volunteers excited and doing work, and builds that base to be dispatched for the general election. In addition to voter registration, the volunteers were signing up registered voters to volunteer later in the campaign. We could see a million people on the ground all across the country in November. That's special - and different.
John Kerry outsourced the field and mobilization to ACT and other outside groups and it was a stupid way to go. Obama thinks he has a better idea that will work long beyond the election, and I support that aspect of it. I worry about his shutting out the outside groups that have come out of the progressive movement since Bush's first election, but I will note that yesterday's event was at the campaign offices of Mark Ridley-Thomas, a progressive running for LA County Supervisor, and the event in Huntington Beach doubled as the kickoff event for Congressional candidate Debbie Cook. So there is a layering effect, where the local candidates are benefiting from Obama's work at the national level.
Over the last three days, organized labor has been working in solidarity with one another in a project called Hollywood to the Docks, a three-day march and protest involving both Change to Win unions and AFL-CIO members, from the Teamsters to SAG, from the ILWU to the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports. They've literally walked from the heart of Hollywood to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for the last three days, concluding with a concert on the docks tonight and appearances by Speaker-Elect Karen Bass and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Next Monday, April 21, will be a day of action across the state put together by a coalition called Students for California's Future, representing 3.2 million students, with major rallies planned in Los Angeles and at the state capital. They are rallying against cuts to education and the university system, and this will be just the beginning of a year-long effort to call attention to education funding.
And tomorrow, at 4:00 at the ABC/Disney headquarters in Burbank, in protest of the historically awful, content-free Democratic debate aired on ABC last night, the Courage Campaign and local LA activists are going to offer lapel pins to Disney employees. Otherwise, their network news anchors George Stephanopolous and Charles Gibson will think they hate America, which they obviously wouldn't want. (We'll have a lot more on this later)
Angered by eight years of conservative failure and inspired by a fiercely contested Democratic primary, a rejeuvenated grassroots is building all over the country and in California. Find an organization that speaks to you. Participate. Organize. And inch by inch, we're going to take this state and this country back.
(While it's not state-based, I thought I'd cross-post this from my site and Hullabaloo due to the importance of this day. Also, Dr. King was shot at 6:01pm on April 4, so blame Bono and U2 for the technical error...
- promoted by David Dayen)
...shot rings out, in a Memphis sky,
free at last, they took your life
but they could not take your pride...
The CNA has been in the headlines for other reasons lately, but I don't think anyone can discount the incredible activism they have engaged in on behalf of patients being denied life-saving medical treatment. Word now comes of another victory against the "murder by spreadsheet" insurance industry who felt like saving a kid's life wasn't good for business.
In the face of a national campaign on behalf of Nick Colombo, insurance giant PacifiCare has reversed its decisions and agreed to critically needed cancer treatments for the 17-year-old from Placentia, Calif. The decision came after the company was overwhelmed by calls organized by Nick's friends and family, along with RNs from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, and netroots activists.
Over 100 of Nick's classmates, friends of the family with their young children, and nurses protested in front of the insurance company headquarters this morning to demand that the approval be put in writing, which a PacifiCare representative, surrounded by T.V. cameras, and promised to do.
"I am extremely happy about PacifiCare's reversal, said Ricky Colombo, Nick's 19-year old brother. "The goal was to get treatment for Nick, and CNA/NNOC and other allies helped us with that. We decided to go through with the rally in order to get their decision on the record and make sure they back up their words-and also because there are thousands of others in similar situations who can't get the care they need. We feel blessed to have this community supporting our family."
In the fight for universal health care, all sides of the debate on the left are going to be instrumental. The CNA's tenacity and effectiveness in organizing "patient revolts" like this is very valuable, particularly to show the inequities in the current broken health care system. Activists shut down PacifiCare's phone system on multiple occasions before they capitulated.
To beat the powerful interests that want to maintain the status quo you're going to need every activist and every strategy you can find. And we're going to win this fight, one patient at a time.
Yesterday we got almost a thousand views of this video message from the California Yachting Association, and we shut down the California Republican Party's phone linestwo days before their state convention. But I'm not certain that the CRP got the message yet. They need to hear from us again today.
916.448.9496. Please call. Operators are standing by!
In all seriousness, this visibility campaign is of a piece with some contemporaneous attempts at legislative activism. Yesterday seniors and the disabled descended on the Capitol to protest cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program. Low-income community groups are organizing against what they believe is an insufficient state cap-and-trade program that would allow polluting industries to buy the rights to continue to pollute (I'm not sure if I totally agree with them, but it's an interesting article). This entire year is going to require this kind of activism if we want to wind up with a state government that doesn't dismantle its public education system, make health care less accessible and preserve tax avoidance strategies for the wealthy like evading the sales tax on yachts. These people have to be watched, vigilantly, and through that sunshine will come eventual change, whether they accede to it themselves (unlikely) or we go ahead and take their seats away (likely if we work our butts off).
Today I'm headed out to the OC for the Democratic Party of Orange County annual convention, where I'm participating on a panel about Prop. 93 (and debating Tim Steed of the California Young Democrats). I respect the opinion of those on this site and elsewhere who support Prop. 93. I can't join them for the following reasons:
We need organizations who aren't afraid of what is politically possible and talk about was is morally right. Today the CNA placed a full-page ad in 10 Iowa papers arguing strongly for not-for-profit health care, Medicare for All, taking the example of Dick Cheney's multiple heart problems, and noting that if he wasn't receiving the finest in government-run health care, he'd be dead by now.
The patient's history and prognosis were grim: four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery, angioplasty, an implanted defibrillator and now an emergency procedure to treat an irregular heartbeat. For millions of Americans, this might be a death sentence. For the vice president, it was just another medical treatment. And it cost him very little.
Unlike the average American, the president, vice president and members of Congress all enjoy government-financed health care with few restrictions or prohibitive fees. They are never turned away for pre-existing conditions or denied care for what an insurance company labels "experimental treatments."
The rest of us deserve no less.
We call on the presidential candidates to support HR 676, the National Health Insurance Act- an expanded and improved Medicare for all that:
• provides complete medical, dental, vision and long-term care
• eliminates deductibles, co-pays, hidden fees
• allows you to choose your doctor, lab, hospital, health care facility
• is completely portable and not tied to employment
• is free from interference or second-guessing by insurance companies.
We should have these conversations out in the open. The vagaries of what it politically possible should never be the outer edges of the debate. Let's actually find out if America rejects a Medicare-for-all system; they certainly haven't rejected Medicare. It takes an organization like the CNA to jumpstart this debate. Good for them.
If you didn't already know, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported out a FISA bill yesterday that does not grant immunity to telecom companies for participating in the illegal spying on Americans in George Bush's warrantless wiretapping program. It's convoluted, but there were basically two bills, a Title I and a Title II. Title I had no immunity; Title II did. Russ Feingold tried to strip immunity from Title II, but he failed, and DiFi voted for immunity. But at the end of the day, only Title I got reported out.
This is NOT a total victory. First of all, Harry Reid could decide to bring the Intelligence Committee's bill, which has immunity, to the full floor. And there will almost certainly be an amendment calling for immunity on the floor, even if an immunity-free bill is called up for vote. So the Judiciary Committee basically punted.
But this James Risen article untangling what happened yesterday has an interesting little nugget halfway down the page.
(UPDATE: Just let me add that you can sign here to endorse the censure of DiFi by the CDP at their executive board meeting this weekend. As I said yesterday, and as quoted in the Goldmacher piece, the chances for success are remote. But the more people on board, the more attention it gets, and it symbolizes the frustration from the rank and file.)
Shane Goldmacher got someone at Dianne Lieberman Feinstein's office on the record about the anger in the Democratic grassroots over her continued efforts to undermine Democratic values in the Senate. The leadership of the CA Democratic Party chimed in, as well. See if you can spot the difference between the two statements.
(UPDATE: The ACLU and CREDO, formerly Act For Change, are also pushing Sen. Feinstein.)
In addition to the buzz in the blogosphere about activist efforts to censure Dianne Feinstein for her votes with Bush Republicans on key issues, some of the top progressive organizations have DiFi in their sights. MoveOn is asking their California members to call Feinstein about tomorrow's vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee over the revised FISA bill, and tell her not to grant retroactive immunity to telecom companies who violated the law by handing over information to the Bush Administration.
Senator Dianne Feinstein is facing tremendous pressure from the Bush administration. Tomorrow, she will likely vote on whether or not to let the phone companies off the hook for helping the president illegally spy on the phone calls and emails of innocent Americans.
President Bush wants immunity for these companies to cover-up his own illegal actions. The pending lawsuits against companies like AT&T may be the only way we ever find out how far the Bush administration went in breaking the law.
We have to make sure Sen. Feinstein hears from us right away. Can you call Sen. Feinstein and tell her to vote against immunity for big corporations who break the law? Tell her that voters want accountability and oversight-not immunity.
Here's where to call:
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Phone: 202-224-3841
DiFi has already signaled her intention to allow telecom immunity for lawbreakers, but clearly she needs to feel the pressure. What is far more interesting is DFA's effort to have Feinstein removed from the Senate Judiciary Committee altogether. on the flip...
As I mentioned, the CDP affirmed their support for net neutrality this weekend with a strong resolution that reflected the concerns of both labor interests and the progressive movement. Brad Parker of PDA (Progressive Democrats of America) commended the process in the Sunday session as proof that the Progressive Caucus and the more institutional elements of the CDP can work together. On that score alone, it's a win.
The best part, by the way, was that Speed Matters (the CWA's astroturf campaign) spent major dollars creating a glossy brochure that they put on everybody's seat this morning, and it included what they thought would be the resolution. Biggest waste of money I've ever seen. Ha!
As for how to translate this into policy, since after all it is merely a nonbinding resolution, that's what I'd like to address. These resolutions sit on some corner of the CDP website and collect e-dust. They have no meaning unless they are publicized. So here's what I propose.
Every Democratic member of Congress and the state legislature should be getting calls this week. You should say, "Hello, I'm a constituent, the California Democratic Party just passed a resolution supporting the preservation of a free and open Internet. I would like (the congresscritter) to abide by the wishes of his/her party and support any legislation codifying the principle of net neutrality. If you would like to look at the text I can fax it to you." Let's hold our representatives to the demands of the Party they represent, as well as their constituents.
The preservation of a free and open Internet is critical to the continued innovation and entrepreneurship of this country, as well as the free flow of information needed for a well-informed citizenry and the rights to free speech and freedom of assembly. We can move this forward in California. We know that, at the state level, Mark Leno sought to introduce net neutrality legislation back in February. That needs to return next year and we need to organize around it right now.
This can also work for other resolutions, especially the one on parole and sentencing reform that passed this weekend. Really they are completely useless unless publicized in this manner. Let's allow them to have some impact, otherwise the hard work crafting them and managing them on the Resolutions Committee goes to naught, and nobody wants that.
On the flip, I've added the resolution text if you want to fax it to your legislators. Please call Congress and the State Legislature today.
The merged resolution that came out of negotiations between the Progressive Caucus and the Labor Caucus (specifically Brad Parker of PDA and Jim Gordon of CWA) yielded a very favorable document that was passed through the Resolutions Committee. In addition, a resolution in support of parole and sentencing reform passed the committee and is on its way to passage. There's definitely a different feeling at this meeting; because it's not as high-profile as a convention, the hard work of progressive activists is being rewarded. I think that the whole resolutions process is a SYMBOLIC exercise that gives you a sense of where the rank and file of the party is going ideologically, and certainly it's becoming more progressive. There's still a lot of work to be done to turn that symbolism into some real action; it involves making in-roads in county committees and building a progressive bench. But I think some of the old guard are worried (more on that later).
The new net neutrality language, which I think offers some excellent framing devices, on the flip:
You should all take a few minutes and read Conor Kenny's In These Times cover story on the "silent revolution" in Democratic politics. He didn't quote me (damn you Kenny!!), but several of our California friends are given a mention, along with this site:
Last fall in California, netroots activists faced a similar dearth of information that some ascribed to gate-keeping by the party leadership. Fresh off campaigns for underdog congressional candidates, these activists were frustrated with what they saw as a lack of investment in traditionally red areas of the state, the top-down leadership of the party and an emphasis on elections at the expense of building a permanent infrastructure and base.
So they ran as delegates to the state party convention, countering the lack of information by posting what they found on the Calitics.com blog and by building a special site that explained how to run. In blog posts and YouTube stump speech videos, the 32 "blogger candidates" signaled their defiance by employing "throw the bums out" rhetoric.
Our own Judy Hotchkiss and Matt Lockshin add to this and give the more nuanced (and more correct) view, but it's nice to see the hard work of everyone on this site recognized. Go take a look.
I am fairly surprised that more has not been made in the blogosphere of the unwelcome news that Chevron is doing everything it can to buy off the California Democratic Party and some of its top legislators. Outside of this small item in The Oil Drum, pretty much nobody has said a word about the fact that the CDP accepted a $50,000 check from a company that is attempting to artificially depress capacity and manipulate the energy market in a way that is shockingly similar to how Enron made themselves a fortune during the 2000-2001 energy crisis. You can read the details here.
As a delegate to this party, I feel personally tainted by this donation. I feel like there is a concerted effort to buy my silence. It will not work, and I want to outline why I am respectfully asking this party, of which I am a member and to which I pay dues, to return the money.
Steve Maviligio and Robert Salladay post today on a new coalition that has united in favor of compassionate immigration reform.
More than a dozen California evangelical churches have joined a coordinated nationwide effort, Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, to call for humane treatment of illegal immigrants, stronger border enforcement, guest worker programs and smoother paths to citizenship.
The group has begun an advertising campaign in Washington, DC this week and has sent 200,000 letters to members of congress.
This news comes on the same day as the launch of a new sanctuary program for illegal immigrants. Several churches around the country plan to take part, although it will start modestly in Los Angeles today with an area Catholic church and Lutheran church each sheltering one person from the threat of deportation, operating under one key assumption:
Organizers don't believe immigration agents will make arrests inside the churches.
I want to give a big shout-out to the Calitics community and everybody who contributed to this tremendous coverage of this year's convention. Juls, Brian, blogswarm, hekebolos, Lucas, atdleft, Todd, jra, da, midvalley, and I hope I'm not missing anybody else did an unbelievable job. I've never seen a convention covered so thoroughly by a state blog since... the invention of state blogs. We ran circles around traditional media at this event. So we all should be very proud of ourselves.
Now we need to expand that role. Obviously getting information out about the convention is vital, and I've had plenty of people say they were looking to Calitics for the latest news and perspective. But if we want to help be a lever for change, we need to also understand that there are things we can do as activists on the floor that can help bring that change about. That means connecting with the grassroots progressives, preparing and planning for contingencies, and most important electing more officers and candidates and delegates who want to join us in this program for party reform and growth.
And let's take up the gracious offer by Garry Shay to offer input into how the resolutions proecdure can be reviewed. And by all means let's those of us who are elected delegates try to get on standing committees. Our ball has just inched off the top of the hill. Let's keep it rolling downward.
