Interesting that the tradtional media only seems to pay attention to “events” when they are officially sanctioned and have the “right people”. It reminds me of the rock world, where a band can be instantly famous if they have the right “members of…” in the group, whether the music is any good or not. Check out this article in the Sacramento Bee over a political website created by insiders that is launching on tuesday:

Thirty Democratic operatives — pollsters, consultants and spokespeople — will launch the “California Majority Report” at midnight Tuesday at www.camajorityreport.com. The big launch party is Tuesday night at Mason’s in downtown Sacramento, complete with a “special guest,” former Gov. Gray Davis.

Oh wow! Gray Davis… (*yawn*), how exciting. Heh, I guess it’s good that he’s keeping busy, anyway, the site CA Majority Report is billed as an alternative to the right wing Flash Report. Which is fine, I mean i’m all for more voices being added to the discussion, but it is interesting that the story acts like it’s coming out of a vaccuum and totally ignores the previously existing California blogosphere.

more on this below, including some action:

It’s a known fact that grassroots politics in California is a tough business.
If any grassroots groups are recognized at all, (rare) frequently it’s to be called Kos Kidz, blogonistas, you name it… and that’s from the people on “our” side.

Don’t even get me started on the Republicans.

Now i’m sure some people may decry this as sour grapes since GovernorPhil.com is still relatively new. But i’m not trying to court the WAAAAAAAAAH vote here, just pointing out some serious omissions. It reminds me of the fawning coverage of Pajamas media. Which, if you had believed the hype, you might even believe was the first such site in existence, totally ignoring the work of the rest of the established blogosphere.

Dan Ancona’s letter to Kevin pretty much says it all:

Hi Kevin,

Just a quick note on the Democratic weblog that’s about to launch; your
report made it sound like this was the first lefty weblog focused in
California, but really it’s just the first one by insiders. The insiders
have been behind the curve, but us outsiders have been pretty far in
front of it! These six sites are already out there and doing great:

Speak Out California
California Progress Report
Alliance for a Better CA
PowerPac Blog
Courage Campaign
Calitics

There’s also http://governorphil…. – a grassroots site supporting
Phil Angelides, in the mold of the LamontBlog and RaisingKaine, two
grassroots sites that have made big impacts in CT and VA races. We’re
happy to have another site with news from the inside, of course – we’re
expecting CAMajorityReport to be a terrific addition to the expanding
and vibrant discussion already in progress.

Thanks!

Dan Ancona
Director of Internet Operations
Speak Out California

Right on man, couldn’t agree more:
If you agree and feel like writing as well, (i’m writing now), e-mail [email protected]

Or… even better… a Letter to the Editor:

The Sacramento Bee
2100 Q Street
P.O. Box 15779
Sacramento, CA 95816

-C.

After a giving a borderline racist speech to the CRaP Convention on Saturday, Arnold Schwarzenegger went to an African-American church on Sunday.  For whatever else his faults might be, one thing that is clear is that the Governator knows how to play both sides.

Of all the places for a Republican to campaign for governor of California, the Democratic stronghold of South Los Angeles rarely ranks high on the list.

Even more striking about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s visit Sunday to a black church there was the abrupt switch in tone from his partisan speech a day earlier to a crowd of mainly white Republicans who applauded his newly sharpened rhetoric on illegal immigration.

Yet Schwarzenegger’s weekend pivot from right to left fit neatly with his two-step reelection strategy. One day, he moves to solidify conservative support; the next, he tries to broaden his appeal among moderates who are crucial to his fate in November. (LA Times 8/21/06)

Well, he does play a good part occasionally.  I mean, I loved Kindergarten Cop.  To this day whenever I get a headache, the “It’s not a tumor” line comes out.  That’s classic stuff right there.  But when it comes to being governor of the most populous state, we need a governor who actually knows the issues, and isn’t just reciting a script that his Bush 04 handlers gave him.  Fortunately, some churchgoers saw through the little stunt:

Ralph Walker of Covina walked out of the church just after the governor arrived, telling reporters outside that Schwarzenegger had torn down the state during the 2005 special election and was trying to repair his reputation.

“Everything in there is damage control and ‘Let me fix up my image,’ ” said Walker, 57, an independent. “Did he get lost? Why is he here?”
 

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.

The luncheon and Arnold’s speech over the flip.

(cross-posted at at The Courage Campaign and DailyKos)

Before I start, I’ll only say that aside from occasional commentary, my intention here is to present the speech that he gave, not debunk every point contained within for that would be enough for another post entirely.

Before getting to the main event, a few quick observations about the convention as a whole:

– Bush was NOWHERE to be found, the literal elephant in the room

– Like Democrats, they fear that their political opponents will take away their freedoms

– Schwarzenegger’s green and orange color scheme seemed odd, not interesting

– Overheard: “Angelides is a gift from God.”

– References to Bill Clinton: 1; John Kerry: 2; Rep. Maxine Waters: 3.

– The convention was surprisingly diverse, certainly moreso than either Democracy Fest or YearlyKos

The event was held in a massive ballroom with many ornately set tables strewn throughout and a large stage at the front of the room. I sat at a table that was quite far from the stage but I was able to grab a seat where I could view the stage comfortably and plug in my laptop if need be. I sat next to a nice couple from the San Fernando Valley who began asking me questions about what I do and where I’m from. This was the point at which I decided to tell the truth. “I actually didn’t vote for Schwarzenegger,” I confessed. “Oh, did you vote for [conservative Republican who ran to Arnold’s right in the recall] McClintock?” “Nope, I voted for Bustamante.”

Sidenote: Bustamante was Gray Davis’s Lt. Governor at the time of the recall and was the one Democrat running in the event that Davis was in fact recalled. Many people thought no Democrat should have run, that the party should have merely united behind a “No on recall” position, but alas he did run and lost badly as he was a horrible candidate. I didn’t vote for him proudly, but as a Democrat, I did what I had to do.

At this admission, the woman to my right made a face – surprise? Yes; disgust? Maybe. I then confessed to being a Democrat. “Who let you in?” she laughed, maybe half joking (if not less.) I told her it was actually a really open process to attend the convention and hey, let’s face it, even my money was good there. She nodded and smiled. The festivities began.

First a representative of each branch of the armed forces was introduced, to a standing O of course, the final of whom was actually the wife of a Marine stationed in Iraq on his second tour. As California Republican Party chair Duf Sundheim said in his introduction, “he is fighting on the frontlines of freedom.” “Bullshit!” I wanted to yell. But I didn’t. He was followed by a woman who led a prayer, which was quite eloquent although she repeatedly referenced Iraq as synonymous with the war on terror – no shocker there. That was followed by the Marine’s wife who led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I suddenly had a flashback to 3rd grade – my muscle memory led my hand to my heart and the words came streaming out of me in unison with everyone else.

Sundheim then returned to the stage to introduce Arnold. He said that before the recall election, people had written California off as a permanently blue state. Look what’s happened since Arnold – he has revitalized the state party by “putting a different face” on it. He’s gotten people who’ve never voted before interested and right now, the registration differential between the two parties in California is the narrowest it’s been since the Depression. He went on about how they’re raising more money than ever before and how proud he is that Arnold understands the importance of grassroots politics. They’ve recruited 37,000 volunteers for this election cycle with over 40 call centers reaching out to thousands of Republicans.

He then introduced the governor and the place erupted in an uproarious standing ovation.

Arnold started with a quip about Maria calling him “Kennedyesque” – hint: she meant that his waistline is starting to look like Teddy’s {rimshot}.

He then spoke about how proud he was to be governor and what he and “all of us” have accomplished together. “I can not wait to serve you for another 4 years!”

The place went nuts with applause and chants of “4 more years! 4 more years!”

Did they not realize that calling for someone to serve four MORE years when he hasn’t even served an initial four (2006-2003 = only 3, people) doesn’t make any sense? I figured I’d refrain from informing them of the inaccuracy of their math. Chanting “3 more years…plus 1” doesn’t really have the same ring, after all.

Arnold went on.

“This November, the choice couldn’t be clearer. There are two visions: move forward to the future vs a return to the failed policies of the past.”

Out of “effective messaging 101” this was the first of several times Arnold would repeat this theme that he would move California forward while Angelides would move the state backward. He communicated this without once referring to Angelides by name mind you (the proverbial Lord Voldemort of this event.) He was always “my opponent” or “our opponent.”

“How far have we come? Less than three years ago, our credit rating was down, unemployment was up. It was time to rebuild our great state and we did.”

He then talked about all the money he saved Californians, whether by repealing taxes or reforming workers comp, and then he boasted:

“We reduced structural deficit from $16 ½ billion down to $3 ½ billion and all of this without raising taxes!”

CHEER!

“California is back!”

CHEER!

“California is number one in job creation…in biotech…in stem cell research…protecting the environment, university system, leading the way on public safety…”

“We’ve come too far to return to failed policies of the past.”

This is when he hit upon the macro theme of his campaign aka the slogan on every one of his posters:

“I have lived the American dream. I’m on a crusade to make sure everyone’s dreams become a reality. But to protect the California dream, we must maintain a strong economy.”

Yes, “protecting the American dream” is Arnold’s slogan and he ties it in at every opportunity to moving forward not backward. As messages go, it’s pretty uninspired but at least it’s something, and the message discipline is admirable. It gives people a concept to grasp onto and, as Arnold made clear throughout the remainder of his speech, his proposals connect back to that theme.

How would he move California forward to protect the California dream?

Commerce

“Invest in infrastructure and promote California products around the world. We produce the best products!”

Environment

“We need to grow the economy by protecting the environment. You can do both. Protect environment and make economy strong.!”

Crime

“Criminals deserve prison. We will continue to fight any attempts to weaken three strikes law. I support Jessica’s law and unlike my opponent, I didn’t need to study Jessica’s law for a year to know that protecting our children is the right thing to do. No to the policies of the past and yes to the dream of the future.”

Let me break in here to say that this was the best jab he got in at Angelides. Recently, Phil came out in support of Jessica’s Law despite its many flaws, and despite the assumption by the Schwarzenegger campaign that he would oppose it. Instead of considering the issue moot since the two candidates agree, the Schwarzenegger campaign has decided to use it as yet another point of contrast – “I supported it from moment one and my opponent had to think about it.” Pretty good stuff.

Education

“Education is civil rights issue of the 21st century.”

“I believe parents should be able to go online and compare schools to each other. Parents should have the choice. So parents can make the best decision for their children.”

“There needs to be greater local control and accountability.”

“I love charter schools…I believe very strongly that every child can succeed. We say no to the policies of the past and yes to the dreams of the future.”

Immigration

“To protect the California dream, we need to fix our borders and our immigration policy…Our immigration system is badly broken.”

Interestingly, here he sounds very much like most Democrats trying to find the safe middle ground:

“We are a nation of immigrants who are a part of the fabric of our society. At the same time we are a nation of laws.”

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!”

Huge applause.

“I know because I did. It’s not perfect, may I remind you.”

“No to weakening our borders, yes to fixing the immigration system and yes to protecting our borders!”

Healthcare.

“Affordability is the issue. Our opponent believes more government control, throwing more money to the problem is the solution. I say that is wrong. We should apply the same common sense approach we brought to workers comp reform, not more money but more reform. Bring healthcare to the 21st century.”

Taxes

“Our opponent wants to raise taxes by 18 billion.”

Booooooo.

“Has never met a tax he doesn’t like or a tax he won’t hike.”

“Here’s our message to him: no to more taxes, no to more government spending, no to more government control, no to the policies of the past.”

He closed with a familiar refrain.

“Let us move forward, continue rebuilding our state, build a bright future protect the California dream.”

He ended strong and to another standing ovation, the strains of Tom Cochran’s “Life Is A Highway” blasting from the speakers. This seemed an odd choice to me. I guess the idea was that if life is a highway and you’re driving forward on the highway, then you’re moving forward in life…I dunno, but there’s no explicit reference to moving forward or fulfilling dreams in the lyrics:

Life is a highway

I wanna ride it all night long

If you're going my way

I wanna drive it all night long

I guess “California Dreamin’” would have been too on the nose.

As the song played, Arnold took the time to work the room, shaking a ton of hands. I was pretty impressed that he didn’t make a bee line out of there, actually.

The speech was good. It was well-structured, well-delivered and got the crowd on its feet several times. I have to say, Arnold is an excellent speaker and really commands the room. His charisma is palpable. As I got close to him for a photo op, the artificiality of his tan and his hair (I don’t know what it is but it looked fake) became all too clear – he’s much better at a distance.

Which is the exact opposite of the speaker who followed him, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson. He had exactly zero charisma on stage, but is handsome and engaging in person. He too worked the room after his speech and so I went up to him, shook his hand and asked him how he could re-certify Diebold machines after the report that his own office released found several flaws in their software.

He told me:

“I wouldn’t have certified them if they hadn’t assured me the flaws would be fixed. Look, we have the most stringent criteria for certification in the country and not once has there been any accusation of vote tampering.”

I pressed him:

“is there any public record of the assurances Diebold has given you that the flaws in the machine have been fixed?”

He replied:

“We’ve had public hearings, it’s all public record.”

…and it was at this point that his aide interrupted and handed me his card to continue the conversation with him. Which I intend to do.