Steve Poizner and Cruz Bustamante will be “debating” for the SF Chronicle’s endorsement. The event will be streamed live on CBS5.com today at 2PM.
Should be an interesting one. Maybe they will ask Poizner about the glass houses built from insurance money.
UPDATE: Oops, forgot to point out the Controller Debate here. John Chiang “won” by being better on the issues, IMHO. The debate was quite civil, pleasant even. My kind of debate.
(I’m into the quick one word judgments these days. So Jay Leno: BAD! – promoted by SFBrianCL)
Update: Wow – over 3600 people have sent messages! Our mobile network friends are making phone calls (click here to sign up for text messages). Can we get to 4000 today? Click here to tell your friends!
Update: This afternoon the campaign sent a letter to the station managers at California’s 11 NBC affiliates demanding that they pull tonight’s broadcast of the “Tonight Show” featuring Governor Schwarzenegger and to halt promos for tonight’s broadcast, or provide Phil with equal time.
In December of 2003, 32 NBC affiliates pulled an episode of “Saturday Night Live” that featured then Presidential candidate Al Sharpton due to equal time considerations. Click here to read more.
Some additional news for our Calitics friends:
Several minutes of exposure on one of America’s most popular late night talk shows? Worth millions.
Not having to answer tough questions from reporters? Fantastic.
Having the taxpayers foot the bill for The Tonight Show jaunt? Priceless.
Tonight Arnold Schwarzenegger will receive from NBC and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno what can only be described as a free multi-million dollar infomercial when the Governor appears (in violation of FCC equal time rules) on The Tonight Show.
As if being handed what amounts to millions of dollars worth of free exposure on national television four weeks from Election Day and as Californians are already casting absentee ballots weren’t enough, it has now come to our attention that the taxpayers of California get to foot the bill for The Tonight Show visit.
That’s right folks. The Governor’s own spokesperson has confirmed that the Governor’s jaunt to hang with buddy Jay Leno is “official,” which means taxpayers get the bill for this trip.
It is an insult to the people of California that Governor Schwarzenegger has time to pal around on a talk show but doesn’t have the time to debate his opponent and defend his record. After spending $35 million in his campaign of mass deception, the last thing the Governor needs is a gift from the network.
Schwarzenegger should reimburse the state for this trip.
Click here to get Phil on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Update: 1:33pm – 2417 messages. 1:03pm – 2205 messages. As of 12:42pm, 2054 messages have been sent to NBC and The Tonight Show!
We’ve always thought the Schwarzenegger Administration is a joke. And apparently so does Jay Leno.
Perhaps that’s why Leno invited Schwarzenegger to appear for a few laughs on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno alongside supermodel Heidi Klum and a Las Vegas circus act on Wednesday night.
There’s only one problem with that – it appears to violate the FCC rules and regulations regarding equal time for candidates during campaign season.
This is where you come in. We’ve already contacted The Tonight Show with Jay Leno about Phil appearing on the show, but we think they need a little extra nudge.
Click here to get Phil on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Governor Schwarzenegger’s exclusive appearance on The Tonight Show constitutes a violation of the equal time rule – an appearance by a candidate on a program that reaches all of California’s voters and provides favorable treatment to that candidate.
In order to remove the appearance of any bias, we’ve asked The Tonight Show to have Phil appear or – even better – invite both candidates for Governor to appear for a second mini-debate. So far, NBC has not responded to our request.
We’re not the only ones concerned about Governor Schwarzenegger’s appearance. Yesterday, Congressman Xavier Becerra also sent a letter to the FCC, noting NBC’s violation of the law. But we need more people to speak out!
Click here to get Phil on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
The only thing that’s not funny is the Governor’s contempt for California voters: No time for more than one hour-long debate, but plenty of time to pal around with his Hollywood friends.
Cross posted on MyDD, DailyKos, and Voices of CA.
Help us fight the Schwarzenegger special interest money! Click here to make a contribution.
CA-11: Pombo and Abramoff: More lies?
Oooh, we have a doozy of a question for Richard Pombo. And we can call his home phone and ask him. Yay!! Over at FDL, Matt O. notes that the AP has Pombo in a lie. You see in last week’s “candidate forum” Pombo said that he had never spoken, seen, heard, fondled (oops, sorry, I’ve been reading too much on Mark Foley) Jack Abramoff. Never. Ever. Swear, cross my heart, and hope to die. Or something like that. Well, the exact quote is:
“I’ve seen myself described as one of (Jack Abramoff’s) closest allies in Congress. I met the guy two or three times in my whole life — he never once lobbied me on anything, never asked me to sign a letter, to vote for or against a bill, to introduce a bill; he never once stepped foot in my office. …” (Tracy Press 10/5/06)
Maybe he never mentioned anything about fondling Jack Abramoff or hoping to die, but you know the story. Pombo wants nothing to do with Abramoff. At least not now. It was a different story a few years ago. Well, Pombo’s nose must have grown after that doozy:
California Rep. Richard Pombo has insisted he was never lobbied by Jack Abramoff. Records show the disgraced lobbyist billed a client for at least two contacts with Pombo a decade ago. The lobbying records released by the Northern Mariana Islands show that Abramoff billed once for calls to Pombo, chairman of the House Resources Committee, and a second time for a discussion with him, while lobbying in 1996.
On more than two dozen other occasions from 1996 through 2001, Abramoff associates called or met with members of Pombo’s staff, including his chief of staff, the records indicate. As the contacts picked up, Pombo voted Abramoff’s way on a bill important to Abramoff’s clients. (SF Chronicle (AP) 10/10/06)
Of course, Pombo is saying this is all bullshit, you know just a felon trying to make a few more bucks from the Islanders. Well, unfortunately, there’s a nice little money trail. Follow the money, young Jedi:
On Sept. 10, 1996, Abramoff billed for a discussion with Pombo. Two days later he gave Pombo a $500 donation, the first of what would become $7,500 in campaign contributions. Pombo has since donated the money to charity. On Nov. 21, 1996, Abramoff reported putting in calls to Pombo and other lawmakers.
That’s what we call quid pro quo. Donating $7500 to charity resolves nothing, it is just a cover for corruption. And a relatively cheap cover too. Pombo is bought and paid for by Big Oil and DC Lobbyists.
A better choice: Jerry McNerney. Contribute at our ActBlue page. Or volunteer at JerryMcNerney.org or at Pombo In Their Pocket.
A few odds and ends that I wanted to post:
. He’s something of the rock star among labor leaders, and is very charismatic. I’ve posted the California event dates on the flip, or you can check his book website event page. Buy A Country That Works here.
10/11
8:00pm – 9:30pm
Drinking Liberally @ Molly Mahlone’s
575 South Fairfax
Los Angeles, CA
10/12
12:00pm – 1:30pm
Dean Forum
3502 Watt Way, LA Room 207 “Annenberg Rm�
Los, Angeles, CA
10/18
6:00pm – 8:00pm
2221 Broadway at Grand
Oakland, CA
10/19
12:00pm – 1:30pm
Working Assets Lunch and Book Signing
101 Market St, 1st flr
San Francisco, CA
10/19
7:00pm – 8:30pm
Cody’s Bookstore
2 Stockton Street at Market
San Francisco, CA
10/19
8:30pm – 10:00pm
Drinking Liberally @ House of Shields
39 New Montgomery
San Francisco, CA
(blogswarm is live bloggin’ it – promoted by SFBrianCL)
Fourth District Congressional Candidate Charlie Brown will square off in his first debate with incumbent Rep. John Doolittle Wednesday night, at Starstream Communications studios in Rocklin (4120 Citrus Ave, Rocklin CA 95677).
The event will be moderated by Gerry Lyons, and will be aired live from 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. for Starstream’s cable subscribers in Placer County—which includes residents of Rocklin, Granite Bay, Penryn, Newcastle, Loomis, Lincoln, Auburn, Colfax, Pinebrook, and Lakeside.
For those who do not have Starstream Cable, News10.net will stream the debate live starting at 7:30 pm (pst).
David Whitney of McClatchy Newspapers, General Manager Deric Rothe of Gold Country Media, and Mike Raffety, Editor of the Mountain Democrat, will each serve as panelists.
The format for the debate will include candidates directly responding to questions from panelists followed by a moderated discussion, as well as a segment where candidates will respond to call-in questions from viewers watching at home.
According to a new email from Wes Boyd, 93.8% of Moveon members in California voted to endorse Proposition 89.
Since that one line sums up everything, in the extended entry you can see the final cut of the California Nurses’ Colette Washington video on Prop 89.