OK, we’re finishing today’s session right now. The room is PACKED with people from all over Southern California, people who want to be more effective in helping progressives win. We have people from Obama OC, people with San Diego for Edwards, and organizers for Bill Richardson in from Nevada! We have Hoyt Hilsman from the 26th Congressional District, Ron Shepston from the 42nd District, Bill Hedrick from the 44th District, Michael Wray from the 50th District, and many other Democratic candidates here. This is just amazing!
So what’s going on? We’re learning how to recruit volunteers right now. And before this workshop, we learned how to figure out how to win. See, what did I tell you? We’re getting a great education today!
So do you have any questions about helping Democrats win that you’d like me to ask the experts? Would you like to know if your best friend came today while you didn’t? Were you just running late, and would you like to know what you missed while stuck on the 55?
Because I totally got tired of the video thing but still obsess over music. And because everyone needs a weekend place to vent. And because I desperately need people to think I’m trendy (ironically). I’m copying a million other people (not least of all D-Day…or Dave Dayen…or both).
1. Stars – The Night Starts Here
2. Elliott Smith – Placeholder
3. The Blow – Hock It (Yacht Remix)
4. Chromatics – Night Drive
5. The National – Mistaken For Strangers
6. The Woodentops – You Make Me Feel
7. Art in Manila – Set the Woods on Fire
8. ABX – Bonde Do Roll Out (Ludacris vs. Bonde do Role)
9. Lifesavas – Night Out (feat. George Clinton and Meganut)
10. Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolescent
PLUS! The best you won’t find anywhere else, check out Onili and wonder how quickly you can snag the album.
(Woohoo. More support for Charlie! I love it that VH is expanding to support other candidates. – promoted by Julia Rosen)
Vote Hope is pleased to announce our support for Charlie Brown, the Democrat running for Congress in the 4th Congressional District of California. With his fighting spirit and optimistic vision for the future, Charlie Brown has given hope and inspiration to Democrats in the 4th District who have endured for 16 years the corrupt leadership of Republican Rep. John Doolittle.
Brown ran a tough and brave race against Doolittle in 2006, losing to the Republican by less than 4% points in one of the most conservative districts in Northern California. Brown announced earlier this year that he is running again, and Vote Hope is proud to stand with him.
People in this country are hungry for change, and Vote Hope is supporting federal, state and local candidates through 2008 and beyond who are committed to fighting for our values of fairness, equality and justice in public office. We see Brown’s race as strategic nationally, and early support for him critical. Vote Hope will continue to identify and evaluate candidates in California — including 2006 incumbents and new challengers — who we can rally around to increase voter engagement and participation in this critical election cycle. At the top of our ticket is Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who is inspiring hundreds of thousands of people across California and the country to be involved in politics, many for the first time.
As a Political Action Committee (PAC) operating independently from any campaign or campaign committee, Vote Hope will be able to take our message about these candidates directly to voters, and using the momentum and energy around them to register new voters, get infrequent voters to the polls and increase both the size and the diversity of California’s exclusive electorate.
I posted a modified version of my voodoo economics post on DailyKos. Recs appreciated.
Apparently, the Senate will not be blindly agreeing to the Assembly’s deal. Sen. President Pro Tem Don Perata has lambasted the separate bill that would provide over $500 million in tax breaks as “irresponsible.” More from the Sac. Bee:
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata is blasting as dead on arrival a last-minute deal that helped win Assembly passage of a $103 billion state spending plan in the wee hours of Friday morning.
“It’s an irresponsible action to take in the dark of night, without any debate or discussion,” Perata said of the Assembly compromise.
Perata’s vow to reporters, which came about noon Friday after he had huddled with his caucus for an hour, raised new doubts about ending the Legislature’s lengthy budget impasse. (SacBee 7/20/07)
Flip it…
Well, I called for progressive senators to stand up to this giveaway, and apparently um, Don Perata responded. Well, that ain’t bad. And, even the Speaker is distressed about some of the tax credits, although 4 of the 5 plans were put forwards by progressive Democrats (thanks Steve!). So, here’s the Speaker on his deal:
Well, I don’t know if I’d call that a ringing endorsement, but I guess he’s just happy it got done. But, given that he’s recessed the Assembly, there could be some major issues if the Senate substantially alters the deal. So, we’ve got a long road to hoe before this is done.
It’s budget day and this is a fairly local story, but it is important.
One of the best reasons to have a strong labor movement is that unions tend to advocate for issues that benefit many more people than their actual members. Take what two IBEW Locals are up to in LA, warning the public about the dangers of the Department of Water and Power’s (DWP) failure to ensure the department is prepared to respond in an emergency.
For over a decade, DWP management has been reducing critical staff positions and neglecting routine maintenance. This has left DWP workers frustrated and angry. They are forced to work overtime to make up for staff shortages and then blamed because there is so much overtime. They are forced to use “band-aid” fixes on a system that badly needs real updating and repair. They know that the failure of management at the DWP to address longstanding problems means that the DWP is not ready for another heat wave, like the one that happened in 2006, let alone a major natural disaster or terrorist attack.
The IBEW workers have been highlighting this dangerous lack of preparedness in a series of press releases, direct activism and the production of a DVD exposing the problems at the DWP. They have been rewarded with a nasty editorial in the LA Daily News, attacking their activism. The paper does not disagree about the the problems at the DWP, but uses it to blame the workers for the problems.
THe LADN used it as an opportunity to advocate for privatization and propose that what is really needed is for the workers to give up pay raises so the customers don’t have to pay for a rate hike. That’s not what voters want. They want the DWP they had in 1994. In 1994, the Northridge earthquake severely damaged the electrical and water infrastructure in Los Angeles. Despite the damage, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power workers swiftly restored safe drinking water and reliable power to the millions of Los Angeles residents who depend on them. The DWP won kudos from everyone for its swift and effective response of DWP workers to the disaster.
That would not be the case today. The DWP is just not prepared to respond to that type of crisis and the LADN admits it. It is the worst sort of cynicism to run a great public utility into the ground and then use that as an excuse to privatize it. What happened with the Enron scandal and the power crisis of the early 2000s proves that when private industry takes over, then ratepayers suffer.
As noted above, the salaries of DWP workers are higher largely because they are forced to work overtime due to the chronic understaffing. If the DWP was fully staffed, there would much much less need for overtime. And really, is the LADN literally asking that workers shoulder the cost of strengthening the system, rather than the consumers? Talk about ballsy. That will really work towards fixing the hiring crisis.
The DVD has been getting a lot of attention. There has been a number of local TV stories on the direct action by the electrical workers and they have played clips from the DVD. Check out this KNBC story.
The DWP may not like the tactic, but they generally agree with what the electrical workers are saying. They need to hire more workers. The system is vulnerable and they need to work to fix it. At issue is the pace and the scope of the changes. The workers have tried for a long time to work behind the scenes. Frustrated, they are taking their case to the public, much like the grocery workers did with their contract negotiations. This is not about salaries and benefits, though those are important too. It is about public safety and working conditions.
We need to ensure that our infrastructure is safe and capable of responding in a crisis. The more that we can watchdog what our public utilities boards are doing the better. I am working on getting the DVD in YouTube format and will post it when I can. Watch the news clip, pass this post around to friends and family in LA. It’s time to raise public awareness, before it is too late.
For more information check out the DWP tag at Working Californians.
Note: this post is a compilation of several from Working Californians. The IBEW Locals involved are lead by the two co-chairs of WC.
This is a premature, possibly morbid diary, but should we start thing about a future without Nancy Pelosi? Sooner or later, we Democrats will have a bad election. That is just a fact of American history. We also know that speakers who lose their gavels due to scandal or election losses do not last much longer in Congress, the risk of holding such a lofty post. When that day comes (hopefully no time soon), San Francisco will have a Congressional vacancy for the first time since 1987. The City’s Central Democratic Committee has a very strong “wait your turn” attitude and the Burton Machine still lives, BUT no one is going to want to wait another 20+ for the seat to be open again, so the question is: Who will run when Madame Speaker retires? Here is my short list of possibilities.
1. District Attorney Kamala Harris is young, popular, dynamic and well connected to the Willie Brown machine (get you minds out of the gutter). She has done a good job of keeping her name in the press and face in front of the camera and she is everywhere a group of Democrats are meeting. She would also carry on the tradition of having a female represent the district.
2. Mayor Gavin Newsom may prefer to represent more than 500,000 people at a time, but he has not put enough distance between himself and Tourkgate to run for statewide office. He is still very young and a few effective terms in Congress would allow him to build more national contacts and let memories fade. California has term limits for governor so he can afford to wait it out or even succeed Barbara Boxer in 2016.
3. Assemblyman Mark Leno is a popular figure in San Francisco, likely going to the State Senate next year and a good bet to become the first openly gay Congressman from San Francisco. He’s been effective in Sacramento and there is no reason to believe he would not be effective in Washington.
4. Supervisor Tom Ammiano will likely be elected to the Assembly next year, but his personality rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
5. Board President Aaron Peskin and Supervisor are ambitious, but can they appeal to the city at large?
6. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma is strongly connected to the Burton Machine. Could she become the City’s first Asian-American Rep.? Leland Yee? My gut tells me Phil Ting has a better shot.
Something amazing is happening tomorrow. DFA Campaign Academy is coming to Southern California! Tomorrow, progressive activists from all over Southern California will be coming to Orange County to learn how to win next year and in future elections. And guess what? All of us activists will be learning from the experts who know a thing or two on how to win.
Oh, and here's some more good news. Even though registration for attendance is already at 160 people, DFA is still accepting sign-ups for tomorrow! That's right, even if you haven't signed up yet, you can still come to DFA Training! So what's happening at DFA Training? Follow me after the flip for more…
So what’s in store for this weekend? Well, why not look at the curriculum to find out?! Learn how to fundraise! Learn how to target voters in your neighborhood with new and imporved online tools ready for you to start using! Learn how to use communicate your message better in your local area! Take advantage of this opportunity to learn all this and more this weekend!
OK, so why exactly is this important? Why should we learn all these campaign stuff, especially if we’re not in an area where progressives can win? Actually, that’s why we need to all go to the training this weekend! For far too long, many Democrats have written off areas like Orange County and the Inland Empire as “hopelessly Republican”. But you know what? We can change this!
Ron Shepston may already be doing this as he’s getting his campaign started in the 42nd Congressional District. Now what could possibly be a better way for all of us in Southern California to help Ron out than to go to DFA Campaign Academy and learn how we can convince our neighbors in CA-42 to support Ron? Ron will need people to can take a progressive message, and communicate it in a way that catches the attention of people who may not know much about politics. Ron will need people to help him raise money. Ron will need plenty of help from us if we want to see him win next year, so let’s learn how we can make that happen this weekend!
OK, so you’re nowhere near Orange County? And you don’t live near the 42nd District? That’s fine. Please come anyways, as it’s also important that you learn how to get Democrats elected and promote the progressive agenda in your neighborhood! Perhaps if you sign up now, you can also still catch a hotel room available if you need one. It’s important that we build up Democratic infrastructure everywhere, so let’s get started this weekend! Let’s go to the training and learn what we need to know to gegin building that infrastructure we need to win!
So who’s with me on this? I’ve already signed up for the training. Have you? Well then, you can still sign up! The training’s only $70… That includes lunch for both days and all the workshops you want inside! Oh yes, and this is your chance to meet some of the finest progressive Democrats in the entire region. So what are you waiting for? Sign up to come tomorrow and join the fun!
