Some comic relief from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, featuring James Adomian:

Any other thoughts?

(I heard rumors of this yesterday.  This is ENORMOUS and completely under the radar of the traditional media. – promoted by David Dayen)

La Opinión – The major Spanish language newspaper in Los Angeles has endorsed Barack Obama in the upcoming primary. In an editorial titled “The Democratic Choice is Barack Obama,” it explains why Obama is their choice:

Senator Barack Obama represents fundamental change in a campaign in which “change” has become a central theme. Obama’s approach to immigration and his inspiring vision are what the country need to break through the current feeling of political malaise.[Link]

The paper list many of Senator Clinton's accomplishments but come to the following conclusion:

Yet, this is a historic moment and tremendous skills and experience are not enough to inspire a feeling of renewal in our country after eight long years of George W. Bush.

As well, we were disappointed with her calculated opposition to driver’s licenses for the undocumented, which contrasts markedly from the forceful argument in support made by Obama. We understand that this is an extremely controversial issue but we believe there is only one right position and it is that of the senator from Illinois. And, while both senators support comprehensive immigration reform, only Obama has committed to bringing forward new legislation during his first year in office.[Link]

On closing out the editorial, the paper reminds us of the historical choices Democrats have this election and why Obama should be that choice:

By deciding between a woman or an African American as their presidencial nominee, the Democrats are making history. Barack Obama has the sensibilities of a man from humble beginnings raised in a multicultural home. He is the best option for a truly visionary change.[Link]

Cross posted on San Diego Politico

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

So far in 2008, Democrats have held two presidential primaries without the possibility of delegates not being seated at the national convention- New Hampshire and South Carolina.  And a funny thing happened.  Turnout for the New Hampshire primary was 83.5% of the total number of Democratic votes cast in the general there in 2004.  In South Carolina, turnout hit 80% of the total number of 2004 Democratic votes.  Part of that is that Democrats are coming out of the woodwork.  But part of it is independents swinging Democratic.

But if you’re a DTS voter in California, it isn’t necessarily an intuitive process to get your mitts on a Democratic ballot.  Poll workers won’t offer it to you, and that seems to make a difference since in 2004 only 8% of the 2.5 million DTS voters in the state participated in the primary.  Since then we’ve amped up to about 3 million DTSers and getting them into the Democratic process is a huge deal.

To that end, Courage campaign recruited the good folks at Handsome Donkey to help the medicine go down.  Check out the video.

Any question that could possibly need answering on the subject can be found on the specially designed Courage Campaign page created just for this occasion.

As far as I am aware, nobody else (California Democratic Party included) is making much of a push on this.  But as many people know by now, creating a habit of voting for Democrats- in primaries or generals- helps breed Democrats.  And that’s a pretty good thing.

Courage has already embarked on an email and robocall campaign to contact 300,000 DTS voters throughout the state, and will be up on the radio in many large markets starting on Monday.

If you’re moved by the progressive spirit, you can always drop a few bucks in the Courage Campaign kitty to help with this and future projects.

Secretary of State, fresh off her dramatic conversation with David Dayen, did the Democratic radio address (English version) this week. It’s nothing that dramatic or anything like that, but it does have a great message: Go vote. Over the flip you will find the text of the address.

Hello, I’m Secretary of State Debra Bowen, California’s chief elections officer.

This Tuesday is California’s Presidential Primary Election.  The polls will open at 7:00 a.m. and they will stay open until 8:00 p.m.   If you are a registered voter, I hope you will make voting a top priority!

Voting is easy, and this year we have the opportunity to help choose the next President of the United States! This is the first presidential election since 1952 in which no current president or vice president is running.

The person who is elected as our nation’s 44th president will set the path our nation will blaze over the next four years.  Our next president will shape foreign policy, the economy, education, and environmental policies.

And it is crucial that the voices of Californians young and old, of every background, be heard!

This time around, your vote has extra power.

The California primary on Tuesday gives us a real chance to play an influential role in selecting the presidential nominees in the Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian, Peace & Freedom, and American Independent parties.

In many past primaries, the presidential nominees were all but chosen by the time those of us in California got to cast our ballots.

But not so this year.  No one has the nomination sewn up in any of the political parties.  That means California’s voters will get to step on the scales in the presidential race in a major way.

When you vote on Tuesday, you can be confident that your ballot will be counted exactly as it was cast.  In past years, voting snafus in some states have raised concerns among voters about whether their ballots were really counted.

This year, working with voters, computer experts, and county elections officials, I took steps to improve the security and accuracy of voting systems.

Now Californian can spend less time worrying about how they’re voting and devote more attention to who and what they’re voting for.

Here are the top three things you need to know for this Election Day on Tuesday:

Number One:  Educate yourself on the candidates and the issues before going to the polls or marking your vote by mail ballot.  Read the two nonpartisan “Official Voter Information Guides” that my office has mailed to every registered voter’s home…  Or go online and read them at sos.ca.gov.

Number Two:   Know your voting rights.  This is a primary election, different than a general election.  If you have not chosen to be in a political party, California calls you a “decline-to-state” voter.  Some parties will allow you to participate in their primaries, while others will not.

This year, if you are a decline-to-state voter, you may choose either a Democratic or American Independent party ballot. You must specifically request a ballot for one of these two parties that are allowing decline-to-state voters to cast ballots in their primary.  Otherwise, you will receive a non-partisan ballot that contains the ballot propositions but no presidential candidates.

For more information on your voting rights, go to sos.ca.gov or call our hotline1-800-345-VOTE.

Number Three: Know when and where to go.  All California polling places will be open on Tuesday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Every ballot – including vote-by-mail ballots – must be turned in by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

If you have a vote-by-mail ballot and have not mailed it in yet, please don’t put it in a mailbox at this late date.  Instead, drop it off in person on Tuesday.  Any polling place or elections office in your county will accept hand-delivered vote-by-mail ballots on Election Day.

If you’re wondering where to go in your county, or need help getting your ballot to the polls, please call 1-800-345-VOTE or go to sos.ca.gov for more information.

Any questions you have, whether now or on Election Day, please call our Hotline 800-345-VOTE.

On Tuesday, our votes will help make history.  They will truly count… and they will be accurately counted.

It is a wonderful privilege in a democracy to have a choice and to have the right to voice your opinion.

Please join me in voting.

I’m Secretary of State Debra Bowen.  Thank you for listening.

January 22nd, 2008 Report

Republican Registration has fallen nearly a full percentage point in one year.

Democratic Registration:

02/10/07: 6,667,437 (42.52%)

09/04/07: 6,599,660 (42.50%)

12/07/07: 6,598,773 (42.66%)

01/22/08: 6,749,406 (42.95%)

Republican Registration:

02/11/07: 5,362,473 (34.19%)

09/04/07: 5,254,795 (33.84%)

12/07/07: 5,190,179 (33.55%)

01/22/08: 5,229,425 (33.28%)

The Governator can’t seem to do anything to keep his party competitive in California.  

Some other good news.

Green Party registration continues to decline.  They are down to 0.81% statewide from a peak of 1.09% on Jan. 2004.

BY COUNTY

San Diego County continues to narrow.  Democratic registration has increased slightly in the short run while declining about one percentage point over six years.  However, Republican registration has fallen substantially, falling nearly three percentage points.

01/22/08:

Democratic: 457,215 (34.80%)

Republican: 506,496 (38.55%)

02/10/07:

Democratic: 461,492 (34.14%)

Republican: 534,189 (39.52%)

02/04/02:

Democratic: 484,130 (35.71%)

Republican: 561,682 (41.43%)

Ventura County is almost at parity, mostly as a result of steep Republican declines:

01/22/08:

Democratic: 148,441 (38.63%)

Republican: 148,914 (38.75%)

02/10/07:

Democratic: 146,716 (38.12%)

Republican: 152,379 (39.59%)

02/04/02:

Democratic: 149,431 (38.93%)

Republican: 158,405 (41.26%)

By Assembly Races:

AD-15 is almost at parity:

01/22/08:

Democratic: 106,711 (38.72%)

Republican: 106,983 (38.82%)

Again, I question the value of newspaper endorsements, but the LAT has chosen for the first time in a very, very long time.  And they “strongly endorsed” Barack Obama.

With two candidates so closely aligned on the issues, we look to their abilities and potential as leaders, and their record of action in service of their stated ideals. Clinton is an accomplished public servant whose election would provide familiarity and, most important, competence in the White House, when for seven years it has been lacking. But experience has value only if it is accompanied by courage and leads to judgment.

Nowhere was that judgment more needed than in 2003, when Congress was called upon to accept or reject the disastrous Iraq invasion. Clinton faced a test and failed, joining the stampede as Congress voted to authorize war. At last week’s debate and in previous such sessions, Clinton blamed Bush for abusing the authority she helped to give him, and she has made much of the fact that Obama was not yet in the Senate and didn’t face the same test. But Obama was in public life, saw the danger of the invasion and the consequences of occupation, and he said so. He was right.

Obama demonstrates as well that he is open-eyed about the terrorist threat posed to the nation, and would not shrink from military action where it is warranted. He does not oppose all wars, he has famously stated, but rather “dumb wars.” He also has the edge in economic policy, less because of particular planks in his platform than because of his understanding that some liberal orthodoxies developed during the last 40 years have been overtaken by history. He offers leadership on education, technology policy and environmental protection unfettered by the positions of previous administrations.

Go read the whole thing.  It should be noted that, due to budget cuts, the LA Times Sunday Opinion section is kind of hidden.  It’s in tabloid format and tacked on to half of the Book Review section.  Because of the significance, it’s possible they will put it in a more prominent place.

UPDATE: Obama has left the state (for good, apparently) while Hillary continues to hold events here until Sunday, I believe.  On Sunday Oprah Winfrey will come back out on the campaign trail, rallying in LA with Michelle Obama.  

UPDATE II: The Oakland Tribune follows suit.

I’ve been a really, really bad blogger and have stopped my Congressional House Roundup.  So here’s a mini-one.  I’ve dug up the totals for 2007 fundraising in the top races in the state, and they’re a little interesting.  Here are the numbers from the key races.

CA-11:

Jerry McNerney raised $1.065 million in 2007, has $760,000 cash on hand

Dean Andal raised $535,000, has $471,000 CoH

CA-04:

Charlie Brown raised $506,000, has $383,000 CoH I was looking at Q3 numbers.  Brown has raised $692,000, and has $483,000 CoH.  Big numbers for a non-incumbent.

Eric Egland raised $141,000, has $79,000 CoH

There are no fundraising numbers yet for the new challengers who have entered the race on the Republican side, including former State Sen. Rico Oller and former US Rep. Doug Ose.  By the way, Ose has donated to Doolittle’s legal defense fund, along with Minority Leader John Boehner.  Reformers, all of them!

CA-26:

David Dreier raised $599,000, has $1.96 million CoH

Russ Warner raised $380,000, has $240,000 CoH

Hoyt Hilsman raised $114,000, has $10,550 CoH

Obviously, Dreier is sitting on a goldmine.  

CA-50:

Brian Bilbray raised $419,000, has $262,000 CoH

Nick Leibham raised $211,000, has $188,000 CoH

Very encouraging.

Others to note:

Mary Bono (CA-45) only has a paltry $219,000 CoH.  Her potential opponents Julie Bornstein, David Hunsicker and Paul Clay got in too late to register any money in this quarter (sometimes the FEC shows residual candidates who have run in previous years, so I’m not certain they’re running.)

Mike Lumpkin, the Democrat in CA-52 trying to take Duncan Hunter’s open seat, raised $78,000 in 2007 and has $43,000 CoH.

There’s not much else to write home about here.