I think our podcast of the 80th AD went exceedingly well. The mayor of Coachella, Eduardo Garcia, called in to talk about job creation and related topics. And we took a few calls throughout the show to talk about issues in the race.
Here are the websites for the four candidates:
Rick Gonzales.
Dr. Richard Guttierez
Manuel Perez
Greg Pettis.
(Good work, Larry! – promoted by Brian Leubitz)
Larry Handerhan is an employee of the California Democratic Party who runs Chairman Art Torres’s San Francisco office. This weekend, he and some friends decided that it was time to take the fight for equality to Sacramento. Larry wanted to share his experiences from the weekend, and we thought the folks at Calitics would be interested.
By Monday, April 21st, organizers of a discriminatory anti-marriage initiative must submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. By most reports, they are within reach of that goal.
That was sufficient motivation for me and three fellow members of the San Francisco based Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club to brave I-80 early Saturday morning and join Equality for All’s “Decline to Sign” Campaign in Sacramento.
L to R: Larry and his friends, David, Jason and Cecilia
Upon arrival at the SEIU-UHW Union Hall in Midtown, we were greeted by strong coffee and enthusiastic organizers. As volunteers filled up the seats in advance our 10 AM training, an Equality for All Staffer proudly acknowledged that this was their first “standing room only” training session.
Introductions established that our group – 40 strong – hailed from all across Northern California. They included GLBT parents, straight allies, Sacramento activists, a young couple ready for marriage, and the President of a South Bay PFLAG Chapter and her husband – “the other half of a lesbian parent.”
Most impressively, nearly half of the group was affiliated with a church congregation – highlighting the deep GLBT support in California religious communities that is often underappreciated.
Each volunteer cited different personal and political motivations for their attendance, but everyone agreed stopping the ballot initiative now would allow activists and community leaders to focus on the myriad of other challenges facing California in the upcoming months.
Our Trainer Kelly – an eight-year field organizing veteran – explained our plan: stop paid signature gatherers from collecting names and identify supporters by having them sign an equality pledge. She emphasized the importance of working as a team and not engaging our opponents. The 45 minute training was one of the most organized I have attended, and I felt very prepared to tackle my turf: the Wal-Mart in Roseville, CA.
My group of six had only positive experiences with community members despite the conservative slant of Roseville’s Saturday afternoon Wal-Mart patrons. One woman explained her son was gay, while another signed our pledge despite disapproving looks from her husband. About fifty percent of those who stopped signed, and many others alluded to their support even if they were hesitant to put their name on it. It was a successful exercise in grassroots field work, hampered only by a disapproving Republican registering voters at the same location.
At the afternoon Debrief, we learned that our shift secured 863 “decline to sign” pledges, recruited 21 new volunteers, and ran off 4 paid-signature gatherers. Those numbers – coupled with the hundreds of additional people we engaged in dialogue and the camaraderie facilitated between volunteers – make me confident in our chances come Monday.
Penny
Online Organizing Director
California Democratic Party
(note: I work for Courage)
The Courage Campaign today became the first organization to push out the Responsible Plan to its members. We sent out an email to our list this morning (see it on the flip) encouraging our members to endorse the Responsible Plan and almost as importantly, talk to candidates they know about endorsing the plan.
Over 50 candidates, including Debbie Cook, Ron Shepston, Cheryl Ede, Bill Hedrick and Mary Pallant here in California have endorsed the Responsible Plan. It is key that we get your help to continue to build momentum for the plan. That means getting as many people and candidates to endorse, so sign it and pass the link on to your friends.
This is about changing the conversation about the war. When people ask what we are going to do about the war, this is our plan. It is our roadmap to both ending the war and taking care of our veterans. Rather than using the Republican frame on the war, focused mostly on the tactical, i.e. the surge as a strategy, we need to take control of the narrative. Promoting the Responsible Plan is one way to do that.
Framing the debate is only one site of the equation. The movement behind the Responsible Plan also about electing Democrats who will run strongly on the war and end it when they take office. We need more and better Democrats.
Dear Julia,
The war in Iraq will never end.
That’s right. This occupation will never end unless we change the conversation and change Washington.
Fortunately, there’s an unprecedented new movement of courageous congressional candidates, military veterans, bloggers, and activists teaming up on a plan to responsibly withdraw our troops from Iraq. Together, this unique alliance is pushing back on John “100 years” McCain and his fellow head-in-the-sand politicians and pundits.
And now, we’re bringing this movement for change to California.
It’s called the “Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq” — a comprehensive strategy endorsed by 50 congressional candidates, two generals, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, and netroots activists across the progressive blogosphere (led by our friends at Open Left). And, as the plan gains momentum, it is provoking a predictable reaction from the right-wing, pro-war crowd and their sympathetic stenographers in the traditional media.
You can see it for yourself. In a less-than-shocking example of beltway blindness on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” Cokie Roberts dismissively rolled her eyes at the “Responsible Plan,” proudly quoting John McCain’s tired talking points.
How do we change the national conversation today? By showing Cokie Roberts and her friends in the media that the American public is fed up with Washington’s failure to end the war. You can start now by signing on to the “Responsible Plan” after you watch Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation magazine, courageously challenge Roberts and her mimicry of McCain on ABC:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/ResponsiblePlan
What is the “Responsible Plan”?
Arianna Huffington, in a piece for the Huffington Post, does an excellent job summarizing how it got started, what it says, and what it will mean come 2009:
“(The plan was initiated by) Darcy Burner, a Democratic challenger who is running for Congress in Washington state. Working with national security experts and retired military generals such as Major Gen. Paul Eaton, the officer in charge of training the Iraqi military immediately after the invasion in 2003 and 2004, (Burner) developed “A Responsible Plan to End the War,” a comprehensive approach to Iraq based on legislation already introduced in Congress.
The (plan) doesn’t just lay out how to end the war — it also addresses the institutional failures that led to the tragic invasion and occupation of Iraq. This includes rebuilding the U.S. diplomatic apparatus, banning the use of armed military contractors like Blackwater, banning torture, promoting government transparency, and restoring accountability through the checks and balances laid out in the Constitution.”
… The idea is to band together a group of challengers running on a shared platform who, if elected, will be able to head into Congress armed with a mandate, supported by allies, and wielding a specific legislative agenda designed to end the war. Call it ‘A Contract to Restore America.'”
From the grassroots to Congress, the “Responsible Plan” is a people-powered campaign to flip the script on the right-wing cabal that started this disastrous war and continues to defend it. As you might expect, neo-conservative extremists are already waging attacks on the “Responsible Plan,” including one pro-war organization — founded by former Bush Administration officials — that called the strategy “surrender.”
The “Responsible Plan” has already been endorsed by 50 congressional candidates in just a few weeks, including five from California (click here to see who they are).
But that’s not enough. To stop the right-wing noise machine now, we need you to show your support and speak out. Please sign on, post a comment, and tell your friends — and your favorite congressional candidate — that they should support this responsible plan to end the war in Iraq:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/ResponsiblePlan
Ending the war in Iraq does not mean just electing more Democrats. It also means electing better Democrats. The kind of Democrats who won’t cave in to the ridiculous rhetoric of neo-con extremists, Cokie Roberts, and the other shameless power-brokers and pundits populating our nation’s capital.
We have to keep up the pressure on our elected representatives as well as strongly encourage this year’s slate of congressional candidates to get behind the “Responsible Plan” now. Many of you have personal relationships with congressional candidates — both incumbents and challengers — across California. Can you reach out to them and ask them to take responsibility by endorsing the “Responsible Plan” now?
We know that we can end this war in Iraq — and prevent another war with Iran — if we build this movement together. But it’s going to take each and every one of you and your friends to make it possible.
Thank you for taking action today and making 2008 a new era for progressive politics in California. And the world.
Rick Jacobs
Chair
P.S. A few weeks ago, you helped us air “Yacht Party” TV ads about California Republicans refusing to close a multi-million dollar “yacht tax” loophole, despite facing a grim $16 billion budget deficit. Meanwhile, the federal government is diverting funds that would support housing and education in order to pay for endless war in Iraq.
Our elected leaders have their priorities out of whack. This has got to stop. You can take matters into your own hands today by signing on, speaking out, and telling your friends:
I think our podcast of the 80th AD went exceedingly well. The mayor of Coachella,