Seriously, this is the biggest race in California and members of the Mormon Church are responsible for at least 40% of the cash into the Prop 8 campaign and who knows how many volunteers.  Quite honestly, the California papers have been following the lead of the Salt Lake Tribune, but the LA Times is nowhere to be found.

First, the SLT reported on Friday that the Mormon Church was closing their church based call centers in Utah and other states.  The SacBee picked that one up on Saturday, mentioning the Courage Campaign’s petition (delivery is Tues AM) to the LDS Church.

Yesterday, the SLT reported on the strife within the Mormon Church about their unprecedented level of involvement.  Here is the lede:

The thought of going to church in her southern California LDS ward makes Carol Oldham cry. She can’t face one more sermon against same-sex marriage. She can’t tolerate the glares at the rainbow pin on her lapel.

Oldham, a lifelong Mormon, is troubled by her church’s zeal in supporting a California ballot initiative that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. She feels the church is bringing politics into her sanctuary.

“It has tainted everything for me,” Oldham said, choking up during a telephone interview/.  “I am afraid to go there and hear people say mean things about gay people. I am in mourning. I don’t know how long I can last.”

Now check out this lede by the Chronicle today:

Christine Alonso’s body trembled and her lips quivered as she walked up and spoke to a few of the 50 protesters in front of the Mormon Temple in Oakland on Sunday.

“Don’t think they’re all against you,” said Alonso, 27, explaining that she was Mormon and that despite her religious leaders’ support of a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage, she was actively opposed.

As she walked away, she said, “I’m afraid that a gay or lesbian friend might hear that I’m Mormon and think that I want to tear their marriage apart.”

Oldam and Alonso are not alone in being extremely troubled and distressed about their Church’s overwhelming involvement in the Prop 8 campaign.  You don’t have to look much further than right here on Calitics for the same anguish. Chino Blanco wrote earlier today:

The “Yes on 8” campaign has directed more than $10 million dollars (so far) from Mormon donors to a narrow political campaign. Much of this money was raised after the Church reviewed its tithing records and identified wealthy Mormons to recruit even larger donations from, using special conference calls with Church elders. Why are tithing records being utilized this way? What does this reveal about the way the wealth of individual members has played a growing role in church leadership decisions? How many lives could this money save through the Church’s Humanitarian General Fund? How many educations could this money pay for through the Church’s Perpetual Education Fund? Why does our concept of morality focus so zealously on gender and sexuality at the cost of efforts to end death by disease or starvation, proclaim peace, relieve the debtor, or show stewardship for God’s creation?

The whole thing really is worth a read.  This path that the proponents of Prop 8 have taken is tearing people apart, inside and out.

The LAT is the biggest paper on record here in California, one of the largest in the country and they are missing this wrenching story.  How about we suggest some story lines here in the comments.

I will go first: dig into the enemy of my enemy is my friend story to look into how well the evangelicals, who are no fans of the Mormon Church are working with Mormons within the campaign.

(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

• After watching the SNL Thursday episodes for the last few weeks, this picture struck me as kind of funny. Fix it!

• Speaking of tools you can use, for you San Franciscans here is a Google map with embedded videos of the candidates for Supervisor.

• George Skelton, California’s High Broder Priest of Seriousness, engages in some more neo-Hooverism over Prop 1A. People, have you ever even taken an American history class? You know, FDR didn’t skulk away from public works projects, he built.  Yes, we need to do work on water storage and other important projects. But we also need High Speed Rail. Yes on 1A!

• Wow, I’ve never heard this before: Vote by mail is getting really popular. Wait, I think I have, when was it? Oh yes, before every single election for teh past 3 years. This has basically become the California story you write a few months out of the election when you have some free time so you can call in sick one day. Get well soon Jennifer Oldham.

• Here’s an interesting op-ed from Ken Jacobs at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research in the SacBee regarding the role of health care in the financial crisis.  Apparently health care is at least a partial cause to almost half of all foreclosures.  We can’t be fooled into thinking that health care should be a medium to long term goal because of the economy. We need to deal with this mess now, just as much as we need to bail out all the banks.

• Redstate sez that Obama’s going to lose California because of the early absentee numbers.  Oh noes!!!  Except early absentees historically favor the GOP in a big way, and this clown’s results show Democrats and Republicans dead even.  Nice try.  Just as a reference, Rasmussen has a poll out today with Obama up 61-34 in the state.  Yes, that’s a 27-point lead.

(Cross-posted at Living in the O.)

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. Out of nowhere, I had started to feel really sad, and at first I couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized that I was worrying about the passage of Prop 8, which would take away my right to marry the woman I love.

When the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, I couldn’t have been much happier. It was inspiring to watch some of the first same-sex marriages happen at Oakland City Hall. It gave me so much hope for the future of our state, and for the first time, my girlfriend and I started to think seriously about the possibility of marriage.

But now I’m facing the reality that this right could be ripped away from me. A few months ago, I thought Prop 8 was sure to go down. The polling looked good, and I thought that the thousands of same sex couples who were getting married would shift this debate forever. Didn’t everyone at least peripherally know one same sex couple who had gotten married?

Now I think my assumptions may have been off. The Mormon church has dumped millions of dollars into passing Prop 8 and has run extremely misleading ads that seem to have been very effective. The polling is far too close for comfort.

But all of this was still very far removed from my own life. That changed on Saturday, when I took the bus down to Lakeshore in Oakland, as I got off the bus, I saw a large group of Yes on 8 protesters shouting and waving their signs. They were mostly kids, with a few adults. And they seemed very, very angry. There was a small contingent of No on 8 people across the street, who were standing quietly with their signs and passing out fliers.

I left this scene feeling upset – sad, angry, and afraid. I could not believe I had just seen people expressing such hatred in the heart of Oakland. These feelings grew in me all weekend, and I realized that I needed to do something about it. I’ve been so engrossed in Rebecca Kaplan’s campaign for Oakland City Council and the No on Measure KK campaign in Berkeley, that I’ve done almost nothing for No on 8.

Well, that’s going to change. I’m going to dedicate most of my energy this week to No on 8, and I hope you will join me. Here’s what we can do to make sure that one day I can marry the woman I love and that all Californians have the right to marry whomever they love, regardless of gender:

1. Donate! Like I said, the Mormon church has raised a ton of money for Yes on 8. We need to counter that with funds of our own. Do not wait another day – give generously today.
2. Volunteer: I’ll be phoning at the Oakland United Democratic Campaign office at 1915 Broadway in downtown Oakland several nights this week (I’m headed there right now). The great thing about this office is that you can phone for various campaigns at once – I’ll be phoning for No on 8 and Rebecca Kaplan. Join me any night from 5-9pm. If you’re not in Oakland, you can find your local No on 8 office here.
3. Do Personal GOTV: Don’t assume all your friends are going to vote. Call, email, or bang down their doors – just make sure everyone you know is voting No on 8. The California Democratic Party has set up this great tool that allows you to text your friends for free. Check it out and personalize the message to remind your friends to vote No on 8.