When all is said and done, this is the bottom line. If you vote for Proposition 8, you’re not voting against gay marriage. You’re voting for a church taking over your government.
Daily Archives: November 1, 2008
Breaking from The Call at Qualcomm: Nobody’s Here
full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign. I went to Qualcomm because that’s where the fight to maintain human rights is being waged.
Let me be clear. I’ve been to a lot of all day music festivals, and generally people skip the first seven hours. So maybe that’s what’s going on here. But after a couple hours at Qualcomm earlier for the massive Yes on 8 rally organized by The Call…nobody’s here. Check out the poor but illustrative video I grabbed with my Flip Video. I was down on the field, just to stage left. Joint was empty. They threw a party and nobody came.
The parking lots were mostly empty. The trolley station that goes essentially right up to the door was almost entirely empty. The concourses and hallways were empty. Most of the seats were empty. A popular shirt as I walked around (but don’t have a picture of right now) was a bright yellow Tshirt reading “You can’t change God’s Law: Yes on Prop 8.” But you know…don’t worry about this being the effective repeal of the separation of church and state. It’s just God’s law. Being written as state law. Right. “It Ain’t Just Genetics” was another personal ‘favorite’ of mine.
Let me also add: Not a single solitary counter-protester. Nobody at all. Everyone’s on the phones making real calls. Completely non-political friends of mine were talking last night in the midst of Halloween parties about their plans to phonebank today. This campaign is doing a tremendous job channeling the energies of supporters to the work that really matters. Really impressive to see.
Update: Photos from earlier today can be seen here
Update: I’m about to crash, but I wanted to confirm: nobody else ever showed up. The No on 8 counter-rally at 9pm in Hillcrest rivaled the Qualcomm turnout- it stretched for blocks and blocks, many people deep. All the more striking because the Qualcomm rally was designed for busloads from around the state and across the country while the No on 8 rally was only motivated locals. Volunteer now. We can do this.
Live from the SF No on Prop 8 Campaign Offices
(full-disclosure: I work for the Courage Campagin)
From now until the polls close I will be camped out in SF helping out the No on 8 campaign. A lot of that work will be helping live blog and push out information and updates as volunteers hit the streets and people head to the polls. So stay tuned to Calitics for updates.
We are in a battle here. Polling is tight. They are lying, blackmailing and doing everything possible to try and eek out a victory.
We need your help. Do you have a few free hours to help out? The volunteers here are fired up. Gavin Newsom got choked up earlier today addressing the 300-400 volunteers packing the office for the first of four trainings this weekend here. There are similar trainings going on at offices across the state.
We need you.
We need you to sign-up to volunteer, wander into a campaign office and say I am here to help. We cannot let discrimination be written into the California constitution. We should always have the same fundamental rights and equality for all Californians.
Sign-up here to volunteer and note that Calitics sent you!
More pictures from the SF offices below the fold.
Hannah-Beth Needs Your Help in CA’s Tightest Race
( – promoted by Dante Atkins (hekebolos))
If you’re in Southern California or the Central Coast and haven’t given your time to the Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign yet, you’re in luck: you can still make a big difference in an extraordinarily close, extremely hard-fought race. Regular Calitics readers know all about Phony Tony’s corporate-backed scam on the voters, and about Hannah-Beth’s record of decisive action to protect Californians from the rapacious greed of Strickland’s industry-backed sponsors. Strickland cannot win on his own record or policies; a Strickland victory would be a travesty of justice, and a missed opportunity for California. And perhaps nowhere else in Southern California will volunteer efforts be more effective and impactful to push the margins off the razor’s edge toward victory.
How close is this race, and how much has been spent on it? As close as it can get, and an extraordinary amount for a State Senate seat. The Hannah-Beth team has been maddeningly tight-lipped on internals, but a well-placed person high up in the campaign sent me the following email, with permission to distribute:
Over $10 million has been spent on the campaign.
Over 106,000 voters have already voted in the 19th: 42,033 Dems, 45,692 Reps, 14,322 DTS, in SB as of Thursday; Ventura, LA as of Friday. We expect the real number to be larger.
The race has a razor tight margin according to all polling we have seen for the past five weeks.
Between us, Strickland, and IEs on both of our parts, people have 4 or more pieces of mail everyday.
We have made an amazing grassroots operation clocking over 1500 contacts a day. In total, over 57,000 ids thus far, and while 31,000 of those are Hannah-Beth supporters, that still only accounts for a fraction of the district as a whole. We need walkers Sunday and Tuesday in the Conejo, Simi Valley, and Santa Barbara offices.
Slightly over half our contacts are Hannah-Beth supporters, but Democratic early votes have been beaten by the Repubs (as is usual due to traditional GOP advantages in absentee voting), and it’s impossible to say quite how the DTS voters have sorted themselves out. When I asked Hannah-Beth herself directly how the polls looked when I canvassed for her two weeks ago in Thousand Oaks, she wouldn’t give me numbers, but said the following:
It’s extremely close, but we’d rather be where we are, than where they are.
That means only one thing: this race is ours to win, but only if we get our votes out. To be sure, there are several propositions on the ballot that need our time and effort, but the margins on those races are spread across the entire state of California. This is one race where getting a few hundred extra voters to the polls could truly mean the difference between victory and defeat, for one of CA’s most energetic Democratic leaders against one of the GOP’s most vile, fraudulent candidates (and that’s really saying something.)
If you’re in the area and can even spend just a couple of hours getting involved this weekend phonebanking from remote (yes, you can do it–just not through their website) or getting out to canvass (and for you Angelenos, all you have to do is drive up to Thousand Oaks), here’s contact the Santa Barbara office for best results:
Phone: (805) 280-2408
Fax: (805) 456-0787
If you live in Ventura, Conejo, Simi Valley or Thousand Oaks, you really need to get involved as we close down to the wire. Here are the addresses:
Simi Valley:
1960 – 03 Sequoia Ave (cross street Los Angeles Ave)Conejo
810 Lawrence Drive, Suite 124
Newbury ParkSanta Barbara
430 Chapala Street
Santa BarbaraVentura
701 E Santa Clara Street, Suite 36
Ventura
If you get the campaign’s voicemail and could only leave a message, sign up here to volunteer and the campaign will call you back. The campaign’s email is [email protected].
Don’t let Phony Tony Strickland squeak this one out by a few hundred votes. On Election Day, let’s celebrate Democratic victories all the way up, down and mid-ballot, from Obama through Hannah-Beth Jackson and all the way down to Proposition 8’s defeat.
Prop 8: It’s In Your Hands Now
There are 72 hours left to determine whether California will take a massive step backward on human rights and allow the far right to dictate policy here – or whether we can rally voters to make a stand for equality. Polls don’t vote – it’s time for us to go all out on GOTV to defeat Prop 8.
This is especially important given how motivated our opponents are. They are raising money hand over fist and have thousands of fervent followers planning to get out the vote on Monday and Tuesday. We know their GOTV operation is exceptional.
Your job now is to volunteer to defeat Prop 8. Our goal is to reach 1000 netroots volunteers for No on Prop 8 GOTV. Have you signed up yet? You need to take action, NOW, to make sure that our supporters get to the polls.
As I write this Yes on 8 supporters are gathering at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego for “The Call.” See their crazy video – this is what is going to be unleashed on California over the next 72 hours. Are you going to help us fight back?
“The Call” organizers are billing this as “a confrontation between light and darkness will happen this November. To the victor goes the soul of the nation.” Some of their featured speakers – a who’s who of the theocratic right:
Lou Engel, founder of The Call: “The powers of darkness shall not prevail – this is a call for war. California is the Armageddon of the cultural wars of today.”
James Dobson, Focus on the Family (he has donated over $550,000 to the Yes on 8 campaign): “Tolerance and its first cousin, diversity, ‘are almost always buzzwords for homosexual advocacy.'”
James Garlow, Skyline Church: Garlow said of gays: “Homosexuals are not monogamous. … They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the earth.”
Tony Perkins, Family Research Council: Tony Perkins says humanity will not survive if Prop 8 loses: “It’s more important than the presidential election…. We’ve picked bad presidents before, and we’ve survived as a nation. But we will not survive if we lose the institution of marriage.”
These are the people who will be the new power brokers in California politics if Prop 8 passes. They will be emboldened to unleash the full brunt of their far right agenda on California and ALL of us are going to be its targets.
So let’s make sure they don’t get that chance, and that Prop 8 is defeated. Sign up to defeat Prop 8 now!
CA-46 Pete McCloskey Stays for Change
(Rohrabacher is openly talking about losing in a Democratic landslide. Go Debbie Cook! – promoted by David Dayen)
If the name Pete McCloskey sounds familiar, you may remember him as a 7-term Republican congressman from California. Paul Norton “Pete” McCloskey, Jr. comes from a long line of Republicans, going back to the 1850s. He served in the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps Reserves, and served our country in Korea.
So why’s a former Republican congressman at a rally today endorsing Democrat Debbie Cook for Congress? Because he, like millions of Americans, knows that the Republican party has lost its way. Unlike today’s breed, McCloskey has stood up for ethics and our country’s future. He protected our environment by co-authoring the 1973 Endangered Species Act. He ran for President on an anti-Vietnam war platform. And he was the first representative to call for the impeachment of Nixon after Watergate. He truly put Country before party.
So, rather than traveling to other states to help Obama, McCloskey decided his time was better spent staying home for change in California – and working to get Obama the congress he needs to deal with a country in crisis and desperate for change.
Debbie Cook is an amazing candidate who’s neck and neck with Republican Dana Rohrabacher despite the tough odds in the district. People here are sick of our do-nothing representative who denies the real problems that face our country and our world. How are we to deal with the challenges of global climate change if – like Rohrabacher – we fail to acknowledge that there’s a man-made problem? How can we handle the rebuilding of our foreign policy if we – like Rohrabacher – buddy up with the Taliban? And how can we deal with our disastrous economic situation if we – like Rohrabacher – practice crony capitalism with the likes of Jack Abramoff?
Pete McCloskey knows that the way to do so is to elect better Democrats like Debbie Cook. Sarah Palin brags about her city of 6,000 – but Debbie Cook has been leading Huntington Beach’s population of 200,000 for 8 years. And unlike Palin, Debbie recognizes that our true energy future lies away from oil and gas, and in renewable, sustainable energy sources.
While at Netroots Nation, Pete got his first chance to meet this great candidate. And like many of you, he was won over. So Pete is out this weekend working to help send Debbie to Washington.
And it’s working. The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports that Rohrabacher’s afraid Republicans will stay home. Let’s ensure that those who are sick of the way the country’s been run during his terms turn out in force.
Pete knows that Californians don’t need to travel to other states to bring change to this country. If you are anywhere near Orange County or Long Beach, the Cook Campaign needs you in these closing days of the race. Give them a call at 714-842-6358 to find out how you can help turn voters out on Election Day. And if you’re not in the area, please give to help a great candidate close the deal and represent us in Congress.
(And this just in: Orange Juice Blog shares a great, convincing letter that McCloskey wrote to Republicans in the district.)
Last minute mailer from Yes on 8: Barack Obama “appears” to support the initiative
My S.O. received this mailer yesterday from the Yes on 8 people: Barack Obama’s statement about gay marriage (+ Biden’s statement, and statements of other African-American ministers) make it appear as though Obama supports proposition 8.
The final days before the election bring out the nasty stuff that’s hard to combat… because time is running out. Focus on the Family and Knights of Columbus and the rest of the Mormon-Church funds effort to change the California constutition goes there… and implies that Obama endorses a yes vote on Prop 8. These people are trying their darndest to change the California State Constitution; we must try our darndest to stop them!!
It leads off with: “I’m not in favor of gay marriage…” from Obama’s Hardball interview on April 2, 2008.
Here’s a scan of the front, go over the fold to see the back of the mailer (which arrived at the home of my S.O. yesterday).
The small text (on the front):
When asked to specifically define his views on marriage, Obama has stated that he believes “that marriage is the union between a man and a woman.” “Now, for me as a Christian, it’s also a sacred union. God’s in the mix,” he added.
Here’s the back:
To view these images at larger size, go here for the front and here for the back side.
Field Poll Shows Narrow Lead for Prop 1A
Crossposted from the California High Speed Rail Blog
The Field Poll finally got around to polling Prop 1A and the results are about what I’d expected after six weeks of the Reason Foundation and the Howard Jarvis Association flooding the state’s media with lies. We have a 47-42 lead with 11% undecided. The common rule of thumb in California politics is that a proposition under 50% before election day is in serious trouble, but I’m not convinced that conventional wisdom will hold true this year. There are a number of propositions – such as 4 and 8 – that are also very closely split, and voters are showing a better understanding of the issues, with a reduced inclination to vote no as a knee-jerk reaction.
Still, the poll shows that we have a LOT of work to do between now and Tuesday. Especially when you look at the crosstabs.
Prop 1A will be decided on election day. Those who have already voted oppose it 39-51. That is very close to the number of McCain voters opposing Prop 1A, 35-56. Here in California absentee voters have traditionally leaned Republican and conservative. Those groups oppose Prop 1A – Republicans by a margin of 35-58 and conservatives by a margin of 30-64. Voters over age 65, those most likely to cast an absentee ballot, oppose it 38-53.
However, if California gets an Obama surge on election day, the outcome may be much different (preferences are listed in order of yes, no, and undecided):
Democrats: 53-30-17
Independents: 54-40-6
Moderates: 49-40-11
Liberals: 61-25-14
Obama: 56-33-11
Age 18-34: 50-38-12
If young voters in particular hit the polls in large numbers than we can win this on election day.
The Field Poll also breaks the numbers down by region, showing us where we need to focus our energies over the next three days:
LA County: 55-37-8
Other SoCal: 32-54-14
Central Valley: 49-46-5
Bay Area: 59-28-13
Other NorCal: 46-46-8
Looking at this I would write off “Other SoCal” and pour as many resources as possible into the Central Valley. Fresno, Bakersfield, and Sacramento among others ought to be pro-HSR given how much they will benefit from the system. Over the next few days local political leaders and respected state leaders – I’m looking at you, Dianne Feinstein and Arnold Schwarzenegger – need to get into the Central Valley, get themselves on local news, and promote the hell out of Prop 1A.
There is a large number of undecided voters in the Bay Area as well. They can and should be brought over to our side, likely with a strong push from environmental and transit groups. I don’t know if the Sierra Club has any money to put an ad up, or can do something to attract earned media, but that would be very helpful.
I know this site gets a lot of readers from around the pro-HSR community. So here is what I suggest our plans be for the next crucial three days:
Link Obama to HSR. Run some ads or print up some flyers or just plain talk about how Obama and Biden are strong HSR advocates. The purpose here is to ensure that Democrats and Obama voters are going to cast their ballots for Prop 1A as well.
The Central Valley is where we will win or lose. Get thee to Fresno (or Bakersfield or Sacramento) and explain to voters why this will be a godsend for the Valley. It will bring jobs and cheaper, more reliable transportation. Fresno will be under two hours from SF and LA. And it will reverse a long history of California neglecting the Valley’s infrastructure needs.
Emphasize the economic stimulus benefits of HSR. This message would play well in the Central Valley, the Bay Area, and perhaps even LA County and some other parts of SoCal. Prop 1A is a smart investment in jobs and growth. Leading economists like Paul Krugman are calling for deficit spending on infrastructure to rescue our economy. That message needs to get through.
Continue targeting young voters. CALPIRG has done excellent work here over the last few weeks but they need to be joined by other groups – Young Democrats and other groups. At San Diego State an environmentally-minded group of fraternities and sororities has been promoting Prop 1A.
Speak more about the environmental benefits in the Bay Area. Voters there are the most likely to be motivated by the considerable environmental and global warming-fighting benefits of HSR. If the Sierra Club has any last-minute resources to deploy, that would be very useful.
We can win this thing if we drive a big Obama turnout on Tuesday, ensure that people vote their entire ballot (or at least as far as the first proposition!) and that they vote YES on Prop 1A. The internals of the Field Poll look good for us, IF we can accomplish the turnout task. Let’s get to it!
Chuck Todd Catches Up To Calitics
If he were still at the Hotline this would be more specific, but unlike so many of the California punditocracy, he knows what a wave election means.
California: As unpopular as Bush supposedly has been in California, he only lost the state by 11 points in both 2000 and 2004. So what happens with McCain in ’08? I think Obama’s margin in this state will tell us a lot about Democratic enthusiasm among the base. Anything above 15 points for Obama probably means he will have some coattails down the ballot. And frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if some two to four GOP incumbents go down, shocking folks in Washington (Reps. Mary Bono-Mack? David Dreier?) No one is safe in this Blue state.
As we know, the latest Field Poll had Obama up by 22. And that big a spread is going to cause some disruption.
I hear that Dana Rohrabacher dropped a last-minute mailer to Republicans, imploring them to turn out. The latest registration numbers show that Dan Lungren is in serious, serious trouble. This is not going to be a normal election year in California. And it’s going to put the lie to the primary rationale for redistricting that Arnold Schwarzenegger is peddling to reporters.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the Kremlin in Russia sees more turnover than the statehouse in Sacramento, as he made the case for Proposition 11 Thursday in a conference call.
“We have to make our politicians responsive to the people, not to the party,” Schwarzenegger said, joined by state AARP president Jeannine English and national AARP CEO Bill Novelli.
Well, the Kremlin is going to see some shakeups this year. I don’t know if people are going to make the connection between all that turnover and the inherent fallacy that re-gerrymandering would allow for more competition, but maybe some of that late money flowing to No on Prop. 11 can make that case. Because the facts are that the Yacht Party is on the verge of being wiped out, at the state and federal level. And no redistricting had anything to do with it.
Vote No on San Francisco’s Proposition K
There are many flaws with San Francisco’s Proposition K. Alarmingly, there is a proven global connection between legalization/decriminalization of prostitution and an INCREASE in sex trafficking. If we are to enter into an intelligent conversation over ideas for any policy change designed to keep women and girls safe, first these connections need to be more thoroughly explored. The outcome could have dire consequences for the advancement of women’s human rights. On one hand, Proposition K could bring the job title of ‘prostitute’ into a legitimate labor category in San Francisco with possibilities of unionization, employer-provided health insurance, and access to disability and unemployment benefits. On the other hand, we could be making our community more susceptible to pimps, traffickers and violent predators while simultaneously creating a group of women and girls that are legally sanctioned to be bought and sold by anyone with the ability or power to do so. Research the connection between prostitution and sex trafficking in Australia, Netherlands, and Germany. Illegal sex trafficking, prostitution of children, and quality of life crimes EXPLODED as a result of their legalization/decriminalization of prostitution. Google ‘connection between prostitution and trafficking’ and you will be provided with a plethora of information.
Another dangerous outcome of Proposition K is that it mandates the city to stop supporting FOPP or any similar programs. FOPP is a highly effective restorative justice program that enables social service agencies to provide free services to women and girls who are involved in or at-risk for prostitution. These free services include mental health counseling, addiction treatment, and job-skill training. Proponents of Proposition K like to slander these social service programs by calling them ‘sex-negative’ and ‘shame-based.’ Anyone who has had any direct experiences with these programs will say the exact opposite. Anyone who has had any actual involvement will tell you of the compassion, empowerment, healing and sisterhood that these programs are built on. These programs provide education on healthy-sex, healthy relationships, building self-esteem and most importantly, provide the tools necessary to help women and girls heal from their traumas and develop into the beautiful and powerful women they were always meant to be. Thousands of lives have been transformed as a direct result of these programs. There is absolutely no sound reason why these life-changing services should be denied to ANYONE!
Proposition K is being sold to San Francisco voters as an opportunity to grant sex workers equal rights. In actuality, it is a convicted pimp’s personal vendetta against San Francisco and the SAGE Project. Before jumping on anyone’s bandwagon, do a little background research. http://www.sfexaminer.com/opin…
Proposition K is not the solution to advancing women’s human rights. It sadly would do the exact opposite. There is a reason Gloria Steinem is one of the major opponents against Proposition K. You can learn more at www.noonk.net.