Daily Archives: November 6, 2008

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Prop. 8: What happened? / What we do now!

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If you live in California, and hell… even if you don’t, it’s no surprise that this remarkable history changing victory of President Barack Obama (damn! that feels good to type) has been soured somewhat.

It’s been soured because of a little something called Proposition 8.

It’s amazing so much hate and injustice can be squeezed into a word and a number.

Yet again California was subjected to the whims of millions of dollars of propaganda designed to sow divisions and emphasize the “otherness” of anybody that is not a straight heterosexual churchgoing white family.

It’s intolerence plain and simple.

And it got written into the constitution because we fell asleep at the wheel.

Look at this picture:

Look at these sanctimonious hate breeding fucks.

That’s from the LA times at the Yes on 8 Victory party.

All of that out of state Mormon money at work.

Are you pissed off?

Good.

What, you thought this was going to be easy?

Well don’t worry, because I have some ideas here:

this is a great article about what went wrong, it shows the dangers of reactive politics. I’m going to spend a bit of time with my take on things before moving on to the good stuff.

See, what happened, in essence is that “our side” decided… YET AGAIN, that if we just present a fact based argument that people will listen to reason.

That’s cute, don’t get me wrong.

It’s not the way the world works.

The Yes on 8 folks did many things right, they made appeals to peoples sense of family… yes capitalizing on many peoples secret fear of “teh gay” sure, but they also effectively lied about marriage being taught to kids in school.

Let me repeat that, they said

Why did this succeed?

Well first off because being a parent is hard, the world is changing, times are tough… parents often feel like they have no control over what their children are learning.

This reinforces the secret fear they have and amplifies into something else.

It turns it from a discussion about different types of people to advocacy and, the underlying threat is recruitment, for something they don’t believe it.

This doesn’t make any sense factually, but it’s not meant to.

It’s the “other” trying to ruin the sanctity of marriage.

(please hold off all comments about this too btw, I know it’s fucking retarded)

Why does the right always throw in stuff about “hard work”? It’s because the “other” doesn’t work and is freeloading off of their tax dollars.

That is the frame and the facts bounce right off it.

ok, are we clear about that? They lied effectively, and our side got distracted with (admittedly) big things.

Also, whether it was because people thought it was a done deal and just wanted to party, or that the presidential race was called early or what, but these are numbers for San Francisco

Department of Elections

Registration                         477,651 	  
Total Ballots Cast                   241,090    50.47 %
 Election Day Reporting               191,962 	  
Vote by Mail / Absentee Reporting     49,128

That turnout frankly… sucks… it’s down 24% from 2004.

Guess what, that’s lower than 1996.

Granted provisionals are still being counted and whay not, but this is not so good.

However, let’s not focus on that.

Because now we talk about what we need to do next.

You ready for this?

I’ve seen a lot of stuff going around, the most amusing of which to me is this petition

That is really cute and all, but what the 91,000 people who signed it don’t seem to realize is you can’t “reopen” a proposition. Won’t happen, can’t happen.

That’s not even in the Governor’s power to control even if he would.

Quite franly it’s a waste of time, and the small feeling you may have at feeling you’ve done something is misguided because it will accomplish nothing.

There is one way to fight this, and not only fight this injustice but kneecap these hateful bigots who think that because they have a few million they can throw around, they can fool normally good people into buying their agenda.

It’s a multiered agenda but it goes as follows:

Why play a reactive game? Why sit around and gnash our teeth, palms sweating and such waiting for the next attack.

The time to strike is now, while people are fully energized, when people are hurt and angry, but know that we can accomplish great things.

We write OUR OWN proposition, this one guarantees equal rights to all.

I’ve been frustrated with the Gay Marriage fight, because it turned into Civil Unions vs. Marriage and what is marriage.

This has nothing to do with that, this is about equal rights! Do you think all of the African American familes that were scared into voting yes on this because they didn’t want “gay marriage taught to their children”, are going to vote against equal rights?

NO! Not a chance, we need to get aggressive with our phrasing. No more passive mealy mouthed “definitions of marriage” etc. This isn’t about marriage, What is the argument against equal rights? There is none. Period.

We write another proposition requiring that a 2/3 majority to change the state constitution for anything.

One of the things the California Republican Party did in a “from hate’s heart I stab at thee” last ditch was establish a 2/3 majority for approving many important things.

That is why we have a highly paid legislature that can’t do a god damn thing and you end up with plumbers and hot dog vendors trying to figure out which bond measure makes the most sense for the state.

That is lame in and of itself, but imagine if that same level of difficulty was required to amend the state constitution?

a 2/3 majority is almost a complete safeguard over temporary populist uprisings stirred up my misleading ads.

And if you think about it, the US constitution needs a hell of a lot more to be amended.

Then we write yet ANOTHER proposition to reform the California Proposition Process so that signature collectors cannot be paid.

That may sound harsh, but it would ensure that people with millions of dollars to blow can’t foist their beliefs on others and have more legislation by the ballot box. Unpaid signature collectors would still represent actual ideas with popular support.

If signature collectors were not paid, this ballot would have never had this propostion, period… this is also true of the most odious stuff out there we’ve voted on the last few years.

I’m going to spearhead this the best I can in the time I have available and with the resources I have.

I’ve written policy position papers before, but i’m still researching the logistics for writing an actual proposition.

We have a long way to go for equal rights, but the battle begins anew today, and this is a battle that we WILL win.

Writing out a ballot proposition is an obnoxious and time consuming task, but I will commit to this, and to finding as much talent as possible to make this ironclad, but that in and of itself is not enough.

CAN I COUNT ON EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU TO COLLECT SIGNATURES FOR THIS IMPORTANT CAUSE AND GIVE EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO GET THIS ON THE NEXT CA STATEWIDE BALLOT?

We have not time to mess around here, if this is something you truly believe in, we need to make this happen.

I want a commitment from you RIGHT NOW that you will do this, no equivacation, no prefacing statements.

And to paraphrase our new president elect:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, we have our answer…

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

YES WE CAN.

Mount up people, we have some work to do.

-C.

X’posted all over the damn place, please feel free to forward and do the same.

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California Historical Society Election Panel in SF

I mentioned this last week, but a quick reminder for this panel for the California Historical Society panel on the, er, historic election results. It’s tonight from 6-8 at CHS (678 Mission).  Facebook page here.

It’s moderated by Marty Nolan, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who ran the SF bureau for the Boston Globe, and I’ll be joined on the panel by The Chronicle’s Carla Marinucci, CBS Radio’s Doug Sovern, and conservative Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Budget

Yes, California, There’s Still A Budget Mess To Fix

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I STILL haven’t had a moment to process the still-brewing outcome of Election 2008 here in California, but there’s not much time to savor or despair about the results.  A new session of the Legislature has been called, and Arnold is starting off by calling for a tax increase:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called today for a temporary 1.5-cent increase in the state sales tax to help close an $11.2 billion deficit in the state budget, as well as new taxes on liquor and oil production.

Schwarzenegger also proposed one-day-a-month unpaid furloughs for state workers for the next 17 months, as well as rescinding two of the workers’ 13 paid holidays.

There are also massive spending cuts planned, $4.5 billion in all, including $2.5 billion on primary school education.  This is all happening because we have a short-term deficit of maybe $10 billion dollars, with an additional $13 billion dollar shortfall estimated for next year.  In all, by the middle of 2010, the projections are that we will be $24 billion in the hole.

This proposal is completely and utterly insufficient to deal with that.  A sales tax increase is regressive and there’s no way around that.  Part of the proposal to extend the sales tax to services like “appliance and furniture repair, vehicle repair, golf fees, veterinarian services, amusement parks and sporting events,” according to the LA Times, and this is part of Karen Bass’ restructuring of the revenue side.  And an oil extraction fee is deeply needed.  We’re the only oil-producing state in the country that does not charge oil companies to take our natural resources.

But the cuts are pretty cruel.  And education isn’t the only thing on the chopping block.  The Governor wants to eliminate dental insurance through MediCal for poor Californians, cut welfare subsidies, and reduce services for the elderly, blind and disabled.  Hey, they don’t have lobbyists, right?  And this proposal somehow snuck into the package:

• Relaxing some state labor regulations dealing with meal and rest periods, overtime exemptions and work schedules.

Hey, it wouldn’t be a Republican plan if there wasn’t some giveaway for business.

There is no question that the state’s finances are in the worst shape since the Great Depression.  But those Californians doing well have shown, as Robert notes today, a desire to pay for those services that can make this a great state.  It’s aberrant for people who are wealthy to pull up the drawbridge and have no concern for the least of society.  Their continued economic good fortune depends on the stability and security of all citizens, as a rising tide lifts all boats.  We have been in a constant state of economic crisis for going on eight years because nobody will admit what needs to be done – to have a revenue structure that doesn’t reflect the boom-and-bust cycles of the greater economy.

A couple of the things that Schwarzenegger is doing make sense.  He is calling for a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures so lenders can work out loan modifications with borrowers, something President-Elect Obama has already proposed and which will improve our economy (a foreclosure costs something like $250,000 a piece to the economy).  And his proposal would speed public works programs as a kind of statewide stimulus package.  But the very first thing that can be done is to reinstute the automatic VLF increase that Arnold cut and is now scrambling to cover, which would cost the equivalent of $12 a month for most Californians.  But Robert Lehman at SEIU has outlined a new progressive version of the VLF that I think would increase revenue and help protect the climate.

Dedicated Revenues. VLF revenues, based on up to 0.65% of vehicle market value, are dedicated (CA Constitution Article 11, Sec. 15, implemented by Proposition 47 in 1986) to cities and counties; some additional VLF revenues above 0.65% may also be partly dedicated to cities and counties, depending on current statutes. It is unclear whether additional revenues from a vehicle GHG-emission-based component of the fee, rather than the vehicle market value, might be obligated to cities and counties. GHG component revenues should be made available for other dedicated purposes, such as improving State transportation GHG emissions through R&D, energy infrastructure improvements, transportation equipment subsidies or incentives, etc.

Progressivity. The VLF is currently based on a flat 0.65% rate applied to the current estimated market value of the registered vehicle. Owners of newer and more expensive vehicles with higher current market values pay higher level fees, while owners of older and less expensive vehicles pay less.  People without vehicles who use mass transit, bicycles, or other forms of transportation do not pay the fee. The 2003 reduction of the VLF heavily benefited Gov. Schwarzenegger for example, with his ostentatious fleet of Hummers, while mass transit riders did not benefit at all.

With this flat fee structure, the VLF still absorbs a larger share of low-income vehicle owners’ household income than it does for upper income Californians; the VLF’s moderate regressivity is similar to that of the sales tax in terms of its relative burden on the lowest income quintile compared to the upper quintile (see UCB Incidence paper below, and CBP, “Options for Balancing the Budget: Reinstating the Vehicle License Fee,” 5/8/02, p.2). A more progressive alternative exists. Rather than assessing the fee on the full value of the vehicle as California has done, Virginia exempts the first $5,000 of vehicle value, making the fee more progressive. With a $5,000 exemption, for example, an estimated one third of California vehicles would be exempt from the VLF and owners of slightly higher value vehicles would pay significantly less. The exempt value could be adjusted over time. A restored VLF should initially be based on vehicle value, with a significant deductible amount from this value, and a rate probably set above 2% to compensate for lost revenue.

This is a smart idea and should be the first counterpoint that the state Democrats propose.  At some point we must start raising revenue sensibly.  Furthermore, doing anything before December 1, when a net of 2 new Democrats in the Assembly and possibly 1 new Democrat in the Senate join the team in Sacramento, would be ridiculous.

Budget

Arnold Asks for Increased Revenues, Will any Republicans Answer His Call?

Arnold Schwarzenegger just announced something of a November revise, and boy is it a doozy.  According to the bean-counters. We’re looking at another $11.2 Billion deficit.  For those of you keeping score at home, that’s about 25% of our budget after you factor in the $16B already axed. Well, Arnold is asking for some tax increases now, and oh yeah, state employees, look forward to your unpaid “furloughs”:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called today for a temporary 1.5-cent increase in the state sales tax to help close an $11.2 billion deficit in the state budget, as well as new taxes on liquor and oil production.

Schwarzenegger also proposed one-day-a-month unpaid furloughs for state workers for the next 17 months, as well as rescinding two of the workers’ 13 paid holidays

I’m sure those unpaid furloughs will help with the pain of losing your paid holidays, right?

At any rate, it’s not clear if Arnold is asking for the sales tax to be decreased below its current rate after the three years or just back to where it is now.  These increases probably aren’t enough to even replace his stupid “car tax” repeal, but you have to start somewhere.

Now, it’s up to Arnold to knock some GOP heads together to get them to even agree to these modest increases.

Marriage Equality

Turning a Slap in the Face into A Wake-up Call

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Tuesday was a tremendously important day for our nation, after all, Barack Obama’s election was something that many people thought wasn’t possible even after he announced his candidacy. That’s terrific, but the results at home were far from joyous.  You know, it turns out that I’m pretty bummed about getting divorced.

PhotobucketWe have a few options: get really pissed and withdraw from the system, or get motivated to chart our own future.  Personally, I think we should go for the latter.

Yesterday, thousands of Californians, gay and straight, came together in Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Francisco to note a sad day in our state’s history. A day that we defaced our constitution with tacky discrimination.  Yet, the very fact that so many turned out, despite the pain of losing is critical.  We cannot allow the pain of this moment to simply subside, we need to convert this pain into positive energy for building a true grassroots movement for the LGBT community and the greater progressive movement.

From this fight, we have learned who our friends are. From this fight, we have gained new tools and learned new strategies. We have learned what works and what doesn’t. And despite whatever failures of a top-down campaign structure to utilize volunteers, the fact is that the campaign had thousands upon thousands of volunteers.

How powerful could we be if we each committed to taking a few hours each month for our community? How powerful would a walk in a neighborhood to talk about these issues be when we aren’t in the context of heated campaign?

We have other battles to fight as well. We should hold President-elect Obama to his word of repealing DOMA. What could be more symbolic of the change that we need and the change that we could truly believe in than ending the discrimination against a minority? Ending the forced separation of married couples of differing immigration status and moving us one step closer to real equality.

Or how about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act? Or right here in California, assuring that our next governor is a Democrat that supports marriage equality, not another wishy-washy “post-partisan” or a faux-moderate Republican like Poizner.  

This is on us. This is our charge. We needn’t rely on a top-down model to pre-select our message. The message is us and we are the message. We cannot separate that. So, let’s use the tools of our infrastructure that are effective, and scrap the ones that aren’t.

But no matter what happens in the courts, let’s not let what happened on Tuesday be for nought.   (image courtesy Sacramento Bee)

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Potential shocker brewing in CA-44, but we need your help

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It just may well be the case this cycle that one of our greatest regrets was not paying enough attention to CA-44.  Then again, we may not regret it at all, because Bill Hedrick may yet defeat Ken Calvert.

According to Lori Vendermeir, Hedrick’s communications director, the OC Register and the Press Enterprise called the race for Calvert, but then rescinded their call.  There are, simply put, tens of thousands of absentee and provisional ballots left to count, and Bill apparently keeps on inching closer.

HOWEVER: In typical Republican fashion, Ken Calvert’s lawyers are trying to shut down the counting process in both Riverside and Orange County.

If you live in these counties–especially if you’re a CA-44 voter–we need your help.

Call the office of the registrars, and tell them to count every vote.  Bill is not going to concede until every vote his counted, and he stands a reasonable chance at pulling out a shocker in SoCal.

Orange County Registrar: (714) 567-7600

Riverside County Registrar:  (951) 486-7200

… Dave here.  Just to put some hard numbers to this, right now, the results are here:

Bill Hedrick (Dem)  85,039  48.6%

Ken Calvert (Rep)  89,679  51.4%

That is not yet in the universe of what the Secretary of State calls a close race, one that has a spread of less than 2% between the winner and loser.  But clearly, with so many ballots left to be counted, CA-44 must be put into the realm of possibility.

By the way, if you’re wondering what is a “close race” right now, that would be AD-10, SD-19, CA-04, and Prop. 11.  None of those should be called right now based on current information.  So as I said yesterday, this election is not over.  Frank Russo also has a good report on this.

…Dave again.  Just to piggyback on this, Charlie Brown’s campaign has sent an email to their list (on the flip):

A record number of voters turned out for Tuesday’s election.  

And, after more than 300,000 ballots were cast in CA-04, the race is tied.   The current difference stands at less than half of 1% (less than 500 votes).

The race is way too close to call. And there are more than 40,000 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots still to be counted.

Once all the votes are tallied, we are confident that Charlie Brown will be the 4 th District’s next Congressman, but we need your help to make sure every vote is counted.

Please Contribute to our Election Protection Fund.

Yesterday, Tom McClintock hired an election attorney and brought in a team of lawyers to “watch” the locations where absentee and provisional ballots are being counted.    

With McClintock’s massive fundraising list, he has the financial ability to hire as many lawyers as he needs to challenge the votes of thousands of people who faithfully cast their ballots.

We need to combat this, but that takes resources.

Please click here to make a donation to help us fight for every last vote.

McClintock has history with recounts, and was on the short end of a fight with Steve Westly in 2002 after a similar situation, so we know he’s going fight.

But rest assured that we will not give up – we will not surrender – we will not rest until we make sure that every single vote is counted.

Please donate right now to ensure a fair process to count the remaining votes.

Many of us have looked forward to this post-election day for such a long time – as a country we are headed in a new direction, with so many new and excited voters participating in the process, we cannot afford to allow new voters to become disenchanted with the system already.

We all remember what happened the last time a right-wing politician started challenging election results.   Your additional contribution of $25, $50 or whatever you can afford will go a long way to helping prevent a repeat of history.

Thank you,

Todd Stenhouse

Campaign Manager

California

SEIU CA Members Change Washington DC, California

SEIU’s more than 700,000 members across California are joining their neighbors, co-workers, and communities today, celebrating this new day in Washington D.C. and California.

The last eight years of the Bush Administration and this last California legislative session should never be repeated. That’s why SEIU and its members were among the largest organizations in California to change our broken political system, elect pro-working family leaders, and pass initiatives and bonds that will improve our communities for the next generation.

Changing Washington

SEIU International was one of the biggest players in America to send Barack Obama to the White House. Hundreds of thousands of our members across the country poured into battleground states, including members from California who campaigned in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona. Our members know how to organize the grassroots and mobilize voters, and we are thrilled to have played our part in this historic win.  

California members also worked hard to elect a new, pro-working family Member of Congress from California- Jerry McNerny – who will work to fix our economy, health care system, education, and protect our environment.

Changing California

Our first step towards victory here at home started early this year when, working with community partners, we registered an unprecedented 125,000 new California voters. Many of these are minorities and working families, two groups that are far underrepresented in California’s electorate.

In the closing weeks of the campaign, our members turned out these new voters along with targeted voters in droves to support candidates and issues that matter to hard-working Californians:

• Volunteered more than 80,000 hours on the phones and walking door to door

• Sent over 1.75 million pieces of mail to voters in partnership with allies such as California School Employees Association, the California State Federation of Labor, California Firefighters, California Federation of Teachers, and others

• Sent 750,000 pieces of mail to SEIU members

• Made over 2.6 million phone calls

As a result, we claimed victory in the following races:

• Measure A in San Francisco; Measure A in Santa Clara; Measure R in Los Angeles

• No on Proposition 4; No on Proposition 6

• Los Angeles County Supervisor: Mark Ridley-Thomas

• California State Senate: Lois Wolk SD 5 and Hannah-Beth Jackson SD 19

• California State Assembly: Joan Buchanan AD 15, Marty Block AD 78, Manuel Perez AD 80

The end of the election, however, does not mean our work is done.  Rather, it merely provides us with the opportunity to begin to change workers lives.  SEIU remains committed now more than ever to its mission of bettering the lives of workers everywhere.  Tuesday’s victories in both Washington and California were huge steps toward making that happen.

When the hard-working men and women of SEIU join a fight, they join it to win because they know their lives and the lives of the people they serve are at stake.  We are now in a position to create the changes working Californians need in order to fix our budget, provide increased access to affordable healthcare, and fund our schools.

Together, with our partners, community leaders and activists across the state, SEIU members put the American Dream back within reach for all Californians.  

Budget

The Mouse That Never Roared

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I will be on KRXA 540 AM this morning at 8 to discuss this, as well as to recap the California election results

There’s been a consensus among California progressives that as far as our state was concerned, the 2008 election was either a disappointment or a disaster. Silver linings are few. But there was a significant development that should not only give us hope for the future – but MUST give us direction and focus over the next few weeks as the budget battle resumes in Sacramento.

As I explained back in August, conservatives were planning to unite around the issue of taxes in this election. We saw it here in California when right-wingers like Joel Fox were concern trolling small businesses and working Californians to vote against badly needed government programs like Measure R, the LA mass transit expansion. Nor did it help when credulous journalists repeated this framing themselves.

These anti-tax politics were part of a larger effort to revive the policies of Herbert Hoover and prevent a New Deal from coming to California (little known fact: California never had a New Deal the first time around either). Their argument is that instead of using government to provide a safety net and stimulate economic growth, we should cut back government in a time of crisis, no matter the social or economic cost.

On Tuesday Californians resoundingly rejected these arguments. The Reason Foundation and the Howard Jarvis Association threw everything they had at Proposition 1A but it passed anyway and we’re gonna build that SUPERTRAIN.

Voters also approved a number of tax increases, which is all the more stunning because of the absurd 66.7% requirement. In addition to LA’s Measure R, Sonoma and Marin counties approved Measure Q, a tax increase to build a passenger rail line near the Highway 101 corridor. Santa Clara County voters may have approved a BART sales tax. Voters in Imperial and Stanislaus counties renewed transit taxes. Here in Monterey County we fell just short of approving a transit tax – 62% is a significant show of support.

Other tax proposals fared well. San José approved a telephone tax. Alameda County approved a parcel tax to pay for AC Transit bus service. Voters in small towns in Monterey County rejected efforts to repeal utility and sales taxes. Nine of 13 tax proposals in LA County were approved.

This should not actually surprise us. Polls have shown that Californians DO support higher taxes including as a solution to our budget crisis. They understand the value of taxes for government services. Mass transit, schools, libraries, police and fire departments – all those things create economic value, jobs, and save people money. Californians get that.

It also helps when a specific tax is connected to a specific service. State legislators are loath to do this, wanting more control over the general fund and the revenues going into it. I do not think that is the right approach to take, at least not until the structural revenue shortfall is ended.

Sacramento Democrats would do well to remember that when Arnold Schwarzenegger calls them into special session today. Mike Villines is already throwing down the no new taxes gauntlet.

Democrats should ignore his concern trolling (and that of journalists like Kathleen Pender, who doesn’t know what she’s talking about). Conservative anti-tax neo-Hoover whining is the mouse that never roared in the election. It doesn’t move the electorate the way they claim it does. Californians understand that during this economic crisis taxes for services are the right way to grow the economy.

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2008 California Assembly District election analysis

The 2008 California Assembly District election results are in, and Democrats have picked up Assembly Districts 15, 78, and 80, and lost Assembly District 30.

Riding a tidal wave of new Democratic registrations in California, Assembly Democrats had high hopes of getting closer to a 2/3s majority, and poured a huge amount of money into the top races.

An analysis shows relatively little movement in the Democratic performance in most districts since 2004, but two districts in Southern California showed significant trends.

The Secretary of State’s office has yet to publish a breakdown of the Presidential vote by Assembly District.   However, a comparison with the vote for Barbara Boxer in 2004 shows the election results follow that vote fairly closely.

Below are the most competitive open seats, ranked by the 2004 vote for Boxer, and with the 2008 vote for the Assembly District candidate for comparison.

District Candidate Boxer Vote 2008 AD Vote
*78 Marty Block 57.9% 55.0%
*80 Manny Perez 57.5% 52.9%
*15 Joan Buchanan 52.6% 52.9%
30 Fran Florez 49.8% 48.3%
26 John Eisenhut 48.6% 48.3%
10 Alyson Huber 48.1% 46.2%

*pickup

In most of these races, the AD candidates are slightly underperforming the 2004 Boxer vote.  The exception is Joan Buchanan in Assembly District 15.   Buchanan may have been helped by demographic changes in the district.

Two races in Southern California showed signicant improvement over 2004, and could be targets for 2010.

District Candidate Boxer Vote 2008 AD Vote
36 Linda Jones 44.7% 48.1%
37 Ferial Masry 48.0% 48.5%

Jones may have been helped by Democratic trends in San Bernadino County, and Masry by the state Senate campaign and Democratic voter registration efforts in Ventura County.  Both Ventura and San Bernadino counties turned blue this year.

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Nader and Gonzalez are Bigoted Jerks! They Called Obama An “Uncle Tom!”

The good people at SFist are calling out Magical Matt Gonzalez’ running mate calling Barack Obama an “Uncle Tom.”

You really know you’ve gone through the looking glass when a Fox News commentator has on many occaisions called bs on Joe the Plumber and stands up for Obama against a worthless, irrelevant bigot like Ralph Nader.

http://sfist.com/2008/11/05/ra…

I guess when you’ve been reduced to an asterisk, all you got left is bile and hatred. Thank goodness we didn’t elect that Green Party washout Gonzalez mayor – we’d be in an even bigger mess than we are now!