Today’s California Blog Roundup is on the flip. It’s almost all post-mortems, with just a couple other pieces.
Governor
Statewide Races Generally
CA-50
Other Electoral
Poll Workers
Miscellany
Tag Archives: CA-11
CA-11: Jerry McNerney, California’s Jon Tester
( – promoted by SFBrianCL)
In CA-11, Jerry McNerney took the Democratic nomination. He will face “Paid-for” Pombo in the general election. We’ve been following the CA-11 race here at Calitics for a long time, more so recently due to the recent comments of Filson. I posted a diary both at Calitics and at dKos about the bullshit surrounding the triangulation theories playing out in this race. I’d like to go through this a little and make the proposition that Jerry McNerney is our Tester, a progressive leader that is simultaneously electable and responsive to his Democratic base. For more on Tester, check out dKos.
So, a brief background on the race would probably be helpful here. Jerry McNerney ran a campaign that got a late start in 2004. He struggled to build a campaign structure for that race, going so far as to mortgage his house in order to run a decent campaign. In the end, he garnered about 39% of the vote, a respectable figure against a well-funded incumbent. Of course, at that point Richard Pombo was merely an unremarkable Congressman with a penchant for hyperbole, or outright lying, depending on how you see fit to describe it. The 11th district isn’t your typical Bay Area district, it has its soul in San Joaquin county. It previously had more Democrats, but the Democratic heart of Stockton was shifted from what is now the 11th to what is now the 18th. This was due to the Gary Condit scandal. Legislative Democrats wanted Condit to retire so that the Democrats could retain his seat in the 18th District, now held by Blue Dog Valleycrat Dennis Cardoza. Thus, the 11th now has a substantial Republican registration advantage.
There’s lots more on the flip…
Now, Jerry McNerney didn’t give up after 2004. He knew that Richard Pombo was not the right man to be representing the 11th. And then came the candidacy of Pete McCloskey, a “moderate” Republican. (Sidenote: It’s probably just as well McCloskey didn’t win. The man has had some problems with attacking the Jewish community and a touch of Holocaust denial, specifically saying, “I listened to speeches about the courage of men who have spoken out against the commonly accepted concept of what occurred during the Second World War in the so-called Holocaust.” Yikes! That’s more than a bit scary.) Whatever McCloskey did or did not say, one thing is clear: he riled up the moderate Republicans who had grown weary of Pombo. The GOP Ex-Congressman who challenged Pombo in this year’s primary, accused Pombo of a litany of wrongs, including:
Why Retire Pombo?
• Pombo has been named by non-partisan watchdog groups as:• “One of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress”-COMMITTEE FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON (CREW)
• “One of the first six inductees to the Congressional Hall of Shame” – PUBLIC CITIZEN
• Richard Pombo is among the top recipients of money from admitted felon and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates. (Source: Time)
• Pombo owes his chairmanship of the House Resources Committee to indicted former majority leader Tom DeLay. Pombo, who votes in lockstep with DeLay 92% of the time, actively tried to change House Ethics Rules to protect DeLay (House Resolution 5) and donated thousands of dollars to the DeLay legal defense fund.
• Pombo used his official powers to protect a large donor, Charles Hurwitz, thwarting a Federal investigation in what federal regulators called, “a seamy abuse of the legislative process.” (Source: LA Times 1/8/06) (PeteMcCloskey.com)
These allegations and plenty more were made by a Republican. It lends credibility that may not have existed if it were only coming from the Democratic candidates. The Wall Street Journal picked up on the story too:
In one of the year’s most improbable races, the 78-year-old former congressman has jumped back into politics in a long-shot bid to oust House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo here in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Few give Mr. McCloskey much chance of success as he tours the San Joaquin Valley in his red, white and blue van….”The Republican leadership in the House has abandoned ethics, they’ve abandoned the concept of balanced budgets, they’ve abandoned the concept of limited government,” Mr. McCloskey tells his conservative host, Bill Mick. House leaders are “dead wrong” in resisting the recent Justice Department criminal search of one lawmaker’s office, and Congress should begin to pull troops out of Iraq as proposed by his fellow Marine, Rep. John Murtha (D., Pa.).
***
Environmentalists, angered by Mr. Pombo’s direction of the Resources Committee, are pouring money into efforts to help the McCloskey campaign, and Democrats hope the challenge will open the door for them against Mr. Pombo in the November election. (WSJ 6/1/06)
And open the door it has. In a recent Defenders of Wildlife poll, both Democrats were leading Congressman Pombo. And even Rep. McCloskey has said that he would prefer the Democrat over Pombo. So, this brings us all back to who do we want to take on Congressman Pombo. Jerry McNerney worked hard for a long time to restore dignity to the 11th District. However, once the DCCC discovered that Pombo was vulnerable they brought their own man in:
Democrats are having their own identity crisis in the 11th District. Jerry McNerney, who lost to Mr. Pombo in 2004, still enjoys the support of liberal activists.
But House Democrats want a more moderate face: Steve Filson, a Navy veteran and United Airlines pilot who situated his campaign headquarters in the San Joaquin Valley as a direct challenge to Mr. Pombo’s base.
A Republican-turned-Democrat, Mr. Filson says his politics were changed by United’s labor struggles, and warns that just running against Mr. Pombo isn’t enough. “We have to concentrate on what I offer, too — in addition to what Pombo’s done,” he says. (WSJ 6/1/06)
And Filson continued to run away from progressives where McNerney did not. McNerney proudly states progressive friendly positions on health care, reproductive freedom, environmental issues (he’s got a background in wind energy) and supports Rep. Murtha’s position on Iraq. Filson did not have much different stances on the issues, with the exception of some lukewarm support for a more Clinton-esque Iraq strategy. However, he attempted to go fuzzy moderate, and decided the best way to do that was to bash the left and the grass and netroots.
“We need members of congress… who do not get endorsements from places in Marin County and Sonoma, from extreme and progressive sections of the party.”(Audio file)
Now, that just won’t do, especially when you’re in a tight primary campaign. That’s essentially when the wheels fell off of Filson’s campaign, and Jerry started gaining strength. And no amount of Ellen Tauscher’s meddling could make Filson the shoo-in that he thought he was supposed to be. Like Tester, the party faithful came out to support a proud, principled man who wasn’t afraid of his own beliefs. That will resonate in the California 11th against Pombo like it will in the Montana Senate Race against Burns.
California Blog Roundup 6/5/06
Today’s California Blog Roundup is on the flip. Teasers: Angelides, Westly, Schwarzenegger, Paid-For Pombo, Francine Busby, Winograd v. Harman, new David Dreier blog, CA-42, Prop 82, Jerry Lewis / CA-41, immigration, minimum wage, and the economy.
Endorsements for Tuesday
State-Wide Races Generally
Paid-For Pombo / CA-11
Other Electoral
Propositions
Reform
Immigration
Legislative Action
Miscellany & Economy
California Progress Report has the transcript of the weekly state Dem radio address: they’re arguing for the minimum-wage increase with indexing, the only sane option for the working people of California. Schwarzenegger, of course, is trying to undermine the effort and take credit for the cheat.
CA-11: McNerney for Congress
( – promoted by SFBrianCL)
I’m not generally going to endorse one Democrat over another, but I feel compelled to in this instance. Also, for this, I speak only for myself. However, I feel that this race is important enough to the netroots that I should weigh in. I’ve written a lot about this race, particularly here and here. You can find great interviews with both candidates at MyDD (Jerry and Steve)
And really, it’s not that I don’t think Steve Filson would be a particularly bad Congressman. But Filson, a longtime Republican, chose to bash the “progressives” of the Democratic Party. Click here for the audio of this quote made available from the Progressive 11th Blog.:
“We need members of congress… who do not get endorsements from places in Marin County and Sonoma, from extreme and progressive sections of the party.”
Personally, I think there is nothing wrong with the good people from Marin and Sonoma Counties. This attack resulted from some local DFA Chapters endorsing McNerney. The attack was unnecessary and divisive. A candidate should not burn bridges, even with organizations that don’t endorse them. If Filson wins, he will need the support of DFA groups to win the general election against the real target: Richard Pombo.
I just don’t think that the netroots should support a candidate who has come into the race thinking that he is owed the nomination. Recently, Filson has resorted to buying his way onto “Astroturf” — phony grassroots — mailers, giving the false impression that he has the support of the grassroots. He does not. McNerney will have the support of the netroots and the grassroots through both elections. It is for this reason, I think Jerry McNerney should be the Democratic Nominee for CA-11.
California Blog Roundup, 6/2/06
Today’s California Blog Roundup is on the flip. I’m having a hard time keeping up: more people are writing as the election approaches. Teasers: Angelides, Westly, Schwarzenegger, Bowen, Paid-For Pombo, Francine Busby, Winograd v. Harman, Props 81 and 82, Jerry Lewis / CA-41, discussion of various reforms,immigration, and recent legislative actions.
Statewide Races
Paid-For Pombo / CA-11
Busby / CA-50
Winograd / Harman / CA-36
Other Electoral
Propositions
Reform
Immigration
Legislative Action
Miscellany
CA-11: Republican Challengers to Pombo on KQED’s Forum
( – promoted by SFBrianCL)
They are now on the radio in the Bay Area on KQED 88.5. Both Pete McCloskey and Tom Benigno are challenging Paid-for Pombo. If you aren’t in the Bay Area or if you can’t listen, they run a podcast at the website. The Dem candidates, McNerney and Filson are not scheduled to appear. However, I’m sure we can bug them to get the Dem nominee on after the primary.
Also notable is that Pete McCloskey has said that he would support the Dem nominee over Pombo. I’m not sure if he’s said that before, but I thought it was interesting.
Capitol Weekly published an article on June 1 about the race:
“Mr. Pombo stands for everything that’s evil, in my mind,” McCloskey told Capitol Weekly.
Much of the media coverage of McCloskey’s run has centered on Pombo’s efforts to revise the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which McCloskey helped write while serving in Congress from 1967 to 1983. While Pombo has claimed he act doesn’t work, environmental groups and McCloskey have both claimed he is trying to destroy the ESA. One draft of Pombo’s ESA overhaul built in a 2015 sunset clause for the act. Debating Pombo in a high-school auditorium in Tracy last month, McCloskey launched right in on this charge.
“His purpose, and he said so in a book 10 years ago, is to destroy the Endangered Species Act,” McCloskey said, referring to Pombo’s 1996 book This Land Is Our Land: How to End the War on Private Property.
However, McCloskey said Pombo’s ESA efforts constitute “10 percent” of the reason for his run. In Tracy, he spent far more time hammering away at Pombo’s vote against prosthetic research for Iraqi War veterans. While Pombo has defended this vote, saying it was about base-closing legislation he opposed, McCloskey supporters like to point out Pombo’s zero rating from the group Disabled American Veterans.
In recent years, the Democrats increasingly have opened their doors to pro-business and even more socially conservative candidates. Meanwhile, some in the GOP have tried to expel secular, pro-choice “Republicans in Name Only.” “I’ve been a Republican since 1948, before Pombo was born,” McCloskey said. Later, he added, “They would call Barry Goldwater a RINO today.”(Capitol Weekly 6/1/06)
I’m not sure how McCloskey will fare, but as he has said, I would support anybody over Pombo. If it’s another Republican, but this time an honest, respectable Republican, I would support him.
California Blog Roundup, 5/30/06
( – promoted by jsw)
Today’s California Blog Roundup is on the flip. Teasers: The Enron convictions, Angelides, Westly, Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown, Paid-For Pombo, 15% Doolittle, the CAHSEE and California’s rankings, immmigration, several interesting think posts, and more.
The One To Read
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Lest we forget, Robert Silvey reminds us that the conviction of Ken Lay (devoted Bush supporter) is related to their company’s predation on California, abetted by Dick Cheney and the Republican Administration, which led in turn to the recall election of Grey Davis and the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yes, this stuff is all connected. No, that’s not a conspiracy theory.
Statewide Races
- Marc Cooper plugs his own LA Weekly article on the Dem gubernatorial primary. Go read it: it goes well beyond the ordinary “how much money” and “how many ads” coverage that seems to dominate political reporting.
- To paraphrase both loosely and badly from Shakespeare, Governor Schwarzenegger learns the hard way that he who pisses away his money loses only his money, while he who pisses away his reputation loses everything.
- Julia Rosen from ABC posts on the amount of money the Dem candidates have put into the primary (too much, frankly). She also quotes Bill Bradley opining that without the IE campaign run by his friends, Angelides would not be doing as well as he is. I find this puzzling. By this logic, Arnold Schwarzenegger would not do well without his personal fortune or his contacts. Westly would not do well without his personal fortune
or his contacts. I see no distinction. - Randy Bayne comes out for Angelides. Oh, and Garamendi.
- Julia Rosen of ABC on indecision and turnout.
- Bill Cavala thinks we’re nostalgic for Jerry Brown. Could be.
- In addition to Brian’s great response to Kos’ frustration with the Dem candidates for governor, you should also read Delta’s take on the atmosphere created by the negative campaigning.
15% Doolittle / CA-04
- I think a “Heh, indeed” is appropriate here.
- The more I read about the Republican involvement in protecting the people who were exploiting women in the Marianas (sweatshops, forced prostitution, forced abortions, rape), the more I wonder how people like 15% Doolittle can sleep at night. Family values, indeed.
- Good news for the 15% Doolittle family! They’ve made up to $150,000 from their campaign contributors this election cycle!
Paid-For Pombo / CA-11
- McNerney and McCloskey both want to know what Paid-For Pombo knew about the exploitation of women in the Marianas by Jack Abramoff’s clients, and when he knew it.
- Paid-For Pombo: Objectively pro-global-warming.
- This is disappointing. Progressive 11th reports that Filson’s FEC report suggests he’s paying for astroturf slate mailers. (More about why this is so disappointing below.)
- Say No To Pombo has an interesting post about the shibboleths of “centrism” and “electability”.
Education
- The Educational Justice Blog reports that the Cal Supremes have reinstated the California High School Exit Exam. They’re not pleased.
- The Citizens are happier with the reinstatement of the CAHSEE.
- The Capitol Observer reports on the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress state rankings: we’ve beaten Mississippi, and only Mississippi. No-one should be happy at that.
Immigration
- D-Day thinks that the recent Senate compromise on immigration doesn’t suck all that much, though he doubts that anything good will come out of the conference committee. Tex Sensenbrenner provides support for that hypothesis.
- Marc Cooper comes down in roughly the same place as D-Day.
- Politics in the Zeros doesn’t like it.
- The Talent Show is not thrilled with the Senate’s immigration bill, and gets its flaws (in the real world) just about right. The comments are worth reading, as they descend into nativist nuttery pretty fast. More from the real world here.
Other Electoral
- Remember, it’s not just Republicans who are a wee bit too friendly to corporate interests. It’s certain Democrats as well. In a lot of races. The difference is that we expect better from Democrats.
- Shane Goldmacher of the California Observer crossposts a Capitol Weekly piece on the nastiness of some campaign direct mail. It is useful to read this piece in conjunction with the descriptions of Gary South and Tom Mulholland in Marc Cooper’s LA Weekly piece.
- Assembly Member Tim Leslie (R – 15% Doolittle) shows why he needs to be termed out, even if nobody else does.
- Keeping one’s eyes on the prize in CA-50.
- If you want to know what a male feminist Christian professor is voting for this June, here’s your answer.
- Here are Progressive 11th’s picks.
- The SCCDP blog has been following the dustup over the Silicon Valley CofC’s false attacks on Cindy Chavez, San Jose mayoral candidate. The chair of the SVCOC has resigned, and a former chair has made public his resignation from the SVCOC. Still no apology for the lie, though.
Think Pieces
- Bill Cavala has a short piece at California Progress Report that nonetheless manages to be a glorious mess. He seems to be advocating public financing, redistricting reform, and the elimination of term limits as a unified platform, even while admitting that the public only supports the first of those.
- Joe Dunn explains the oligopoly problem in California’s gasoline supply.
- janinsanfran thinks that Mi Familia Vota is looking to go national from Florida and has some thoughts on the matter. The piece is worth reading, and not just because I agree wholeheartedly with big chunks of it.
- Howie Klein on the bogus slate mailer problem. Man, I hate these things — first up against the wall when the revolution comes. I think the slimiest version I have personally seen was put out by the pharmaceutical industry last year, which recommended progressive positions on every Proposition except Props 78 and 79. Here’s a good one, though.
- Incidentally, the California Club For Growth is sending out its slate mailer with the discount for “non-profit philanthropic organizations”. Related, did you know that AEI and the Heritage Institute are officially 501(c)(3) non-profits, so contributions to them are tax-deductible. Couldn’t make that up if I tried.
Other
- Randy Bayne explains exactly why indexing the minimum wage to inflation is important.
- Kvatch, from Blognonymous (and a few others) have been pursuing an interesting anti-war campaign.
- We bloggers is journamalists. Is that a step up, or down?
For the Love of Money: While Pombo and Doolittle Raise Special Interest Cash, They Miss Key Votes
Pombo and Doolittle Choose Dick Cheney and Special Interest Cash over Doing Their Jobs – Miss Vote on Veterans’ Benefits
(Washington, D.C.) – This week, missing votes because of special interest fundraisers with Vice President Cheney, Reps. John Doolittle and Richard Pombo proved that even less is possible when it comes to doing their jobs in Congress. One of the measures they missed votes on was the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act, which improves benefits for veterans such as life insurance, housing loans, disability compensation and treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Doolittle and Pombo have been facing questions for months about choosing special interest money over doing their jobs in Congress.
“Instead of voting for veterans’ benefits and against terrorism in the Middle East, Doolittle and Pombo chose to raise special interest money with Dick Cheney. It’s time for a change in Washington,” said Bill Burton, communications director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “A big part of being in Congress is making choices and Doolittle and Pombo’s choice to raise special interest money with Dick Cheney rather than show up to work is just one more reason why Californians are looking for new priorities this November. California families will choose change because they deserve better than members of Congress who consistently favor their special interest friends over the families they represent.” S.1235, Vote #177 5/22/06
Seems Doolittle was busy giving Pombo personal training from his well practiced, unethical habit of how to rip off constituents for 15% of some pretty hefty campaign contributions that day. Doolittle put $40,000.00 into his personal bank account that day. Pombo has been following Doolittle’s lead on how to pocket campaign contributions by a loophole that allows them to funnel cash through their wives.
I’m sure the Veterans of America will have an easy decision this November during the mid-term congressional elections.
CA-50, Busby has cash lead and other money issues from CA districts
( – promoted by SFBrianCL)
An AP analysis of campaign finance reports has Cardiff School Board member Francine Busby with a CASH ADVANTAGE over lobbyist Brian Bilbrary.
Democrat Francine Busby is outraising Republican Brian Bilbray in the high-spending California race to replace disgraced ex-Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham in Congress, campaign finance reports filed Thursday show.
Busby had raised $2.25 million as of May 17, including $755,139 in the most recent fundraising period. She ended the reporting period with about $185,000 in cash on-hand to take her through the June 6 election.
Bilbray had raised just over $1 million in his bid for the San Diego area seat, including $630,055 in the most recent period. He ended up with just over $100,000 on-hand.(SF Chron 5/26/06)
Very rarely does a Dem have a cash advantage for open seats in even districts, let alone districts with a sizable GOP lead. Busby has become the poster child of the netroots, partly because of the hubub surround the Duke-stir, partly becuase of the timing of the special election, and partly because she is a compelling candidate. She has reached out to the netroots in a meaningful and substantial way. Her campaign understands that the Internet is not merely an ATM, but a place to spread information, disseminate ideas, and formulate a vision for the election.
The article continues with a summary of the finance reports in other notable districts in California, CA-4 (Doolittle), CA-11 (Pombo), and CA-36 (Harman). A quick table of that data is on the flip.
| Candidate | District | Party | Total Raised | Previous Quarter | Cash-on-hand | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busby | CA-50 | D | $2.55m | $755K | $185K | |
| Bilbray | CA-50 | R | $1m | $630K | $100K | |
| 15% Doolittle | CA-4 | R | $1m | $190K | $265K | |
| Mike Holmes | CA-4 | R | $63K | $12.5K | $18K | |
| Charlie Brown | CA-4 | D | $145K | $48K | $45K | |
| “Paid-for” Pombo | CA-11 | R | $1.65m | $280K | $800K | |
| Pete McCloskey | CA-11 | R | $383K | $180K | $120K | |
| Jerry McNerney | CA-11 | D | $221K | $57K | $62K | |
| Steve Filson | CA-11 | D | $385K | $95K | $65K | |
| Jane Harman | CA-36 | D | $700K | $101K | $550K | |
| Marcy Winograd | CA-36 | D | $208K | $67K | $12K |
California Blog Roundup, 5/24/06
Today’s California Blog Roundup is on the flip. Teasers:Angelides, Westly and Schwarzenegger of course, Debra Bowen, Doolittle, Pombo, Filson, Harman, Winograd, immigration, a long list of other interesting items.
Statewide Races
- From ABC: Rasmussen shows Angelides & Westly each tie with Schwarzenegger, blame Schwarzenegger immigration waffling.
- Down With Tyranny writes a nice long piece on the Governor’s race, explaining both why Schwarzenegger is bad news and why he likes Angelides. He’s also got an interesting anecdote in the middle about his experience with Westly.
- Kos handicaps Governor’s races: not incredibly optimistic about the Dems’ chances in CA. Amusing side note: Bill Bradley calls Kos “hyperliberal” in referring to that post. Leaving aside the agenda that shows, calling Markos hyperliberal indicates a certain lack of familiarity with Markos and smacks of uncritical acceptance of Republican spin. Markos is hyperpartisan, but not so much hyperliberal. In fact, that is a point on which he’s taken a lot of grief.
- Down With Tyranny endorses Deborah Bowen in the Secretary of State Dem primary and the General. He’s also got a good explanation of why the Secretary of State is an important position.
15% Doolittle / CA-04
- 15% Doolittle is going to be championing single payer health insurance, including vision and dental coverage. No, I’m just kidding; that would reward the undeserving poor. He thinks that’s the sort of thing all of us already have.
- So of course, 15% Doolittle wants even more. See also Down With Tyranny for a bit more on 15% Doolittle’s sense of entitlement to his lobbyist lunches.
- Dump Doolittle has an awesome LTE up from the Auburn Journal. This guy’s cranky, and it’s excellent.
- Dump Doolittle reports that another CA-04 newspaper has endorsed Mike Holmes in the Republican Primary — this time it’s Gold Country Media, which runs several newspapers in 15% Doolittle’s District.
Paid-For Pombo / CA-11
- The CA-11 Blog (a For-Filson production) has an interview with Steve Filson about Iraq. As before, I expect that Say No To Pombo will probably ask Jerry McNerney the same questions and will post the answers.
- Paid-For Pombo invites big oil into the people’s house. Not just metaphorically this time.
- Paid-For Pombo is also on the subpoena list in the investigation into Jack Abramoff’s
lobbyingbribery for favors for various wealthy investors in the Marianas. Pombo Watch has a press release from Pete McCloskey that outlines the issues pretty well. - The list of contributors to Paid-For Pombo is astonishing: oil, pesticide, whalers, the trapping and fur industry. Has Pombo ever seen a wild thing he didn’t want plowed under, chopped down, shot dead, or paved over? Seriously, it’s as if he’s trying to get even with the whole planet for something he thinks it did to him.
- And in that vein, the SCCDP lets us know that Paid-For Pombo wants to drill in ANWR. Screw you Planet! Pombo’s going to get you for that hay fever!
Harman v. Winograd / CA-36
- Journeys with Jood is not stoked about Jane Harman. She is stoked about Marcy Winograd.
- So is Hoffmania, with a bonus of a commenter who reports (second-hand) about Jane Harman’s picture of herself with George W. Bush. Hoffmania also runs down (by way of the LA Times) the issues at stake between the two candidates.
- Last, skippy has several people’s experiences with Rep. Harman.
Immigration
- Ellen Dana Nagler on the immigration stories of two different families.
- janinsanfran points out that we’ve been down this silly English-only road before.
And…
- Terry Preston suggests that California apportion electoral votes by House district. It’s interesting, but kind of a crappy idea (sorry, Terry), because it requires that some other states which vote Republican and have a total of 57 electoral votes do the same thing. Ain’t gonna happen.
- The Exec Direc of the California League of Conservation Voters, guest-posting at California Progress Report, points out that some consistent supporters of conservation in the State Legislature are termed out, while others are running in the primaries. Their endorsements here.
- Spocko’s Brain thinks it got push-polled by Fiona Ma or an IE committee supporting her.
- Terry Preston notes that Prop 73 is rolling around again, as we’ve mentioned before. Yes, well, the singlemindedness of the wealthy men bankrolling the anti-choice movement in California is notable, isn’t it.
- Uneasy Rhetoric suggests that Sacramento should establish a local business incubator to encourage a unique local flavor and assist small business owners.
- Guest post at California Progress Report advocating the passage of AB 651, the Compassionate Choices Act. I’m wholeheartedly in favor of people being able to choose the time and means of their passing, having had to deal with this kind of thing myself.
- Randy Bayne: Fair Share Health Care rhymes, and may lead to universal health care, if played well.
- One voter at a time.
- Greg Dewar has the initial version of the his campaign mailer archive up and running.
- Pax Nortona has an interesting post up about the effect of hardship on character and by extension, politics. Turns out (as is often true) the reality is not the myth.
- Construction employment is down in absolute terms. Not so good, that.