In a democracy, every person has a single vote. Unfortunately, what is becoming increasingly true is that someone with millions of dollars and the willingness to fund front groups has the ability to influence millions of votes.

Take the issue of the Iraq War – by any and every national poll, millions of Americans want the war to stop as they see through the lies that got us in the war, the lies that have kept us in the war and now with even the Iraqi leadership asking we leave, the vast majority of Americans see no reason to fund billions on dollars in war every month.

However, despite their wishes and their votes, the wishes of the people are countered by the wishes of the few, or in today’s example, the wishes of one, Sheldon Adelson. Mr. Adelson is one of the very few wealthy “behind-the-scenes” manipulators that set up phony front groups and fund them with millions and millions of dollars to pollute our country’s discourse, smear people, spread fear and lies and the worst kinds of dirty stories.  Every politician knows that this ugliness could be directed at them if they dare try to fight this kind of power.

Where do these Republican, pro-war front groups get so much money?

Thomas B. Edsell’s July 25 post at Huffington Post, titled Sheldon Adelson: GOP’s Answer To George Soros? provides us with a few clues.

Sheldon Adelson, the 74-year-old casino billionaire who has become the third richest man in America and who has strong ties to the hard-line Likud Party in Israel, has emerged this year a major benefactor of the American right.

Adelson has been a major backer of right-wing Republicans, including Tom DeLay, and has given $2.9 million to a Newt Gingrich organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future.

And now, according to Edsell,

. . .Adelson, according to the National Journal, has begun channeling cash and fundraising support to Vets for Freedom, which is expected to use the influx of money to finance what it claims will be a multimillion dollar “Four Months For Victory” ad campaign.

Why does a wealthy Jewish casino owner, so rich that he is flown around in his own Boeing 767,  support a veteran’s organization?  Probably because Vets For Freedom isn’t really a veteran’s organization, but a Republican Party front group working to elect John McCain and keep the Iraq war going.

If Vets For Freedom was a veteran’s organization, they would be front and center in holding John McCain responsible for voting against the new G.I. Bill? But they didn’t say a word.

If Vets For Freedom was a veteran’s organization, they would be concerned with the hundreds of thousands of returning wounded warriors and their need for care and assistance? But they’re not.

In fact, Vets For Freedom has only one mission – build public support for continuing the war in Iraq and now it appears they really only have one donor – a hard line neoconservative who is determined to influence US foreign policy in the Middle East.  

Adelson is also a major funder of Freedom’s Watch, another Republican front group that exists solely to help wealthy individuals like Adelson get around campaign finance laws that are designed to protect our democracy from this kind of dollars-outweigh-votes corrupting influence.  

These organizations are allowed to take unlimited donations and not disclose donors because they are supposed to be educating the public about issues, not polluting our elections with ads that support or smear candidates.  But, of course, who in the Bush government is going to stop them from breaking our campaign finance laws to support Republicans and smear Democrats?

In Israel Adelson has purchased a newspaper that he uses to try to influence Israeli politics.  According to some, he inspires resentment and fear there. A recent New Yorker article about Adelson says,

“In Israel, where political, academic and business leaders tend to be outspoken, there is a striking reticence at the mention of Sheldon Adelson. Even people who are diametrically opposed to his politics refuse to be interviewed. ‘There is a discernible amount of self-censorship going on,’ the liberal Israeli-American writer Bernard Avishai said. ‘There is no ideological justification for what Sheldon is doing among the Israeli intelligentsia and a revulsion at an American weighing in so heavily on Israeli politics, in such a crude, reactionary way. But they won’t speak.'”  

Post-Script: As we were about to publish it, news comes that Sheldon Adelson has hired Karl Rove with a mid six figure deal to help run “Freedom’s Watch” another right wing front group.

John McCain came to California on Monday for a fundraising swing that took him to Bakersfield and San Francisco.

Candi Easter, Chair of the Kern County Democratic Party, organized a Democratic reception for John McCain in Bakersfield and was elated when 75 people showed up for the noontime rally. Here’s Candi’s report of Monday’s events:

Thanks to every one that participated in the rally this afternoon! We had a wonderful turnout with a very diverse group of folks. We had people from The Kern River Valley Democratic Club and the Tehachapi Mountain Democratic Club — a 100-mile round trip for them!!!!

The Obama Campaign came out and brought the next president (Barack Obama  — he was a little stiff, though) with them. We also had Elsa Florez and some of the Florez staff come on their lunch hour. I cannot forget Democratic Women of Kern! Thank you all for coming out and changing the news cycle today.

Later in the day, McCain showed up in San Francisco for a $1,000+ per plate dinner where he was welcomed by 200-250 Democrats who came out in force with their “McCain=Bush III” and  “McCain, McSame, McBush” signs.  Inside the fundraiser, McCain reportedly unleashed his strangely discomfiting sense of “humor”:  “I will compete, and I will win in the state of California,” he vowed to a crowd of about 250 at the Fairmont Hotel, then quipped after applause, “and following that I will take back to Arizona all the water that you’ve stolen from us.” Wow. That seems like a really clever way to woo Californians. Delusional, yet managing to be both threatening and insulting — that really hits all the right notes.

Meanwhile, back in the land of sane people, a special thanks should go to Aaron Peskin, the new Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, and Pres. Alec Bash and the members of Democracy Action for their role in organizing this event.  We’ll post another diary once Alec has prepared his video of the Bush-McCain Challenge.

The awesome bus is from a group of organizations making a publicity tour of the country (AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Americans United For Change, and others). They were in town for the AFSCME International Convention and broke the bus out to circle around the hotel. The bus will mostly be traveling in swing states, and this may be its only trip to California.

UPDATE: Check out the video from the San Francisco event!

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

A quick event announcement. The GOP nominee will be cruising into town today to pick up some cash from a few rich Republican types. (Yes, there are a few. And they are rich.)

Subject: McCain in San Francisco TODAY – 5:30 PM!

What: Rally for Democrats outside McCain Fundraiser.

When: Today-Monday July 28th, 5:30-7:30 pm

Where: Outside the Fairmont Hotel-Mason Street between Sacramento and California Ave. Parking on Grace Cathedral Garage ($11.00 before 6:00pm). Located on Taylor and California Ave.

Please bring your hand-made signs. We will have extra signs for you to use.

(Good to see the CDP stepping up.  McCain should be radioactive in SF. – promoted by David Dayen)

The California Democratic Party will be welcoming John McCain to San Francisco on Monday evening, along with activists from the SF MoveOn Council and Democracy Action.  McCain will be attending a $1000/plate fundraiser at the Fairmont Hotel.  But before McCain supporters enter the hotel, Democratic activists will be inviting them to take the Bush/McCain Challenge.  

Here’s how the challenge works.  Supporters and passersby are given five quotes and then asked “Who said what – Bush, McCain or Both – Can You Tell the Difference?”  And anybody who can answer three out of five correctly will win the grand prize of – a tootsie-pop!  

You can see how it works from a previous session in Berkeley.  Check it on the flip…

So if you’re anywhere near San Francisco, come join other Democrats on Monday evening.  Grab a “Bush’s Third Term” sign and give McSame a big San Francisco welcome!

• Fairmont Hotel, Mason Street between California & Sacramento
• 5:30-7:30pm Monday, July 28

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

For the last few months, Calitics has been part of the Ruckus Blog on Newsweek. This week we’re starting a question feature. The question this week asks who would be a bold pick for John McCain and Barack Obama as VP candidates. This being a California blog, I have some answers for that question.  I’m not going to say these would be good picks, but they will be bold.  McCain: Duncan “wildebeest” Hunter.  Barack Obama: Barbara Boxer.

Duncan Hunter: Let’s look at Duncan Hunter first. He’s a longtime congressman and first time presidential candidate this cycle.  The man is clearly insane, so much so that he wants to feed the Darfur refugees with wildebeest that he shoots himself.  And that’s not all. He wants to turn Santa Rosa Island into a hunting park for, well, anybody that carries enough political clout for him to get through. He tried veterans, then moved to disabled veterans. I’m pretty sure he’ll next say that Santa Rosa Island should be a wildebeest hunting refuge for the Darfur refugees next. Or something like that.

Hunter is a conservative’s conservative. He won’t help you carry California, but he will bring the NRA and a whole slew of gun enthusiasts to your side. He won’t bring the votes of military families that have been torn apart by the foolish war in Iraq, but he will bring you Pentagon contractors.  He’s real tight with them.  This is a certainly a bold pick.

Duncan Hunter: Conservative, Gun-toting, and Completely Insane. Now, that’s Bold.

Barbara Boxer: On the more serious side, Barbara Boxer would be a phenomenal choice to take the lower line of the Democratic ticket. She is enormously popular with the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party (meaning us liberals), and would create an historic ticket. While I’m not sure that Boxer would make up for a Clinton loss, the Obama/Boxer ticket would break boundaries that should have been broken long ago.

Boxer has been fighting for California in the Senate since 1990 and has truly done a phenomenal job. Her leadership regarding climate change has been overshadowed by Al Gore, but has been critical to whatever movement there has been on the issue. She opposed the Iraq War, reinforcing Obama’s position.

She’s not on the short list, likely because she would be seen as “too liberal” or due to the fact that she’s from California, a state where Obama leads by 24 points.  That’s a shame. Yet, Boxer would be a truly visionary selection to usher in a new governance that could build a progressive majority for years to come.

…will be right here in California, at Saddleback Church.

The Rev. Rick Warren has persuaded the candidates to attend a forum at his Saddleback Church, in Lake Forest, Calif., on Aug. 16. In an interview, Mr. Warren said over the weekend that the presidential candidates would appear together for a moment but that he would interview them in succession at his megachurch […]

The forum still falls short of the kind of face-to-face, town-hall-style debates that Mr. McCain, of Arizona, has called for this summer before formal debates scheduled for this fall.

Mr. Warren, the author of the best-selling book “The Purpose-Driven Life,” said he had called each man personally to invite him to his event, which will focus on how they make decisions and on some of Mr. Warren’s main areas of focus, like AIDS, poverty and the environment.

Maybe the fact that McCain missed the vote on the global AIDS bill, like he’s missed every vote since April (and here I thought I was being lax with my Netflix movies!), will come up.  Then again, don’t expect a grilling:

“Since I’m their friend, I’m not going to give them any gotcha questions,” Mr. Warren said, adding that a typical query would be, “What’s the most difficult decision you’ve had to make, and how did you make it?”

So the first town hall of the 2008 election will basically be a Barbara Walters interview.

Get your tickets now!

In an unanticipated flip flop (this one in particular, not the flipping in general) this past weekend while in San Diego addressing the National Council of La Raza, John McCain signaled his unequivocal support for the DREAM Act:

Q: “Will you support humanity all across the world and support The DREAM Act that we are trying to pass?”

A: “Yes. Yes, but I will also enforce the existing laws. That’s why we must secure the border…”

McCain was a sponsor of the DREAM Act in 2003, 2005 and 2007, but NOW in 2007:

McCain Skipped Vote On DREAM Act But Said He Would Have Voted Against Bill That He Co-Sponsored. “Last week, McCain skipped a Senate vote on immigration legislation called the DREAM Act – Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors. He then said he would have voted against the bill, even though he was a co-sponsor.” [Myrtle Beach Sun-News, 11/2/07 ]

This is remarkable on its face and is a clear attempt to pull Latino voters to McCain and make California competitive, but it doesn’t exactly jive with the spin that was being pushed around yesterday after Obama’s luncheon speech.

The real absurdity of McCain’s strategy, at least with regard to reaching Latino voters in California, was on full display Sunday following Obama’s La Raza speech, and it basically boiled down to telling Latinos that the elected Latinos throughout the state are failures. Hector Barajas, Director of Communications for the California GOP ticked off the list of Democratic boogeymen: Antonio Villaraigosa, Fabian Nunez, Gil Cedillo. Not just three of the most visible Latino politicians in the state, but ones that are noteworthy for championing Latino causes. Heck, Cedillo sponsored the DREAM Act that McCain now supports.

The boiled down version of the McCain line: Latinos have elected Latino officials who champion Latino causes and issues, but those Latinos are specifically what’s wrong with politics and run counter to the actual, McCain version of Latino interests. With all the big talk about how serious this campaign is about California and how the Latino vote is ripe for the taking, if overt insults make up the strategy then it’s no surprise that Obama is blowing out McCain in California.

Nevertheless, there are two possible silver linings here. The obvious one that we’ve been talking about for a long time is that if California can be a time and money suck for the McCain campaign, super. Please come and try. The second seems less likely given the ineptitude of McCain’s Latino outreach, but if this maybe inspires the DNC, CDP and/or the Obama campaign in some combination to increase focus on Latino targeting, messaging and outreach, I certainly wouldn’t mind.

In the meantime, maybe McCain can expand this strategy to all Americans and tell them that the majority that they elected in 2006 doesn’t represent their interests by default. Oh wait…