(Written from earlier today)

So here I am at Monkey Business in Fullerton to do some phone banking for our local candidates, including for my husband Gary Pritchard, who is running for California State Senate.

The 33rd district covers a huge amount of area, including Anaheim, Anaheim Hills, Fullerton, Villa Park, Orange, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Aliso Viejo, Buena Park, Tustin, Silverado, Irvine, Santa Ana, Lake Forest, Coto de Caza and Foothill Ranch.  I like to call the district map, “Rexi”.  

The other two candidates I’m calling for are John MacMurray for Assembly and Florice Hoffman for Orange Unified School Board.  All of these are progressive Democrats working hard to help turn Orange County a bit bluer this year.

And today we also have Karen Haluza, who is a Democrat running for Fullerton City Council.  Haluza has been hit rather hard by the local Republicans in some nasty mailers.  You always know you have a chance when they start sending out the hit pieces.

This is our last great push to get the votes out for the amazing local candidates and my chance to do more than just blog on behalf of Gary’s campaign.  It’s the local campaigns that can have such a tremendous impact on the lives of voters but it can also help grow some bluer grass in the heart of a Red County.

The more Democrats that run, especially in non-partisan races, the more other Democrats feel comfortable to come out for what they believe in and to encourage others to run as proud progressive Democrats.  People need to know they have an option, even the redest of red districts.

Now the 33rd district in California is huge.  It is bigger than any of the Congressional districts in Orange County and covers over 500,000 registered voters.  The registration layout is quite discouraging as well for any Democratic candidate and it’s the reason it is so difficult to get Democrats to run in Orange County.  It is an uphill battle as they say.

So, 29% of those registered voters are Democratic, 48% Republican and 19% Declined to State.  Yes, it’s that bad.  But if Democrats don’t run then how can Democrats win?  We have to run in every seat possible, it’s how we build the party even in the very red districts like the 33rd.

Unfortunately, we still have a major expense to pay for that we’ve not yet raised enough money to do so and that’s the ballot statement.  It’s quite confusing to many to try to explain that we paid for the first half of the ballot statement in August of this year but because the Republican did not buy a ballot statement we must come up with the other $7,000 plus to cover the costs of the printing.  It’s a crazy rule and it really does help the lesser party in the area.  And that would be Democrats

So, I’m asking to help us raise the money we need to pay this ballot statement and we’re unfortunately a good five thousand dollars away from that.  Can you help?  Donate here if you can.

Gary and Charlotte!

SO, here I go, phone banking for Gary, he’s sitting next to me with his very own list calling on behalf of all these great candidates.  Every vote counts when you’ve races like these and every donation helps!

Yes we can!

Gary Paul Pritchard is a 37 year old teacher at a Community College in South LA, Cerritos Community College to be exact.  He is a tenured Professor in their Fine Arts Department, music to be more specific.  In 2006, Gary finally finished his Ph.D. in 2006, which allowed us to also purchase our first home here in South Orange County.

Gary has been the chair of his department and he recently got a grant for the Fine Arts Division, a very important grant that I think shows what an amazing legislator he has the possibility to be.

When the grant was first proposed the prior year it was rejected.  The Chair of the Fine Arts Department asked Gary to come aboard and help rewrite the grant.  He was happy to do so and this year in June, the grant was fully funded.  So what is the grant for?

Job training.  Yes, it is to help train those students who didn’t graduate from high school and have no plans to go further in their education in stage craft.  South LA is obviously very close to Hollywood and there are many jobs of this kind in the area.  The program is also working with local employers such as Disneyland.  Gary is actually walking the walk so to say.

Now the 33rd district in California is huge.  It is bigger than any of the Congressional districts in Orange County and covers over 500,000 registered voters.  The registration layout is quite discouraging as well for any Democratic candidate and it’s the reason it is so difficult to get Democrats to run in Orange County.  It is an uphill battle as they say.

So, 29% of those registered voters are Democratic, 48% Republican and 19% Declined to State.  Yes, it’s that bad.  But if Democrats don’t run then how can Democrats win?  We have to run in every seat possible, it’s how we build the party even in the very red districts like the 33rd.

Orange County is home of many of the obstructionist legislators that helped create the gridlock that happens every year when we enter budget time.  In California you must have 2/3’ds in order to raise any taxes or pass any budget.  The Republicans in Orange County see themselves as conservative warriors that battle back the wasteful spending of all those evil liberals in Sacramento.  No, really, they do.

Meet Mimi Walters, “The Taxpayer’s Hero”.  Mimi Walters handily won the primary in June and it’s thought that her trip to the Senate is guaranteed.  Some even call her “Senator-Elect” and talk about how she’s moving on up from the Assembly to the State Senate in January.  

Poor, lonely Mimi Walters.  I’ve done some research on Ms. Walters legislative record and found that in 137 votes she only voted yes five times.  FIVE TIMES.  And according to the Sacramento Bee, Mimi Walters was one of the most ineffective legislators they have.

Number crunch: The 2008 legislative year in numbers

Who passed the most bills? Who had the most vetoes? Which GOP lawmaker finished with the most new laws? Who didn’t pass anything.

We’ve got the skinny.

Fewest bills signed into law

0 – Assemblywoman Audra Strickland (R)

0 – Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

0 – Sen. Ed Vincent (D)

1 – Assemblywoman Nicole Parra (D)

1 – Assemblywoman Mimi Walters (R)

Sacramento Bee

This is why we have to run in every race, we have to challenge every Republican seat that is taken for granted because we have to challenge their ideas on the issues.  Mimi Walters blames many of our budget woes on Illegal Immigrants and high taxes.  But just like John McCain, Republicans fail to mention that just because our taxes on Corporations are high in the State doesn’t mean that those taxes are paid.  

And of course the second question is, if you hate Government so much, if you think that it is so ineffectual and useless, then why do you want so much to work in Government?  Why?  Why not stay in the private sector and do what you think you do best?

Here is a clip of Mimi Walter’s speaking to the CRA.  I think it says it all.

The odds are that Mimi Walters will win this seat.  We know the reality of the situation but Gary still chose to run and to work hard.  He has walked almost every weekend since May of this year.  Gary has been putting up his own signs for the last week, sometimes getting up as early as 3am in the morning (As told in my Diary, Three AM Phone call? Not Quite…).  Gary is working as hard as any full time employee with a five year can (Gary also volunteers in Charlotte’s classroom on Wednesday mornings!).

Daily Kos has really come through for this campaign in the generous donations that helped us pay for Gary’s ballot Statement.  But when Mimi Walters didn’t buy her ballot statement it left us holding the other half of the bill, which is $7,400!  

So, I’m back again asking for your support, Gary needs it and I know we are all stretched.  Friday we got the new coupon book for Gary’s student loans, the payment has gone up $250 at a time when we can least afford it.  I haven’t been able to cut my hours at work (Which would be helpful since I’ve been diagnosed with a chronic condition) because we are making ends meet, barely, as it is.  We understand that people are hurting, we are one of those families who have lost a tremendous amount of their equity in their home.  It’s an endless list isn’t it?  But I also know we are blessed in having two stable jobs, a roof over our head and a beautiful, healthy five year old to care for, it’s just how you look at it.  We see ourselves as one of the lucky ones.

Here is Gary’s Act Blue page.  If you can spare a few dollars it could add up here fast at Daily Kos.  Thank you.

Some other diaries I’ve written about Gary’s campaign:

Berry Gordy, MLK Jr. and Barack Obama

Please Help my Candidate, my Husband, stand up for Democrats in Orange County, CA

Candidate’s Wife, My husband’s letter to NARAL

Pat Buchanan and Gary Pritchard, Native American running for State Senate

Some photos…

One of Gary’s signs!

Charlotte and Gary…

Gary bringing a box of food to the Orange County Employee Association’s food drive this summer.

It was instead the three am alarm clock that my husband had asked me to set.  He got home last night at around 9pm from a candidate forum in Fullerton.  He hadn’t eaten dinner and was trying to figure out what to have (He wasn’t much interested in what I had made for dinner, although it was nicely packed in a tupperware container in the fridge just in case he wanted it).  He also let me know that the people who had volunteered to put his signs out were unable to do so now.

So, he asked me to set the alarm for 3am.  He had spent the afternoon attempting to put signs up but with the traffic, etc., he said it took too long.  He was going to get up and do it when there was hardly anyone on the road.

You can’t knock him for not being dedicated.

Gary Pritchard, my husband, is running for the California State Senate in the 33rd district.  He first did this to put a “D” on the ballot and then decided he would do the best he could.  It was quite an undertaking for us but why not?  

It has proven to be quite a bit for us to handle but we are doing it.  Gary works full time, as do I and we have a five year daughter.  It’s been quite a juggling act.

Gary called on Wednesday to ask if I could pick up the stakes for the signs and find a way to assemble them.  Sure!  I panicked a bit but then called the South OC Democratic Club and they were kind enough to assemble his signs.  Done.

But this morning, Gary got up at 3am to put his signs out.  I tried to go back to sleep, I know.  What kind of wife am I?  Well, I’m the kind of wife who seems to be coming down with another cold and who has health problems that tend to get worse with lack of sleep.  He understands this.

Gary got back at about 5:30 am.  To say it was a restful night would be far from the truth.  My alarm went off at 6:30 and it was time to start my day.

After showering and getting our five year old up and dressed, I came down stairs to find that Gary had made breakfast.  Biscuits (Trader Joe’s is a Godsend, they were fresh from the oven) and eggs.  Charlotte was eating away and Gary had already packed her snack for school.

I could tell he was tired.  Gary still has to teach today but he said he could get another couple of hours of sleep in before having to be at school.  And then after that he would be putting more signs up.

The 33rd district covers a huge amount of area, including Anaheim, Anaheim Hills, Fullerton, Villa Park, Orange, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Aliso Viejo, Buena Park, Tustin, Silverado, Irvine, Santa Ana, Lake Forest, Coto de Caza and Foothill Ranch.  I like to call the district map, “Rexi”.  

Gary and I spent Saturday morning putting up some of the signs with Charlotte in the car.  Now when she sees them, she screams, “I was with you when you put those up, right?”  We saw a few on the way to school and on my way to work.  I managed some blurry photos from my blackberry.  I had to get the signs while they were still up, who knows how long they’ll last.

This was the first attempt.  Um, what sign?

Not fast enough!

Too soon!

Ah, there we go!

There are a lot of signs popping up all over the County, I’m glad to see some of them belong to Gary.  I’m proud of him and for how willing he is to work hard for this even if it means we don’t see very much of him at times.

I got this with my camera phone as well.  There have been a lot of local protests in favor of Prop 8.

But I try to remember the most important thing about all of this.  Gary is doing this for Charlotte, our five year old.  She’s bright, she’s daring and she’s sweet.  

Charlotte doesn’t quite understand why anyone would care about who someone marries but then again, I don’t think she needs to understand that right now.  I just attempt to answer her questions as simply and honestly as possible.  As much as I want to shelter her from things, I know that by making no question off limits, I will hopefully help her grow to be a compassionate and caring citizen who questions authority and loves her Country very much.  The two are not mutually exclusive!

So, that was our 3 am moment.  I’m sure there will be others, weve still got two more weeks of this to go and I have to say, I’m really looking forward to November 5th.

Gary and Charlotte!

Gary Pritchard is running for California State Senate in the 33rd district.  The 33rd is located in Orange County, CA, birth place of Richard Nixon and home of John Wayne Airport and Ronald Reagan Federal Building.

The 33rd Senate District includes Anaheim, Anaheim Hills, Fullerton, Villa Park, Orange, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Aliso Viejo, Buena Park, Tustin, Silverado, Irvine, Santa Ana, Lake Forest, Coto de Caza and Foothill Ranch.

As you can see, the district is huge and covers a million people, more constituents than the State of Alaska.  And the local papers are not willing to even admit that Democratic Candidates exist.  Seriously, neither do the Republican candidates.

Republican absence kills UCI voter forum

October 8th, 2008, 4:45 pm · 1 Comment · posted by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Bureau Chief

UC Irvine planned to have a candidates forum this evening, but organizers had to cancel it when all of the Republican candidates said they couldn’t make it.

…

Quite a coincidence, huh? I’ve heard of Republicans in Illinois and Indiana ducking debates this year too. Maybe this is another example of how being Republican just ain’t a good thing this election year.

OC Register

The short article then went on to list every Republican who was invited and did not mention one Democratic candidate.  I posted the second comment to the story asking why didn’t they list the Democrats who agreed to come rather than just listing the Republicans.  My comment was removed or not approved.  It was polite and it was a very simple question.  But in admonishing the Republicans for not admitting that Democrats exist in Orange County they refused to admit their presence as well.  Talk about an uphill battle.

Local liberal blogger extraordinaire, Dan Chmielewski asked a very good question of the OC Register at the Liberal OC.  

Ever since Robert Novak was diagnosed with a brain tumor, the OC Register has been trying out a number of hard right columnists in spite of the growing purpleness of Orange County and the paper’s readership.  I’m on the record calling for them to add Paul Krugman of the New York Times as a worthy voice to the paper’s syndicated columnists.

In these trying times, wouldn’t it be good to hear from someone who’s beyond bright about economics?  Well, the Nobel committee this morning validated my rationale for my pitch to the Register by naming Krugam the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economics.

Liberal OC

So what was the response?  Steven Greenhut had this to say,

Steven Greenhut, on October 13th, 2008 at 9:17 am Said:

Although I am not the columns editor, I might point out that we have a free-market editorial page, so we’re not likely to run a lefty economist. Our running Krugman would be similar to you – who operates a Democratic blog – to start including bloggers who were Republican partisans.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think there is a huge difference between a Newspaper opinion section and a local blog?  Yes?

No wonder no one wants to run as a Democratic Candidate in this County.  It’s just so frustrating for local Candidates that have a D on the ballot.  Gary chose to run this race because no one else was going to.  He’s a community college teacher, musician and father but he also knew that he couldn’t stand the idea of people not having a choice when entering their voting booths or opening their absentee ballots.  

So we keep going, doing what we can when can.  I work full time as well and we are not financially well off.  Many came to our aid when we needed to raise money for Gary’s ballot statement but we are a spot again since the Republican Candidate did not put up her own Ballot Statement.  That means we out the Registrar of Voters at least another $7,400.  That’s about 40% of what we’ve managed to raise so far.  The Republican Candidate has at least $200,000 on hand and will probably not spend another dime as many have already declared her the victor in the election.

So here I am, asking again for your help.  I’ve dedicated myself to a handful of projects to work for, one of them being our Five year old daughter, who is the most important of these things in our life right now, the other is getting Proposition 8 defeated, saving some dogs from being put to sleep by fostering and adopting dogs taken from high kill shelters and raising money for Gary’s election.

So here is Emma and Charlotte:

if you have no desire to donate to Gary Pritchard’s campaign, donate to this rescue to help save more dogs from being euthanized.

and here is where you can donate to Non On Prop 8 if you decided you don’t want to help Gary Pritchard.  Do something if you haven’t yet.

But if you do want to help Gary, you can donate at his Act Blue site or email me and I will be happy to send you a self addressed donation envelope.

and our other woozle, Kona.  A sweet and much older Dachshund mix.

Cross Posted from big Orange, Please go rec if you can, this diary is very important to me.

It’s been at least a couple of weeks since I heard Pat Buchanan on the Thom Hartmann show and I can’t get what he said out of my mind.  Buchanan was torn up about the disappearance of Europeans on Planet earth.  Of course you know what he’s talking about.  Here is an excerpt from a review of his book…

When one remembers that if there is one cause Mr. Buchanan himself cherishes it is immigration restriction – when one recalls his words on “national suicide” and the “invasion” of America by nonwhites, and his constant inveighing against multiculturalism – when one remembers that the first pages of this very book lament that “as a share of world population, peoples of European ancestry have been shrinking for three generations,” that “we are slowly disappearing from the earth” – Mr. Buchanan’s feline criticism of Churchill stands as a piece of truly shameless hypocrisy.

NY Sun

Offensive yes.  Especially since I personally know of the true disappearance of a people, a generation lost and on it’s way out and sadly, the loss of a culture.  I hope it does not go away completely.

I’m speaking of the Mojave Indians.  My husband, Gary, is part Mojave Indian and his Grandmother was one of only a dozen or so pure Mojave Indians left.  She passed away a few years ago but Gary is grateful he was given the chance to meet her and get to know her a bit.  

Her name was Basil Fass.  She was know as an Elder among the tribe and if you mention her name to someone who knows these Elders, they know Basil well.  She helped carry on their cultural traditions up until her death and the Avi Casino in Laughlin Nevada also attempts to share some of their cultural heritage.  Yes, a Casino!

Every year the Fort Mojave Tribe holds an annual Pow Wow called “Annual Avi Kwa Ame Pow Wow” at their Casino.  

Native Americans from across the country will gather on the banks of the Colorado River in February for the 13th Annual Avi Kwa Ame Pow Wow, a festival honoring the traditional dance, costumes and cultures of the many participating tribes.

The event includes competition in various traditional Native American dances, as well as vendor booths serving up Native American food and handmade Indian arts and crafts. It is presented by the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe and takes place in the new Mojave Crossing Event Center near the Avi Resort & Casino, on the reservation just a few miles south of Bullhead City.

Pow Wows are all about drums, songs and dance. The drum – a term which describes the instrument and its complement of singers, what Americans would call a band – is the center of the arena and the center of attention. The drum performs songs for all occasions, including contest songs, flag songs, memorial songs, intertribal songs and more. Drums travel many miles to attend Pow Wows Dancers from as many as two dozen tribes will participate in dance competitions, with competitors broken into groups from toddlers through senior citizens. They’ll compete in fancy dancing, grass dancing, jingle dress dancing, bird dancing and singing, and many other structured dances.

“They come from all different tribes across the country…we’ve had people from Canada, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Mexico,” said Debbie Bricker, Pow Wow coordinator for the Fort Mojave

Indian Tribe. “We’re expecting a big turnout again this year.”

http://www.laughlinnevadaguide…

Gary never met his Mother, Esperanza Fass but he did meet his grandmother Basil due to me being a persistent pain in the ass.  It was a few years ago that we met her and she was lovely and so happy to see him, it had been literally years, she had not seen Gary since his mother died when he was very young.

It’s tragic and sad and his paternal Grandparents helped his father raise him away from the tribe and their land.  Gary came back but it’s been hard, we haven’t been in years.  To think that you came from somewhere but you have no connection, at least it must feel like that to him.  It was overwhelming to all of a sudden have not just another whole family but a whole tribe.

We hope to return again very soon and bring Charlotte to meet her great Aunts.  Most of the elders are gone now but the Mojave people are keeping their language and traditions alive and they should be honored and admired for doing so.  This is a struggle to keep meaning and a whole people living Pat, this is what it means to see something disappear.  

The Mojave Indians suffered many injustices under the new rule of America just as many other Native peoples were.  

The late 1800s were years of change for the Mojave. In 1861, constraints of the American Civil War forced the military to abandon Ft. Mojave. Tribal leadership was in upheaval as the Great Chief Homoseh awahot relinquished his post to Yara tav, who favored peace with the Americans. He had seen their power, having traveled to Los Angeles, San Francisco and to Washington, DC to visit President Lincoln.

In March 1865 the US Government created the Colorado Indian Reservation near Parker, the southern range of the Mojave. Yara tav, though disapproving of the poor farmland, led 500 to 800 Mojaves to the new reservation at Parker Valley. Homoseh awahot resumed his post as great chief to lead those who refused to leave the Mojave Valley. The people were split into two tribes.

…

Those living around the fort were called Ft. Mojaves when the building and 14,000 acres were transferred from the War Department to the Interior Department in 1890. The fort became an industrial boarding school for the Ft. Mojave and other non-reservation Indians.

The plan was to eradicate native language and culture. A compulsory education law was passed, and truant children forcibly returned to school were often whipped and locked in an attic for days, and given water and a slice of bread for meals.

History of the Mojave

The Mojave have fought hard to retain and keep their traditions alive even against such odds as the attempted assimilation by American Settlers.    The Mojave have continued to fight for what is theirs from their water rights to keeping a radio active waste site out of Ward Valley (which could have impacted not just the environment but the water that the tribe has access to).

After a couple of years in the background of the dispute over a nuclear waste dump proposed for Ward Valley, five desert Indian tribes stepped in 10 days ago and brought the plan to a sudden halt.

Federal officials said they will not proceed with the plan as long as the Indian elders are on the land the tribes have declared sacred.

About 40 Indians from the five tribes of the lower Colorado River remain at the site this weekend along with an equal number of anti-nuclear activists but their role in the dispute began much less visibly.

More than two years ago the Fort Mojave Tribe obtained a permit to set up a camp at the dump site and allowed non-Indian protesters to stay there. While the white activists were more vocal in opposition, the Indians continued to fight the permit process through government channels.

“This action where tribes take the lead over an environmental issue is unique,” said Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network of Benidji, Minn.

Source

I’ve hunted via the internet for anything about Gary’s Grandmother Basil and found this one quote that ends a lovely story about tortoises joining the Ward Valley Occupation.  

This visit by our first tortoise to come into the village came on the

day negotiations between the Colorado River Native Nations Alliance – Ft.

Mojave, Chemehuevi, Cocopah, Quechan, and Colorado River Indian Tribes –

seemed to have broken off.  We, at the camp, felt honored by his visit and took it as a sign that the valley and its natural inhabitants welcome us. We have since had other visits.  The tortoises seem content with our

presence; they appear to enjoy our greetings.

Basil Fass, Ft. Mojave Elder, said, “See, they show us they are here.

They bless us when they come.  They know we will win this fight for our

sacred land. ”

Source

Basil wouldn’t let go of our hands when we met her the first time.  We her met at a pow wow in Indio and she held both our hands for a long time, taking us to different people to introduce us but she was so happy to see her Grandson and she had eventually urged him to become involved in the tribe’s political future.  I think she would be proud that he is running for California State Senate and Gary is seeking the support of his tribe.  It would mean so much to be able to speak out for the Native people in California, Nevada and Arizona.  

Please help us if you feel compelled.  I know there are great things that Gary can do if elected to our State Senate.  There are so many people who are forgotten and unseen.  I am going to attempt to make it back to Fort Mojave and I will chronicle that journey here as well.  We have so much to learn.

Act Blue

I started this when I wrote another diary about giving to candidates down ticket.  They money I’ve raised here has been seed money for our campaign and has been a tremendous boost.  When you give here it does matter, it really does and our campaign is grateful.

Gary and Charlotte Pritchard

Gary Pritchard for State Senate

Cross posted from Daily Kos

Sounds a lot more interesting than it is but I’m so excited to be able to share that Gary Pritchard, my husband and Democratic candidate for California State Senate is going to be appearing on Thom Hartmann’s Air America show tomorrow morning at 10:50 am (Pacific time).  

More below the cut…

Pritchard to Appear on Air America’s Thom Hartmann Show Thursday Morning

Orange County, CA- California State Senate Candidate, Gary Pritchard will be a featured guest on national Air Americas radio program the Thom Hartmann Show, 10:50 a.m. this Thursday morning, June 12. Pritchard will be interviewed during Hartmanns regular feature, Taking Our Country Back.

During the segment, the liberal talk show host helps Democratic candidates gain traction one office, one seat, one vote at a time. “Its all about getting people to get active and supporting the folks who are willing to put themselves out there to get the job done.” Listeners are asked to help through volunteerism or financial contributions or whatever else they can do. state senatorial candidate Pritchard continued, “I became interested in running because he was tired of the constant threats to the state’s education budget.”  

“A quality education insures the future quality of life for every citizen in our state. We must allow teachers to do more of what theyre trained to do, teach!” the tenured Cerritos College Fine Arts professor explained.

Developing a sustainable economy, decreasing our dependence on oil, establishing greater transparency in government, and universal health care for Californians are issues that Pritchard believes are important and vows to fight for if elected.

——————————————————————–

Gary Pritchard is a tenured Professor at Cerritos College in the Fine Arts Division. He has a BA from Chapman University, MA from Claremont University and a Ph.D from UCI. Gary is a native Californian who currently lives in Aliso Viejo with his wife Heather and five year old daughter Charlotte. Gary is also a musician who enjoys to play music with his friends from Jazz, rock and blues.

The California 33rd

I also want to share something I learned about today during a live blog with David Sirota.  David started an organization called Progressive States Network.  It shows that supporting State candidates is a huge way to affect change and push the ideas and issues we want addressed at the State Level.  I was so happy to hear that not only Thom Hartmann gets this, but David Sirota.  There is so much focus on the National races that the little guys get lost in the shuffle.  

About Progressive States Network

Supporting Change State-By-State

Progressive States Network aims to transform the political landscape by sparking progressive actions at the state level. Founded in 2005, the group provides coordinated research and strategic advocacy tools to state legislators and their staffs, empowering these decision-makers with everything they need to engineer forward-thinking change. Progressive States also works with non-profits and a variety of constituent groups to build a swath of support for coordinated progressive policy. The overarching goals: to get good policy passed into law and change the way issues are debated in the states.

A significant part of Progressive States efforts revolve around supporting state legislative campaigns. The organization offers legislators and their staff members with the technical and messaging support necessary to embrace progressive policy. Tapping into a network of experts in each state, the group catalogues existing or developing legislation related to six key values we support. Progressive States also accumulates research to support new laws in these areas. During the current legislative session, our most important values include:

   * Rewarding work

   * Helping families

   * Strengthening communities

   * Growing the economy

   * Increasing democracy

Progressive States seeks to strengthen communication between legislators and the organizations they serve, facilitating a groundswell of interest in progressive policy that spans state, regional and ideological lines. Our board consists of labor organizations, grassroots and “netroots” groups, and key policy centers. With additional support from these organizations, Progressive States makes it even easier for lawmakers to keep open dialogues with their most savvy constituents.

Finally, Progressive States acts as a “war room” to equip legislators with the information they need to advocate good policy. Organization experts put together best-practice guidebooks and serve as surrogates for legislative staff members who need talking points and need them fast. Additionally, with an up-to-the-minute news service at www.progressivestates.org, the group acts as an information hub that keeps legislators up-to-date on progressive news from other states, helps them identify trends and emboldens them to educate each other on how to succeed.

In short, by supporting state legislators and other groups in their efforts to spark progressive actions and get good ideas passed into law, Progressive States proves that state policy matters, and that good policy leads to good politics for all.

That’s right.  Gary, Charlotte and I went for our first precinct walk this weekend together in Aliso Viejo, California.  Oh man, not a good weekend to start, it was very hot and we waited until early evening to grab walking shoes and knock on doors in our very own neighborhood.  Why not start where we live?  Our community is in the heart of the 33rd State Senate district.

This will be our cheapest and best way to get the word out about Gary’s campaign and for now we are knocking on all the doors.  Republicans, Declined to States and Democrats.  We’ve found Republicans to be very receptive to meeting the candidate, especially when it’s quite doubtful that the Republican candidate will do any walking at all.  

And this is the best lesson we learned, talking to people is the best way to get them to vote for you.  And we even found some lovely Democratic neighbors who want to donate and volunteer.  What more can a grassroots campaign ask for?

It was a busy weekend for us all.  We started Saturday with haircuts for Charlotte and Gary.  It’s summer here so it was the annual cut a good four inches off of Char’s hair.  She gets her summer bob and Gary got a nice cut as well.

I found out I talk a bit too much 🙂  But that’s me and I don’t just talk, I listen.  Some of my favorite reactions were, “Go, go.  You’ve got my vote, I vote Democratic down ticket, Democrat, Democrat and Democrat!”  and then there was my favorite family of four.  Mom was reading The Huffington Post when I came up.  Her husband pointed out that they had a bumper sticker that said, “Vote Dem”.  But I still wanted to talk to them!  We need money and we need people to help us walk these precincts.  It’s all good time to me when it comes to speaking to people one on one.

Then Sunday came and we went to the Kick Off Party for Loretta Sanchez who is seeking her fourth Congressional term for central Orange County.  She was amazing, I was just so impressed with her humor and wit.  She also walks precincts religiously.  There is no such thing as a “safe” seat for Democrats in Orange County and Loretta understands how important it is to go out and talk to people.  When she won her first election twelve years ago she personally knocked on 65,000 doors.

I had a chance to introduce myself and she was so happy to hear about a Democrat running for office in Orange County and a Democrat that was stepping up to get the “D” on the ballot.  She held my hand while we talked, not awkward and was so involved with ME.  I did not take much of her time but I just wanted to let her know that we were so honored to be there and so proud to call ourselves Democrats because of all the great work she had done on behalf of the County and her district.

Since I’m the worst campaign volunteer ever, I can’t get any of my photos to upload but, I do have a photo from the Ed Chau campaign of Gary and Ed Chau, one of two Democrats running in the 42nd district (The other is well known here at Daily Kos, Ron Shepston is also running.  It’s a very tight race and both my husband and I have not endorsed, we are torn!).   Below is a photo of Gary and Ed taken by Ed’s Campaign Director (Yes, Congressional candidates have CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR, I’m so envious) Drew Cornick.

So what are the Republicans doing that are running to win in November? (There is such a thing as a safe seat for Republicans and it’s assumed that whomever wins in the Primary will most certainly win in November).  They are trading ridiculous claims and throwing around the word “liberal” like it was something heinous.  What is the winner going to call Gary?  A communist.

Below is the most egregious of the attack mailers, this one sent by Mimi Walters against her opponent Harry Sidhu.  It’s not subtle and it’s racist, clear and simple.  This race is catching eyes up in Sacramento too for being a little to nasty and locally it’s getting attention for the very same reason.

I’m still trying to raise $5,000 for Gary this month.  And as I speak he’s working on a letter to the Fort Mojave Tribe to ask for their support (Gary is a Tribal Member) as well as sending request for donations to all the organizations that have endorsed him and the people he’s personally met.  This is what I do, I blog and this is how I’m trying to help Gary at least make a dent in this so called “safe” seat.  He’s going to work hard and knock on as many doors as he can by the November election but we need door hangers, fliers and mailers and we need to hire someone to help out his frazzled wife who has a full time job.

Please support a fellow Democrat who stepped up to put a “D” on the ballot and who is willing to go out and talk to people, face to face, to get their votes.