Edgewise

The Future Now

I love the headline up on msnbc.com right now:

Doesn’t this look just like one of those fantasy headlines of some more perfect world? You know — the kind we daydream about while listening to Nancy Grace drone on about the latest unsolved horror…?

This one could only be better if the headline made mention of the fact that this change is the Democrats doing, instead of lightly dusting the credit over some implied magical bipartisan force (oh, if only….).

We’re off to a good start. At the risk of being greedy, here’s what I’d like to see next:

It's Morning in America

for reals.

the golden grate

Talk about diversity…here in the golden state we’ve managed to reach new heights of mixedness, all-over-the-mapness, and plain ol’ voter confusion as the results of the Caulifornia mid-term and governatorious elections illuminate the collective mind of the Left Coasters. We voted for a Republican Hollywood muscleman who lifted himself out of the political toilet by hiring Democratic advisors and putting a “bread and circuses” bond initiative on the ballot. We voted for the bread, circuses and $50+ billion in bond indebitness while rejecting modest tax increases to pay for schools, health care, and road repair. We almost voted to tax ourselves hugely by demanding that the state pay for any land taken by eminent domain - but wised up at the last minute. We booted a Stetson-wearing environment-bashing Republican Rep, Pombo, and replaced him with an alternative energy geek Democrat, McNerney, but then turned around and rejected an alternative-energy research support bond and an environmental tax on Big Oil. We just barely rejected a requirement for young women to get parental permission for an abortion - while we become the first state to be represented by the first female Speaker of the House in US history. We are the first state to ban smoking in all public places but can’t bring ourselves to slap a health tax on the Tobacco Industry (could we have gotten it mixed up the “The Death Tax”?). Oh, and we rejected the most promising method of campaign reform ever - public campaign financing provided by a 2 cent tax on corporations. I guess we’d rather let the Indian Gaming Industry pay for elections….

we gotta love us.

Congratulations, Jerry McNerney and staff!

Victory is sweet. While other Democratic politicians in the state of California were making nice to Schwarzenegger, abandoning Angelides and risking the rest of the state ticket, an army of grassroots supporters, many of them veterans of the Dean insurgency, backed McNerney early and worked their hearts out to get him elected, upsetting the complacent Pombo in his gerrymandered safe seat.

The party thought it was too much of a longshot but we persevered. I remember the meetings after Dean went down when we asked each other, “What next?” Nearly all of us said this was just the beginning. We had never expected one campaign to change the country completely. We were in it for the long haul. Dean turned us into activists on a mission: change the party, change Congress, change the country, take back the presidency.

For one of those items at least: Mission Accomplished.

Great article on McNerney's race to unseat Pombo in CA-11 from the UK Independent

The coverage in this article makes the McNerney-Pombo race seem like a bellwether.

To me, this is the money quote:

He has put family members on his congressional payroll at salaries so high that two years ago they outstripped the entire campaign budget of his Democratic Party challenger. And now he is pushing to build a freeway which would require the state to purchase land from his family at a premium rate.

The man is corrupt. He thought his seat was safe. He’s phoning it in. Let’s throw him out.

What's wrong with John Kerry?

It wasn’t enough that he lost the 2004 election for us; now he wants to lose the 2006 election, too? Why on Earth would he open his mouth and give the Republicans a piece of red meat like this?

Kerry says sorry for “botched joke”

Johnny: Much respect for all you’ve done for your country. Now go away.

East Bay Exhortation Sensation: Phone Banking for Moveon.Org

This is an offical, authenticated exhortation to East Bay folks everywhere. Well, East Bay folks in the East Bay.

Short version: The last two nights I went to the MoveOn office in Oakland. These folks have their act together. It’s fun, easy, and unintimidating. You can volunteer any day, any time o’ day between 9 and 9. If you’re in the Bay Area and have two hours in the day or evening between now and election day, let me exhort you to come on down — do some of the easiest, most effective volunteering you’ll find this season and be part of a huge effort that might actually make a difference. Where: 360 22nd Street, Suite 210, Oakland CA (tween B’Way and Webster). Call Adam: 857-383-0736 for more info.

Longer Version: This was my first time working with MoveOn. I’d done phone work before and found it a little gruelling — an impossibly long list of folks in my neighborhood who almost universally didn’t want to be called. Still, we have 9 days left to go and I figured it was time to eat some gruel.

Instead metaphorically I ate, I dunno, let’s say BBQ brisket, like the kind you can get down at Flints or mebbe Everett and Jones.

From the Oakland office we’re calling other MoveOn members and asking them to give an hour of their time as a home phone volunteers. It’s a system designed to create a massive, coordinated, hyper-effective phone bank. MoveOn’s created this slick, simple web-based system that let’s people call infrequent dem voters in the key targeted districts from the comfort of their easy chairs.

In the last two nights I called around 270 MoveOn members. Most weren’t home. About 30-40 answered and passed or say “ok, send me more info.” Most were progressives. Some were Republicans. But every one of them was either nice, pleasant, or at the very least harmless.

Ten people agreed on the spot to give an hour or more of their time in the next four days. Some agreed to give as much as seven hours in the next week. Add it up and you get a great multiplier — my 6 hours turned into 20-40 hours of targeted phone calls.

The word at the MoveOn office was that more than 70,000 people were now part of this effort. It’s the sort of army we need to push back against the other side’s get out the vote infrasturcture.

Which is all to say: I’ll be back there on Thursday. If you haven’t already volunteered, you’ll be hard pressed to find an easier, more efficient, more effective way to get involved and do you bit to help get this ole country of ours back on track.

And needless to say, if you’re not in the East Bay, please consider yourself likewise exhorted to phonebank from home, from house parties, or from your local MoveOn office — see moveon.org for the details.

-Cecil

For election junkies only

Wondering if the Democrats are really about to take the House or if a dirty trick or surge of evangelical voters will deny them (ok, us) the majority? Keep an eye on the odds at Majority Watch.

Think that people betting real money (ok, one dollar per share) have a better take on upcoming elections than all the pollsters in Hell? Then follow the Iowa Electronic Markets, political division. The bettors there seem pretty sure that Republicans are going to hold the Senate (which the pundits say they probably will do unless a tidal wave overtops the bulwarks indicated by the current polls).

They also say a Democrat will be elected president in 2008, but of course they get more accurate as the appointed day approaches.

Chris Bowers' Google Bomb

Chris Bowers of MyDD.com has put together an excellent list of links to articles on various republican candidates. By having large #s of folks duplicate this list of links, the odds go up that when someone searches, for example, Pombo, their results will include this article. Never let it be said that I wouldn’t post a list of links to help in the fight to retire Richard Pombo. -Cecil

—AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
—AZ-01: Rick Renzi
—AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
—CA-04: John Doolittle
—CA-11: Richard Pombo
—CA-50: Brian Bilbray
—CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
—CO-05: Doug Lamborn
—CO-07: Rick O’Donnell
—CT-04: Christopher Shays
—FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
—FL-16: Joe Negron
—FL-22: Clay Shaw
—ID-01: Bill Sali
—IL-06: Peter Roskam
—IL-10: Mark Kirk
—IL-14: Dennis Hastert
—IN-02: Chris Chocola
—IN-08: John Hostettler
—IA-01: Mike Whalen
—KS-02: Jim Ryun
—KY-03: Anne Northup
—KY-04: Geoff Davis
—MD-Sen: Michael Steele
—MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
—MN-06: Michele Bachmann
—MO-Sen: Jim Talent
—MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
—NV-03: Jon Porter
—NH-02: Charlie Bass
—NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
—NM-01: Heather Wilson
—NY-03: Peter King
—NY-20: John Sweeney
—NY-26: Tom Reynolds
—NY-29: Randy Kuhl
—NC-08: Robin Hayes
—NC-11: Charles Taylor
—OH-01: Steve Chabot
—OH-02: Jean Schmidt
—OH-15: Deborah Pryce
—OH-18: Joy Padgett
—PA-04: Melissa Hart
—PA-07: Curt Weldon
—PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
—PA-10: Don Sherwood
—RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
—TN-Sen: Bob Corker
—VA-Sen: George Allen
—VA-10: Frank Wolf
—WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
—WA-08: Dave Reichert

Take election day off

The Democratic Party is asking people to take election day off to do last minute get out the vote work - The Democratic Party | Take a Day Off for Democracy - an area where the Republicans traditionally beat us.

I’m in.

Focus on Disney is playing their game

I agree with k / o completely:

My impression of the pulse of the netroots is that all-Disney all-the-time has actually been a net negative. I’m sure GOP strategists are happy that netroots diarists are talking about Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright today and not vulnerable GOP incumbents. I wrote a piece yesterday on dKos called outrage and infrastructure. In retrospect, it was too gentle and considered.

If you measure this weekend simply by the yardstick of whether the netroots pushed the name recognition of vulnerable GOP incumbents: this weekend is a huge loss. Most of the GOP incumbents we are trying to defeat this fall…incumbents like Anne Northup, Jon Porter, Deborah Pryce, Thelma Drake, Cathy McMorris, Mike Ferguson, Nancy Johnson…are hardly known quantities in the national blogosphere. I would add that while each of these GOP incumbents have ample reasons we should oppose them: not a single one of those reasons has much of anything to do with the ABC/Disney movie.

Why does the netroots go for these distractions every time? Well, the internet is an “eyeball environment.” No diarist at dKos likes to watch a diary sink like a stone. Every blogger likes to feel like they’ve got a hot scoop. The GOP Congress is a stale story. While no reader likes to have the name of some vulnerable GOP incumbent shoved in their face, here’s a companion truth: a hell of a lot of people spent a hell of a lot of energy talking and learning about Disney and ABC this weekend. Could some of that time have been better spent talking about J.D. Hayworth (GOP, AZ-05) and Charlie Bass (GOP, NH-02)? In my view, yes.

Let’s focus on what’s really important and free ourselves from the Republican frames of reference they keep successfully managing to impose on each election cycle.

Had enough?

Enjoy this customized version of Have You Had Enough with Rickie Lee Jones and the Squirrel Nut Zippers (I think).

Day of Action to defeat Richard Pombo

Just wanted to pass this along to Bay Area readers:

DAY OF ACTION TO DEFEAT RICHARD POMBO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 10am

Help defeat "One of the 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress," U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Tracy) this November by coming out Saturday, September 16 for a Day of Action to canvass and phone bank swing voters and Republicans in California's 11th Congressional District.

Tri-Valley
Civic Park, 100 Main Street, Pleasanton, CA 94566

San Joaquin Valley
Victory Park, 1001 Pershing Avenue, Stockton, CA 95203

Enjoy free food, drinks and travel hassle-free with five bus pick-ups and a shuttle service from the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.

Reserve your spot by calling (925) 413-9521. And don't forget your friends!

Can't make it September 16? Don't worry! We have Days of Action coming up on October 7 and the 28th. You can still help out by spreading the word!

Pick-Up Locations and Times
(please arrive promptly to make it on the buses)

San Francisco
Civic Center
99 Grove Street @ 8:30am
Drop-Off @ 4:45-5pm

Oakland
MacArthur BART Station
555 40th Street @ 9:00am
Drop-Off @ 4:30-4:45pm

San Jose
95 N. Third Street @ 9:00am
Drop-Off @ 4:30-4:45pm

Berkeley
Ashby BART Station
3100 Adeline Street @ 9:00am
Drop-Off @ 4:30-4:45pm

Morgan Hill
Cal Train Station
17300 Depot Street @ 8:30am
Drop-Off @ 4:45-5pm

Can you carpool to the event? Let us know!

Please RSVP as soon as possible so that we may accommodate you (and your group, if necessary).

Taking back Congress from the grips of corruption starts in California's 11th Congressional District.

Say "NO" to corruption. Say "NO" to Pombo.

Organized by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (Pombo In Their Pocket).

Precinct walking for Jerry McNerney

Hi, This is a quick diary to relate the experience xian and I had today walking a San Ramon, CA precinct for Jerry McNerney.

Short version: great experience, highly recommended. Lesson learned: even if (like me) you live in a deep blue district, there may well be a red(dish) district a short drive away. And if there is, now’s a great time to go help give that campaign a little momentum.

Longer version: After doing my first door-to-door for Kerry in ‘04 up in Medford, I was hoping to find a nearby race that (a) matters and (b) is something less than 7 hours away. McNerney seemed like the best fit, plus he’s a pretty-easy-to-like candidate. (more info on that score over at http://www.jerrymcnerney.com/)

The Dublin McNerney HQ is a 30-minute drive from where I live near Oakland. (Specifically, it’s at 6250 Village Parkway, right off 580.)

The folks there were friendly and well organized. They were also flexible — I showed up long after the start time listed on their site and it didn’t really matter. I was there with a pal, but they told me for future reference that had I shown up solo, they would have paired me up with someone.

They gave us a list of about 380 Democracts and unaffiliated voters in San Ramon (the vast majority were Ds). The instructions and maps were straightforward — I’m pretty inexperienced in this and they kept it simple enough for a newbie like me to handle.

San Ramon is about 5 minutes from the Dublin office. It was beautiful there today — nicer than back in Oakland. Sunny with a light breeze and a real treat to walk in.

We covered about 200 of the voters on our list. Almost everyone had flags outside. Almost everyone had a dog. Not everyone was pro-McNerney, but just about everyone who was home was friendly.

Most folks were either neutral or anti-Pombo. Many were strongly anti-Pombo (we heard “that crook” pretty frequently). A lot of folks who were happy enough to vote against Pombo hadn’t heard of McNerney, so it felt like we were actually doing some good just by getting his name out there.

Back at the Dublin HQ at the end of the day, the field director happened to be there — nice guy. The candidate’s wife was there as well. We had a great chat with them for about 10 minutes. She was genuinely appreciative, and the whole thing made the experience feel 100% human.

So that’s it. I’m planning to go back. They’ll be sending people out every weekend. They’ve also got phone banking going on during the week in Oakland.

All this is to say: if, like me, you live in a blue district, call your local Dem party and find a competive race you can drive to. Impact the polls today and you’ll help build up momentum going into October.

And specifically, if you’re a Bay Area type, consider giving Jerry a few hours one of these September Saturdays. As Kid Oakland said, we all live in Pombo’s district. (Btw, the candidate’s wife quoted that to me, which was a treat in itself.) This is our chance to contribute to an important race. Think of it selfishly. Me, I don’t just want McNerney to win — I want to be watching him win on election night and feel like I did something to help make it happen.

-Cecil

Speaking of 'Connecticut for Lieberman'

Looks like his team forgot to register the domain: The Connecticut for Lieberman Party

Another tactical blunder by Lieberman

Even if you grant that Lieberman should run in the general election as an independent (and I do not), shouldn’t he at least have taken a page from Jed Bartlett and Howard Dean and called his party-of-one “Lieberman for Connecticut” instead of the self-centered sounding “Connecticut for Lieberman”?