Hundreds Sign Petition Asking Betsy Butler To Stay In South Bay To Run Against Tea Party Candidate Nathan Mintz

Wow. I'm just overwhelmed by the response. Last week, I asked constituents and activists in AD53 to sign a pledge of support to Assemblywoman Betsy Butler if she stayed in the South Bay to run against declared Tea Party candidate Nathan Mintz.

Hundreds of you signed this petition:

Dear Assemblywoman Butler,

We know what's at stake in 2012. Thanks to redistricting, California Democrats have a realistic chance to reach the 2/3rds majority threshold we desperately need in the legislature. If we achieve that, we can break the stranglehold a radical Republican minority has had on our state and allow us to rebuild the functional government Californians deserve.

In fact, we only need to gain two seats in the Assembly in 2012 to make this a reality.

We also know redistricting has made reelection in 2012 more challenging for you. So much so in fact, we know you're considering a move to another district you believe is safer for Democrats.

We need you to stay in the South Bay and run in the new 66th Assembly District as the Democratic incumbent. Because without you in the race, the declared Tea Party candidate, Nathan Mintz, will certainly win.

As our representative in the CA State Assembly, we know you've done your best to make sure we have a voice in Sacramento. We know you've gotten our back.

Now it's our turn to get yours.

If you stay and fight the Tea Party, we will fight with you. We will pledge you our money and our time. We will walk precincts for you, make phone calls, talk to our friends and neighbors, and register voters.

We will fight like hell to keep the South Bay blue and you as our representative in Sacramento.

Running for the 53d Assembly District in 2010, Butler defeated Mintz 50.2% - 43%.

But most of that support came from the northern part of the district, which is why she wants to move - so she'll have an easier and cheaper race in 2012.

Redistricting has primarily divided the 53d AD into two new districts - the heavily Democratic 62nd Assembly District, which includes Venice, Marina del Rey, El Segundo, Hawthorne, and Inglewood, and the more conservative 66th Assembly District, which includes the Beach Cities, Torrance, Palos Verdes and Carson. Only about 2% of the current 53d AD overlaps the new 50th Assembly District.

Butler lives in the new 62nd Assembly District, which is already represented by another incumbent, Democrat Steve Bradford. Media reports have indicated that Butler wants to move to the newly vacant 50th Assembly District rather than run for reelection against Bradford or move to the new 66th Assembly District, which only has a 3-point Democratic registration advantage.

Without Butler in the race, the GOP considers the new 66th Assembly District a "top target" for Republicans in 2012.

No word yet on Butler's reaction. Every signature triggered an email which went directly to her office, so she's definitely aware of our efforts.

Keep checking in for updates as they become available.

OFA's Contempt For The Left: It's Not A Bug, It's A Feature

So the interwebs were all a-Twitter when this came over the transom today:

Obama Campaign Staffer Sends Out Email Bashing Paul Krugman And 'Firebagger Lefty Blogosphere'

Obama campaign's point person in New Mexico recently sent an email to supporters defending the president's position on the debt deal and bashing the Nobel Prize winning New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and the "Firebagger Lefty blogosphere."

On the evening of Aug. 1, just after Congress passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling, Obama for America (OFA) New Mexico State Director Ray Sandoval sent an email to supporters with the subject line, "Please take 5 minutes to read this, Please."

"I know many of you have raised frustrations, but please, I implore you, please take 5 minutes and read the article below. It does a great job of explaining the Debt Ceiling deal," Sandoval wrote in bold text.

The rest of the email was a blog post taken from a blog called "The People's View," run by Spandan Chakrabarti. Chakrabarti writes that he has "been participating in online and offline liberal activism since 2003, when Gov. Howard Dean ran for president."

The blog post that Sandoval thought was important enough to share with others harshly condemns Krugman and progressive bloggers who have been critical of Obama. From the 1,825-word post:

Paul Krugman is a political rookie. At least he is when compared to President Obama. That's why he unleashed a screed as soon as word came about the debt ceiling compromise between President Obama and Congressional leaders - to, you know, avert an economic 9/11. Joining the ideologue spheres' pure, fanatic, indomitable hysteria, Krugman declares the deal a disaster - both political and economic - of course providing no evidence for the latter, which I find curious for this Nobel winning economist. He rides the coattails of the simplistic argument that spending cuts - any spending cuts - are bad for a fragile economy, ignoring wholeheartedly his own revious cheerleading for cutting, say, defense spending. But that was back in the day - all the way back in April of this year. [...]
No, the loudest screeching noise you hear coming from Krugman and the ideologue Left is, of course, Medicare. Oh, no, the President is agreeing to a Medicare trigger!!! Oh noes!!! Everybody freak out right now! But let's look at the deal again, shall we? [...]
Now let's get to the fun part: the triggers. The more than half-a-trillion in defense and security spending cut "trigger" for the Republicans will hardly earn a mention on the Firebagger Lefty blogosphere. Hell, it's a trigger supposedly for the Republicans, and of course, there's always It'sNotEnough-ism to cover it.

A few hours later, an Obama campaign spokesman, Katie Hogan, tried to put some distance between OFA and the staffer,  “The views expressed in this email do not represent the views of the campaign.”

Which is all very well and good, but here's the deal - whether it was Rahm Emanuel calling progressive organizations "fucking retarded" , Robert Gibbs castigating "the professional left"  or Obama himself, who lashed out at vocal critics who thought he gave too much away on the tax cut deal, saying "this is the public option all over again" - Mr. Sandoval's email represented exactly what the views of the campaign are.

Closer to home, I reported on this blog how an OFA staffer in Southern California posted a story on their Facebook wall comparing liberals critical of the Obama tax deal to Tea Party members. Minutes later, in an epic example of #organizerfail, the same OFA staffer puts out an "ask"  for volunteers to come out to California headquarters to phone bank.

Look, I know a number of great, dedicated OFA staffers, but the organization as a whole has degenerated from a powerful way for the grassroots to create real social change to a cheerleading, insular shell - it's only purpose to redirect that energy into Obama's next campaign. The staffer might not speak for OFA, but he certainly is reflecting the prevalent attitude coming from Washington.

In 2008, I took a six-month unpaid leave of absence to work on the Obama campaign.  In fact, I was a Regional Field Organizer in Southern California. I also maxed out my campaign donations - the first time I've ever done that in my life.

Not in 2012. Next year, I'll be turning my focus on retaking the House, keeping the Senate, and electing good Democrats in local races.

I highly recommend many of you do the same.

Final CA Redistricting Maps Yanks The Rug Out From Janice Hahn, She Tells Constituents They "Won't Exist" In 2012

So, Torrance, Redondo, Hermosa, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Marina del Rey, Venice, Mar Vista and WLA - remember all that stuff Janice Hahn said in the campaign about how she was ready serve the people of the 36th District? 

Yeah, not so much.

Just a couple of hours after final redistricting maps were approved, Janice Hahn announced she would run in the new CA-44, a primarily African-American and Latino district currently represented by Democrat Laura Richardson.

Rep. Janice Hahn, D-San Pedro, said Monday she will run for re-election in the 44th District, likely setting up a race against Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach.


"Because of the new redistricting, the district I currently represent will no longer exist in 2012," Hahn said. "I plan to run for California's new 44th Congressional District because I live in it. I know many of these communities and I understand the issues that affect them."


Under the redistricting plan approved Monday by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the 44th District stretches north from San Pedro to Lynwood. It also includes Watts, Wilmington, Carson, South Gate, Compton, Willowbrook and Walnut Park and parts of Long Beach.


Richardson announced last month she will also run in the district.

In fairness, Hahn didn't have much of a choice. The new CA-33, which runs from Palos Verdes to the south,  Malibu to the north and Beverly Hills to the west, is already occupied by veteran congressman Henry Waxman. 

While she runs for reelection in another district, Hahn pledges to "continue to be the voice for the residents who elected me just over a month ago".

Don't hold your breath, kids. Hahn is going to have to run yet another aggressive campaign to win in her chosen district. Besides Richardson, Hahn will be running against popular Assemblyman Isadore Hall, who is also African-American. And considering the district is also heavily Latino, there's always the possibility a credible Latino candidate could jump into the race down the road.

The net affect of all this is our area will once again be in limbo. We'll have a warm body occupying the office for a next year, but that's about it.  On the bright side, next year we'll have Waxman to represent us. He has a long and distinguished record in congress and has fought tirelessly for many issues important to progressives.

That's something really positive to look forward to.

URGENT! Tell State Senator Ted Lieu To Support The Ban On Shark Finning!

Approximately 73 million sharks per year are killed to provide fins for shark fin soup, a luxury popular in the Cantonese community. The soup can sell for upwards of $100 a bowl.

The vast majority of fins are obtained using the barbaric practice of landing the shark, cutting off the fins and releasing the mutilated live shark back into the ocean to die.

This year, California Assemblymen Paul Fong and Jared Huffman introduced AB 376, a bill that would ban the sale and possession of shark fins in California. The bill passed, 65-8, with bipartisan support in the Assembly, but has hit rough waters in the State Senate.

My state Senator Ted Lieu does not support the bill.  Lieu, who is Asian-American, claims a ban on shark fins unfairly targets that community's cultural heritage. (Recent research contradicts that claim of discrimination. A poll of Chinese Americans commissioned by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and conducted by a nationally recognized polling research firm showed that 70 percent of Chinese Americans interviewed support the proposed legislation banning shark fin.)

Instead, he's proposing changes to the bill that would make it both impossible to pass and impossible to enforce.

Please click on this link to tell Senator Lieu to support AB 376 as proposed.

Senator Lieu is proposing amendments to the bill, including a ban on shark fishing in California waters and banning the sale of all shark meat and products.

Both of these ideas may sound positive on first blush, but they are unworkable. Law enforcement does not have the ability to determine if fins were obtained in California waters, and banning shark fishing in California would face stiff opposition by the recreational and commercial fishing lobby in Sacramento. They would scuttle the bill.

Californians are the No. 1 consumers of shark fin soup outside of Asia, and our state is a significant entry point for fins trafficked to Asia. A state bill that specifically targets the sales of shark fins will have the greatest impact on helping critical shark populations recover.

Sign the petition - tell Ted Lieu to support CA Assembly Bill 376 as proposed, and end the wasteful and cruel slaughter of sharks.

Cornography (UPDATED w NSFW animation )

Photos from the Iowa State Fair. The jokes just write themselves.

Driving away on a golf cart with her husband Marcus beside her, Mrs Bachmann stopped to buy a foot-long corn dog – a chicken and beef sausage in deep-fried batter. After applying mustard and allowing Mr Bachmann to take the first bite, she chomped into it with gusto.

Earlier this summer, Rick Santorum enjoyed some dick-shaped soft-serve.

“You cannot produce a dark enough chocolate for me not to like,” said Santorum. “The darkest chocolate ice cream in the world—I just love chocolate.”

....an oldy, but a goody of Mitt Romney from 2007

 

.......Rick Perry, now with extra corn-dog!

 

If Perry and Bachmann become running mates on a GOP ticket, will this be their campaign logo?

see more The Daily What

24 Hours Until Wisconsin Recall Elections: All Hands On Deck!

 It's T-24 hours in Wisconsin, and we have less than a day left to save the American Dream.

Tomorrow, six recall elections against Republican state Senators will finally happen in Wisconsin, the biggest result so far of a six-month uprising in the state against conservative policies and an assault on worker’s rights. If Standard and Poor’s wasn’t trying to force cuts to entitlements it would be the biggest story in America, and in a way, it still should be. This recall process, and the protests and activism that came before it, carry the seeds of a new progressive/youth/labor alliance that could be a catalyst to not only next year’s elections, but a re-imagining of the Democratic Party.

If Wisconsin Democrats win just three of six Republican recall elections, not only will they regain control of the state legislature and block Governor Walker's radical agenda, they will send a strong message to Washington that grassroots Democrats are a force to be reckoned with.

But there are reports that picking up those seats aren't a done deal at all.

The most stark word of caution is included in a private memo obtained by POLITICO from the Democratic-leaning We Are Wisconsin group to its donors.


"In our final days, we remain cautiously optimistic about our chances to take back the Senate. But predictions of victory at this point are beyond premature – they’re dangerous," wrote We Are Wisconsin field director Kristen Crowell in an Aug. 3 memo obviously designed to lower expectations.


"While we have solid research suggesting there are races where we might secure a second and third potential pick-up, none of these of these races except 32 should be considered safe pick-ups (and even there we face challenges to get the ball over the goal line), and we are dealing with an unprecedented electorate that is very difficult to forecast," she continues.


After outlining the odds Democrats face in going up against the "unlimited resources" of "corporate interests, she warns the the predictions of three wins in bank are overblown.

 

I'm asking you to join with Wisconsin teachers, firefighters, students and grassroots organizers to fight for the American Dream.

MAKE CALLS FROM HOME!

Voter turnout is key.

Can you take 30 minutes on your lunch break to help get out the vote?

Click on this link to make calls from home.

HIT THE STREETS!

Live in Wisconsin or a neighboring state? 
THEY NEED YOU TO HIT THE STREETS AND CANVASS

Click on this link to sign up.

DON'T RETREAT, RECALL!

Fed Up With The Tea Party? Don't Retreat, RECALL!

If you've been following the news out of Washington the last couple of weeks, you probably feel like I do about now: that the American Dream we rekindled in 2008 has turned into a Tea-Party fueled nightmare of austerity and attacks on the middle class.

But I'm here to tell you, now is not the time to give up. We still have a chance to save the American Dream.

In less than a week, Wisconsin voters will be going to the polls next Tuesday, and on August 16th to recall six Tea Party state senators in Wisconsin and replace them with Democrats.

If Wisconsin Democrats win just three of those seats, not only will they regain control of the state legislature and block Governor Walker's radical agenda, they will send a strong message to Washington that grassroots Democrats are a force to be reckoned with.

The polls are looking good, but Democratic organizers are facing some challenges - Republican operatives are pouring millions into the race, the headquarters for grassroots organizers was destroyed in a suspicious fire, and a conservative group admits sending out absentee ballots to Democrats with the wrong date on them.

So I'm asking you to join with Wisconsin teachers, firefighters, students and grassroots organizers to fight these dirty tricks and reclaim the American Dream.

MAKE CALLS!

Voter turnout is key.

Can you take 30 minutes on your lunch break to help get out the vote?

Sign up at this link to make calls from home.

DONATE!

$5, $10, $20, $100 - whatever you can afford. Your donations will go to organizers on the ground and to media campaigns.

Click on this link to make donations.

DON'T RETREAT, RECALL!

Your Moment Of #FuckYouWashington #Debtdeal Zen

Actual Audio: Obama on the Debt Deal from scottbateman on Vimeo.

BREAKING: Assembly Member Betsy Butler moving to WeHo District

As I reported earlier, final maps drawn by the CA redistricting committee has upended Congressional districts all over the state, including our own CA-36, where newly-elected Congresswoman Janice Hahn finds herself in the luckless position of being drawn out of the district she won just two weeks ago.

What's gotten less attention, however, is the state of play going on in the newly drawn Assembly districts. The WeHo news is reporting this weekend that Assembly Member Betsy Butler, who currently serves AD53 - which stretches from Venice to Torrance - is already planning to move out of the district to run for an open seat in the new AD50.

According to political observers, the Democratic Party has two goals; keeping incumbents from facing one another and to shoot for a two-thirds majority in the legislature to craft budgets that befit Democratic ideals.

Insiders report that Assembly Speaker John Perez is making calls to ask incumbents to move into new districts.

One such Assembly member to receive a call from the Speaker, according to sources, is Betsy Butler, who currently resides inside a district in which Steven Bradford, another Assembly member, now holds a seat.

Ms. Butler is expected to move a few blocks north and to announce for the newly-created district.

It's an interesting choice for a couple of reasons.

Butler could have chosen to move south, in the new AD66, which includes the Beach Cities and Torrance, areas she already represents. But this new district will be more conservative than AD53 - Democrats have only a 3-point registration advantage over Republicans. Without Butler competing for the seat, her move means a likely Republican pickup in the Assembly.

The new AD50 is far friendlier to Democratic candidates, with an overwhelming Democratic registration advantage.

However, those friendlier demographics don't guarantee Butler will be reelected to the Assembly.

Although a sitting Assembly Member, Butler won't have the benefits of incumbency in her chosen district. She'll be facing off against against a number of candidates already running for the seat who have strong ties to the district, including front-runner Torie Osborn, who's reportedly raised nearly 300K, and has been endorsed by the district's termed-out Assembly Member Julia Brownley, former Assembly Member Sheila Kuehl, LA Mayor Antonio Villagairossa, and a number LA Councilmembers, including Counclilman Bill Rosendahl, who previously endorsed Betsy Butler in 2010.

The Commission will be voting on the final maps on August 15.

Janice Hahn On Redistricting, " I Don't Know What I'm Going To Do"

If the final CA congressional redistricting maps survive legal challenges, newly-elected Congresswoman Janice Hahn will find herself between a rock and a hard place or, more specifically, between 36-year Congressional veteran Henry Waxman and angry African-American constituents.

The new maps  redraw Hahn and her hometown of San Pedro into a new "Gardena-Compton" district tailored to represent African Americans. The district she currently represents, CA-36,  would hug the coast from Palos Verdes in the south to Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Malibu to the north - the majority of Henry Waxman's current district.

According to the LA Weekly, African American activists are already sounding alarm bells over the prospect that Hahn could potentially cut their SoCal representation in Congress from three seats to two.

In an email making the rounds today, activist Basil Kimbrew accuses Hahn of having "disrespected and betrayed the black community." Kimbrew claims that Hahn told him she will run for the Gardena-Compton seat, which also includes Hahn's home in San Pedro.

Kimbrew goes on to say that African-Americans who worked to elect Hahn in her special election were "duped" and "tricked" -- and would have been better off supporting Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

In another article, Hahn sounded none too happy with the situation.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do." she told LA Wave, "The commission has taken my district out from under me. The 36th District in which I have lived and worked for many years and was elected to represent no longer exists. They removed my base — the Harbor, Wilmington, San Pedro (where I live) — and put them in the new Compton District..... My supporters who worked hard to get me elected are accusing me of abandoning my people. I’m not abandoning them; they’re being taken away from me and put into Compton!”

If Hahn did chose to run in the new Gardena-Compton district, she'd also be facing off against CA Assembly member Isadore Hall, who's announced his intention to run in the district and has already racked up a number of community endorsements.

Hall and Richardson could potentially split the African American vote and allow the well-funded Hahn to make it to the general election under California's top-two primary system.

The Commission is schedule to vote on the adoption of the maps on August 15th.

Who Would Jesus Tax?

Rick Warren, who's Saddleback Church enjoys tax-exempt status, went on a bit of Twitter rant last night, tweeting that low-income Americans pay no taxes, and by inference, are a burden on those that do.

One can argue whether or not the Pastor's tweet was the Christian thing to do, but what's not up for debate is this: low-income Americans certainly do pay taxes, and at a far higher rate than Americans in the upper income brackets.

In 2009, nearly 47% of American taxpayers paid no Federal Income tax, either because they didn't make enough to qualify, or because of deductions like child care credits that eliminate their liability.

However, those individuals, if they work, pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. If they don't, they still have to pay sales taxes, one of the most regressive taxes there are. For instance, in Washington State, a 2003 study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the poorest 20 percent of Washingtonians pay 17.5 percent of their income in taxes each year, while the top 1 percent pay just 3.3 percent.

Washington State has no income tax, relying instead on a 6.5 percent sales tax for funding.

In addition, depending on their state and circumstances, many lower-income Americans also pay car taxes, gas taxes, utility users taxes, telephone excise taxes, as well as so-called "sin taxes" for tobacco and alcohol. If they own property, they pay sales taxes, if they rent, chances are their rent probably covers their landlord's property tax - who receives a mortgage interest tax deduction--a deduction which the renter does not benefit from.  And, as states tighten their belts, lower-income Americans wishing to seek higher education end up paying higher taxes in the form of increased student fees at state colleges.

Rick Warren's deleted his tweet sometime in the middle of night after it went viral, complaining that detractors were "just looking for a fight, not clarity."

Well, Pastor Warren, here's some clarity for you.

Here's another moment of clarity. In a 2009 article for The Nation, John Weiner detailed how Rick Warren used his considerable political clout to get out from under an 1996 IRS investigation for illegal exemptions.

The IRS permits members of the clergy to claim exemptions for their housing. At the time of Warren's audit the amount claimed had to be "reasonable"--it shouldn't exceed the fair market value for the rental of the home. That 1996 audit concluded that Warren was deducting more than that--the IRS said he owed it $55,300. Warren challenged the IRS in tax court, arguing that his housing exemption should be unlimited.

In 1993 Warren deducted $77,663, his entire Saddleback Church salary that year, as a housing expense--and paid no taxes at all on that salary. In addition, he claimed a deduction for his mortgage expenses--even though they had been covered by the salary. He made similar claims in subsequent tax returns.

When the IRS tried to collect back taxes on the exemptions, Warren took them to court. In May 2000, the court struck down the IRS's "reasonable" clergy-housing cap, accepting Warren's argument that a clergy's housing claim could be unlimited. The IRS appealed, and the case went to the Ninth Circuit.

That court declared that it wanted to consider not only whether the IRS had been right in trying to limit Warren's tax deduction for housing but also whether the tax break for clergy housing violated the establishment clause in the Bill of Rights, which requires separation of church and state.

Then things got interesting. The Ninth Circuit never got to make the determination.

Congress stepped in--and acted with "almost miraculous" speed, as Richard Hammar, editor of the Church Law & Tax Report newsletter, explained to the New York Times. The new law granted Warren his deductions... Congress also put into law, from that time forward, the IRS's "fair rental value" rule.

The Clergy Housing Allowance Clarification Act of 2002 was approved unanimously by Congress, then signed into law by George W. Bush on May 20, 2002, rendering the IRS case against Warren moot. "I have filed hundreds of briefs in federal courts," Chemerinsky told me, "and this is the only time that Congress passed a law to make a specific pending case moot." He added, "It is very rare for Congress to pass a law to make a pending case moot before there was a decision."

Who would Jesus tax? Well, according to Rick Warren and his friends in Congress, not him.

BREAKING: Janice Hahn Signs On To Progressive Caucus Letter: "I do not support cuts to Social Security"

Our newest member of Congress, Janice Hahn, wasted no time after being sworn in today.

Her first official act?

Signing on to the Congressional Progressive Caucus letter to Nancy Pelosi pledging to oppose any deal that cuts Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Hahn's signature brings to 15 the number of California congress member signatories.

Referring to a Republican bill calling for drastic cuts and a balanced budget amendment that will be voted on in the House later today, Hahn said, "I do not support cuts to Social Security and Medicare. I commend the President and stand behind him on his commitment to veto the ‘Cut, Cap, and Balance Act,’ and urge him to protect these critical programs for millions of Americans.”

Last week, in her first post-election interview, Hahn indicated she'd be willing to compromise on Social Security cuts, saying "Americans want us to get together and come up with common sense solutions... If compromises need to be made, I will certainly follow the lead of the President."

Hahn's statement prompted concerns in the districted, and motivated Venice For Change to partner with progressive activist Asher Huey to petition the congresswoman to sign on to the Progressive Caucus letter.

Nearly 200 of her constituents signed on to the petition. Every signature prompted an email that went directly to her office. Less than 24 hours after the petition went live, Hahn signed on to the CPC letter.

Congresswoman Hahn has also pledged to join the Progressive Caucus, and will make a statement once her membership becomes official.

Venice For Change thanks the congresswoman for acting swiftly to address the concerns of her constituents. We look forward to helping her shape a progressive agenda for our community in the months and years to come.