CA-04 - Wednesday night at the Opera House with Jan Brown and Steve Westly CA State Controller.
I didn't know Roseville, CA had an opera house. I wonder if Rep. John Doolittle knows there's an opera house in Roseville. If he doesn't he'll probably know after November 7th 'cos that's where Charlie Brown plans on holding his victory celebration.
Brown couldn't be there because he'd been called earlier in the day and asked to meet with members of the CA Congressional delegation in San Jose. That is a good thing. As the money has been coming in - now over $1,000,000 - Brown is making his impact felt in this most unlikely of challenges to one of the most powerful and corrupt members of Congress. This was another in a line of fundraisers that I have been to in the past few weeks, but the turn out here was not what I'd supposed. At the most there was a little over 100 people. By the time Jan had announced that Charlie was stuck in traffic coming back from San Jose and wouldn't be there the crowd had dwindled to about 70 waiting for Westly. Waiting for Westly is not exactly like waiting for Godot because Westly did show. And I think he'll be around in California politics for a long while. Never having seen him in person he's got everything you need to be successful i.e. lots and lots of $. I am not a fan of Angelides who appears to be another Democratic non-entity cut from the same clothe as Gray Davis and Kathleen Brown. Among other things, Westly would have brought out the younger voter for the Democrats but that is ancient history. He was there for his second appearance for Brown and even before a small crowd he did his best to fire up the crowd making a pitch for more $ and GOTV.
Jan Brown, the candidate's wife and a retired Air Force nurse, began the evening by welcoming everyone and thanking them for their support. She noted that the campaign has been making headlines lately with increased media attention, as Brown's quest becomes more and more plausible. She cited recent stories about Brown in the NY Times, Washington Post, Time and Rolling Stone.
Members of Congress - some of whom she admitted she'd never heard of - have been calling, writing and pledging their support and most importantly their $ to the campaign. But she also said they have been receiving the support and best wishes of regular working folks from all over the country who have read about the race in their local papers, on the internet or specifically in DailyKos.
She went on to state that they are in a horse race and they are neck and neck with the Doolittle machine and not to worry about polls showing Charlie trailing. She said, "the truth is that if Doolittle were not in trouble the President wouldn't have come to El Dorado County to try to bale him out. If he was not in trouble the RNC would not be flooding the mail with their hate pieces. And we know this because even we get them so they're not even smart enough to take us off their list. We are only 13 days away from one of the biggest victories right here in the 4th Congressional District. We have the power within our grasp..."
She went on to say the RNC was pouring so much money into the race "because they are afraid of losing to a candidate who has never run for political office before and they are afraid of the truth coming out about John Doolittle and his record...so they are lying about [Charlies] record, they are lying about his military service, they are lying about his family...Talk to your friends, talk to your family and talk to your co-workers. Tell them the truth...They are scared because their reign in power is about to end. Change is coming. It's coming on November 7th and John Doolittle be afraid. Be very afraid."
She was getting warmed up "You know Republicans talk a lot about moral values...It is immoral not to have health care for our citizens. It is immoral not to have the best educational system for our children and grandchildren. And it is immoral not to keep our promises to our seniors. It is immoral not to take care of our environment. It is immoral not to keep our country safe. And it is immoral to send our sons and daughters to a war based on lies. And, to me personally, it is beyond immoral to send these kids to a war and not to have a plan and not to have the very best equipment so they can do their jobs and to keep them safe. That is unforgivable. I'll tell you what if you want morality. This time vote Democratic. If you want accountability. This time vote Democratic. If you want change. This time vote Democratic. And finally, if you want to take your country back, start right here in the 4th. Vote Democratic for Charlie Brown...We in the 4th District deserve better than John Doolittle. It's the people's House and we need to have people in there who absolutely represent who we are and John Doolittle needs to find another job.
She concluded the way she always does with the best part of her presentation by saying "as many of you know our son is currently in Germany [in the Air Force]. He's scheduled to go back to Iraq in December and as much as I hate that happening, I would take a little bit of comfort in knowing with your help, if he goes in December there will be a new Representative in Congress and his name will be Charlie Brown."
Westly began by saying, "Here's what I want you to know. The numbers are looking great. I predict we'll be standing here on the night of November 7th saying there is a wave of democrats sweeping this nation into State Houses and Congress...and about midnight people will say that California has completed the sweep that will make Charlie Brown the next Congressman from this district and Nancy Pelosi the next Speaker of the House of Representatives."
He further stated that "rarely in history have we seen an administration destroy our nation's reputation abroad. Rarely have we seen an administration cripple our economy and our balance sheet as this President has done. And never have we seen an administration mired in as many scandals, corruption and wrongdoing as the current administration highlighted...by the posterboy for misdealings Rep. Doolittle...[Whether he's doing the bidding] of Jack Abramoff or his funneling $ to his own wife he could not be a more corrupt and corrosive thing. This is why we need to bring a true American war hero, a bright voice, an educator, someone who has been in law enforcement to represent us in Congress. That is why I am so proud to be standing before you as a champion for Charlie Brown, the next member of Congress from this district.
"Finally, I just want to say on a personal note, I know literally dozens, if not hundreds of candidates and elected officials in this state, Charlie Brown to me represents what is best about America. He's a decent human being. He's put his life at risk for his country. Someone who works his tail off every day. He's one of the good guys in public service.
He then challenges the crowd to work as hard as Charlie and his wife are working and to get him elected on November 7th.