If you've been following the recommended diaries here or visit Calitics from time to time (and if you don't, you should), you would know that the same guys who funded the Swift Boat Vets are funding a ballot initiative in California that would change the way California apportions its 55 electoral votes from the current winner-take-all system to one in which the state would award its votes by Congressional District--essentially handing 22 electoral votes to the Republican nominee and making it extremely difficult for our nominee in 2008 and beyond to win the Presidency without a landslide.
Well, today, I'm asking for the DailyKos community's help in getting our supposedly "post-partisan" Governator Schwarzenegger to take a stand against this despicable piece of election theft. Follow me below for information and ACTION ITEMS.
Oh yeah--and I normally don't do this, but consider a rec here. Defeating this initiative is, in my opinion, the most important electoral issue of 2008. Anything you do is greatly appreciated.
See, our good old Governator said recently that he hadn't seen the language of the initiative yet, even though it's just as simple as what I wrote in the opening graf. So our own Julia Rosen of Calitics and Working Californians (whom you know here as juls) hand-delivered 2,148 copies of the initiative to the Governor's office in Sacramento.
Well, now that our supposedly post-partisan Governator has most definitely had a chance to take a look-see at the initiative and what it would do, it's time for the public pressure to commence. I mentioned before in one of the initial diaries here about this Dirty Tricks Initiative that we in California would be well-armed and prepared for the long fight ahead. And in an amazing display of great ideas, amazing organization and cooperation between the netroots and the grassroots here in California, my good friends at Calitics and the Courage Campaign have been collaborating on setting up ways that you can help prevent the GOP from stealing the Presidential Election in 2008 and beyond.
The aforementioned juls, together with fellow California blogger/activists Matt Ortega and Eden James, have given us the following piece of YouTube infotainment--please login to your YouTube accounts and give it some uprates, some comments and whatever other love you please:
Rick Jacobs and the Courage Campaign have been instrumental in leading the charge against the Dirty Tricks initiative, and now they have a petition up just waiting for your signature. Please sign it--especially if you're from California. But even if you're not, this is an issue that affects everyone in the country and the world. Here's the text:
Dear Gov. Schwarzenegger:
Last Friday, Julia Rosen from Courage Campaign delivered to your office 2,148 copies of the so-called "Presidential Election Reform Act," which will appear on the June 3rd ballot. You said you had not read this short three-page initiative yet, even though it only takes five minutes to review.
Now that thousands of Courage Campaign members have sent you a copy of the initiative, it's time for you to read and lead.
Governor, you claim to be "post-partisan." If that is so, I'm sure you know that a scathing editorial in the New York Times called this dangerous document an "elaborate dirty trick" designed by a "shadowy group" to "do serious damage to our democracy." This unbelievable initiative dictates that California divide up its electoral college votes by congressional district, allowing Republicans to rob 20 electoral college votes — the equivalent of Ohio — and, once again, steal the executive branch.
If you read and lead now, you can join over 10,000 Courage Campaign members who have pledged their strong opposition to yet another radical right-wing power grab. You may know many of the most prominent pledge-signers, including Sherry Lansing (former CEO, Paramount Pictures), Sal Rosselli (President, SEIU-UHW), Bradley Whitford ("The West Wing"), Arianna Huffington ("The Huffington Post"), Assembly Majority Leader Karen Bass, and L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti.
Governor, if you really want to demonstrate that you are "post-partisan," now is the time to read and lead. By coming out against this initiative now — and asking reasonable Republicans to do the same — you can kill this radical right-wing coup in its cradle before June 3rd.
Let’s not waste time and money on this tragic partisan distraction. As you have said, California has too many important issues on which we have to focus together.
No more dirty tricks. No more partisan power-grabs.
Not in California. Not in America.
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.
Sign it.
And if you really feel like helping out, we need some money too. The Courage Campaign has an ActBlue page that you can use to help us fight this.
And while I'm at it--you can also help juls pay off the Kinko's bill using her page. She's $150 short of covering the bill through contributions.
As Aragorn would say...what say you?!