In a previous diary I wrote, I pointed out Jerry Tetalman as the Democratic challenger to Rep. Darrell Issa, the infamous chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman who hounded U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in the Fast & Furious fiasco, as well as denying Sandra Fluke for testifying on contraception. I also dug into detail about Tetalman's strong progressive credentials and what he has done in his career and life that prove it.
A few diaries on Daily Kos have pointed out that California's 49th Congressional District is Safe Republican. I would like to point out that if you talk to the Tetalman campaign or even Jerry Tetalman himself, you'll find that it's not quite Safe Republican as you think it is. Sure, it's not Lean Democrat by any means. I'd say it's more Lean Republican than Safe Republican if I want to be conservative in my analysis.
A number of people on Daily Kos have pointed out they want more progressive Democrats in Congress. Well, I am astounded as of why Jerry Tetalman has not been mentioned. He hasn't been endorsed yet by Democracy for America nor a number of pro-Democrat/progressive groups and blogs on the net. He also hasn't been endorsed by the DCCC although you never know with them as they don't always endorse the people we want.
Not only is Jerry Tetalman one of the strongest progressives out there running for Congress, he's been active in progressive causes longer than most people running for Congress and who are currently in Congress. He's been anti-war since he was young, has run his own mental health facility, has had a successful career in real estate, is good at giving motivational speeches on entrepreneurship and self-confidence and has insightful perspectives on how we approach the issues. Even on the issue of terrorism he's very thoughtful and is not by all means about having people kill people just because of revenge. Hell, Tetalman's book titled "One World Democracy" (which you can find on Amazon.com) has been shown to Desmond Tutu of all people!
Tetalman definitely has a cross appeal persona to him. If there are any of you Dennis Kucinich fans out there who want a real Democrat to stand up, well, you've got Tetalman. In fact, I think Tetalman is even stronger than Kucinich and more diplomatic. Tetalman can also appeal to disaffected Democrats, progressives at large and even those in the Green Party and Peace & Freedom party. In fact, I talked to a friend on Facebook who while is in the Green Party and won't vote for Barack Obama because of ethical issues (the invasion of Libya and continued war in Afghanistan for example), he'll vote for a Democrat if he's progressive.
Now I know you're thinking, well, the polls out there point to a different picture. Darrell Issa can't be beaten. Too hard. The district is Safe Republican and we'll never get anywhere. It's not worth it.
I say to that analysis: THE HELL WITH IT. I'm personally going to fight until the bitter end to get Jerry Tetalman elected, even if I have to go on every single blog on the internet and spread word about him.
Am I going to let anyone write off the race California 49th Congressional District? Never. I don't care how red people claim the district is. I know there are quite a number of Republicans but that isn't going to stop me.
Now if Jerry Tetalman doesn't win in November? That isn't going to depress me. It's not the end of the world. We can still draft Tetalman to run in 2014 and boy, he'll make the race competitive then, if not now.
Here's the previous diary I wrote about Jerry Tetalman, showing how much of a progressive he is:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
By the way folks, the diary was posted last week and now to date, there are 88 Shares, 7 Tweets and 43 Likes (on Facebook). If that doesn't tell you anything about numbers, I don't know what does.
I've listed necessary information re: Jerry Tetalman on my previous diary but I'll do it here anyway just in case:
Website:
http://jerryforcongress2012.com/...
Donate:
https://secure.actblue.com/...
Volunteer:
http://jerryforcongress2012.com/...
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/...
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/...
You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/...
Here's a picture of Jerry Tetalman showing his book "One World Democracy" (which you can find on Amazon.com) to Desmond Tutu:
Tue Oct 02, 2012 at 1:40 AM PT: Just a quick update: Earlier I forgot to add the links to Jerry Tetalman's website, donation page, volunteer page, etc. as I was in a rush to finish the diary and I had to head out the door to attend class at my MBA program in San Francisco. Now that I'm back, I have added the information for your reference. I apologize if any of you were looking for the links although some of you might have already checked out the link of my previous diary on Jerry Tetalman.
Anyway, send me a message via Daily Kos and I will keep you posted on any news, new diaries, etc. regarding Jerry Tetalman.
Wed Oct 03, 2012 at 2:58 AM PT: I'm up late and yes, I should be going to sleep but someone posting on Jerry Tetalman's Facebook page cited the following article on voter registration in San Diego County. Seems like Democrats are registering in high numbers. Thought you guys would be interested in reading.
http://www.utsandiego.com/...