(In the final days of an election, there is so much information from so many races, it's difficult to stay on top of every story and understand the subtle dynamics often at play on the ground. Thankfully, we have an expansive 50-state blogosphere to match our 50-state strategy. Over the last two weeks of the campaign, we've asked leaders of the state blogospheres to provide insight into late developments and share the stories of their states in a series we're calling "Listening to the Locals." What follows here is the first installment in the series. SusanG)
Clearly California is not a swing state, as much as McCain wanted that to be the casea few months ago. Seriously, he thought he could take California. Hah, that one's going real well.
So, Senator Obama's field staff is recruiting Californians to come to Nevada and Colorado. In the last 3 days, I've received a text message, and an email with a video telling me that I should Drive for Change to Colorado. I won't begrudge them their focus on the presidency, but there is more than the White House to the greater progressive movement. But we desperately need your time, money, and effort right here in California.
To all the Californians who are reading this, and I know there are lots of you, hear this: the health of the progressive movement in California is very clearly on the ballot November 4. So, go to Colorado or Nevada if you so desire, but consider doing something other than, or in addition to, Driving for Change:
Stay for Change
I know this won't make me particularly popular with the campaign, and might exclude me from that Secretary of Commerce gig I was aiming for. But while I've done my fair share of traveling for the Obama campaign, we need you right here in California. We need you here to defeat Prop 8, so that we retain marriage equality and gay and lesbian Californians aren't stuck with a second class citizenship. We need you Californians to stay at home, so that we can defeat Proposition 4 to preserve the safety of our teens and choice in California. We need you here to help kick start the greatest public works project in a generation with California's High Speed Rail project (Prop 1A). And you can give to help defeat Props 4 & 8 at the Calitics ActBlue Page.
And we need you here to push our Congressional challengers over the hump to victory. Challengers like energy expert Debbie Cook, who is running against Dana "Taliban-Dinosaur Farts" Rohrabacher, PDA-endorsed candidate, and health care expert, Dr. Bill Durston, not to mention Orange to Blue candidate Lt. Col. Charlie Brown. You can find all of these good folks on the Calitics ActBlue Page, and find contact information to volunteer for these candidates and more at StayForChange.info.
You are probably aware of the stakes in Proposition 8, thanks to the enormously successful Hell to Pay fundraiser this weekend. But did you know that every single government program is on the ballot this year?
Across California we are fighting for a reasonable budget. Governor Schwarzenegger has already indicated that we will need a special session before the inauguration of the new legislature on December 1 to resolve the newly worsened budget crisis. We can't afford not to fight for a good budget. A budget that doesn't get defined by the race to the bottom Republicans. A budget that protects children and the disabled, provides resources for college students and builds for the future. A budget that harkens back to the era of Pat Brown and the California Master Plan and doesn't abandon the California Dream in favor of a quick jolly.
To do that, we need 2/3 majorities in both the Senate and the Assembly. Admittedly that will be tough, perhaps even impossible in the Senate. But the closer we get to 2/3, the easier it is to pass a budget that moves California in the right direction. We have close races in districts that we never envisioned would be close even a few months ago. In Turlock(!), in San Diego, in Walnut Creek, and all across California, we are competitive in the places where never used to be.
To be sure, we need more Democrats, but we also need Better Democrats. Calitics has endorsed great candidates, and even raised about $5,500 through our Match Program in just a few days in September. In the Senate, Hannah-Beth Jackson (19th) is our best shot to pick up a seat, and has a great netroots background by starting SpeakOutCalifornia. It's down now, but here's the archive. You'll also find two Assembly candidates, Alyson Huber (AD-10) and Manuel Perez (AD-80) on The Calitics ActBlue Page, and volunteer infor for these candidates and many more at StayForChange.info.
So, consider giving to some of our great candidates and making that much easier to provide our state with a budget we can be proud of. But please, whatever you do, make sure you don't stop at the top when you're voting AND when you're walking precincts. So this year, how's about some of us Blue State Californians Stay For Change.
Read: Calitics
Give: The Calitics ActBlue Page
Act: StayForChange.info