By popular request, The Frankfurter School has returned to help Californians navigate the confusing ballot propositions this year, along with our candidate endorsements.
STATEWIDE OFFICES
Governor: No Endorsement Meg Whitman is a right-wing extremist who will destroy what is left of our public services and our prosperity. She is anti-gay, anti-environment and anti-immigrant. Her goal is to massively cut taxes on the wealthy, paid for by privatizing core public services such as schools, and does not believe undocumented students deserve to be educated.
Jerry Brown is not a progressive. He leans right on law-and-order issues and speaks the Republican language of social service cuts. But he strongly supports AB 32, the creation of green jobs, and high speed rail. He also strongly opposes, using powerful moral language, the efforts of Meg Whitman and her right-wing allies to scapegoat and attack Latinos and immigrants. He has stood up for labor unions as being relevant and valued parts of the political process, even as he pledges to cut their pensions.
Laura Wells, the Green Party candidate, is the only true progressive running in this race. Check out her platform, you might not realize how much you agree with her positions: http://www.laurawells.org/platform.html
The polls show Brown leading Whitman, but not by huge margins. We are declining to make an endorsement in this contest, and suspect that you do not need our help anyway.
US Senator: Barbara Boxer The choice here is stark and simple: a reliable Democrat who fought against the war in Iraq and led the effort to pass a strong climate bill, or a right-wing extremist who doesn’t even bother to play to the mainstream of California voters. For all of the problems with the Democratic party, Boxer is the least of them, and Fiorina is too dangerous to risk sending to Washington for six years.
Lt. Governor: Gavin Newsom A once-rising star of the California Democratic party who has been chastened by problems in his personal life. Good politics — let’s see where he goes from here.
Attorney General: Kamala Harris This is our most important candidate endorsement. There are a lot of reasons to vote for the current San Francisco DA over her opponent, LA’s right-wing DA Steve Cooley. But two words should be at the top of this list: Prop 8. Cooley, an opponent of LGBT rights, has vowed to defend Prop 8 in court. That not only guarantees an appeal, but by putting the considerable resources of the state of California behind the defense of Prop 8, it raises the chances that Prop 8 will be found constitutional by a higher court. There are other reasons to support Harris – Cooley is a retrograde “law and order” type who believes in tougher sentencing laws and more prisons, and cannot be counted on to help implement Prop 19 if it passes. There’s also the chance he might join a lawsuit against the federal health care bill or go easy on the banks’ fraudulent foreclosures. Harris is behind in the polls and this is a critical race for progressives.
Secretary of State: Debra Bowen A tireless progressive and a national leader in verifying the frighteningly unaccountable electronic voting machine system, she deserves re-election.
Treasurer: Bill Lockyer
Controller: John Chiang
Insurance Commissioner: Dave Jones
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tom Torlakson This is a non-partisan race. Aceves is a proponent of privatizing the school system.
State Supreme Court retention – Tani Cantil-Sakauye: NO This is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s pick to replace Chief Justice Ron George. A “NO” vote gives the next governor the opportunity to select the Chief Justice.
State Supreme Court retention – Ming Chin: NO Chin has been one of the most right-wing justices on the state Supreme Court and has repeatedly voted against marriage equality. Californians can and should have better justices than this, ones who will uphold the equal rights of ALL Californians.
State Supreme Court retention – Carlos Moreno: YES In contrast to Chin, Justice Carlos Moreno has been a strong advocate for judicial recognition of equal rights. In addition to his vote to overturn the marriage ban in In re: Marriage Cases and he was the only justice to vote to overturn Prop 8 at the State Supreme Court, passionately arguing against enshrining discrimination in the state Constitution. Beyond Prop 8, Moreno has been a reliable vote for equality in other cases in his 9 years on the bench, and deserves to be retained.
STATEWIDE PROPOSITIONS
It has long been our belief that the ballot initiative system in California is a tragic mess and that ALL PROPOSITIONS should get a “NO” vote on general principle except under extraordinary circumstances. However, please carefully consider the following endorsements, as there are real and meaningful attempts on the ballot this year to nudge California in the direction of functionality and to stand up for important progressive priorities.
Prop 19: YES Passing this proposition would put California back at the forefront of progressive values nationwide. Rather than protect our youth, current marijuana laws end up incarcerating them. We spend $750 MILLION dollars annually on marijuana enforcement alone — while legalization would provide tax revenue the state desperately needs. Lots of money is being spent to defeat this by the people who profit from the law as it stands now and contribute millions to both parties. Don’t be fooled by scare campaigns about “the wording” of the proposition or increases in crime or other drug use. This proposition is very important and will send a strong progressive message nationwide.
Prop 20: YES This is a deeply controversial measure and, along with Prop 27 can be very confusing. Voters passed Prop 11 two years ago, which hands over the state redistricting process to a citizen commission. This proposition extends the commission’s duties to redistricting California’s US Congressional districts as well. It is bankrolled by a wealthy Republican, and opposed by most Democratic groups because it gives equal representation on the commission to the two major parties, while in reality, Democratic voter registration outnumbers Republican registration by a large margin. Some argue that while making the new districts more competitive, it will make it harder for real progressive candidates to win primary elections, since some safe Democratic districts will become more competitive in the general elections. The truth is, nobody knows what the real outcome of this measure will be. The final plans will be voted on by referendum anyway, and anything that disrupts the entrenched party power structures in California, or makes incumbents fight for their seats is probably a net positive. We cautiously endorse this measure.
Prop 21: NO RECOMMENDATION. This proposition increases the vehicle license fee by $18/year, and in return Californians get to protect and improve their state parks, ensuring they remain open and that the maintenance backlog is addressed – as well as giving all Californians access to all state parks and beaches free of charge. As annoying as it is for the citizens of the state to be asked to legislate details of the budget process, this is good for California’s natural resources, and might free up money in the budget process in general. On the other hand, the penalty for the legislative dysfunction in California in this case puts an unfair burden on the working poor, for whom $18 is a significant amount to cover in the ever-increasing costs of staying above the poverty line.
Prop 22: NO Despite supporters framing this as about “saving local services” and stopping Sacramento from “raiding” local treasuries, this November initiative simply pits different government groups against each other to save their resources. The main beneficiaries if the initiative passes are developers who receive tax subsidies to build their so-called “redevelopment” projects. These redevelopment groups are already controversial – they siphon about 12% of the state’s property taxes into corporate subsidies and eminent-domain abuses – at the expense of traditional services such as education and firefighting. This proposition would enshrine these special interests in the state constitution, making it harder to regulate abusive practices or dismantle corrupt or ineffective groups.
Prop 23: NO Texas oil companies and the notorious Koch Brothers are funding this proposition, which would effectively repeal AB 32, the state’s global warming law. It would destroy our green jobs economy in order to give more money to oil companies, and it would stop us from being able to do anything about climate change. Worse, it would send a national signal that voters don’t want to do anything about global warming, that we all want to go down with the ship as sea levels rise, as droughts become more common, and as whole industries shrivel up and die. It is extremely important that Prop 23 be defeated.
Prop 24: YES The biggest culprit in all of California’s many problems is the insane rule that requires a 2/3 majority in the legislature to pass budgets. No other state has this rule — and think about the US Senate where getting 60 votes is impossible, let alone 67. In order to get enough Republicans to sign on to pass budgets, lawmakers have to agree to what essentially is legal bribery — tax breaks and payouts to favored GOP donors. This proposition would repeal some of the most egregious of those bribes and return about $2 BILLION of our tax dollars to the state coffers, instead of handing them over to a few corporations. The teacher’s union managed to get this on the ballot, and this strongly deserves your YES vote.
Prop 25: YES The most important reform to the government of California – the tree blocking the tracks – is eliminating the 2/3rds rule for budget and taxes. (SEE PROP 24 ABOVE) Prop 25 gets us part of the way there by restoring majority rule on the budget, and leaving the 2/3rds rule in place for taxes. Big corporations like Chevron and Safeway have been spending millions to try to defeat it, preferring to let Republicans keep holding up the budget and making demands like the creation of the tax loopholes Prop 24 would close. It would also be another way of protecting AB 32 – in 2008 and 2009 Republicans initially demanded the gutting of AB 32 in return for their votes for a budget. IF PROP 25 PASSES, SPECIAL INTERESTS WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO HOLD THE BUDGET HOSTAGE.
Prop 26: NO This is one of the sneakiest propositions on the ballot. Prop 26 would create a new 2/3rds rule, taking us in the wrong direction by requiring a 2/3 vote by the legislature to increase ANY state fee. This is sneaky because it’s an attack on AB 32, which depends on these fees to fund state efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Prop 26 would retroactively eliminate any fee enacted after January 1, 2010, which includes the AB 32 implementation fees on polluters. It’s just as important that we defeat Prop 26 as it is that we defeat Prop 23.
Prop 27: NO This would repeal Prop 11, passed two years ago, and eliminate the newly-created non-partisan State Redistricting Commission (which hasn’t even been appointed yet) and return control of redistricting to the same Democratic and Republican party hacks who will keep gerrymandering our districts to protect incumbents and block any efforts at real change in California
There’s a frenzy of messages out right now trying to shape public opinion and get you to view the health care bill as a huge victory not only for Obama and Democratic party, but for all Americans. Like me, you probably are crushingly disappointed in this bill, and suspect that we could have done better. Unlike me, however, you may not be willing to actually bring yourself to say “I oppose this bill,” either because you aren’t sure about all of its provisions or because you believe something is better than nothing. I have some good news for you, and a warning. You don’t get a vote. Actually on your own, your opinion about this bill matters very little. Collectively, our opinions do matter, which is why the Democrats and insurance companies are trying so hard to shape it. The signs should be familiar by now: emotional appeals with little-to-no substance (“this bill HELPS real people”), scare tactics (“this is our only chance, and terrible things will happen if we don’t pass this”), and the systematic discrediting of the “crazy” people who oppose it (almost exclusively directed towards the left flank, have you noticed?).
This bill hands over complete control of the health care system to corporations and provides taxpayer subsidies to those corporations with the ostensible goal of providing people with insurance, which it must be repeated, is not the same thing as medical care. It bans exclusions of pre-existing conditions but doesn’t regulate how profits will be sustained on those more-expensive patients. It spreads the insurance net to more people but doesn’t put enough controls on how those plans function. It makes it illegal not to buy insurance and creates new taxes on some middle-class people to pay for this insurance company giveaway. The idea that we will pass this now and “fix it later” is so absurd on it’s face it’s amazing how many people buy it. It’s true that Social Security and Medicare were altered after passage, but in those instances they created a new government programs that once accepted were then strengthened. This bill does exactly the opposite by strengthening private corporations and giving them 100% market share, institutionalizing their monopolies, and handing them taxpayer money to pay their lobbyists, CEOs and shareholders. What exactly do we think we’re going to “fix” later?
The reason we get such bad bills like this one is because there is enormous pressure being exerted on members of Congress from lobbyists and the media, almost all funded by industries standing to profit from the outcome. As a counterweight to that, there is a small but growing band of progressive bloggers, what’s left of organized labor, and public opinion. Guess who wins? One of the most puzzling features of this tug-of-war is that somehow they’ve convinced most of the Democratic base that they too are in Congress, and that they must be pragmatic and compromise their values. So at all steps of the legislative process, increasing as we near the finish line, Democrats throw up their hands and think, “well this is the best we can do and I think I can learn to like it!” And off to the right the country goes.
In no successful political movement do people accept compromise so willingly and even enthusiastically. Politicians compromise; people have ideals. If you aren’t opposed to this health care bill, with no pressure on you and no reason to compromise, WHAT KIND OF PROGRESSIVE ARE YOU? You and I are private citizens. Who is pressuring us to sell out our ideals? Why can’t we oppose this bill and be angry? If people who care about achieving universal health care can’t even hold the line against the insurance industry in their own personal opinions, how can we possibly expect our representatives to stand firm for progressive ideas? I am calling my Representatives and telling them how I feel. They need to hear from me and be reminded of my values so they can weigh that against the other pressures they’re under. After all, they’re the ones that have to govern, not us.
Senator Joe Lieberman has refused to support Healthcare reform in the Senate if it includes any provision that actually reforms healthcare. Cue the outpouring of liberal grief… and then the resigned helplessness of better-this-watered-down-bill-than-nothing that will inevitably follow.
Listen guys, I hate Joe Lieberman as much as the next guy but if you’re upset about him, you’re a dupe, and you’re being manipulated by characters in a holiday pageant. He’s not the problem; he’s the designated villain. His seat is perfectly safe, he can’t be recalled, and you’ll all forget about this in three years when he’s up for re-election. It’s much more fun to be angry at him than the real villains, because the truth is really depressing. President Obama and the Democratic leadership are handing billions of dollars to the insurance and pharmaceutical industries and have scripted a drama to carefully shape public opinion to believe that this was the best they could do.
The Senate does not need 60 votes to pass health care legislation. The Republicans wielded power like a bludgeon when they controlled the Senate and weren’t concerned with what anyone thought of it. The Democrats could pass a single-payer national health plan if they wanted to and they could do it in the Senate with 50 votes plus the Vice-President if they really wanted, either by using a budget reconciliation process or by changing the rules. Medicare passed in 1965 with only 55 votes; if the Senate had observed this fictional 60-vote threshold we wouldn’t have that program today. The idea that somehow Joe Lieberman or Ben Nelson, or any one of these Senators is so important to this process is simply political theater. The bill that we are going to be left with is exactly the bill that the insurance industry wants, the bill that was agreed to in secret meetings at the White House earlier this year. And being upset at and blaming Joe Lieberman is a vital component to the manipulation of public opinion. If public opinion were to suddenly shift, and Democrats directed their anger at Obama… well that is the only thing that might stop the giveaway to the insurance industry. Rahm Emmanuel reads polls; it’s the only thing besides emails from lobbyists he reads in their entirety.
I do not support this health care bill. Call your Senators and tell them you oppose it too. It is a bad bill, and the Democrats want this so badly they are likely to try again with a slightly better version. There is nothing left in this bill but a mandate to force people to buy insurance and a law banning the exclusion of pre-existing conditions. Given the choice between sending a message that the liberal base of the Democratic party will not be taken for granted and abused and giving up on one lousy tiny piece of insurance reform (this is not a once-in-a-generation chance) it should not be difficult for anyone who cares about this issue to oppose the President.
President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress are abandoning their party’s base. The media is busy congratulating them, and the base is patiently watching the strategy unfold and letting them get away with it.
President Obama is reversing himself on civil liberties, he is failing to deliver on campaign promises to gays and lesbians, and the bank and auto bailouts are continued giveaways to big business. Congress is failing to do it’s job: the Democratic caucus is unable to unite to do much of anything, from investigating the lawlessness of the previous administration, curbing the expansion of executive power, or providing meaningful oversight of the billions of dollars of bailout money you and I provided to banks. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) recently told reporters the the truth about Congress, that the banks “frankly own the place.” It is time to put a stop to the endless compromises that the Democratic Party makes with powerful business interests who pay for their campaigns and the increasingly bold minority party, whose power to block legislation and nominees paradoxically seems stronger than ever. There is one way, and only one way in our power to break this cycle: we must work to defeat Democrats in Congress.
This might seem crazy to you, or it might seem self-defeating. There are any of a dozen arguments that you might make against this. But consider this: there is a tremendous amount of pressure on Democrats to cave to the right, or bend to the will of powerful lobbies. There is absolutely no pressure on the Democrats to listen to their liberal base – in fact, it’s considered politically savvy to ignore or even antagonize the base of the party. Any Democratic politician is viewed as a “centrist” or a “pragmatist” when he or she opposes the faithful progressives who worked hard to elect him. Because they know the truth – that the base will grumble and whine, but there will be absolutely no real consequences for caving to the right.
Progressives, it is time to get help. We are in an abusive relationship with our party and it’s time to stand up and threaten to leave them. There are no excuses left to be made – the Democrats are playing “smart politics.” It’s time to learn to play hardball, it’s time to pressure them to do the right thing and stop waiting around for them to suddenly wake up and decide to listen to their hearts and not their campaign finance directors.
AccountabilityNow PAC was formed by a coalition of progressive bloggers to bring accountability to the Democratic party for this very problem. There biggest target next year is going to be Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican who now pretends to be a Democrat in order to save his seat. Although he still blocks much of the Democratic Party’s agenda, Harry Reid and the leadership are supporting his re-election and trying to block real Democrats from challenging him. This is exactly the type of behavior that needs to be stopped, and it will require time and money from regular citizens like you if we ever expect to have a working democracy again. I urge you to donate to AccountabilityNow.
In Los Angeles, Congresswoman Jane Harman is a Blue Dog who votes with the conservative Democrats from the South. She was the Bush Administration’s staunchest Democratic defender of its illegal wiretapping program — until she was caught on a (legal) wiretap in an influence-peddling scandal allegedly agreeing to intervene in a federal investigation on behalf of lobbyists. She once called herself “the best Republican in the Democratic Party.” She is being challenged by Marcy Winograd, a school teacher and the founder of Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles. Her district, the California 36th, is often described as “conservative” in the media, but it voted for Kerry in ‘04 and Obama in ‘08 by huge margins.
Primary defeats for Specter and Harman will send a powerful message to the Democrats. We’ve had it — we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore! Taking our money and running can no longer be a winning strategy for Democrats. There must be powerful consequences for ignoring the liberal base and from now on, doing so must be a grave political risk. Any more excuses from us are just an invitation to be ignored.
Accountability Now PAC
Winograd 4 Congress
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AN EQUALITY MANIFESTO
At a defining moment of a new equality movement, in a nation rediscovering democracy, certain values have brought us to the unmistakable need for action. Here is one articulation of a path towards change.
CORE BELIEFS:
We believe that all human beings, and all consensual loving relationships between them, should be honored equally under the law, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, national origin or legal status.
We have discovered that the laws which discriminate against us have not kept pace with the times, and that we now have the social power to change the laws to protect ourselves and others from state-sponsored discrimination.
The path ahead has many forks but all roads lead to gay marriage. The question before us, as we work to secure that right, is how high are our hopes for this movement, this moment, and our country? Who are we and what else are we fighting for?
Proposition 8 was a catalyst and a new beginning. Although it is the first time that the right of gays and lesbians to marry has been eliminated by a bare majority vote, this right will soon enough be regained in California. We must recognize that this was the spark that lit a powder keg, and that California is at the center of a movement that is not just about marriage, and it takes place in the middle of a part of a democratic renaissance in our nation’s and that is not limited to gays and lesbians. We are at the heart of defining rights and freedoms for ourselves but that many others want to help and need our help. There is power in organizing our own communities for change, and we must build the society that we want to live in and ask ourselves what we’re willing to do to get us there.
A CALL TO ACTION:
- Convene a group of ten of your friends. Lead or participate in your own “cell,” and together we will make up the organs of our movement.
- Come together and express your common values and identify shared goals. We are many people with many views – there is not one gay community, we do not speak with one voice. Shake out into groups of ten people who share your values and goals. Don’t consider this group of ten a fixed group, people who don’t share your goals should be encouraged to find ten who do, and if your group starts to hit 15, break off and make more groups! Focus on what you agree on.
- Set rules for your meeting. Decide how long meetings will last, how they will be run and how often you will meet.
- Air your grievances. This is healthy and people need to be heard! POST-GAME ANALYSIS IS PRE-GAME STRATEGY. A lot of people in California worked very hard to fight Prop 8, and are feeling very attacked by the anger that has erupted from a grassroots level at the way the campaign was run. This is healthy, and it shouldn’t be personal! Analyzing the campaign and trying to understand what was done and what went wrong is not a bad thing – we will continue to make mistakes and we must use them all as learning experiences.
- Make a commitment. Say what you are willing to do and to give to make change.
- Equality for all also means equality for whom else? What are you willing to do for others? How will we step outside of ourselves and our own communities? What kinds of people unlike ourselves are we willing to lend a hand to help in exchange for their support of us?
- Understand the big picture and work to find your place within the movement. Look at the leadership, funding and structure for the fight on all levels.
- Study the issues. Gather information and educate yourselves about what other people are doing and how you can help. Understand the complexity of the issues and learn what you can and cannot accomplish.
STUDY TOPICS:
NATIONAL POLICY
- Legislative
Do my Congressperson and my Senators support the repeal of DOMA?
- Executive
What policies can the Obama Administration change by executive order and what constituency is going to pressure that agency to make those changes?
- Judicial
What is happening in the federal courts that could alter the rights of individual states to provide unequal protection to its citizens?
STATE POLICY
What is happening with the fight over Prop 8 in the California courts?
How do we use our resources to reframe the battle over hateful anti-family laws like the adoption/foster parents initiative that passed in Arkansas?
How do we provide support and our resources to equality movements in all 50 states?
PUBLIC OPINION
How can we move public opinion towards greater support of equality?
How do we reach out to our neighbors who are not yet our allies?
How can we use our own role in the media industry to impact the messages of equality for a mass audience?
How do we harness the power of the internet and community media to tell our stories and re-frame the debate?
LOCAL COMMUNITIES
What role can local government initiatives and laws play in increasing equality?
Do we want to run for office? How do we make our local elected officials more responsive to citizen’s concerns rather than business concerns?
What community groups can we participate in that are already set up to address concerns like ours and get things done.
A FEW LAST NOTES:
Don’t hate. Building a community and a movement is hard work and can be frustrating. Always remember that you are all there to make a difference. The political left in the United States has been at war with itself longer than it has been at war with the right. One key reason for this is the battle between moderates and radicals who insist that the other is the reason for their overall failure. MODERATES NEED RADICALS and RADICALS NEED MODERATES! Radical actions are not “unhelpful” or “counter-productive” – civil disobedience and political anger are essential to social movements. People who “work within the system” or who aren’t “thinking big enough” are on the frontlines too. DO NOT SPEND ANY OF YOUR TIME OR ENERGY FIGHTING YOUR OWN SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT. Engage in actions and organizations that share your values and win the battle by accomplishing your agenda. We will never speak with one voice and that is our strength.
Respect our history. There is so much to be learned from the generations of LGBTQ activists who have come before us. From Stonewall to Harvey Milk, from ACT UP to HRC, many people have come before us and it only makes us better to learn our history and honor our elders.
“WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THESE PROTESTS? THESE ORGANIZERS SUCK. WE SHOULD BE DOING X, Y AND Z!”
The protests that are erupting all over the United States are the spontaneous result of a group of people who are angry and now demanding change. They are achieving three concrete results!
- Visibility on the streets and in the media and ongoing attention to the injustice committed against us.
- Tremendous validation and solidarity for the community –seeing people like yourself, who feel like you do and are willing to go to the streets for it, builds a strong foundation for a community and a movement.
- New leadership and new organizations are being created right now. We are witnessing the birth of a new movement, and leaders are being born in the streets at the very moment that other people are listening to and following them.
“I WISH THOSE OTHER PEOPLE WOULD GO AWAY!“
Political movements are only successful if they are coalitions of different people. Where there is political energy (a rare thing in this country) it will attract idealists of all stripes. People with differing agendas are ALWAYS a part of EVERY movement. Remember that these people have SHOWN UP and they care. Embrace them as allies, do not think of them as parasitic. If they succeed in overshadowing you momentarily, consider it a lesson in helping you find your “A” game – and next time do it better! Gain control over your message and how it is disseminated. DO NOT HATE! This cannot be stressed enough. Check yourself, and check others for attacking our own flanks, no matter how “crazy” or “fringe” they might seem to you.
BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN POWER! This is your movement and you are going to change America.
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