Category Archives: Gov. Doofinator’s Follies

John Cusack for Governor 2010? Sure, Why Not?

Say+Anything+001+resized.jpgNow, calm down and bear with me here. I’m not entirely kidding. Here’s why.
There’s no denying that after 7 years of mismanagement by Governor Doofinator, the 2/3rds rule and an array of inexperienced or corporatized “Democrats” in Sacramento, combined with endless bullsh*t “ballot measures,” we need a change at the top.
But right now our choices are limited to “eMeg,” another vain billionaire who has no idea how government works, and AG/Former Governor Jerry Brown, who is smart, knowledgeable, but has chosen to run a campaign so low-profile, no one knows he’s running, and is likely to lose, especially with the Democratic base divided over “President” Obama’s performance, and a GOP who’s willing to cater to the batshit insane to reclaim power.
Now, my scenario here was a bit more relevant in January, when I came up with it, but I figured I’d put it out now, on the eve of the California Democratic Convention, since I’m worried we’re going to have a new level of arrogant stupidity invade the Capitol. So for your consideration, I wonder if perhaps Democrats run John Cusack* for Governor in 2010.
I came up with this for several reasons. While Brown was able to dispatch the inept and expensive “Newsom for Governor” campaign in 2009 by raising money and spending little, that approach does not work in early 2010, which is what the campaign chose to do.
Up against a crazy billionaire, though, at this late date, it isn’t working anymore. Now, we have the prospect of a candidate who has no challenge in the primary coasting, but not building a statewide network to fight this craziness. The “kitchen table” approach won’t cut it this time around. Brown has name ID amongst older voters, but he doesn’t necessarily have an image or name ID with many new voters, nor does he have a mechanism to do that. (And sorry, but f*cking Facebook doesn’t count)
More to the point, we can’t afford another vanity governor who will do more damage to the state, and who’s willing to lie to get the job. And while I note the irony of replacing one Hollywood candidate with another, I’ve been reading Cusack’s articles and interviews for some time now, and he’s a very bright, very engaged person, not amongst your typical arrogant Hollywood liberal who drives around in a Prius but does so for just for show. And, his career hasn’t had the post 80s drop off that others of his generation have had – he’s still fairly well known amongst voters of all ages. (and it’s not like similar ideas haven’t popped up before!)
Admittedly this is all a bit wild – but the fact is if either Cusack, or any Democratic candidate could have easily upset Brown if they’d just had the courage to step up for both the Party, and more importantly, the improvement of the State of California. Brown would have been caught flat-footed, and people would have had a chance to make a real choice in June.
Of course, Mr. Cusack has better things to do than waste his time working with an incompetent, lying state government. It’s too bad that more people that know this to be the case never bothered to even try. But cowardice in the Democratic party starts at the top, with a President who is always willing to sell out his own party for the sake of keeping the people who hate him happy, and it continues on down to an array of California politicians who don’t seem to know, or care, how to make this state great again.
Unfortunately, we all lose in the end.
* I also propose Mr. Cusack because he just seems cooler than most “stars” but Hell, it could be anyone (politician, star, or otherwise) with a little cash and some name ID who isn’t a moron (because voters are too stupid to read up on this on their own) to do what Arnold could have done, but failed to do – cut the crap and rally people to a reform agenda. The trick is whoever this magic person is would have to surround themselves with good people – something again in short supply in politics!

Disinfo Rehab Mail Archive – Fall 2006

Note: This entry will be updated as I get more mail. New mail is featured at the bottom of this entry! Today’s additions: Jane Kim, Marin Healthcare Board, and more!
As promised, here is the first installment of the Fall 2006 Disinfo Rehab Mail Archive. Unlike television ads, which bloggers and media folks can easily dissect because they’re on TV, YouTube, candidate websites, and the like, mail is a “below the radar” medium. You know it is out there, but unless you’re on the targeted mailing list, you won’t see it.
Which is why it makes for a great way to send distinct messages to distinct groups of people – and a great way to attack someone and get away with it. By the time anyone notices it, it’s too late to do much about it, and the press usually isn’t sent copies of hit pieces by candidates!
Since I personally do not live in a district with an angrily contested Supervisorial race, I’m interested in submissions from readers who might have something they’ve received in the mail in the Daly/Black/SF Republican Party brouhaha, and the mega-money festival that is the District 4 battle to replace Fiona Ma, now that she’s been elected to a 6 year term in the Assembly. Oh and if anyone has any “freaky” mail from way out in Distrct 8, send it over!
As always, if you submit a big pile o’ mail, I’ll buy you a drink/coffee/whatever once this nutty election is over. Email me and tell me what you have and I’ll make arrangements to pick it up, or you can simply scan them in yourself and send them in as JPEGs.
Please note that all pieces that appear on this page were sent to actual voters, who in turn gave the pieces to me for inclusion in this fall’s archive. (To protect their privacy from identity thieves, their names and addresses have been Photoshopped out)
A mail piece’s appearance here does not indicate I’m endorsing or not endorsing a particular candidate, and it does not indicate that campaign endorses this site, its views, or anything at all. Conspiracy theorists, please put down the crack pipe and find something else to worry about.
Update: A loyal reader tipped me off to a similar project being done by the East Bay Express, entitled Fun with Misleading Mailers. Short and to the point, the additional coverage of the myriad of pieces hitting the mailbox is great for voters
And now, for the fun, after the jump!

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Greg’s All-Star Guide to the June Primary!

Don’t forget to check out the Direct Mail Disinfo Rehab Archive before you vote!
If you are like many people in this state, you asked for a mail ballot this year. And, if you’re like most people in this state, you still haven’t returned it yet.
Don’t feel bad – just about everyone else is in the same boat you are. Return rates in key counties in California are abysmally low, owing to the fact that there are so many candidates, most of whom no one has heard of, running for so many offices. Every campaign I’ve worked on this cycle is seeing record rates of non return of ballots statewide.
So, beat those election blues, and print out a copy of my patented All-Star Guide to the California Primary. You can easily fill out your ballot, and you get a dose of snark just for laughs!
The Big Races
Note: If people are running unopposed, I’m not including them here since there’s nothing to choose!
U.S. Senate: Whatever you think of Dianne Feinstein (some folks love her, some folks hate her, some folks don’t know) know this: Dianne Feinstein is going to win the Democratic Primary in a landslide Vin Diesel would envy, and is going to be re-elected. Oh yeah, there’s some token resistance but you might as well cast at least one vote for a winning candidate.
Since the balloting is so easy for California, may I suggest you send a 20 or a 50 dollar bill to the campaign of Jon Tester for US Senate instead?. Jon is the kind of Democrat we need in Washington DC, who can win in a place like Montana. He’s a no-BS guy who represents the best the West has to offer – and he’s going to have a chance to knock out Sen. Conrad Burns, who is so deep in scandal it isn’t funny. Besides if he wins he can help DiFi be a committee chair, so it’s a twofer.
California Governor: It does not take a genius to figure out that I am not a fan of Governor Doofinator, and his constant lying, “reinventing” of himself, and the tomfoolery that was the Credit Card Bond. So, who then, can send this guy back to his magic ticket and his restaurant in Santa Monica?
I’m telling folks to vote for Phil Angelides. Yeah, I know, I know. But the usual math doesn’t apply here. Angelides has been consistently opposing Gov. Doofinator from Day One, he didn’t monkey around in the recall or support the Credit Card Bond, and he’s straight with voters on what he’ll do if elected. Republicans who chortle at the follies of the primary take note: Democrats chortled at your follies when they had Congress and the Presidency in 1994 – and look at what happened to them.
Lt. Governor:Tough one for me, as I met John Garamendi (albeit over the phone) while working for the Insurance Commissioner for the State of Washington. Nice guy. But I’ve always been a supporter of Sen. Jackie Speier throughout her career. What to do? Flip a coin? Waffle? I can’t vote for both!
I’m gonna vote for Speier, since I think she would do more with the office. Garamendi is a great guy, but I wish he’d run for something else so I wouldn’t have to make this kind of choice. Besides, she’s the hometown hero!
Secretary of State:This one is easy – Easy choice : State Sen. Deborah Bowen. Not only was she one of the few candidates to get an endorsement at the Democratic Convention, she is also the only candidate who actually worked on any of the issues a Secretary of State faces (i.e. voting machines, political reform, etc.) and she was my State Senator when I lived in Venice.
Attorney General: Another difficult choice. I’ve been supporting Jerry Brown for years. Back in Santa Cruz I organized a rally with him during his Presidential bid that got on CNN and CSPAN, and later when I worked at a tech company, ended up explaining our RealAudio technology to him when he had the radio show. It’s hard not to support him, but Rocky Delgadillo isn’t such a bad guy either. So vote for Jerry Brown but let’s hope we see Delgadillo run for something else someday.
State Controller: Don’t you just love that title? Sounds like one is running for Cylon Overlord for California or something. Here’s a chance for you to give someone a promotion who actually deserves it: vote for Sen. Joe Dunn. This guy really did stand up to Enron and their BS during the power crisis, and beyond, and he’ll bring that integrity to the Controller’s office. Unlike people like Sen. Sheila Kuehl, who voted for giving away the state to greedy speculators, Joe Dunn was the guy who remembered job 1 for him is serving the citizens. Go Joe!
State Senate, District 8: This is a tough one for me – Lou Papan was a real hero in supporting the special ed program at my old high school, where my mom works. But Mike Nevin’s wife also worked at my old high school and knew my mom too. Oh yeah, there’s current Assemblyman Leland Yee running a strong campaign too. So who do I vote for? Calgon, take me away!
In the end I voted for Lou Papan, but not as part of some plot to deny Nevin votes but more due to a coin toss between two guys from San Mateo County, and because he was such a good guy in the Assembly when it came to special education. But the battle seems to be between Yee and Nevin so if you want to vote for someone who’s more likely to win, then go ahead and vote for Mike Nevin.
State Assembly, District 12 – SF: Ok, like you had to ask. I’m telling everyone to vote for Janet Reilly. and regular readers know I’ve written about when she kicked off her campaign, when she campaigned with John Kerry, and about the only debate she had with Ms. Ma..
People ask me why and the answer is simple. There are people in the local and state Democratic Party who view the Party and those in it as part of an exclusive club, and that club likes things predictable, safe, and for the benefit of their club membership, since after all, they have the best interests of The People at heart. Anyone questioning that is cast out as a pariah.
Janet’s campaign has never been one on the “inside” and as such is a lot more welcoming to citizen input, and isn’t as beholden to the club mentality that really disdains volunteers, Internet activists, and anyone not Already In The Club. They really don’t like you, and don’t like the fact they have to ask you to vote for them because They’re Just That Good. Plus, when you see the nonsense being tossed at Janet, you figure she can’t be that bad. Vote for Janet and piss off the Man.
Propositions
Proposition 81 – Library Bonds – vote NO: How can anyone be against library bonds? That means more money for libraries right? And I like libraries so I should support it, right? NO!
This is Yet Another Bond Issue that gets on the ballot because it “gives money” to good causes. But you see, it doesn’t “give money” – it sells debt that we have to pay billions in interest on later. That blows out the budget in future years. So many bonds are passed by voters that it is killing our state’s ability to make budget decisions. Vote no, and tell them to raise taxes or cut something first.
Proposition 82 – Preschool for All – Vote YES: This proposition isn’t perfect, nor is it a cure all. But it doesn’t use bonds, and it does take a step towards doing what we should be doing to at least not have as many screw ups in the public school system. Besides, Rob Reiner isn’t that bad of a guy.
San Francisco Propositions A, B, C, D: Sometimes there’s such a thing as too much democracy and voting, and the fact we’re even voting on some of this stuff, which should either be passed by the Board of Supervisor and voted up or down by the Mayor, or perhaps addressed elsewhere, is a sign. But since we do have them, here’s an easy way to vote:
If you like Mayor Gavin Newsom, and allied interests, and do not like the Board of Supervisors and their allied interests, go ahead and vote “no” on everything. Sure, there is that issue of violent homeless people being put in the old folks home at Laguna Honda, but so what? Gavin’s got a tough re-election in 2007, possibly, and the last thing he needs some ballot measures to give him guff.
If you do not like Mayor Gavin Newsom and allied interest, and like the Board of SUpervisors, and their allied interests, go ahead and vote “yes” on everything. Sure, that whole Ellis Act notification thing probably won’t stop a desperate home-buyer from running over Grandma to get that TIC, but so what? Gavin’s got a tough re-election in 2007, possibly, and perhaps these ballot measures (some of which were put on the ballot by Supervisor Daly) might be able to give him some guff.
Other Offices:
San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee: Ok, pop quiz: what is the one job people run for, spend money to get elected to, that most people have not even heard of much less know what they do?
That would be the Democratic Party Central Committee. Ya see, each county has a “Central Commitee” for each party. These are partisan positions within the parties themselves – they are not funded by the state or anything like that. These might seem like ceremonial posts, but how the people on this committee vote determine all sorts of party business at the local and state level. So in a way it matters, but not always in an immediately understandable way.
The problem is you have to vote for so many people out of a pack of like, a zillion, and (thank GOD) “Ranked Choice Voting” has no place in these races. I’m going to recommend the two people I actually have met and known: Boe Hayward in the 12th Assembly District and Tim Paulson in the 13th.
Both are good guys – I helped out Boe with his postcards this year, and Tim Paulson is the director of the San Francisco Labor Council and all around good guy. There’s two endorsements – figure out the rest of the slots on the ballot after casting your ballot for these guys.
That’s it! Enjoy the fireworks on June 6th!

50 Million Westly Dollars Can Be Wrong

Much is made when a personally wealthy candidate runs for office about how, by the miracle of “spending lots of money,” they can automatically win office. Steve Westly’s campaign not only benefits from this conventional “wisdom” – it’s an active part of the campaign’s message.
What pundits, politickers, and the like tend to forget is that part of winning a campaign is having the money to pay for what you need to win – but that the other part is how you spend your money. And in the case of Steve Westly, our multi-millionaire Richie Cunningham running for class president, it’s becoming clear that the how of his campaign is starting to kill whatever advantage, cash-wise, this guy had.
Last night I caught the latest spat of ads from Westly on TV, and they were laughable at best, pathetic at worst. We are less than three weeks away from a pretty significant primary election, and what is the Westly campaign blowing tons of cash on? Ads about whether Phil Angelides is running a “negative campaign.” (Don’t try looking here for them – I guess they don’t mind putting them on the air, but they sure didn’t put them on their own site.)
So,umm, let me get this straight. This is the big issue millions of Californians are concerned about in this year’s gubernatorial election? I guess that whole affordable housing/jobs/economy/environment/education/taxes thing isn’t the main issue at the kitchen table this season.
No, it’s whether “Mean Old Phil” is playing by some imaginary Marquess de Queensbury rules, and rather than move on and just tell people about why he’s the better candidate, he’s spending money talking about something no real voters give a crap about and tosses in a lie about Angelides’ tax plan that’s patently false. Hmm. Sounds like someone broke his own promise about those Queensbury rules.
Putting aside for a moment whether Phil or Steve is the bestest Democrat boy running, there’s a bigger issue here. If Steve Westly can’t handle a random, unscripted question from the peanut gallery, or a few jabs from a fellow Democrat, how the Hell is he going to handle going up against Gov. Doofinator and his huge team of spinmeisters, politickers and a massive state funded disinfo ops team, much less the many millions in independent expenditures from allied right wing groups that will toss out crap far worse than he’s ever had to deal with?
No wonder this guy barely beat McClintock in 2002. Perhaps after the election, Westly and Senator Huffington, President Perot, Governor Checchi, and the rest of the rich geniuses can get together and have a beer about those Queensbury rules.
Don’t forget to send in your political junk mail so we can do some disinfo rehab prior to the election! Send me a note and we’ll get it on Flickr ASAP!

CDP Update 3 – Throwing A Wrench In the Machine

See live, uninterrupted coverage of the circus right here!
Today has been a bit less weird. I can safely say that the comic-book convention metaphor is holding, and I don’t mean that in a good or bad way, just a way.
Anyway.
Today I ran into Assembly Candidate Janet Reilly as I stopped to say hello to our esteemed Senator, Dianne Feinstein. Tons of people were mobbing Sen. Feinstein and camera-phones were ablaze in getting a shared moment with the Senator recorded for posterity.
I also had a nice conversation with Frank Russo of the California Progress Report at his booth from whence he is live-blogging the entire convention.
But my favorite moment was watching the convetion speeches of Phil Angelides and Steve Westly, and it would seem that my previous entry about the Westly beef-fueled blocking of the endorsement vote might have been premature. I spoke with several actual voting delegates who told me how they were selected and how most of them were for Angelides, parties or not. It was most notable that when Steve Westly spoke, his legions of volunteers provided the bulk of his applause, not the delegates, something KTVU reporter Randy Shandobil queried Mr. Westly about at a press conference.
I watched Westly and while he seems like a truly nice person, he also comes off as over-rehearsed and evasive as he did in 1989 when he ran for chair. I chose to throw him a curve ball that was not on any “talking points memo” for the day when the press conference started.
My question? Well, I decided to ask him about his campaign’s use of Myspace.com, which the campaign had trumpeted early on as a sign of his tech-savviness and his outreach to young people.
I asked him if this was the case, why was it that after all the hype and hullaballo, his My Space Profile was linked to only 40 or so friends, while rival Phil Angelides’ profile was linked to over 1000 people.
Now, to be sure, a MySpace profile for a politco is not a big deal, but I wasn’t as interested in the answer as I was interested in seeing how he’d handle such a wacky question, wacky questions and situations being something you need to deal with as a candidate and as Governor. I’d hoped for a joke, or something.
Instead he looked at me in that frozen smile of his and for about a second telegraphed a glare that could only be described as “What the F*CK are you asking me this for?” and then gave a weird, rambling non-answer answer.
I was kinda hoping for a sign this guy could go off script and relax, since his speech was so totally rehearsed he went off speech on less than 10 words. More importantly I was hoping for a sign that we are not repeating the mistake of nominating a Gray Davis or a Mike Dukakis or an Al Gore.
Sadly , it didn’t happen. Oh well.
Next up: The vote showdown in the convention center!
UPDATE: It seems my mayhem was not confined to La Convencion…..this accounting of MySpace.com street cred seems to say it all..

A Guide to the Doofinator’s Special Election Bonanza

This is one of the easiest elections to analyze and make recommendations, for you, the reader, and all the people who call me on the phone asking me what I think about the election. Ready?
Vote NO.
That’s right – whatever it is that’s on that ballot, be it a state proposition or Yet Another Bond Issue, just vote NO. It’s easy, it’s simple, and it will send a message to the cabal of get-rich-quck consultants, the Doofinator, and The Man that it’s time to get to work to solve problems with real solutions, not this half-assed, phony baloney bullhonky they call “reform.”
Nothing on the ballot was so critical it had to pass in 2005. If we are going to spend almost a hundred million dollars for an election no one asked for, we should at least be voting on something big, something bold, something that’s based on something more than phony baloney consultant-driven initiatives desigend to get a few Republican political consultants and a few Democratic political consutlatns rich quick – while we the people have to live with the results.
© 2003-2006 Greg Dewar | All Rights Reserved | Originally Published at www.schadelmann.com

Did Gov. Schwarzenegger Accept STOLEN Funds For His Campaign and Consultants??

OK. It’s time to take the circus tent called “The Doofinator’s Follies” down. This is just getting out of hand.
First, we find out he’s collecting rent from his many campaign committees, so all those special interest dollars are making their way directly into his pocket. Loyal readers first read about this, and saw the offices in question here at Schädelmann.com.
Next, we find out that he didn’t tell the truth about the millions of dollars in income he was getting from two magazines, which rely on large ads from the “supplement” industry to stay afloat. Curiously, he vetoed bills that would have restricted dangerous supplements and steroids to kids in school athletics.
Being the Doofinator, he initially refused to stop his ethically-questionable deal until the heat got to be too much for The Doofinator, and he relented. Never underestimate the fear this guy has of Not Being Liked!
And then, of course, we find out why so many of the Doofinator’s unpopular ballot initiative campaigns press on, despite losing money and going into debt – it seems his taxpayer-funded staff is making hundreds of thousands of dollars off these committees, allegedly in their spare time.
Again, loyal readers know the Governor’s inimitably charmless spokesman has spent some state time reading this site. Makes you wonder, though, if they keep pushing these things to make a quick buck off their boss’s fundraising efforts. Might be compromising their judgement, no?
But now there’s something way more serious – the growing evidence the Governor took stolen money from Tom Noe, who conned Ohio’s leadership into investing funds from the Worker’s Compensation Fund into rare coins – and then stole the proceeds from the taxpayers!
It’s an ugly, sick, story of greed, corruption, and how the proceeds from said stealing from taxpayers made its way into many GOP campaigns as well. Google and read about the mess – it’s quite a sordid tale.
This morning, we found out that money from one of the accounts in question made it all the way to the Doofinator’s campaign coffers, and there’s no word yet if he still has the money, if he’s returned it, or what.
Regardless, it says a lot when the Governor of California spends so much time campaigning and raising record millions to fund his campaign consultants, staff moonlighting income, and all those signature gatherers, and so little time actually doing the job he claimed he wanted in 2003, that we’re now actually trying to find out if he took a crook’s money – one who ripped of the taxpayers to the tune of millions.
It’s not enough his “poll numbers are down.” It’s time to send this circus out of town and get an adult in office. Are the folks running up to the job? It’s unclear. Why, oh why, can’t we get a true statesman (or stateswoman?) to lead this state for a change, instead of dull politicians who spend all their time raising money, or has-been actors who spend all their time raising money?
Anyone? Anyone?
PS: If you’d like to show how much you’re fed up, I still have a stash of these posters from the 2003 recall – if you’d like one please make an offer!
UPDATE: Well it seems once again the Governor named Doofinator has done it again. After finding out the source of the contribution, he refused to return it, then gave it BACK to the crook in question, rather than donate the money to the state of Ohio from where it was stolen. President Bush and others did the right thing and returned the donations to the state, but Schwarzenegger didn’t. Strange that not one California media outlet has picked up on this, and I gotta read it in the Akron and Toledo papers. Hmm.
© 2003-2006 Greg Dewar | All Rights Reserved | Originally Published at www.schadelmann.com

Quick Hit- How Many Loopholes Must the Doofinator Jump Through?

It’s no secret I’ve not been posting nearly as much as I normally did. Even as I approach my two year anniversary (!) on Journalspace, I’m finding that I’m really starting to lose interest in trying to comment and write on politics when all of the news is just so f_cked up. Every time I think we’ve hit a plateu in lying, groupthink, and the spectacular nature of lying and deception these days, something new comes along to top it. At this point, working on documentary films that have nothing to do with current events, or writing books on Anything Else starts to have a real appeal.
Take for example the latest in a string of fibs and obfuscations the People’s Doofinator has been pulling lately. (The others have been in the headlines plenty – this is the latest!)
First it was the fibbing about the million dollar payments from the supplement advertisers – saying at first the money was going to a charity, then finding out of course it wasn’t.
Now we find out the Governor is raising money for his PACs, and then taking money back to his personal pocket in the form of rent at his offices at 3110 Main St. in Santa Monica.
Sure, it’s not “him” it’s his company, Main St. Plaza, which is owned by The Doofinator, but I suppose Clinton/Bush-like hedging of rhetoric is the standard of politicians these days, so it’s OK. And, as always there’s a legion of folks who have the political discipline of the Soviet Politburo to defend these shenanigans because He’s Their Guy.
Whatever. It’d be nice to think that the declining poll numbers for Doofinator, et al would mean that Californians are finally realizing it’s time to take the circus tent down and find someone else who is less prone to lying and cheating to take office, but I would not bet on it.
However, if you, or your assorted friends, allies, and whatnots are tired of it, and would like to make a real stink about it, why not visit the Governor’s restaurant and have a nice, good old fashioned hippie sit-in to protest the guy?
Sure, it’s probably a surefire way to go to the can for a few days, but you’ll at least know you made someone’s day as miserable as the rest of ours. Or something.
Meanwhile, here’s the Doofinator’s “Death Star” on Main st. by my old house:

PS: I am getting all sorts of young people asking me about how to “get into politics.” My advice – stay out of it. Unless you want to become an election law attorney. There are so few out there now, that if you were to specialize in election law, you’d make a fortune. Even if we had 10x the number of election lawyers, there’d STILL be enough work for everyone, and then some. If I was wiser when I was smarter I would have done so myself ages ago and saved myself a lot of hassle (and have a lot more cash in the bank as well). Sure the alka-seltzer bill would be high, but so would the Retire Early and Move to Panama fund.
© 2003-2006 Greg Dewar | All Rights Reserved | Originally Published at www.schadelmann.com

The Doofinator Comes to Santa Monica College Or Return of the Liar

So, it seems Mr. Governor Doofinator is returning to an alma mater of his, Santa Monica College, to deliver a commencement address. How funny. Not in the “funny ha ha” sort of way, but in the “funny f-cked up” kind of way?
Why, you ask, do I dare challenge the Doofinator’s ability/right to address a graduating class of Community College students at a college he once attended?
Let me count the hypocritical points of order those in the Fourth Estate would be wise to consider as they attempt some serious questioning of Governor Doofinator:
-When Governor Doofinator attended Santa Monica College as a semi-legal immigrant in the early 1970s, no substantial fees were charged at community colleges. If you wanted to go, you went. If you were too dumb to stay in, you flunked out. Otherwise, community colleges more or less let anyone in that wanted an education.
Under Governor Doofinator, and his Dark Master, Governor Pete “Mexicans Suck” Wilson, they’ve jacked up so-called “fees” at community colleges, making it a lot harder for people to get an education. Meanwhile, they gave away billions to the Enrons of the world. Governor Doofinator has spent more time out of state raising special interest dollars than working on realistic solutions to restore the Master Plan for Higher Education that was once the envy of the world.
In other words, a world-class education system that built up the educated workforce that made Calfornia competitive in the emerging tech economy was good enough for an immigrant with a family background and personal support for enemies of the U.S. on an expired visa from Austria in the 70s, but not good enough for taxpaying citizens and their families today.
-Governor Doofinator ran on a platform of reform. He told us he’d be the mirror opposite of Gov. Gray Davis’ so-called “coin-op” government. He has spent the great majority of his time this year out of state, raising money from out of state interests foreign to the needs of average Californians, to finance his many special interest elections and to buy as many signatures as possible at the mall.
We were told that Governor Doofinator was going to clean things up. He has not. He was either lying to the public when he ran, or he’s in way over his head. Either way, he has not been truthful with the public, and it’s ironic that he’s being held as a model for SMC graduates.
-Governor Doofinator tried to do an end-run around the rules to get rid of the basic protections for workers with regards to something as simple as their breaks and lunch hour. Since he had to raise so many special interest dollars, he had to do them a favor and this was one. His PR people and himself spent a lot of time defining this useless and needless attack on a working person’s daily life.
What makes this more ironic is the fact that as a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, Mr. Doofinator was entitled to contract guarantees for every single aspect of his work day, including lunch. If James Cameron so much as delayed Governor Doofinator’s protein shakes by even a minute, he got paid for his inconvenience. More to the point, if any film producer thought to violate said rules, he had a union and an whole system to get him his just desserts (or lunch, as it were).
Once again, this bozo shows what a lying hypocrite he is. He apparently did not once stand up and say “No, I don’t want the benefits of union protection, nor do I want my contract-mandated lunch hour, or my health and pension, please let me work 14 hours a day without a break” while a budding movie star . But apparently that’s good enough for the rest of us.
-Then there’s the constant phony media stunts, ones that amaze me in that anyone even bothers to report on them given how patently false they are. Like the time the government made a big pothole at taxpayer expense so that Herr Doofinator could fill it in, and show how he wants to fix roads.
Memo to Doofinator staff: when you wreck a road with government road crews, use special interest money to pay a portion of the bill for the PR machine to announce said taxpayer-funded pothole you made worse, and inconvenience a neighborhood to have your little media funtime, you’re not helping things. You’re making them worse. Maybe this kind of bullshit passes for OK when you make a movie, but when you are in charge of things, it doesn’t pass the smell test. You lose.
I’m getting sick of this guy. I’m getting sick of his b*llshit, and his lies. I’m tired of hearing the media portray him as some sort of saint when he’s told more lies, and did more wrongs than his predecessor (who was no prince to begin with), and somehow say it’s ok. I’m sick of Republicans telling me this bozo is somehow better than what we had before, when in fact he lies and spends more time acting like a Hollywood movie flake than a true leader.
Most importantly, I’m sick of people on all sides of the aisle who can’t see past their own partisan short term gains, and won’t stand up for what’s right for all of us, and partisan interests be damned. Governor Doofinator could have been a leader. Instead he’s been a cheap Hollywood huckster, and his lies are made all the worse by the damage he’s actively creating in California.
To hell with him. and to hell with all the hypocrites in government. Game Over, fellas.
PS: On a completely unrelated note, I’ve been enjoying some of the downloads at partyben.com. Unbeknownst to most, I actually enjoy this sort of thing and try and find whatever I can that sounds interesting out there. Really!
© 2003-2006 Greg Dewar | All Rights Reserved | Originally Published at www.schadelmann.com

Protest Post Mortem or Why You Can’t Trust All Blogs All The Time

As I said earlier this week, rather than just “blog away” about issues, sometimes I like to actually do something somewhat tangible, so I spent Tuesday with all sorts of snarky signs in front of Gov. Doofinator’s latest special-interest fundraiser.
While I can’t claim credit for the event’s a success or failure based on my presence, it was nice to spend a nice sunny day outdoors, and to see for myself what was really going on.
The news media tends to make these things out as “union” events, but they’re really not – I was rather surprised at the number of Ordinary People who showed up, not for some massive Agenda of the Left, but because they were sick and tired of politicians who lie and take lots of special interest cash, without any benefit to the average citizen.
As rallies go, it was loud, but relatively peaceful. If you look closely at the video footage from KRON you might catch a glimpse of the snarkiest of signs, the one I made for a protest in front of the GAP’s San Francisco headquarters (calling attention to the big donations the company has made to the Governor’s campaigns), that labeled the Governor the “Doofinator.” [Insert rolling eyes here.]
I had a bet wtih one of my firends at the event that my inimitably goofy sign would make all three local network affiliates for the news because it was so dopey, and it did!) You can also see some political commentary from retired political consultant and local philanthropist Clint Reilly commenting on the situation as well at KRON.
Rallies, protest, and direct action these days usually don’t do a lot to swing The Masses to any one side, nor do they tend to convince the people on the inside to change their mind. However, when it comes to Gov. Doofinator they’re more effective than people realize.
That’s because this Governor is not committed to the Republican Party, any basic set of ideals, or other politicans. He is only committed to the idea of being popular. Any time that popularity takes a hit, as it has done recently, and he’ll quickly drop an idea or sell out a friend to restore said popularity.
That’s why, after taking multiple hits on his ill-thought out scheme to take away teh pensions and death benefits for police and firefighters, he abandoned his much ballyhooed reform efforts and gave up, rather than risk having some unhappy fans out there.
So for those well-heeled kids spending their fun money on the Doofinator’s signature gathering machine, all I can say is, you may want to rethink how you spend your money. A new popularity poll can sink that wacky initiative you’re trying to promote.
This is not the first time a little heat has made the Governor abandon a policy proposal – we only have to look back at the Great Puppy and Kitten Revolt of 2004, which always astonished me.
For someone who loves to hurl insults, taunts, and bad jokes, he sure can’t take a little criticism. But I suppose that’s what happens to someone who’s spent a career working on being popular all the time. It gets to you after a while.
There was a lot of coverage of this particular protest/event/whatever in local papers, television, and the wire services. There was also a lot of noise on blogs. I think it’s interesting how some people in the “blogosphere” (God, I hate that word) really get on a high horse about how they’re somehow “better” than the mainstream press in reporting what “really” happens.
Sometimes, it seems like most political bloggers are loudmouths, so full of themselves they don’t let something like the facts get in the way of a good sounding “messaging exercise.” But I digress. (and yes, if I may paraphrase Sideshow Bob, I see the irony of using a blog to decry blogs. So what.)
However, in this case I’d like to point out two blogs that covered Tuesday’s events and compare and contrast them a little. I found both using Google and picked them at random.
The first is a blog written by a guy in Livermore, CA who attended the rally. He’s posted a nicely detailed account of the day’s events, complete with pictures that more or less synced with what I saw and heard while I was there. No sensationalism, true, but a nice, crowd’s-eye view.
Yes, there were a lot of people, yes it had its goofy moments, and no, there was no riot, no Chicago ’68-style head bashing, no calls for La Revolucion issued to the proletariat. It was interesting to see so many people give up Opening Day and some nice weather in San Francisco to show up and talk to the Governor the only way they’re allowed to, and it was amazing to see so many of our first responders out in force.
He also had a link to another site which had a lot of links to coverage as well. Since it’s Friday, and I don’t feel like re-inventing the wheel, just click over there and see what he’s got.
In contrast, Bob Brigham at the Swing State Project posts a very different account, a tale rife with images of brave clashes with The Man and The System, the People igniting La Revolucion, etc.
It all sounds really nice, but unfortunately, the embellishments start to take on a life of their own and don’t sync with what many other people saw, nor with anything I observed. It’s one of those things that super-liberal people who spend all day behind a computer can get excited about – but also at odds with a lot of what really went on, which ends up being a lot more interesting.
I’ve met Bob before and he is a good guy, well intentioned, and all, and I am sure that in all the excitement it was easy to embellish a little while talking to a friend on a cell phone to “report” the events. But as usual, the ideological embellishments, be they from right or left, detract from the facts, which was much more interesting than an attempt to once again Bring Back the Freakin’ 60’s, as some people insist on doing.
Although, in the case of Bob’s blog, I can kind of see what he’s doing – it’s a sort of Hunter S Thompson “reveal the truth in the embellishments” kind of writing, which has its place.
Blogs are fun to write, and occasionally fun to read. At the same time, we need to realize that not all blogs are the stand-alone grassroots efforts they represent themselves to be, nor are they all free of pre-paid opinions, nor do all of them care whether what they write is true or not.
That’s fine – it’s all part of freedom to let everyone have their say – but it’s part of the responsibility of the rest of us to make sure we don’t let ourselves be so insulated from contrary thought we start reading our own personal Pravdas for our respective ideological biases.
PS: I want to take a moment to address a particularly egregious example of lying by a political hack – in this case the total fabrications that spew out of the mouth of the Doofinator’s spokeman, Rob Stutzman.
In several interviews he has repeated the assertion that the only people attending any demonstrations against the governor were “paid” and yet refuses to offer any documentation or proof whatsoever of this charge. It’s a nice way to put a nasty piece of BS out there and let the ideologues on the right have their fun with it, even though it is false.
I took a random sampling of people and most folks were not only unpaid to attend the event – they were giving up their own time and paying their own way to show up, from as far away as Los Angeles County, to tell the Doofinator and his henchmen what they think of his plans. I know I wasn’t paid – I gave up a day of work to help out myself and paid for my own bus fare.
Furthermore, if anyone is “paid” in this initiative scramble, it is the signature gatherers, all hired by professional signature gathering firms, who get a $1-$2 bounty for each signature they gather in front of a grocery store, etc. It’s easy to document this – one only has to look at the financial disclosure reports filed by these commitees to see the names and addresses of professional signature gathering firms employed to get these “grassroots” measures on the ballot.
I am now issuing a formal challenge to Rob Stutzman – prove on paper that the vast majority of protestors at Tuesday’s event were paid, and I’ll buy you a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon and have it delivered to your office. If you can’t do so, then you owe me a case of Schlitz. The distributor in Sacramento carries it – I expect to get my delivery soon. Thanks!

© 2003-2006 Greg Dewar | All Rights Reserved | Originally Published at www.schadelmann.com