GregDewar.com

Tonight I depart for San Diego, where I, and 149,999 of my nerd brothers and sisters will be gathering for San Diego Comic-Con. Three times the size of Burning Man, with celebrities and air conditioning (but with folks in costume, like BM), it should be fun.

However, taking a look at what's up this week, I'm kinda glad I'll be out of town. True, I'll miss this cool Obama Art Show on Thursday, but here's what else I'll get to avoid:

-Everyone's Favorite Bully, Chris Daly, and his many fatwas issued to anyone who dares oppose him as the "de facto" leader of so-called "progressives" on the DCCC (that's the Democratic County Central Committee for those of you who don't follow such minutiae).

Since the takeover of the DCCC by elected officials, the same politics of pettiness, bitterness and attack of City Hall has now infected the DCCC. They're having some big meeting this week to decide this non-matter. Somehow, all this bullsnot is supposed to be an improvement over regular citizens running the DCCC. What-ever

Funny how the people who claim to be "progressive" and open are the ones making threats, taking power away from us citizens, spamming my inbox (that's you, Mr. Daly!), and issuing fatwas, and not The People They Oppose. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?

-The Mayor's wedding. Hey, lucky guy, marrying an attractive actress (if you haven't seen her in Life, you're really missing something), whatever, but I ain't going and I'll read about it in People Magazine, or even better, at Beth's awesome blog.

Besides, the Mayor's a cool guy and all, but he's no Christian Bale aka Batman. Or is it the other way around? I dunno. Anyway, best wishes, Mr. Mayor, but I shall be hanging with the Cool Kids from Battlestar Galactica and the Fox Network.

-MUNI failwhales to come. The reason a MUNI blog writes itself most days, and I'm sure Something Big will happen when I'm away (it usualy does). Instead I'll be enjoying the convenience of San Diego's trolley line to take me to the convention every week.

Anyway, that is all. Have a fun week, keep enjoying our uniquely SF summer weather, and stay tuned for updates from the Convention floor at Galactica Sitrep, and will be posting pictures on Flickr here!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wanna know why I voted for Obama? It ain't whatcha think....

No really.

See, I voted for Obama as someone subjected to the inane bullsh*t that was 90's Liberalism On Campus (at UC Hippie Dipsh*t Santa Cruz no less!), that whole big basket of irrational PC bullsnot that was all about nonsense that made even the most liberally liberal wanna vote Republican, just to piss off the arrogant, lying, snotbags on campus.

Anyway.

So when I hear about Failure Ralph Nader (and his FAIL pal Matt Gonzalez) upset that apparently two whites can determine what a black man can say, or hear about Jesse Jetstream go on about how he's pissed that Obama thinks folks should act like responsible adults, well guess what?

I'm GLAD he's pissed these failure-eating morons off. I'm REALLY GLAD.

Because as he did in his speech on race, he said what was REALLY on people's minds. And more importantly, he said "hey guess what white people? you have legitimate greivances too, and you're not a bad person for saying so!"

More to the point, Barack Obama thinks it's time to get past all this crapola. Because India and China figured out how to, and are about to kick our butts if we're not careful. But Barack, being a true American, believes..."yes we can!"

Yes, we can Kick Ass on these folks if we choose to.

If....we choose.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This might be interesting: Dr. Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee is in town on Friday the 13th (!) for an executive board meeting of the state's party. The folks at Calitics cover this in WAY more depth than I.

It was only 3 years ago that Dr. Dean was running for Chair of the Party, and there were all sorts of dire warnings if he won. Three years later, and Dean's plan to actually work in all 50 states has paid off somewhat. And much of the internet/grassroots organizing of Dean evolved into what would later become Sen. Obama's campaign.

If you're a registered Democrat and want to stop by the proceedings, you can stop by the Westin SFO, located at 1 Old Bayshore Highway, in Millbrae, just off of 101, and not too far from the BART/Caltrain station. They ask for a $20 donation if you're not an e-board member, but remember, that's just what they ask. Unless you're doing something really outlandish, they don't mind Democrats watching the oh-so-thrilling proceedings.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While the conspiracy theorists and primal screamers come up with all sorts of hot air as to why Sen. Clinton's campaign, despite all its money, high priced consultants and insiders, is losing, there's a great story in the AP today that describes how Obama's campaign won, mostly by taking the time to understand the arcane rules of the Party nomination process. Then they took the time to (gasp!) organize in those districts. Shocking!

While Clinton's camp spent most of 2007 raising money from wealthy donors and telling everyone "it's inevitable," Obama's camp spent their time paying attention to the myriad of rules developed in the 70s and 80s. It helped, of course, that the Democratic party does not award delegates on a "winner take all" basis. It also helped that Obama had the money to put together a field operation, thanks to the ease at which he could solicit small and medium (and some large) donors, primarily online.

But more importantly, the Obama folks never conceded a state, no matter how well Hillary was doing, while Hillary's people wrote off entire sections of the country to Obama. The era of focusing on a few big, or "swing" states is over, and whoever wins in November, Democrat or Republican, will have to run a more expansive campaign than in the past.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sen. Clinton continues to make the case that a) her campaign is over and b) she just doesn't have the temperament to be president when things don't go entirely her way. (Mind you, we have many qualified women who can be president who do possess the intellect and judgment to be president, they're just not running this year. Which is unfortunate).

Lately, she's been prone to comparing her (broke as Hell) campaign to things like the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, Rwanda, Zimbabwe (you know where all those people died) and so on. Today, she hit a new low, the same week we learned of Sen. Ted Kennedy's brain tumor, when she cited the assassination of Robert Kennedy in California as a reason her campaign should go on.

No, really. In addition to all the other tacky statements she's made, in addtion to the virulent racism of her supporters like Geraldine Ferraro, in addition to race baiting, she said that.

This week.

The same week we heard about Ted Kennedy's tumor.

A few weeks from the 40th Anniversary of Bobby's assassination.

Hillary for President? Hell no. She's no longer some sort of bold leader of whatever. She is behaving like a psycho ex girlfriend, but this time she wants her finger on the nuclear button.

Continue reading "Oh No She Didn't: Latest Hillary Hyperbole Invokes Kennedy Assassination!" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Whilst reading the breaking news that John Edwards finally endorse Barack Obama (AFTER the North Carolina primary), I have to say I was more than a bit surprised to read this:

Democrat John Edwards is endorsing former rival Barack Obama, fresh signs of the party establishment embracing the likely nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

Now, mind you, I was never one to simply assume Mrs. Clinton had this thing pwned from the beginning, but many other people did, and made their choices as appropriate. Now, Bill and Hillary are personally in debt, have $20 million in general election campaign money they can't spend, and have pulled out all the stops to block Barry, all to no avail. Up against a guy who most people hadn't even heard of just a few years ago.

Go figure. That's almost as baffling as the state Senate incumbent with a warchest full of cash and an array of Sacramento insiders running the show, now running third in a three way race. Strange how a year changes things.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While the drones in the Media focuses on things that make for good "stories," (but don't cover "issues) we've missed a pretty big milestone in the race for President by Barry Obama:

Former Senator David Boren (D-OK), former Senaor Sam Nunn (D-GA) and former Democratic Party Chairman Joe Andrew (D-IN ) all endorsed........Sen. Barack Obama.

No kidding.

Folks, this is real news. Sens. Boren and Nunn are not hippie lefty latte-sippers hanging with the trustafarians in the Mission. These guys are serious conservative Democrats and have decided to sign in with Sen. Obama. Joe Andrew is also definitely not some wild-eyed Communist, and his endorsement is fairly important as well, on the eve of the Indiana primary.

Even in the midst of all this nonsense about some pastor, or some bowling ball, or whatever, even when the media chooses to ignore Really Big Problems like the recession, decline of the dollar, and the war in Iraq, these guys chose to support Obama.

Wow.

Continue reading "News Flash: Obama Endorsed By Conservative Democrats Nunn and Boren? Um, Woah! UPDATED: Joe Andrew's Letter For Obama!" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You have to admire how these guys can find away around the silly bullcrap that passes for "running for president" from the establishment types....how rad is this?

Of course, I've been no stranger to the On Notice Board on the More Popular Blog...

And, just for laughs, here's a video that seems to indicate that perhaps there's a virus that infects the Clintons when it comes to straight talk. I keep forgetting that this kind of nonsense is somehow better than the liar we have in office NOW:

Posted by Greg Dewar at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember that zany primary we held a few months ago for the Democratic presidential nomination? Yeah, that one. You probably thought "I voted and that's that" but you'd be incorrect. Now comes the arduous task of selecting the actual delegates who will go to the convention in Denver and actually vote for Clinton or Obama.

These seemingly dull events can get quite heated, as people this time rillyrillyrilly wanna go to the convention as an Obama or Clinton delegate and more people are involved than ever before on both campaigns.

I've been getting all sorts of pleas from folks to vote for them on Sunday - but I can't vote for 'em as I do not live in Rep. Nancy Pelosi's district, I live in Rep. Speier's district (CD12). So while I can send 'em my good wishes, and hope that the delegate slate isn't dominated by politicians, I can't help 'em out here in SF. Both campaigns are using union halls for their respective gang initiation rites (Clinton is at the Plumber's Union on Market Street, while Obama's is at the SEIU office. Both are easy to get to, and find.

However, those of us in the 12th Congressional District have two rather odd/interesting choices, as the district stretches from western SF all the way through San Mateo County. The end results were a bit interesting, mostly to Peninsula natives such as myself. So let's run down the pros, cons and the wtfs? of each locale....because you really would rather be reading this than working on this sunny Friday, right?

Continue reading "Fear and Loathing At the "Delegate Selection Caucuses"" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is why we elected Rep. Jackie Speier to Congress this week.

Within moments of being sworn in, Rep. Speier was not afraid to start telling the folks in DC what most Americans believe - it's time to leave Iraq. For her efforts she got booed by the GOP do-nothings, who want endless war, but of course, don't believe in actually fighting the wars themselves.

Notably, Rep. Darrel Issa (R- Syria) stormed out of the chamber. You may not remember this sorry excuse for a Congressman - but he's the guy who openly attacks those who worked rescue on 9/11 in NYC, over and over and over again.

But it's easy to see why Rep. Issa is confused. He loves cozying up to murderous dictators like Assad of Syria, but he doesn't seem to like Americans who defended this country against Al-Qaeda. Maybe he should move to Syria if he likes it so much over there.

If Rep. Speier's truth-telling can drum a nimrod like him out of the House, well then that's a 2-fer as far as I'm concerned. Go Jackie!

Calitics beat me to the punch by mere minutes, but it's a fine post, go check it out!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

File this in the no-you-can't-make-stuff-up-like-this file: It seems that legendary actor and writer John Cleese, he of the Monty Python/Fawlty Towers fame, has offered to help Barack Obama's presidential speechwriting efforts should he become the nominee this summer.

I really don't know what to say....if I'd made something like this up, it wouldn't even come close to being as teh awesome as this...does this mean a Department of Silly Walks is in the Obama cabinet in 2009?

PS: Don't forget to vote for Jackie Speier today if you live in the 12th CD. If you're not sure where you vote, follow this link and find your polling place.

Remember, if enough of us vote, we can send Jackie to Congress immediately. If we don't, we have to listen to the inane prattling of the Green Party and an assortment of no-names who will lose anyway - but we won't have Jackie in Congress fighting for us on critical issues facing the House. So go vote!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many people don't realize that there's an honest to goodness Special Election on April 8th. There's been some campaign activity, to be sure, but even with all the nice pieces of mail from the Elections Department, et al, it's easy to forget. Heck, I forgot to apply for an absentee ballot this time around, and now have to go vote in person!

As I noted on my way more popular blog on all things MUNI, right now we don't have anyone in Congress representing the 12th CD (which includes part of San Francisco and San Mateo County) due to the death of longtime Rep. Tom Lantos. Now, if 50%+1 of the good people of the 12th CD vote for Jackie Speier, we can send her to Congress immediately (she doesn't have to pass "GO" and doesn't need to collect $200), and we can have one of the most effective members of the Legislature (yes, we've had a few and she was one of them) be representing us on some pretty important issues right now.

If, however, we don't vote, and she doesn't make the threshold, there'll be a "Special General" election, that will coincide with the June Primary. However, she'll win that one for sure, but we will not have anyone in Congress representing us. Besides, put it to you another way - how many of the current crop of candidates kicked ass on privacy issues and have a train named after them? Hint: Just one, and isn't some hippie-dippie Green candidate.

Today (Sunday, April 6th) there's an event for Jackie at the Machinists Hall down in Burlingame. For a mere $10 donation, you can enjoy a fine spaghetti dinner and meet the candidate and her many supporters. It's an easy commute for those of you in San Francisco - you can take BART or Caltrain to Millbrae, and walk a few blocks to the union hall.

Whatever you do today, be sure to vote on April 8th! We can all talk big in San Francisco, but now it's time to do something about all that big talk, and send an effective legislator to Congress who can shake things up. Go Jackie!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Normally, I'd be headed to a state Democratic Convention in Northern California, because just as artistic folks go to Burning Man, and my comics/anime/film friends go to Comic-Con, folks like me go to these things because you can get your political geek on, in the company of friends and strangers and not feel weird.

In fact, when I re-launched my blog in 2006 I did so armed with a press pass at the CDP convention, which was rather fun (and cheap - Sacramento affords many hotel deals, it seems) and went to the 2003 and 2004 conventions as well

This time around, I didn't think I was going to be in town this weekend so I didn't make any plans, but had a trip pushed back at the last minute. By then, any decent rates on hotels were not to be found, and I couldn't get a press pass in time. Ah well. Probably for the best, as I have tons of other work to do, both for work and for my 15 minutes of Internet fame thanks to the awesome folks at io9.com. (Note to self: never allow yourself to be filmed unless you're dressed to impress, you never know where that video might end up, along with your improv skillz).

However, if you're looking for blogger coverage, fret not, for many of San Francisco's "A-List" Bloggers&trade will be on the case. The gang from Calitics.com will be there, as will Sweet Melissa and Beth Spotswood, and plenty of others (whom I'll add to the list as I discover 'em online). The party itself will stream live video at their site, but as we all know the real fun and drama goes on in the many caucuses, after hours parties, and whatnot at these things.

The funniest thing about this convention is the lack of drama in the Presidential race since we had this stupid idea that moving our primary "ahead" would make us more "relevant" and whatnot. Oddly enough, if California had simply kept all its primaries in June as God and Man Intended, California would literally be the king-maker in the race as one of the last primaries with a sizeable cache of delegates, super or not.

As it stands, most of the drama will be in races for state Assembly and Senate where term limits have created open seats, and of course there's the Migden/Leno/Nation drama-fest as well. Not nearly as much fun as having a host of presidential show up at your convention, but for us Political Nerds it'll be fun.

Or something.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, um, yeah, like these folks like....Barack Obama!

Truth be told...would some insider consultant have come up with something that resonates with,um, pop culture?

Of course not. Most political consultants disdain pop culture and the zeitgeist because the are so f*cking smart. Too bad in San Francisco and elsewhere they get paid to fail....all beause they ignore, well, reality and that cultural reality that we live in.

Oh Hai!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hoarding gets such a bad rap these days. I mean, sure, if you hoard every edition of the newspaper for 50 years along with your 20 cats and assorted random bottlecaps, that could be cause for alarm (or at least a fire hazard). But in politics, saving all those assorted pieces of detritus seem like a pile of junk in the present, but become oddly helpful in recollecting days of old later on.

Today's nostalgia trip is the "DNC Annual Report," of which I've scanned in two pages. The first is the cover with President Bill and Vice President Al, and everyone was aglow over the fact that Old Man Bush had been sent packing, and new Members of Congress, like Sens. Boxer & Feinstein and many more, were now in office. "Change" it seems, was in the air. National Health Care was on the way, thanks to Co-President Hillary, and Democrats, it seemed would be in the drivers seat for some time.

Well we all know how that worked out. 1994 anyone? Speaker Newt? Majority Leader Dole. Senator Santorum?!?

But today I would like to focus on one piece of the "DNC Annual Report" - the section that talks about the DNC "grassroots campaign" to support the "Health Care Plan" for Presidents Clinton and Clinton. If you don't remember any of this, don't worry - that's because in the pre-Internet, pre-blog, political world, efforts like this cost a fortune and didn't really do so great, no matter how hard people tried.

When the cost of disseminating information and organizing people nationally is high and is led from the "top" down, the chances of igniting a movement to change something as big as the health care system is really difficult. Entrenched interests fought back with those f*cking "Harry and Louise" ads, and well, the rest is history (often revised, Soviet-style on the campaign trail, it seems).

Today, however, there are many ways for people to talk amongst themselves, and link up with like-minded folks around the country (and world), rather easily. Movements can take a life of their own, and evolve (as MoveOn did from the late 90s) and today, we have the prospect of a presidential candidate who is able to be competitive with a well-financed, Washington insider because he can activate over a million active donors (most of whom are giving in small amounts.)

It's interesting to see how much has changed in technology, communications, and organizing in the last 15 years. It's also interesting to see how little has changed in the mentality of the well-paid pundit and consulting class in Washington DC who seem to know how to make lots of money, but not how to get anything done. They do know, however, how to complain and whine about "blogs and the internet" and urge a nostalgia for something that never really existed. Funny, that.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was going through some old files this evening and found one of my many stashes of direct mail I've kept over the years for various reasons. Somehow, in all the moving and whatnot over the years, this piece, from the first Clinton campaign in 1991-1992 got misfiled in a batch of 2003 SF Mayoral mail (!) which I was looking up because...well, you know.

Anyway, click on the images for a larger version of the covers and the inside spread. You can tell this is probably one of the first brochures the campaign made, most likely in 1991 when Clinton's campaign began, but before James Carville and Paul Begala joined the campaign (in 1991 they were busy winning an impossible bid for US Senate for Harris Wofford).

Design notes, and a clip from "Mad Men" after the jump! Read on!

Continue reading "For All Those Who Still Have Some Need for Clintonian Nostalgia...Bill for Prez 1991!" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wish I hadn't given to Barack Obama's campaign last night - I wish I'd done so today instead. That's because you'll get a limited edition T Shirt that celebrates the fact that they are just a few thousand folks away from having ONE MILLION donors to the campaign.

One million people giving everything from a dollar to 2,300. That's stunning.

It's not just about the money, either - people who give once to a campaign will inevitably give again, and they're more likely to come out and volunteer as well.

Obama didn't need government cheese for his campaign (like McCain took) and he didn't need fancy gimmicks to compete against Bill and Hillary's made-for-the-90s political machine. Instead he's built what people are calling the first successful viral-marketing political campaign, which combines grass-roots organizing with the technology to easily activate and inform a huge base of support.

Meanwhile, the best Hillary Clinton can do is an angry, whining, negative campaign, all the while she continues to slip in the polls. I don't know that is going to be particularly successful - after all, people are kind of tired of the ephemeral bullsh*t in American politics we've grown accustomed to over the past 10 years. But who knows? Maybe if she screams and yells and kicks and claws and attacks and gets as shrill as possible, she'll win.

Whatever. Obama's got a million folks watching his back, and they're not going to be swayed by 1990s style attack ads. After all, they gave some of their hard earned money to the campaign, and they're gonna see it through to the end.

PS: For some added fun, check out this story that details HOW the campaigns are spending their money. It's pretty dramatic...if you give to Hillary Clinton, it's most likely your money will go to well paid staff and consultants (including one that's business partners with...McCain's manager!) and overhead. Obama's campaign puts more of its money into, um, campaigning, and has way more cash on hand for emergencies. KTHXBAI.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So it looks like Ralph Nader's running for President again, and we're supposed to be worried or something, but I'm not.

True, I'm no fan of this charlatan. On my old blog, I wrote about his extreme dishonesty, and overall lack of ethics, and for a while got a bump on Google Searches. This time around, however, I think it's pretty obvious his time has passed, and he's so out of touch, his reasons for running just don't add up.

My favorite line today was the one about "people being disenchanted with Democrats and Republicans." Eeeyeahh. Funny thing though: Barack Obama is about to hit the one million donor mark (something Nader's greedy hands would love to have but won't because he sucks), and turnout in Democratic primaries have set new records, and blown doors off the turnout in the GOP primaries.

But the most telling sign of the total epic FAIL of Nader has been the response of local Green Party elected members to Nader the Liar. Green Party Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Green Party College Board Member John Rizzo, and Green Party School Board Member Jane Kim have all come out in force for Barack Obama. Non-Greeen "Progressives" like Supervisors Daly and Peskin also support Obama. Hell, the Bay Guardian, usually the only refuge for disaster candidacies like Kucinich or Nader, endorsed Obama.

It says a lot when the folks who should be on board a supposedly great cause like Nader's bullsh*t are instead working for a candidate who's succeeding in ways Nader could never imagine. (Then again it shouldn't be a total surprise - Nader refused to campaign for Green poster-boy Matt Gonzalez in 2003, because, well, because Nader sucks.)

So let the fool run his little show. Every time he does this, he seems to invent new ways to screw up and fail, and every time he becomes less and less relevant to the national discourse. I can't wait for him to throw a tantrum about some f*cking debate, and get arrested for trespassing. If good people like those in Our Fair City have decided to tear up their tickets and say "no" to the Nader circus, I think most folks in America will be doing the same.

Trivia Time: Here's a piece of trivia that most of you might not be aware of (as you're probably concerned with things that matter, and I mean that in a good way): when Nader's spokesman ran for Senate, he got very little support for his bid, marred by problems and the fact that as Nader's spokesman he elevated lying to an art form. He did however get loud and enthusiastic support from someone new to our city: Cindy Sheehan! Apparently she didn't mind the lying and whatnot and threw her lot with Zeese. Very interesting!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The funny thing about living in San Francisco is that to the outside world, folks seem to assume this is some sort of Greenie Communist Disneyland, with abortions on demand at every corner, parades in honor of Lenin and Ho Chi Minh, and so on.

Even here in town, you have people that parachute in here, thinking that we're the capital of the left, and some of even carpetbag themselves into a Congressional run, thinking that they're in Liberal Lefty Nirvana.

Bzzt! Wrong again!

I say this because as we close in on a Mega Super Happy Fightingest Primary Ever, and Democratic voters try to decide Which Candidate to Vote For, something has been coming up, time and again in conversations I have with Real San Franciscans: a lot of people here will vote for McCain, mostly if Sen. Clinton is the nominee.

It's really weird. These are not discussions with political folk per se, these are chats with good people of various ages, ethnic backgrounds and whatnot who really live here, and it keeps coming down to something folks really want - after 8 years of the GW Wrecking Crew and 6 years of a GOP congress, this country not only needs a political colonic to flush out the toxins of the past, but also move forward and push aside the professional screamers and assorted idiots that poison politics and get sh*t done.

And for some reason, folks seem to think that Sen. Obama might be the kind of guy who can do such a thing, but they don't see Hillary (or is it Bill and Hillary) and the politics of the 90s being the way to go, and as such would bolt to McCain in a second.

Read that again. San Franciscans, who are alleged to be godless hippie Communists, will vote for John McCain, pro-life record or not.

Kinda freaky when you re-read it, huh?

And now the punchline - I'm not so sure I won't be one of them. I know full well the many many problems with McCain's past, many of his stands on issues are diamertically opposed to my own, and God, the thought of actually voting for a presidential candidate that is in the same party as President 28% and Vice President Vader still gives me the shakes.

At the same time, however, Sen. McCain has been one of the few Washington politicians who has stood up for a rational immigration policy (something of interest to my neighbors out here in the Sunset as well as folks on the east side of town).

And, unlike the Clintons in the 90s, McCain does not see Indian tribes as cash machines for political soft money donations, but instead has tried to force the inherently stupid Department of the Interior to settle the trust lawsuit that was filed to force the feds to admit they stole from millions of people for over 100 years. And up against a more Democratic Congress, a President McCain would be more likely to work with a Speaker Pelosi or a Majority Leader Reid, vs. say a President Guy Smiley (Romney).

Heresy, I know. But people are more concerned about just what kind of country we'll have, and want to see action, not more shenanigans. President Clinton II or President Romney is more of the same old bullsh*t.

At least with Sen. Obama we might have someone who could try and bring people together, and work with folks (and hopefully a Congress populated with more REAL Democrats to back up Our Speaker ).

But a lot of people are starting to think that if it's a McCain/Hillary contest, things could go bad, and if even us hippies in San Francisco are thinking about McCain as a legitimate choice, it's time to take a Clue Pill and try to not invent a new way to f*ck up what should be our chance to set things right.

UPDATE: Yet another reason Democrats should fear McCain. The famous button of the early 90's "Oh God PLEASE Not Another Republican" seems appropo.

(I won't deny that it doesn't hurt that Sen. McCain and Sen. Kennedy honored my cousin Helen, who passed away in 2006, honoring her tireless honesty, fairness, and trailblazing career as a woman journalist in DC. That said, it's not the ultimate reason, but in the interests of full disclosure bla bla bla, I thought I'd mention it.)

Posted by Greg Dewar at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since I don't have my trusty Mac with me, and am using the infamous San Francisco Public Library's free computers, I can only do a quick post, sans photos. It was an interesting press event, with Sen. Obama talking to women about the challenges of making a living in the Bay Area, and some proposals he's come out with to try and mitigate the cost of living for people who work.

This was probably the only time I've ever heard a politician call BS on "tax breaks" as a primary means of providing relief to those who work, since many times they can't use the deductions on their taxes due to their income, while high income people can take the break. Sen. Obama suggested a break on payroll taxes for those who work (but don't make a zillion dollars) as a start. Not bad.

It was kind of interesting to see the media swarm (pics to be posted) which packed the crowded room at the Women's Building in the Mission. It was crowded, hot and yet there we all were, waiting for the Senator and taking pictures and notes at a furious pace. With only 19 days until the Mega Super Duper Big Primary to End All Primaries in A Whopping 20 states, it's difficult for any campaign, big or small, to reach all voters in all places, so it was kinda nice to see at Presidential candidate speaking in San Francisco, in the Mission, no less.

Luke Thomas took some excellent photos (as always because he's so talented) and they're so much better than mine, you should just go to his site and check 'em out.

More later...the clock is ticking on my time here at the SFPL, and I have to update my other blog, as we have Yet Another Tragedy on the N-Judah line.

This, the day after we read that more MUNI money is being siphoned off to pay more salaries in the Mayor's office, and a month after we heard that they gave the boss at MUNI a big pay raise. And all of this after we voted for a measure that was supposed to start MUNI reform - and immediately after the vote we get a string of accidents and deaths.

All I can say is...WTF?

PS: I had no idea that the "blogger lounge" at Macworld sponsored by Microsoft had free actual computers one could use (when I was here the other day I gave the lounge a quick scan and it looked like you had to bring a computer). Needless to say I wish I'd discovered this a few hours ago, and avoided the glares of the angry pervs who had to wait for their porn whilst I blogged about Sen. Obama.....

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1/9: Obama Rally
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Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So some folks on those fancified blogs we keep hearing about are all atwiter about the "news" that activist Cindy Sheehan is going to relocate from her "undisclosed location" and deign to run for Congress in San Francisco. While the kids at "Daily Kos" are having a lovely time blogging this to death, if I were working for Nancy Pelosi, I would not be too concerned.

Remember, Ms. Sheehan herself said that she was through with anti-war activism in a much-publicized move, for various "reasons." Thus, when I read the news about her latest gig, I began to realize that Chris Nolan's analysis of Cindy Sheehan's morph into the Left's Cause Celebre was, well spot-on. When she started on this path and was the lone voice against the President, there was some accessibility and some good her protesting could have been doing. When she morphed into a celebrity, that sought out the likes of President Hugo Chavez, and had a high-powered PR firm guiding her moves, well, let's just say that her original point got lost in the cult of celebrity she sank into.

Whatever. All of this is irrelevant, anyway. Since Ms. Sheehan does not have much experience in San Francisco politics, she might want to take a look at the history of underfunded, unorganized, anti-establishment efforts in San Francisco, which usually end in tears.

She might also take special note at the fact that despite all the local gimmicks passed to "change" who runs and wins office, not a lot has changed, and we still tend to re-elect incumbents, no matter what they do, progressive or moderate, or whatever.

The outsiders that will descend on our town expecting to find Hippy Trippy Liberal Central will have a rude awakening when they see how much it costs to live here and how few jobs allow for copious hours of crazy crap during business hours.

If I have to choose between supporting an incumbent Speaker of the House, who has to lead a caucus of folks as diverse in views as they are in numbers, versus an outsider with a janey-one-note issue that will be moot in 2009, well, I'll vote for the Speaker any day of the week.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Odd Obama Email
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This is only the beginning. Once things get in high-gear, you can expect I'll be posting more curious emails from campaign 2008! If you get any, feel free to send them in!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So it seems the esteemed Senator From Connecticut's little announcement this week, basically saying he's so worried now about a primary election he's hedging bets and filing to run as so-called "independent has the whole world in a tizzy - if you read blogs, that is.

Those netroots guys are all atwitter on this one (especially since they appeared in one of his ads - how cute!). The Esteemed Senator from New York has weighed in on this race, declaring her support for "The Democrat" who wins the primary. Cooler heads have provided some provided some alternate commentary that doesn't fit neatly into little boxes, as well.

No one, however, has commented on one thing that's driving this, in fact, the reason why so many campaigns go off the rails - Lieberman's decision is being driven by candidate-induced panic and reaction, nothing more. While it is unusual to have a candidate like Ned Lamont challenge an incumbent senator in the primary, in that he's not a drooling lunatic or a drug-addled hippie running on the Three A's Platform, I have yet to see a poll that shows him ahead.

Now don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Democratic primary voters have a choice between a US Senator, and a well-funded, thoughtful challenger with neat ads. There's no law that says that anyone in office is owed re-election (unless of course you live in So Called Liberal San Francisco where we re-elect all the "I's" no matter how much we claim we don't like City Hall's style..) and it'd be nice to think that after 3 terms, Lieberman was secure enough in his relationship with the voter citizens of his state to take a few punches.

But his move to suggest that if he loses he'll file as an "independent" candidate show that the Esteemed Senator is neither a secure man, nor a particularly bright one when it comes to politics. To react to a challenger coming even somewhat close by not only saying "I'll leave the party and continue to run anyway, even if my alleged base rejects me" not only smacks of arrogance - it also says flat out that he'll run even if the people who used to vote for him reject him. That's just plain stupid.

Moreover, he may have ensured he loses a primary that he could still win. If he offers the "Lieberman Voter" an out by signing a petition, he's effectively removed any reason to go vote in August. After all, if (and I do mean if - how may petitions do ya think the Lieberman machine gathers these days?) they are getting signatures, a Lieberman voter doesn't have to vote anymore in the Democratic Primary to support Their Guy.

In other words, if Senator Bushlite wanted to really stay in office. he'd ride it out in the Democratic primary he sang the praises of up until a few days ago, and force the issue. Most likely he'd win. But then again, maybe he might not. That'd take guts, it'd take a true maverick, and it'd mean ol' Joe would have to roll a hard six to win.

Now, all those thinking Senator Jojo has the mojo to pull a stunt like this off and campaign without a safety net, say "aye"

The silence is deafening. But let's thank him for keeping up that keeping up that New England Tradition of blowing elections.

Possibly.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was wondering why watching Phil Angelides andSteve Westly seemed so familiar.

At first I thought it was because I remembered meeting Steve Westly when in 1989 he ran against Gov. Jerry Brown for Democratic Party Chairman (he lost that race in 1989, and backed Phil's opponent when Jerry quit). Or maybe it was because smilin' Phil was in all those house party videos in 1992 when Democrats stopped losing in California.

Then I realized what it was - both men are channeling the spirit of former Governor Mike Dukakis in their campaigns. Now, unlike some, I don't say this to be mean, but more as an observation. It's not a bad thing to me, but I don't know if it's the winning plan for beating Gov. Doofinator in California in 2006.

Continue reading "Channeling Mike Dukakis in the Race For Governor" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to a 10-day long internet outage at home, this got posted late. Earthlink sucks.

Well, it's finally over. The 2006 Democratic Star Trek/Wars/Gate Convention is done, the myriad of tchotchkes, stickers, and campaign sundries are in the dustbin of history, and everyone's going home...some happy, some sad, and some who were just happy to get all the free "stuff" at the convention.

But the unreality of the event was truly that of a Comi-Con or Star Trek convention, because for all the hype and shenanigans inside the convention, and all the fiercely passionate run ins between rival campaigns, the fact is very few actual voters know who most of the people on the June ballot are, much less who they'd actually like to see in office.

In the end, the passionate fights between the two titans of the Democratic ticket, Steve Westly and Phil Angelides, came off more like the never-ending debates of lore: Kirk Vs. Picard, Star Wars 77-82 vs Star Wars Prequels, or that big debate over Silver Surfer from a few years ago. Lots of noise and hype, but most people on the outside don’t really know what these folks are talking about. But if you dare say you’re not that interested in their cause or candidate, people look at you like you just committed a war crime.

Continue reading "CDP Final Update: The Sci Fi Convention Ends..." »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was a bit tired after a long day of politiciking and spinning and what not, so I'm posting a bit late - but Phil Angelides won the vote for the CDP endorsement with 68% of the vote. So my little prediction earlier was entirely wrong. I'm not afraid to admit it.

The vote itself wasn't revealed until late last night, but you heard about it when the loud whoops and yells of Angelides' supporters late that night. It was truly a sight, along with the legions of orange-shirted Westly supporters (most of whom were not actual voting delegates, but rather volunteers) who had a long look on their faces, and quickly disappeared from the evening festivities.

It was a true moment where spin, and betting on spin, paid off. In this case, Angelides campaign, which has run into some trouble because of Westly's incredibly large TV buy (and resulting name ID and poll momentum) was starting to feel the pressure from the echo chamber, the press and political insiders. So the campaign made a calculated risk to put it all on the convention, and Westly's campaign put together a well funded effort to make their presence known at the convention to try and block the 60% vote.

But Phil rolled a hard six, and won, bigtime. Westly made the mistake of not playing down expectations for himself, and by Saturday morning at the press conference, was clearly convinced "momentum" was on his side, and was predicting a win for himself. Big mistake. He should have played it cool and not been sucked into the hype. Instead now the Angelides campaign has something they can spin as a big moment for them, and Westly just spent a ton of money on 65 lb. pieces of beef for nada.

Now obviously most voters in this state have no idea who they'll support for the Democratic nominee, and still, most people either don't care, or could change their mind at any time. But in the neverland that is the world of spin, the insiders, the funders, and the press, Angelides stopped a tailspin for his campaign, and is flying high. Whether that means anything to the rest of us remains to be seen.

But for now, a chapter of political theater is over. What a night!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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..

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

Last night the Sacramento Convention Center was abuzz with all sorts of politicos vying for support from delegates and others, via the time honored tradition of the "hospitality suite." With so many open races locally and statewide in the June primary, people were in overdrive to put on the best party possible.

On this, and this alone, there is no doubt that ex dot-commer Steve Westly, who has self-financed his campaign for Governor, had one of the best parties I've ever seen. They didn't just have a big room, no they had a live band, a dance floor, a carving station with huge 65+ lb.. side of beef for sandwiches, discounts on the Convention Center's overpriced drinks, and a lot of people in orange shirts, custom made for the weekend.

It was a bit much, but the stakes are high. Phil Angelides has to roll a hard six to jump start a campaign that's fallen behind in the polls in the wake of Westly's TV ads, and it's in the form of an endorsement vote today.