It's never too soon to start planning for that City Council, College Board or special district campaign coming up in November. You'll want to get endorsements and donation pledges from community members and thought leaders soon so when you file you'll hit the ground running, with a head start on the competition. Are there big issues coming up? Write an op-ed or two in the local paper on the subject. Differentiate yourself from the incumbent or other opinions that will be represented. And face it, you feel differently, or you wouldn't be running. If everything is hunky dory, just let the incumbents do their job.
If there's an empty seat, get an idea who the early competition is likely to be. They may start coming out of the woodwork as the August filing deadline nears. Make sure your friends and family are on board early. No surprises for the spouse! And assess how much you can personally contribute to the campaign effort in terms of money and time. If you invest in yourself, others will be more likely to take your seriously and invest as well. Can you take time off work as the crucial fall time for walking precincts, making phone calls, filling out questionnaires and attending coffees and debates approaches? Plan for it now.
Look at past election results for how the vote tends to break down, and check the past online filings for how much others have spent in your race. Are there people who gave to others who you know and can approach for your campaign? Do it now. All they can say is no, right? And you'll have some good practice "asks" under your belt when fundraising gets hot and heavy.
Find out who the local consultants are who have done races like yours and interview a few. Lock up the one you feel most comfortable with early. Getting advice now from a seasoned professional is invaluable. Good luck with your campaign! You are well on the way to a successful race!
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Planning to run for office in November? Start now!
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Alligators in charge of the swamp - Life in the time of Trump
Secretary of Corporations, formerly Department of State – Rex Tillerson, former head of Exxon Mobil, who was overheard speaking into a cell phone as he boarded the Trump Express for Russia, "I'm checking on my holdings there, Vlad. Chill the vodka."
Secretary of Public Lands Mining and Drilling, formerly the
Dept. of the Interior - Ryan
Zinke, former Navy Seal, who wants to keep those contracts in Donald Trump’s,
eh, the public’s, hands.
Department of Nuclear Proliferation, formerly Department of Energy – Rick
Perry, former Governor of Texas who has stated he wants to get rid of this
department altogether. “Energy smenergy” said Perry. “We should sell those
nukes to the highest bidder, now.”
Department of Worker Management, formerly Department of Labor – Andrew Puzder,
fast food CEO. Says Mr. Puzder, “This is a great opportunity to
put a stop to higher wages and those pesky unions, so the great unwashed can
enjoy a cheap Hardee’s roast beef sandwich, while I get richer, and can make
more donations to Trump, as God meant things to be.”
NBA, formerly SBA – Linda McMahon of World
Wrestling Entertainment, who said, “What do you mean it’s not about basketball?
Who wants to watch small businesses on TV?”
Department of Fossil Fuels, formerly
Environmental Protection Agency – Scott Pruitt – former Oklahoma Attorney General,
who says, “Drill baby drill, get every last drop out of the ground. Climate
change is just a hoax by those tree hugging, polar bear loving, organic foods
eating liberals. Be a man and eat smog.”
Show me the Money Department, formerly Department of the Treasury – Steve
Mnuchin former Goldman Sachs executive, who
loves him some Hollywood movies. “Get your hands off my cash,” said Mnuchin,
when asked how he’d advise the government in matters of money.
Department of Privatize This, formerly
Health and Human Services – Tom Price, leader of the opposition to the
Affordable care Act, which he called “a commie plot to let poor sick people off
the hook, and impoverish insurance companies. That’s just wrong,” when asked
his opinion of Obama’s signature health policy.
Department of Charter This! formerly
Department of education – Betsy DeVoss, charter school advocate who says kids
appreciate education more when they have to pay for it, instead of us paying
for those damn teachers unions always wanting better pay at the expense of administrators.
Secretary of Homelessness and Blight,
formerly Secretary of Housing and Urban Development – Ben Carson, neurosurgeon
and former candidate for President. Mr.
Carson said, “I think Section 8 is a part of the brain we can just cut out
because it doesn’t fit anymore. It’s not brain surgery. Poor people just cost money.
If you can’t afford a house, live in a box; that's why God made cardboard.”
CIA director, formerly CIA Director –
Mike Pompeo, former Army officer, who said, “Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi!”
Border Wall Department, formerly Attorney
General – Jeff sessions. “Get them wetbacks out of here!” said Mr. Sessions, wielding
a Confederate saber which he rattled meaningfully.
Court Jestor, formerly Chief of Staff –
Rience Priebus, GOP stooge in charge.
Overlord, formerly Chief Strategist – Stephen
K. Bannon, Alt-Right News. “What, you never read 1984?”
Sunday, December 4, 2016
More on either or
In response to the Bernie bashers on Facebook, reacting to something he wrote back in 1969 in a Montpelier Vermont paper The quote goes thusly:
"The revolution comes when two strangers smile at each other, when a father refuses to send his child to school because schools destroy children, when a commune is started and people begin to trust each other, when a young man refuses to go to war, and when a girl pushes aside all that her mother has 'taught' her and accepts her boyfriend's love."
These folks took exception to the language, especially girls leaving their mothers to follow their boyfriends, and the fathers taking their kids out of school.
Well, I don't know what the schools in Vermont were like in those days, but I do know about the girls following their boyfriends.
And the "Revolution" we were sure was right around the corner. So I wrote this little piece in response:
"I have to start by telling you I came of age in the sixties. In those days, the days of Vietnam and just post-Selma and the height of the Civil Rights movement. The mantra for those of us in what was known as “the Movement” was “Girls say yes to boys who say no.” Yeah, gross huh? Boys were burning their draft cards, and resisting the war, some going to Canada or to Federal prison. Soldiers with consciences took sanctuary in churches.
"That’s how I got involved, in the first sanctuary in 1968, in Arlington St. Church in Boston. I stayed involved with the New England Resistance. The men were in charge. We were the “resister sisters.”
"We were the “office chicks.” Then something remarkable happened. We heard about something called Women’s Liberation. We realized that we were just as exploited as factory workers or other women not getting paid for equal work or being harassed on the job. We weren’t housewives, but we got their oppression too. So we rebelled. We started consciousness raising groups. A large group, Bread and Roses, grew up around all those women taking charge of their lives. Men did not like it. They feared it, they didn’t know what to make of newly angry women. Many of the old organizations fell apart. New ones popped up.
Then came Stonewall and the “gay liberation” movement. This was just too much for some, even our enlightened brothers. I was working at a movement paper at the time, one that tried very hardtop be egalitarian with all, men and women alike, and even they were very uncomfortable when I insisted we cover gay rights.
"Yes, identity politics. At the same time, we identified as anti-war, anti-imperialist, and anti-income inequality, although we didn’t call it that at the time; we just thought it was important to understand and to help the “working class.” (And yes, many of the movement people came from privilege; this was Cambridge, teeming with Harvard graduates. As one of the few who actually grew up in a working class family, who had experienced foreclosure, unemployment and a broken family, I often felt out of some of the more abstract discussions people would get into.). We actually believed the Revolution would happen before we all turned thirty.
"So, should I be thrown under the bus for past beliefs and cringeworthy statements? Should all my colleagues from those days? I surely hope not.
"And neither should Bernie. You may not think so, but I believe Bernie gets it, he gets the nexus between so called ”identity politics” and economic politics. That it’s not an either or situation; it’s a both-and. That’s how I see what he has brought to this discussion. And why I was proud to be a delegate for him in Philadelphia. We can all learn from each other; we can all learn from history. And we all, I believe, must stop talking past each other (I know I’m as guilty of it as anyone else), and work together, to defeat Trump and to build the kind of society that serves us all.
"Just fyi, context for myself, today, I run campaigns for progressive candidates, mostly Democratic women. We have an excellent win rate. I work with a Women’s Political Action Committee, serve on the California Democratic Party and its Executive Committee and Platform committee. I was a co-founder of our Progressive Caucus in 2005, a caucus which is still going strong. Thanks for listening."
What we ate in the sixties while working for the Revolution:
Dunkin' Donuts and black coffee. And you can still get them both. (But I recommend better quality baked goods and coffee, unless you are feeling very nostalgic.)
"The revolution comes when two strangers smile at each other, when a father refuses to send his child to school because schools destroy children, when a commune is started and people begin to trust each other, when a young man refuses to go to war, and when a girl pushes aside all that her mother has 'taught' her and accepts her boyfriend's love."
These folks took exception to the language, especially girls leaving their mothers to follow their boyfriends, and the fathers taking their kids out of school.
Well, I don't know what the schools in Vermont were like in those days, but I do know about the girls following their boyfriends.
And the "Revolution" we were sure was right around the corner. So I wrote this little piece in response:
"I have to start by telling you I came of age in the sixties. In those days, the days of Vietnam and just post-Selma and the height of the Civil Rights movement. The mantra for those of us in what was known as “the Movement” was “Girls say yes to boys who say no.” Yeah, gross huh? Boys were burning their draft cards, and resisting the war, some going to Canada or to Federal prison. Soldiers with consciences took sanctuary in churches.
"That’s how I got involved, in the first sanctuary in 1968, in Arlington St. Church in Boston. I stayed involved with the New England Resistance. The men were in charge. We were the “resister sisters.”
"We were the “office chicks.” Then something remarkable happened. We heard about something called Women’s Liberation. We realized that we were just as exploited as factory workers or other women not getting paid for equal work or being harassed on the job. We weren’t housewives, but we got their oppression too. So we rebelled. We started consciousness raising groups. A large group, Bread and Roses, grew up around all those women taking charge of their lives. Men did not like it. They feared it, they didn’t know what to make of newly angry women. Many of the old organizations fell apart. New ones popped up.
Then came Stonewall and the “gay liberation” movement. This was just too much for some, even our enlightened brothers. I was working at a movement paper at the time, one that tried very hardtop be egalitarian with all, men and women alike, and even they were very uncomfortable when I insisted we cover gay rights.
"Yes, identity politics. At the same time, we identified as anti-war, anti-imperialist, and anti-income inequality, although we didn’t call it that at the time; we just thought it was important to understand and to help the “working class.” (And yes, many of the movement people came from privilege; this was Cambridge, teeming with Harvard graduates. As one of the few who actually grew up in a working class family, who had experienced foreclosure, unemployment and a broken family, I often felt out of some of the more abstract discussions people would get into.). We actually believed the Revolution would happen before we all turned thirty.
"So, should I be thrown under the bus for past beliefs and cringeworthy statements? Should all my colleagues from those days? I surely hope not.
"And neither should Bernie. You may not think so, but I believe Bernie gets it, he gets the nexus between so called ”identity politics” and economic politics. That it’s not an either or situation; it’s a both-and. That’s how I see what he has brought to this discussion. And why I was proud to be a delegate for him in Philadelphia. We can all learn from each other; we can all learn from history. And we all, I believe, must stop talking past each other (I know I’m as guilty of it as anyone else), and work together, to defeat Trump and to build the kind of society that serves us all.
"Just fyi, context for myself, today, I run campaigns for progressive candidates, mostly Democratic women. We have an excellent win rate. I work with a Women’s Political Action Committee, serve on the California Democratic Party and its Executive Committee and Platform committee. I was a co-founder of our Progressive Caucus in 2005, a caucus which is still going strong. Thanks for listening."
What we ate in the sixties while working for the Revolution:
Dunkin' Donuts and black coffee. And you can still get them both. (But I recommend better quality baked goods and coffee, unless you are feeling very nostalgic.)
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Either-Or? Or is it?
Well, it’s been three weeks and the Trumpster in Chief is
still the Mad Tweeter in Chief. Are we living in a farce? I could talk about
Democratic unity, but it hardly seems anyone cares anymore. Who will be the new
DNC chair and will it make any difference? Can the Electors really choose the
one who won the popular vote, that’d be Hillary, and change the course of history?
No one seriously thinks that’s a possibility.
And what did the Russians really do and what kind of effect
did it have on the outcome, if any?
All questions without answers, unless you are a conspiracy
theorist and then you know it was all rigged and Bernie would have won if the
DNC hadn’t stolen the primary.
For daring to assert that no one knows if Bernie could have won
the general if he had been the nominee, I get called a Hillary troll (I was a
Bernie delegate, as my loyal readers know); if I suggest that the Trump team
would have buried Bernie in a sea of lies, innuendo, historical revisionism and
plain old nasty name calling (Can you just see the tweets? #BolshevikBernie;
#PornGate; #DonothingCongress – that would be the kindest one), I get called a fake
progressive; sort of like the Doubting Thomas of Biblical times. Tempers are
that high. And those are my allies.
The Hillary side is just as bad. Now the great Democratic
divide is over “identity politics” versus “progressive economics.” I tell them
it’s not an either-or thing. We need to reach out to and offer something to
those who are out of work, underemployed, undereducated, fearful and ignorant.
Plus we need to stand firm for all minorities, and women, the largest “minority
of all (I never have understood how we can be the majority and still the underclass
at the same time.) But maybe it is and I don’t get it.
Anyone want to weigh in? Here's what the Daily Kos said a almost two years ago: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/6/4/1390747/-Identity-Politics-vs-Inequality-Politics-My-Two-Cents
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Local Election News
Turning away from the National Disaster that is the Trump election, I am pleased to let you know the victories that GreenDog Campaigns had this year. Heidi Hall, a strong up and coming Democratic leader, handily won her election against a Tea Party darling to become 1st District Supervisor in Nevada County. Happily, she won this victory outright in the June Primary, and will take office in December. A big congratulations and a lick of the GreenDog tongue to Heidi!
In the East Bay, GreenDog candidate Monica Wilson won her re-election to a second term on the Antioch City Council. Although an anti-incumbent sentiment was in the air, her message of improving economic development prospects, public health and safety and protecting the environment, carried the day. She has been a strong voice for civic improvement and transparency on the Council and will continue to be so going forward. Great job Monica!
Locally, we had a mixed bag, losing a hard fought General Election for Superior Court judge, after a virtual dead heat in the June primary, but counting our modest help on Fairfax's Measure C (continuation of much needed sales tax for public safety and infrastructure) as part of a winning campaign. Congratulations to the great team in Fairfax (my hometown for the record)!
As we go forward into an uncertain future, comfort food is always in order:
In the East Bay, GreenDog candidate Monica Wilson won her re-election to a second term on the Antioch City Council. Although an anti-incumbent sentiment was in the air, her message of improving economic development prospects, public health and safety and protecting the environment, carried the day. She has been a strong voice for civic improvement and transparency on the Council and will continue to be so going forward. Great job Monica!
Locally, we had a mixed bag, losing a hard fought General Election for Superior Court judge, after a virtual dead heat in the June primary, but counting our modest help on Fairfax's Measure C (continuation of much needed sales tax for public safety and infrastructure) as part of a winning campaign. Congratulations to the great team in Fairfax (my hometown for the record)!
As we go forward into an uncertain future, comfort food is always in order:
Your pre-Thanksgiving mini sweet potato souffle:
Ingredients
For the Soufflés- 3 sweet potatoes
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Large pinch of kosher salt
- 4 egg whites
For the Crumble Topping
- 1/4 c. finely chopped pecans
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 2 tbsp. butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and poke all over with a fork. Roast until tender, 50 minutes. Let cool completely.
- Scoop out flesh and transfer to a food processor along with cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add egg whites and continue to process until combined.
- In a large bowl, mix crumble ingredients until well combined.
- Butter two small ramekins. Divide batter evenly and smooth tops. Sprinkle each with crumble topping. Bake until puffy and completely set, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve imm
Thursday, November 10, 2016
If Jesus Christ Himself had Run Against Trump
Preface: I was a Bernie Sanders delegate at the Philadelphia National Convention in July. While it was clear from the primaries Bernie wasn't going to be the nominee, while he himself had endorsed Hillary the week before and he was the one who made the nomination, still many of the "Berners" around me insisted he could still carry the day. They said, "we must talk to the Superdelegates, get them to change their mind." Too late. And it wasn't the Superdelegates, it was the voters. People pointed the finger of blame at the DNC (guilty), at the media (guilty) and at those of us who accepted reality and went on to support Hillary after the Convention. (I won't accept guilt for that, but all of us should have pushed Hillary to address the real issues, like loss of jobs and alienation in the so-called "Rust-belt" States).
So who do I blame? The Zeitgeist mostly. I do not think this could have been pulled out no matter how much more Hillary did, or Bernie did, or the few Stein or Bernie-write-in voters did, that this election could have been save.
And if you think it's because they didn't like "crooked" Hillary, or the emphasis on the emails, or the last minute James Comey kerfuffle, yeah, that was all part of it. But this was the year of the dumb white man. The gross white man. The angry white man, who says what he wants and isn't going to be pushed around any more, by liberal elites, by his nagging wife, by the Boss. He's mad and he's not going to take it anymore.
It could have been Jesus Christ himself, come back to save us all by running against Trump. And it wouldn't have made a bit of difference.
"Turn the other cheek?" Real men don't turn the other cheek, they sock the other guy in the jaw.
"Suffer the little children?" Bugger the little children.
"Get those money changers out of the temple?" Whoa, there, those are my money changers, my money, my pay day loans.
He could clean up his act, cut his hair, put on a suit and tie, or just roll up the sleeves on his blue dress shirt, and they would kick his butt back to the manger.
"Hippy!" "Communist!" "Faggot!" "Jew!" Maybe even, with a name like Jesus, "Mexican!" He wouldn't last through the Primary.
So when people say "Bernie Sanders would have won," I wonder. I thought that might have been true, but looking at the numbers, at the votes in the job-loss places, I'm not so sure. I think they would have eviscerated him, a 74 year old Socialist Jew from the Northeast. It's easy saying it's just about jobs, but even if Hillary went to those places, what could she offer that the Orange One didn't? Or, let's look at what he offered that no other candidate ever has - permission, permission to blame the other, permission to let our your inner demons. I think this election hinged on not out and out racism of the disaffected voters, but a xenophobia that neither the Democrats nor the mainstream Republicans had a panacea for.
So, in a match up between the billionaire buffoon urging hate, and the rebel Senator from Vermont urging restraint. No, they would torn him apart. they never would have believed he could get them their jobs back, but they were willing to believe Trump. Why? Even though he was crude and lewd; even though the had gone through fortunes like water, they identified with him. Why? Maybe they welcomed the chance to cut loose their own crude lewd, racist thoughts, the ones they'd been held back from by their perception of the stranglehold of "political correctness." Maybe they liked that he was a multiple bankrupt, like so many of them, mortgaged and impoverished. Only of course, we know he was never impoverished, no matter how many bankruptcies he had.
Maybe they thought they could BE him someday, and he would teach them the secret, or they would get it by osmosis once he was in power. Who knows, but here we are. There he is, and where we go from here is anybody's guess.
Nobody ever wanted to be Jesus, or Bernie sanders for that matter. They never got to have their own TV Show. It may be just simple celebrity. Whatever it is, we just ain't got it.
So who do I blame? The Zeitgeist mostly. I do not think this could have been pulled out no matter how much more Hillary did, or Bernie did, or the few Stein or Bernie-write-in voters did, that this election could have been save.
And if you think it's because they didn't like "crooked" Hillary, or the emphasis on the emails, or the last minute James Comey kerfuffle, yeah, that was all part of it. But this was the year of the dumb white man. The gross white man. The angry white man, who says what he wants and isn't going to be pushed around any more, by liberal elites, by his nagging wife, by the Boss. He's mad and he's not going to take it anymore.
"Turn the other cheek?" Real men don't turn the other cheek, they sock the other guy in the jaw.
"Suffer the little children?" Bugger the little children.
"Get those money changers out of the temple?" Whoa, there, those are my money changers, my money, my pay day loans.
He could clean up his act, cut his hair, put on a suit and tie, or just roll up the sleeves on his blue dress shirt, and they would kick his butt back to the manger.
"Hippy!" "Communist!" "Faggot!" "Jew!" Maybe even, with a name like Jesus, "Mexican!" He wouldn't last through the Primary.
So when people say "Bernie Sanders would have won," I wonder. I thought that might have been true, but looking at the numbers, at the votes in the job-loss places, I'm not so sure. I think they would have eviscerated him, a 74 year old Socialist Jew from the Northeast. It's easy saying it's just about jobs, but even if Hillary went to those places, what could she offer that the Orange One didn't? Or, let's look at what he offered that no other candidate ever has - permission, permission to blame the other, permission to let our your inner demons. I think this election hinged on not out and out racism of the disaffected voters, but a xenophobia that neither the Democrats nor the mainstream Republicans had a panacea for.
So, in a match up between the billionaire buffoon urging hate, and the rebel Senator from Vermont urging restraint. No, they would torn him apart. they never would have believed he could get them their jobs back, but they were willing to believe Trump. Why? Even though he was crude and lewd; even though the had gone through fortunes like water, they identified with him. Why? Maybe they welcomed the chance to cut loose their own crude lewd, racist thoughts, the ones they'd been held back from by their perception of the stranglehold of "political correctness." Maybe they liked that he was a multiple bankrupt, like so many of them, mortgaged and impoverished. Only of course, we know he was never impoverished, no matter how many bankruptcies he had.
Maybe they thought they could BE him someday, and he would teach them the secret, or they would get it by osmosis once he was in power. Who knows, but here we are. There he is, and where we go from here is anybody's guess.
Nobody ever wanted to be Jesus, or Bernie sanders for that matter. They never got to have their own TV Show. It may be just simple celebrity. Whatever it is, we just ain't got it.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Vote! Why this Berner is voting for Hillary
That's right; this diehard Bernie Sanders supporter, and delegate, is casting her vote for President for Hillary Clinton. The stakes are too high. We cannot afford to have a Donald Trump presidency. We need to vote for Hillary, as Bernie Sanders has urged us to do, and then to keep up the fight.
It is disappointing to me that so many Bernie supporters and fellow delegates appear to have a shallow understanding of politics, to put their ideology above what's good for the country, and sell themselves short in thinking they cannot make a difference by participating in the system to make it work. They'd rather stand outside and complain.
Sorry, but that's how it looks from here. But then, I've been active in the Democratic Party for years. I've seen how changes are made. Slowly, yes, and not perfectly. But delegates; you got a candidate who actually got some delegates at the convention. Who got them on committees, who got changes in the Platform. Perfect No. A progressive paragon. Of course not. But more than ever before. Jesse Jackson, where did he get? Kucinich? I would have been a delegate for him, if we'd managed to get 15% of the votes in my Congressional District. But we didn't. So I stayed home and he became a footnote to history. Not completely of course. He left an amazing legacy in his Ohio Congressional District and a lot of committed progressives working for the Department of Peace and other great causes.
This is me now. It can be you too.
And then enjoy a delicious Election Day libation. Here's the one that sounds good to me:
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 ounces Square One basil vodka
Shake, double strain into a glass, and top with about 1.5 ounces Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon soda. Garnish with a spring of Thai basil.
It is disappointing to me that so many Bernie supporters and fellow delegates appear to have a shallow understanding of politics, to put their ideology above what's good for the country, and sell themselves short in thinking they cannot make a difference by participating in the system to make it work. They'd rather stand outside and complain.
Sorry, but that's how it looks from here. But then, I've been active in the Democratic Party for years. I've seen how changes are made. Slowly, yes, and not perfectly. But delegates; you got a candidate who actually got some delegates at the convention. Who got them on committees, who got changes in the Platform. Perfect No. A progressive paragon. Of course not. But more than ever before. Jesse Jackson, where did he get? Kucinich? I would have been a delegate for him, if we'd managed to get 15% of the votes in my Congressional District. But we didn't. So I stayed home and he became a footnote to history. Not completely of course. He left an amazing legacy in his Ohio Congressional District and a lot of committed progressives working for the Department of Peace and other great causes.
This is me now. It can be you too.
Nasty Woman
3 Thai basil leaves1/2 ounce simple syrup
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 ounces Square One basil vodka
Shake, double strain into a glass, and top with about 1.5 ounces Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon soda. Garnish with a spring of Thai basil.
Now, go vote, then Enjoy!
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