[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Steven J. Ybarra, JD

Race, sex and age are always issues in every political campaign.

In every political campaign a successful candidate will confront racism, acknowledge economic inequality, and assure voters of all ages that their agendas will be addressed. For the last eight years I have trained thousands of political activists to address race, sex and age in the fight to get political power. Most intelligent people acknowledge that political power is never given - it is only taken.

The Mexican American in today's society is feared as an illegal alien in his own country. He is not viewed as a contributor but as a tax burden on white and black society, even though he is the one who is a strong part of the backbone of small business in America. He is attacked as the one who is stealing jobs. Mind you the phrase is always about “illegal aliens” but racists rarely are able to distinguish between those who are citizens and those who are not.

The Mexican American is a citizen who is feared by the beltway political bubble because of its inability to pigeonhole this voter into any clear mold.

by Be_Devine [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Tomorrow in San Francisco, the California Supreme Court will hear the consolidated cases regarding the issue of same-sex marriage equality. The San Francisco Chronicle has a very detailed article about the issue and background.  For those interested in watching the argument, it will be televised on the California channel, on SFGTV (Channel 26) in San Francisco, and can be watched online here.  The hearing is from 9 a.m. to noon.

My fear for tomorrow is whether the reactionary right wing in California has been successful in putting the fear of god (quite literally) into our Supreme Court Justices.  A decade ago, the right wing crazies funded a campaign to remove Chief Justice Ronald George and Justice Ming Chin because of their vote in one single case.  In that case, Ron George and Ming Chin cast the swing votes that overturned a law requiring that minors obtain parental notification for an abortion.  The far right wing went nuts and targeted these two Supreme Court Justices for removal.  In the end, George and Chin raised a considerable war chest and both won another 12-year term.

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

House Votes to Boost Watchdogs' Power

Government watchdogs would gain more autonomy and protection from political retribution under legislation the House passed Wednesday. The White House threatened a veto, saying the measure infringes on presidential authority over inspectors general.

The bill is the latest proposal where the Bush administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress have clashed over executive branch versus congressional authority. Other disputes have involved who should set policy on secret surveillance, the treatment of suspected terrorists and military operations in Iraq.

The inspector general legislation passed 404-11, well above the level needed for the House to override a veto. The full Senate has not yet taken up the issue.

FEC Nominee Von Spakovsky, Other Three Advance Without Recommendation

A Senate panel sent four nominees to the Federal Election Commission to the floor Wednesday without recommendation, as one contentious appointee threatened to derail the bunch.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Ned Wigglesworth
Policy Advocate
California Common Cause

The five southern California tribes currently seeking permission to vastly expand their gambling empires have spent millions of dollars on California politics and elections to achieve their goal. By now, every Californian has seen the flapping eagle that was a component of Morongo’s planned $20 million TV campaign to win expansion approval. Some might also remember “Team 2006”, the $10 million independent expenditure committee funded by the tribes last fall to extract political retribution when the tribes’ expansion agreements stalled in the Assembly.

This combination of brute financial intimidation and dupe-the-public ad campaign has brought these gaming tribes to the threshold of their objective: permission to triple the number of slots in their casinos. Not-so-quiet whispers in the corridors of the Capitol suggest that the Legislature is about to cave into the tribes, demonstrating yet again the power of the dollar in Sacramento.