[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Brian Leubitz
Founder and Publisher
Calitics

At this weekend's Executive Board meeting for the California Democratic Party, the resolutions committee (hey, that's me!) will be taking a look at the initiatives that will appear on the November ballot. There are some initiatives that should be rejected out of hand. The anti-marriage equality and the parental notification fall under this category. We've already rejected parental notification (twice!) and the CDP platform includes a plank supporting marriage equality.

But when there are 10+ initiatives on the ballot, there are some initiatives that aren't as cut and dried. Chief among these is the "California Voters First" Initiative. I've written about this before, and I still think that not only is it a pseudo-reform, it's a Republican-leaning pseudo-reform.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Your Vote May Make a Difference on Important Ballot Propositions

By Frank D. Russo

The California Field Poll has just issued new results that show, according to its director Mark DiCamillo, that as to Prop 93 on term limits and Propositions 94 to 97 on tribal gaming, “the outcomes of each are very much in doubt.”

Prop 39: Term Limit Reform

Field’s findings, taken between January 14 and 20, shows Prop 39 to reform term limits is tied with 39% in support and 39% in opposition with 22% undecided. It had been ahead in Field’s previous polling in December. The biggest decline has been in the state’s Republican voters who had favored the initiative 47% to 25% and now oppose it 38% to 46%. Democratic support is still in support by 39% to 33%, but lower than before. The “non-partisan/others” are evenly divided with 41% in support and 40% opposed, well within the margin of error of the poll of 3.4%.

by Jack Boyte [courtesy of Blog for America]

From God's Politics, a blog by Jim Wallis and friends.

"The upcoming primary in South Carolina will be critical for both the Democrats and the Republicans, say the media pundits. And South Carolina is full of evangelicals, they also say. But they have absolutely no clue about what that means.

For example, the exit polls in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary have asked departing Republican voters if they are "evangelicals," but they don't ask the same question of exiting Democrats—therefore assuming there aren't any evangelicals voting for Democrats, an assumption that is demonstrably not true. The leading Democrats in the race—Obama, Clinton, and Edwards—speak explicitly and articulately as Christians and their campaigns have reached out as much to faith communities as the Republicans have."

Here's the link to God's Politics. Read the whole piece.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Confirming CMR's exclusive report from earlier this week, the Associated Press is now reporting that Congressman John Doolittle will announce his retirement today in Roseville.

This is obviously bad news for the Charlie Brown campaign, as the ethics-challenged Doolittle was almost certainly poised for defeat were he to survive his primary. Nevertheless, Brown has been up and down the 4th Congressional District for years now, and has strong grassroots support even among many Republican voters. Making a donation today to the Brown campaign would send a clear signal to the pundit types that this seat is still worth watching.

by Denise [courtesy of Blog for America]

The polling is complete, and Democracy for Riverside is pleased to announce that our members unanimously voted to endorse Bill Hedrick for Congress.  Bill, who has one son who served in Iraq, and another son and daughter-in-law still serving there, is looking forward to a tough fight even as the neo-cons’ imperialistic, pro-war policies lose favor across the nation.

Bill’s passionate but level-headed approach to issues from national defense to health care clearly resonates across party lines with Democratic and Republican voters alike.  It is going to be a tough fight, but do-able, with the support of everyday people like you.

How can you help?  Easy!  First, voice your support for Bill Hedrick to the wider DFA community on Bill’s DFA campaign page.  It is a free, easy way to build buzz and momentum as Bill competes nationally for recognition on the DFA-List.  Just click here now:

http://www.dfalink.com/campaign.php?id=2258

Then, plug in to Bill’s campaign by signing up on his official campaign web site:

www.hedrickforcongress.com

And of course, no political pitch would be complete without “The Ask!” Contribute to Bill Hedrick’s campaign through ActBlue’s secure site by clicking here now: