Inland Empire Progressive

The gloves are off, and Democrats have a fighting opportunity to go on offense in all 52 California congressional districts, not just the competitive races that the consultant class like to obsess over. Conservatives have made their brand so toxic, so extreme, and so wildly detached from California values that even Republicans should be looking for the exit ramp that leads them straight into the Democratic Party.  For too long, Democrats have treated deeply red districts as write-offs with Democrats in those districts left to be sacrificial lambs. That mentality is outdated. California’s demographics have shifted, younger and more progressive voters are turning 18 every day, and even moderate Republicans are exhausted by the extremism dominating their party. Democrats in state leadership should fund organizers to canvass, register voters, and develop strong candidates everywhere from Modoc to the Inland Empire where affordability and opportunity are on the ballot. MAGA is incompati...

Despite its deep-red reputation, there is a compelling and urgent case for Democrats to concentrate resources, energy, and strategy on turning  Mississippi  blue. The state’s demographics, historical background, and recent electoral trends all suggest that the opportunity is real. First, Mississippi’s population offers a bright starting point: it has one of the highest proportions of Black residents of any U.S. state at nearly 39 %.  Given that African American voters overwhelmingly support Democrats nationally and are a critical part of the Democratic coalition, the base is already present. Mobilizing this base more fully in Mississippi could raise turnout and change the conversation. Second, although Mississippi has consistently voted Republican in presidential elections that very fact underscores the scale of the opportunity: it’s a state long neglected by Democrats, meaning the playing field is wide open. The state party itself has acknowledged the need to rebuild and...

Inlanders, pay attention because you’re about to see how conservatives are laying the groundwork to destroy democracy itself with all the swagger of a badly written Pam Bondi villain. If you think conservatives will wait until Election Day to tip the scales, I have some desert land in 29 Palms to sell you. There are news reports that  Dominion Voting Systems  the tech company that became a household name over relentless conspiracies and defamation lawsuits by Fox News has been acquired by Liberty Vote, a firm founded by a former Republican elections director. Let that sink in and soak, the very tech infrastructure of our elections (ballot counting, software, validation) is now being folded into a company helmed by someone who has conservative pedigree. This is a trojan horse in disguise. I don't trust conservatives to play fair when it comes to elections, and this is case in point. Voting systems are no joke. They are the final arbiter between your vote and the official tally....

When conservatives thunder about election integrity, they want you to picture stuffed ballot boxes, dead voters rising from the grave, and shadowy Democratic operatives plotting to rig the system. But what they don’t want you to picture is their own weaponization of campaign technology data mining , microtargeting , and voter surveillance that quietly undermines the very democratic freedoms they pretend to safeguard. Our election infrastructure doesn’t just hinge on ballots, it hinges on how campaigns harvest, store, and deploy voter information. And here, conservatives are not defenders of liberty they’re some of the worst offenders. Conservatives claim to champion privacy and individual liberty, yet their campaign operations routinely buy and weaponize massive voter files, sometimes enhanced with commercial consumer data, to micro-target voters in ways that blur the line between persuasion and manipulation. From the disastrous ORCA system in 2012 to the more sinister Cambridge Ana...

                                                                      Photo by Nils Huenerfuerst on Unsplash Democrats need to hold a Mid-Term Convention. Given the stakes, that’s not just a good idea, it may become essential. During this fucked-up timeline that we are all living in, Democrats need to think creatively and always be on offense, instead of constantly reacting to what Republicans. I'm tired of Democrats being a day late and a dollar short. A convention provides a platform to unify around a coherent theme. Democrats can similarly use a midterm convention to frame what’s at stake in 2026 (Congressional control; protecting democratic institutions; defending rights) and focus on the future. A large, visible gathering can generate energy: fundraising, media attention, vo...

The problem with the 31st Congressional District is that there is no natural leadership. There is no candidate that really excites on the Democratic side. I mean look at Riverside's Rep. Mark Takano, a Proud Progressive. Now that's a person who inspires volunteers to fight the good fight. Why is San Bernarino County so late to the party all of the time? It would be nice to be first for once. Anyway, I guess we'll just have to settle. It's too bad Justin Kim is sitting this one out . It's no secret that Rep. Gary Miller's seat is a prime pickup opportunity for the Dems. The curious thing is that even though Mr. Miller knows he is a target, he hasn't shifted any of his policy positions to the left. He makes nice sounds, but no real movement.  I think a certain fatalism has taken hold of him, like the captain of the Titanic. He would rather go down with the sinking ship than vote with the Dems on anything. At least the Blue Curs (Dogs) side with Reps now a...

What I would like to see in San Bernardino mayor is someone who will tell it like it is, and then make the decisions necessary to lead us in a foundational direction. A balance budget, safe maintained streets, and economic localism would be a start. I really do think some sections of the population are getting shafted and used as a political punching bag (mainly the young) and others are not being brought into the fold and celebrated. Have we ever had a Cinco de Mayo parade? Or celebrated the Chinese New Year? We don't celebrate our diversity like we should.  In addition, I don't like public safety charity. They feel like handouts, when what we really need is a hand up. It's nice to have new sewing machines, lighted baseball fields, or some park benches, but will that really heal our budget woes in which a large percentage is Public Safety.  Public Safety: We need your property taxes and sales taxes! We need you to live here! When our so called heroes don't ...

With the Republican Party in shambles nationally and near irrelevance in California, they are seeking a new strategy to reach out to Latinos and Asians before these groups become like African Americans. African Americans turned from the party of Lincoln as the Republicans turned away from their Upper-Midwest and East Coast beginnings to a Strong Southern and Western strategy. However, even the West is leaving the Republican embrace of extremism. I can't say how long African Americans will continue to adhere to the Democratic Party in strong numbers, but after the election of the President Barack Obama you can say that it will be for some time to come. Republicans, sensing this, will absolutely attempt to foist a Hispanic in 2016 to try to appeal to this demographic. They do have a strong field of potential candidates going forward, with many possible choices. However,  while they will have a Latin face their policies on issues will still resemble the issues of their bas...

A motivating speech, for a motivating time.

It is well known that off year elections and primaries are do not bode well for Dems. This has to be changed. Instilling a sense of duty to vote in Progressives is very important. Progressive voters must be constantly reminded why thier vote matters. Currently, I use a sports metaphor when talking with voters about why they should vote in Congressional Elections. I say: "The President of the United States is like Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, he can score a lot of points and make key plays. However, without a solid team (Congress) around him sometimes all that effort expended will be for nothing if they still lose. So if health care, education, or jobs is your priority it is important to vote for somebody who care about your values up and down the ticket. That way other player can make key assists in both offense and defense." When talking to voters, we have to remind them why it is important to them and what is in it for them. We as activists have to make it not...

View Larger Map ESRI put together this very smooth map to look at the results of the 2008 election. I know it's a little dated but the turnout areas are great indicators of possible votes in future elections. I wonder if they will publish a 2012 version.

Nate Silver a former baseball statistician turn political prognosticator at www.fivethirtyeight.com has aggrigated the polling data and is predicting a President Obama win of 315 electoral college votes. He says the president has a 92% chance of winning picking up most of what he won in 2008, with the exception of North Carolina and Indiana. I for one, hope that Mr. Silver is right.

Reminds me of Mike Tyson's Punch Out for Nintendo.

A Progressive Critical-Thinkers guide to Props and Measures: Prop. 30 - Yes Avoids cuts from K thru 16 and allows breathing room to stabilize the budget. Prop 31 - No Poison Pill. Lots of Progressive Reforms but brings state government instability at a time when state is trying to balance budget. Prop 32 - No Limits political speech of working class families. Prop 33 - No Penalizes poor and working class families who are less like to have continuous insurance coverage. Prop 34 - Yes Saves state $100M annually by eliminating death penalty. Prop 35 - No Hampers law enforcement in dealing with sex trafficking. Prop 36 - Yes Reduces costs. Reduces 2nd Strike Dementia, where minor offenders will escalate small violations because they have nothing to lose. Prop 37-  Yes We have a right to know what is being done to our food. Prop 38- No Funds only K-12. Cuts to education still happen because Prop. 30 failed. Prop 39- Yes Creates jobs inside Califo...

Round 1, Fight! This is Mortal Kombat on the Presidential Level! The special moves for Obama and Romney are funny reflecting their policies and political attacks on each other.   Hopefully, Rep. Joe Baca doesn't try to slap a video game warning label on it. LOL It's too bad you have to wait until the end of the video to choose the winner. But even their "Finish Him" moves are comedy. Very Well Done. 

I listened to the whole hour of his lecture to folks at the Immanuel Church and he so mangles political documents and religious scripture that this clip from Billy Madison kept coming into my mind.

I have respected Mr. Warner since I first met him at the Inland Valley Democratic Club. He is a solid pragmatic Progressive on the issues of the day. He will represent and defend the Inland Empire well. Compared to Asm. Mike Morrell, it should be a given to throw your support Mr. Warner. Mr. Morrell has been extreme in the legislature and unproductive. Mr. Morrell takes Hard Conservative stands in this increasingly moderate district. Finally, he has no political courage to stand up to the base of his party and do what needs to do to benefit families in the Inland Empire. Here are some good reasons to support Mr. Warner: Compromise In politics compromise is the political currency that gets things done. Mr. Warner can comprise to bring much needed funding ( for education, infrastructure, etc.) and jobs to the area in exchange for tough political votes. I point the Republican Sen. Bob Dutton example, that in exchange for his vote he b...

I despise ballot box budgeting, however since I will be personally affected (Cal State Student) if this prop fails I am compelled to vote for it. I was 49% in favor of not voting for it. The primary reason is becasue they cut funding for the Ralph M. Brown Act. I am afraid local governments will use the cut as an excuse to reduce transparency even though we live in the digital age and costs for posting agendas, budgets, etc. online are minimal. However, this gives them some political cover. The bulk of the reductions will be from schools, which would make sense on its face education make up the majority of the General Fund budget. But Prop. 30 still feels like a hostage negotiation that if doesn't pass we will cut funding to children and young adults. If Prop. 30 does pass, Democrats in the legislature need to seriously gather the intestinal fortitude necessary to bring about a stablized and ...

I was listening to the Political Hour podcast hosted by Mark Westwood the other day, but (for those interested) can as well listen to the program on the radio Tuesday's at KCAA 1050 on the AM dial. Mr. Westwood was interviewing the Inland Empire regional director for the Obama for America campaign. She was commenting on how different walks of life come to support the President in his reelection efforts by paticipating in phonebanking or taking road trips to battleground states. However one thing in particular stuck out. She said that Democrats from normally Conservative parts of Riverside County have been excited to hear from a fellow Democrat. They were excited because they thought they were the only ones who were Democrats in the area and were glad to here from someone with the same values contacting them. I laughed because that is way some Democrats felt in San Bernardino...

Progressive Democrats (myself included) are not happy about the choices they have in November. The prospects of living under Republican governance for the next two years is met with a glumness. MoveOn.org publishes a ballot guide asking local voters their ballot choices. As you can see from the statements below, that glumness is palpable. The most laughable statement is that he is the more moderate of the two candidates. I would say his recent comments against a pathway to citizens for Mexican immigrants beg to differ. Both Rep. Gary Miller and Sen. Bob Dutton are Conservative extremists in moderate clothing, twisting their principles to try and comform with a nonexistant moderation. Some of the top rated reasons for supporting Mr. Dutton are to vote against Gary Miller. There is much resignation in the ranks of Democrats that a plum seat has been lost in the short term. In 2014, wh...