The California Democratic Party convention wound down this morning in Sacramento. I’m on the blackberry again but I’ll have a few convention-related items for you now and later in the day.
** Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, scheduled to address the convention this morning, ended up as a no-show. Why? Because the LA Democrat, a sometimes fiery former labor official, was playing golf in Pebble Beach. At his big fundraising golf tournament. His big fundraising golf tournament sponsored by AT&T. His big fundraising golf tournament sponsored by AT&T, which is also a principal backer of his bill to allow the the telecommunications companies to get into the business of pumping digital entertainment and information into households now served only by the cable companies.
Tomorrow, in one of those seeming complexities of life, the rising Democratic star, returned from Pebble Beach, will appear at two rallies in Los Angeles promoting the May Day Boycott on immigration issues. Nunez, in an active weekend, delivered the national Democratic radio address yesterday, saying: “We believe that the only way to have real border security is by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers, and providing a legal path for workers who want to contribute to the economy of our country. That way, we can focus our resources on catching those who would do us harm, instead of criminalizing those who will make our nation strong.”
** ON THIS NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE DRAFT WEEKEND, The Hotline (the national political newsletter/tip sheet), dubbing me a “Mel Kiper” of California politics, cited the real time blogging here of the convention. Who is Mel Kiper? ESPN’s NFL draft player expert. “I see Gavin Newsom shooting up the board in the 1st round.”
** L.A. CITY ATTORNEY ROCKY DELGADILLO’S LONG-SHOT CAMPAIGN for state attorney general is celebrating what it sees as his victory at the state Democratic convention. He is, as you may or may not know, running against former Governor and presidential candidate Jerry Brown for the Democratic nomination. Brown, now the mayor of Oakland, has huge leads over both Delgadillo and the Republican candidate, Central Valley state Senator Chuck Poochigian in yesterday’s L.A. Times Poll. So what is the Rocky crew celebrating? Well, their strenuous efforts — which included a big Friday night party for delegates (the famously cheap Jerry Brown hosted no party) — succeeded in narrowly blocking Brown from getting the state party endorsement. With 58% of the vote, the one-time state Democratic chairman was just shy of the 60% needed for endorsement. Delgadillo himself trailed Brown with 34% of the vote. Which is better than he does in polls of voters.
So, how significant is this? Well, with regard to the party’s endorsement of Phil Angelides for governor over Steve Westly, I asked a prominent Democratic operative, who does not want to be quoted, when the state Democratic Party endorsement made any difference in a statewide race. I could not recall an instance when it had. The only race this person cited was the 1994 nomination for state insurance commissioner. That nomination was won by then state Senator Art Torres, who went on to lose in the general election.
So we see that getting the state party endorsement has had very little significance, and then only in a down ballot race. But in this race, pitting an ambitious LA official against one of the most famous politicians in the country, the candidate who actually needed the endorsement came nowhere near getting it. But he did gain the support of a third of the delegates, which might stand him in good stead in a future race. Call it a moral victory, with something for the future thrown in for good measure.
** THEY CALL IT “LITTLE BLUE PILL.” Actually, that name is going to change. Inspired by the success of the conservative Republican FlashReport, run by NWN friend Jon Fleischman, three prominent Democratic advisors and operatives are planning a Democratic counterpart. Jason Kinney, a partner in the powerful and stealthy California Strategies firm headed by courtly Republican uber-honcho Bob White, Steve Maviglio, deputy chief of staff for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, and Roger Salazar, partner in the rising Acosta/Salazar PR firm, are all plotting to launch a new blog/web site. In addition to linking to relevant news stories and analysis/commentary like the Flash Report does, it would also, like the Flash Report, present a line-up of commentators from partisan ranks, in this case Democratic. Kinney, Maviglio, and Salazar all played major roles with former Governor Gray Davis. Kinney was Davis’s chief speechwriter (hmm, might not want to emphasize that, not that he was responsible for the determinedly un-flashy governor’s habit of reworking speech material into a laundry list of items for the group he was addressing). Maviglio, a former New Hampshire state legislator, was Davis’s gubernatorial press secretary and de facto communications director. Salazar was Davis’s campaign press secretary.
The Democratic version of the Flash Report will go a long way toward addressing the serious shortage of political spin in California. Which has really reached crisis proportions.
Now about that title. They really had come up with “Little Blue Pill” as a title. But I’m told that’s being re-thought. Why? Well, there is the obvious Viagra reference. Which is perhaps not … appropriate. These guys aren’t even that old. (There may also be a trademark problem.) Then there is The Matrix factor. What’s that, you say? Well, in The Matrix, Neo (played by the awesome Keanu Reeves), is given a choice of pills to take. One choice leads to the deeper reality. The other choice keeps one in what you think is the real world, but is actually an illusion. This is getting too deep for me, because I actually don’t remember which colored pill leads where. And I don’t have a copy of The Matrix handy right now.
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Bill? What ever happened to the Newsom section. You said so many times “More about Newsom later” and nothing showed up? Are you still working on it?
Plus, I think Angelides got the endorsement because his Greek food was so damn good. Got to love those free Lamp Chops!
Gavin who?
That is a terrible title YUK! I would never read anything that appeared to be pushing that there is or implying here is a “pill” as a solution or answer …
And I do understand why the Speaker chose golf in Pebble Beach over giving a speech to the party activists. But he did mess up my horseback riding schedule because the program listed him speaking at 9:30 a.m., and I had planned to leave after he and Senator Cleland spoke. Instead, because they did not annouce he was not coming I was forced sit there and listen to all this housekeeping stuff and also bunch of delegates trying to give Jane Harmon, like Westly, another highly electable Dem, a hard time…
Gavin Newsom might be better than these candidates. Westly is cautious to a fault and Angelides is a stuck-up stiff. The Democrats need somebody with smarts, charisma, and a program that does not only appeal to the hacks and lefties.
Welcome to the “Little Blue Pill” crew to the world of the Internet and blogging.
This is not for the weak of heart, telling the truth about your Party and candidates is always difficult. Folks read the web site not because they want to see the news of the day, but because they want commentary about the news behind the news. The three of you are well placed to do that. I look forward toreading you site for information about Democrat foibles, Democrats that act like Republicans and taking to task the corruption of fellow Democrats, even if they will never speak to you again.
Jon Fleischman and I have lead the way, glad to see Democrats follow us. Good luck.
Steve Frank
publisher California Political News and Views
Steve is perhaps a little more … Frank … about the party.
I think the idea is good and I am hoping it is not just more political spin but be more of providing a forum for policy, building community, and bring to the forefront and profiling a new political class for California …I hope one of them heard Cleland’s speech today, especially his Andrew Jackson references!…but they must have a new name ….
Three Gray Davis liberals, that is what California needs.
Hey Bill, off topic: what do you make of the LaRouchies at the convention? They completely freaked me out. Those kids are just scary.
I’ve been seeing LaRouchies since the ’80s. I thought the singing was cute. They were very good. At first I thought it was some peace protest.
God only knows what they imagine they are doing with their lives.
Hey Mr. Bradley what is a Monday without a MAJOR NEWSBREAK!!!!!!! HAHA. Give us a news break!!!!!!!
Right. There are two or three small demonstrations tomorrow.
Was anybody in downtown Sacramento tonight? I was coming home from Natomas and the CHP and Sacramento police had closed down J Street right off of the freeway. Nothing on the news when I came home, though. Anybody know what was going on?
All posts violating the rules are now immediately deleted. There are no more warnings. I am not going to waste any more of my time with you.
I think I speak for all of Bill’s loyal readers: give me a lot less about a bunch of ex-Gray Davis hacktivists and their performance-enhancing blog start-up fantasies and a lot more about the resplendent Mayor Gavin Christopher Newsom at this weekend’s State Convention, please.
Oh Jeez, they have not gotten rid of that name yet? Ugh. This project has been in development for a while now and I eagerly await their launch. We need more voices in the blogosphere.
I added your site to my bookmarks. I’ve got this growing list I’ll actually be coming back to.
Yeah, other than the ones we all ignore. For know though I have to go back to work. No rest for the weary!