** As alluded to some days ago, Phil Angelides for Governor chief strategist Bob Mulholland has moved back to the California Democratic Party. Here are the particulars. Mulholland is one of my oldest associates in politics, having worked under me on the Campaign for Economic Democracy Political Action Team and the Gary Hart for President campaigns, and with me with the California Democratic Party.
** The California Republican Party, on behalf of lieutenant governor candidate Tom McClintock, has launched an anti-John Garamendi TV spot centering on the French takeover of the assets of Executive Life back in the early 1990s during Garamendi’s first go-round as California’s first elected state insurance commissioner. Republican spokesman Patrick Dorinson, who just had a close encounter with his own mortality while riding his motorcycle, won’t say how much money is behind this. But he does say the ad is running in the Los Angeles and Sacramento markets, and is “the beginning of a conversation with the voters on this important issue.”
** Slate’s concern about the upcoming LA Times political blog, which was revealed here yesterday.
** Here is a good example of the surface nature of much spin.
** LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa‘s partial takeover of the sprawling Los Angeles Unified School District passed the state Senate this morning. On Tuesday, it is slated to go to the Assembly Education Committee and then to the Assembly floor. Advocates expect it to be wrapped up by Wednesday.
** Still hitting its stride after five seasons of its ground-breaking real-time format, 24, the official show of NWN, won big at last night’s Emmy Awards. Star Kiefer Sutherland, who portrays determined and resourceful counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer, won the Emmy for Best Actor in a dramatic series. The show also won Emmys for the direction of longtime producer Jon Cassar, the musical score of composer Sean Callery, the editing of David Latham, and the biggest prize of the evening, Best Dramatic Series. The final award of the evening was presented to the show’s producers by New West friend Annette Bening, herself an Emmy nominee for Mrs. Harris. The show has multiple producers including co-creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, Sutherland, Cassar, and Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, Brian Grazer, Michael Loceff, Steven Kronish, Manny Coto, David Fury, Michael Klick, and Brad Turner.
Now here is an interesting question. The right-wing talk show world and blogosphere thinks the show is conservative in its politics. That may not be right. What do you think?
In addition, with Alan Alda winning the best supporting actor award for his portrayal of a moderate Republican presidential contender (California Senator Arnold Vinick), The West Wing, departing after seven seasons, broke its tie with Hill Street Blues to emerge as the most honored series in television history.
** Here is an impressive campaign video documentary on California’s leading conservative politician, state Senator Tom McClintock. McClintock is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, running against Democrat John Garamendi. After narrowly losing a race for state controller in 2002 to first-time candidate Steve Westly, McClintock shot to fame in the 2003 California recall, running a respectable third behind Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. McClintock trails Garamendi, the two-time state insurance commissioner, a Bill Clinton sub-cabinet member and former gubernatorial candidate himself, in the race for lieutenant governor, but is within striking distance.
** Track global and national energy prices in near real time via Bloomberg. Crude oil prices have dropped a couple dollars to $70 a barrel. Why? Traders believe that Hurricane Ernesto is now likely to miss Gulf oil production facilities.
** Continuous coverage of the new global insecurity on Pajamas Media (PJM).
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| Comments (60) |
AB1381 just passed in Senate!!!!! …Romero and Murray outstanding job!!!!!!
I don’t see how McClintock passes Garamendi with all the great free publicity JG is receiving on falling auto insurance rates. The insurance industry, which hates him, is handing him the Lt. Gov. job. very odd.
The right-wing gives bear hugs to anything they think is conservative in value without looking deeper.
For instance, I remember when Rush Limbaugh raved about Forrest Gump and how the character symbolized conversative values. I see, so you need to have an IQ below 68 to be a paragon of conservative values. Rush is right!
“24″ is a great many things. I’m sure Oliver Stone watches and believes in the conspiracies Jack thwarts are part of a documentary. And then Oliver North watches and thinks of the show as an illustration of why we need pre-emptive strikes against terrorists.
But I’ll take a stand here and say the show is borderline left, but subversively so. Pastiches of Halliburton-like companies are constantly in cahoots with terrorists, but don’t get caught. Oil companies constantly try to manipulate world affairs to drive up the price of oil.
Wherever people think the “24″ stands, I just hope they keep cranking out shows.
Like most of the best espionage novels, “24″ shades left.
The tell for the slow among us is the only hero politician, a black Democratic president.
24 is kind of a Rohrschah test if you are an ideologue of any sort.
Barbara,
What was the vote on your favorite bill of the year?
Let’s see, passes on Monday, goes back to the Assembly for concurrence, substantial amendments in Senate means both policy and fiscal hearings. Given the time of year we are in, that should all be done by Wednesday, which means we get a floor vote on Thursday.
What time will you be holding the victory celebration that evening and where?
The vote was 22-14.
The bill will be heard in the Assembly Education Committee on Tuesday.
Steven,
Thank you.
I just made a lunch date downtown tomorrow with my favorite teacher girlfriend to celebrate ..I told her lunch is on me! I must say, Jackie Spier was very very very disappointing …she came across “very limited” in her approach to the whole issue. I watched it on web cast here in my office and for anyone who cares about kids and education, you should check out Cal Chan archives for this session to hear Kevin Murray and Gloria Romero …very articulate, passionate , compelling speeches!…
Yes, Steven Thank You!Thank You ! Please don’t let anything go wrong in the Assembly!
Yes, Gospodin Bierko, you would think that the great Season 2 in which transnational oil and arms interests succeed in so manipulating the political system that President Palmer is secretly removed from office by his own Cabinet because he will not launch a war based on falsified intel would be something of a clue.
re: “The right-wing talk show world and blogosphere thinks the show is conservative in its politics.”
They might be onto something considering CTU and other government branches on the show consistently break the laws set forth by the U.S. Constitution often under the guise of what’s best for the nation.
I can see how right-wingers can associate with those values.
Yes, but then … How often do people in California government break the law against political activity carried out using state resources?
You know, looking to the higher interests of what is best for California?
I’m going to guess often and a lot.
Bill,
You don’t mean people working under the Golden Dome, do you? Those fine folks who are only there to do the bidding of the citizens of this great state? No, you couldn’t mean them. Could you?
Bill,
You alluded to some staff changes on the Angelides campaign last week, but never elaborated. Can you share with us what exactly got shaken up?
Indeed, the staff change alluded to earlier is interesting, but I had another, non-random thought. Conan’s opening Emmy bit was likely filmed on the sets of shows currently in production. Meaning, we can expect to see Jack on a light-rail train or bus (where was Jack? I didn’t record the show) and Chloe once again working out of CTU.
I’m basing my conjecture on the fact that productions are conservative. Why scout a new location when you can use an existing one?
Maybe Victor Drazen’s identical twin separated from birth and raised in LA put a speed-sensitive bomb on a bus and Jack has to disfuse it.
So a Dem operative just emailed me:
“What are your site’s rules?”
I go: Look to the right side of the site where it says ABOUT NWN RULES.
I swear, it is a conspiracy to waste my time.
BOB MULHOLLAND OUT.
Got it?
Gospodin Bierko, I am unclear as to the role of Viktor Drazen in the Angelides campaign.
The Governors race is getting closer. At least accroding to a Zogby poll that comes out tomorrow and shows Angelides within 5. So, Im told, though havent seen it yet.
Bill, can you confirm?
You have no idea how irritating this is.
The Zogby poll is bullshit. As I have stated many times.
How do I know?
I am a regular participant in the Zogby poll, which is online.
This the first Zogby poll showing a significant Arnold lead, so your characterization is totally inaccurate.
There is, I am told, also a Survey USA Poll, showing Schwarzenegger up 12.
But the Angelides people won’t be sending that one out, now will they?
Although they have regularly touted past Survey USA polls, which were wrong.
In any event, Survey USA is another crap poll, so I won’t be reporting that, either.
Bill, which are the best; PPIC, Field, and LA Times?
Which are the best?
Ford. GM, or Toyota?
Toyota, because they make an 100% electric car that I still drive. And because they jumped into the hybrid world.
GM and Ford are like those East Coast media folks-dinosaurs.
Here is just ONE problem with the Zogby online poll. Unless you are highly motivated, you will not complete the poll. There are too many opportunities to become annoyed and move on without offending any human being.
Survey USA is a robopoll. The robot does not know if you are you or some 9 year old who knows nothing.
It’s nice to see that the same candidate who tried to ride into the Controller’s office on the back of Scots-are-cheap stereotypes is going to go for LG by tapping into America’s deeply-rooted Francophobia.
Don’t knock nine year olds, Bill. I’m sure many of the folks cruising sites like yours would have made more informed voters at nine, than most do today at 29.
Even if we’re not in Mensa, SAG or other genius societies.
And I happen to enjoy the Zogby interactive polls. My favorites are the ones where they are obviously building a personality type on you; like the one a few months back that asked a bunch of questions about O.J., Area 51, and the Kennedy assasination.
Well, you could probably tell from the Emmys that the Screen Actors Guild is not necessarily a genius society.
(The level of defensiveness I get on a chronic basis is both amusing, and programmed.)
Unfortunately, the Survey USA robots don’t select 9-year olds who are cruising this site, they select 9-year olds who happen to anser the phone …
You might ask yourself who on earth — or somewhere else — the clients were for that poll.
The client-driven nature of Zogby polling is obvious when you are a regular participant.
>Tommy Boy Says:
August 28th, 2006 at 4:43 pm e
And I happen to enjoy the Zogby interactive polls. My favorites are the ones where they are obviously building a personality type on you; like the one a few months back that asked a bunch of questions about O.J., Area 51, and the Kennedy assasination.
Incidentally, just so we are clear, this is the first Zogby poll in a long time in which Schwarzenegger is actually ahead.
These goofier polls not infrequently come up to where the better polls actually are.
I’m not sure if the whacky questions were specifically for a single client. I got the feeling that they were building material for the future polls.
‘People who answered “OJ is innocent” in that poll a few years back are voting Hillary.’ Something like that. Microtargeting-type data.
Someday in the future, Zogby will be telling clients how to tell an alien abductee like myself how to talk about healthcare policy.
However, the poll is very self-selecting by its very format.
I would have logged off if I were not so intrigued by its bogusness.
I meant to say “how to talk to an alien abductee like myself about healthcare policy.”
Repressed memories of big eyes and probes temporarily overcame my ability to string words together.
This month’s Zogby had many interesting questions on internet usage, regulation and censorship.
Funny though, they did not ask if NWNs should be inaccessible to 9 year olds or otherwise censored.
Arnold is picking up a lot of left wingers because lately he’s been doing a good job pushing their agenda. He made a lot of promises to the Gay community last month that he appears to be keeping.
I think NWN notes is more dangerous for nine year olds than most websites the fundies would persecute!
Yes, you never know what pictures of beautiful women in addition to Annette Bening might be linked to on NWN.
You should have some of those awesome “sexy ladies with dragons posters” that Saddam had in his palaces. That would be the coolest.
Right, I suppose it would be POSSIBLE to be cheesier.
Kindly keep in mind that I am not infrequently kidding …
These netrats are such losers. They should stick to their unread blogs.
It speaks volumes about the state of the McClintock campaign that the CRP feels compelled to start sliming Garamendi this early with an attack as dated as my eight-track tape collection. For the record, while Garamendi’s been securing billions of dollars in insurance rebates and savings for consumers, Senator McClintock’s been raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from insurance companies and compiling one of the worst anti-consumer voting records in the recent history of the State Legislature. This is like Britney Spears accusing Mary Poppins of being anti-child.
Mr. McClintock hopes no one ever finds out how very conservative he is.
McClintock is conservative?
Oh, and Kinney. Nice site you’ve got going there…once you enact the notes you put down after your first few days.
You need some verite video…like Bradley. or the Angelides “Clean Campaign Pledge” ads (although those were dubbed crapite around here!), or those videos of Westly on the campaign trail on his site, or Phil’s speeches at GovernorPhil.com.
vLogging is what it’s all about!
I’m going to start a online cover band, and call it “vLogging Molly.”
I’ll get all the good St. Patrick’s day gigs in the blogosphere.
I parked next to a Jag tonight and my nine year old called it a Ford. Isn’t he technically correct?
It is “technically correct” that an Audi is a Volkswagen, a Mercedes is a Chrysler, and an Aston Martin is a Ford.