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California Cowardice: Gov Ed.

chicago dyke's picture
Submitted by chicago dyke on Thu, 10/14/2010 - 11:00am
Departments: 
Department of Fat Chance!
Thread: 
Election Fraud
Tags: 
Green Party
Ca governor's race
Laura Wells

Democracy Now:

Green Party Candidate Excluded from California Governor’s Debate
While governor hopefuls Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman debated on Tuesday night in San Rafael, the Green Party candidate for governor was being arrested outside the hall. Police charged Laura Wells with trespassing after she tried to get into the debate that she was not allowed to participate in.

(there's video at the link) Fuck Jerry Brown for his cowardice. I suppose he probably didn't want Ms. Wells to ask him about his bullshit and fundamentally un-liberal position that "all taxes are bad!" touted by his campaign ads. Shit like this just makes me want to vote Green even more.

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Dan in CA's picture
Submitted by Dan in CA on

He said, "No new taxes without voter approval." Hopefully it's his plan to do what they did in Oregon, which is put a tax hike for the rich on the ballot. The one hitch in this grand scheme is that it will be California voters deciding and not Oregon voters. Sigh. Maybe we can change the state constitution somehow.

Think Liberally's picture
Submitted by Think Liberally on

(Sorry for late reply: I'm going through back Corrente pages as part of voting research.)

As far as I'm concerned, saying something like that in the current California and national political climate is the same thing as punting on taxes.

Taxes are a hard sell. People have been brainwashed to think they're always bad, and all the GOP (and many Dems) will attack him vociferously for it. So when his message is not, "I strongly believe in the wealthy paying their share and will stake my job on it," but rather, "Hey, I might raise taxes a bit if you guys say it's all right," then he's already lost. And he knows it.

At best we'll get an inadequate raise, like the Obama stimulus, that won't do enough and whose failure will then be used as proof that raising taxes never works--and will greatly energize the GOP base, perhaps tipping the State Assembly and Senate into GOP hands, perhaps gifting the Governorship to GOP candidates for the next decade. At worst, we'll lose the initial battle, getting all those negative consequences for the sake of...nothing.

Hope I'm wrong.

jumpjet's picture
Submitted by jumpjet on

Good for her. She should have done more planning, though- maybe cased the entrances, gotten some supporters to distract the police.

At least I'm assuming she didn't do those things; there's not actually a link in your post, CD. But she has the right idea: when entrenched interests use the rules to stifle liberty and justice, it's time to start breaking rules.

Submitted by libbyliberal on

This needs to be called out again and again. And yes, Jerry Brown, who I was a fan of years ago, should call them out for this. They actually ARRESTED her? It was bad enough when they didn't let Nader into one debate but they didn't arrest him. Monday Howie Hawkins in NY as Green candidate for Gov. will be on NY1 at 7 or 8pm (sorry, not sure which) taking on Cuomo and Palidino. I hope he gets some decent ... God ... sound bites ... is that all we have to hope for thereafter. Sometimes important things can't be said in a sound bite, and if you don't have brandness ... sorry Charlie, you don't even get that. Anyway, a rare moment when a Green gets to share the dais. About time. I hope it gets some viewers and play.

jumpjet's picture
Submitted by jumpjet on

elections being a huge boon to the Liberal Democrats in large part because they'd never been given the opportunity to air their views before. It didn't wind up helping them as much in the long run, but it gave them an enormous swell of popular support at the outset.

With the right candidate in front of a large enough audience, one debate can change an entire election.

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