And it's because we're not focused.
The presidential campaign has taken up too much of our time and attention. Yes, it's important that we win the White House, but if we win it while losing every other important race because we neglected it, then that victory's impact is quite significantly reduced. That's true whether Obama is leading the polls or down in the polls.
Because we have neglected critical other races, especially those of us who live in California and Washington State, hundreds of thousands of Californians are about to be stripped of their civil rights, and a Bush-Palin clone is about to be elected governor in Washington, where he will destroy that state.
Surely there are other examples of how we are losing this election but those are the two I want to focus on.
It's a phenomenon I've seen all too often as I work the Democratic headquarters here in Monterey - Californians coming in to volunteer, but only for Obama. They have no interest in helping elect local Democrats and no interest in the #1 campaign task for Californians - defeating Proposition 8.
Let's be clear. If you live in California your top priority is NOT to help Obama. It is to defeat Prop 8, which will make same sex marriage unconstitutional. Civil rights will be stripped from hundreds of thousands of Californians for the first time in our state's history.
Recent polling shows that we are losing:
Earlier polls had shown Proposition 8, which would eradicate the right for same-sex couples to marry in California, trailing by about 5 percentage points. This week, a Lake Research poll paid for by the campaign of 1,051 likely voters showed the proposition winning, with 47 percent saying they supported the measure and 43 percent saying no. The polling period was Sept. 29-Oct. 2. That finding is reinforced by a SurveyUSA poll of 670 likely voters showing the proposition winning 47 percent to 42 percent. That poll was taken Saturday and Sunday.
The Yes on 8 campaign, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mormon Church, has a whopping $25 million war chest, $10 million more than the No on 8 campaign. They are saturating our state's airwaves with ads claiming that Prop 8 will force priests to be arrested and kindergardeners to be taught about gay sex. And they are winning.
What have you done to prevent this?
I have seen a lot of Californians wasting their time on trips to swing states or making phone calls to swing states for Obama. Yes, I believe that's a waste of time and I have felt that even when Obama wasn't looking so good in the polls. Even now with a lead in the polls I understand that we need to not rest on our laurels.
But goddammit, if you're a Californian, you need to be taking care of your own house. The bigots are winning. If Obama wins the White House there is not a single damn thing he can do even if he wanted to about Prop 8's passage. Basic civil rights depend on
So Californians: stop going to swing states. Stop making phone calls to swing states. Just stop it right now. And start going door to door here at home to defeat Prop 8. Start making phone calls to undecided voters and explain to them why we should not eliminate marriage for anyone.
The right-wing knows this. The right-wing aren't fools. They don't focus on the presidential race to the exclusion of everything else. They fight every battle on the ballot and they play to win. If you're focusing on Obama and not focusing on Prop 8, you are playing the right-wing's game. Why would you want to do that?
Washington
Same thing goes for all my friends back in Washington State. If you live there you really need to stop working for Obama. There is really not much you can do from there anyway - especially when Dino Rossi is poised to be the first Republican elected governor of Washington in nearly 30 years.
Washington isn't a perfect state but it is a well-run state. Governor Christine Gregoire has one of the worst campaigns I've ever seen, but she is a very good governor and deserves a second term.
Dino Rossi, on the other hand, is a nightmarish combination of George W. Bush and Sarah Palin. Did you know Dino:
- worked against I-120, which codified Roe v. Wade into Washington state law?
- voted NO on a bill that would require health insurance companies that cover prescriptions such as Viagra for men to cover birth control for women?
- sponsored a bill seeking federal money for ineffective abstinence-only sex-education for Washington schools?
- believes pharmacists should be able to refuse to fill doctor-prescribed prescriptions based on non-medical, personal reasons?
- compares women's health care to sports drink preferences?
If elected governor Rossi would divert money from mass transit to freeways. He would push through massive tax cuts and destroy vital government services at a time when Washingtonians will have desperate need of them. Washington has some of the best goverment services, including health care, in the nation. You in Washington are going to need them and need them soon. Dino Rossi will destroy them, the same way George W. Bush has destroyed the US government, all while implementing Sarah Palin's socially conservative agenda.
To make matters worse, there are thousands of Washingtonians planning to vote an Obama-Rossi ticket. What the fuck is that about? As our friend Goldy explains At Horse's Ass:
The latest Rasmussen Reports survey, released today, shows Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire and Republican opponent Dino Rossi tied 48% to 48% tie in the governors race. That’s a marked improvement for Gregoire over the last Rasmussen poll, which showed Rossi leading by a 52% to 46% margin.
I suppose I should be cheered by the trend, but this race really shouldn’t be this close, this close to election day. I guess lying and cheating is a good strategy.
In the presidential race, Rasmussen shows Barack Obama regaining a double-digit lead, 53% to 43% over John McCain, after last month’s survey showed the race narrowing to within an unlikely two point margin.
An improvement for Gregoire, perhaps, but there is a 5 point difference between Obama and Gregoire in the polls. Those 5 points are Obama-Rossi voters. Folks who will cancel out their vote for Obama with a vote for Bush-Palin in their home state.
So why on earth would any Washingtonian be working for Obama at this point? When there is such a huge threat to you at home? We focus on the presidential race so much that we forget that state governments often have more direct impact on your daily life. I'd be saying this even if Obama were down in the polls, but it is especially true now that he's not - if you live in Washington, stop working for Obama and start working to defeat Rossi.
Of course if your work to defeat Rossi should take you to the Eastside you can enfold work for Darcy Burner in that as well. But the principle remains true - stop working for Obama in CA and WA and start attending to your own burning house.
It's time for Californians and Washingtonians to stop being complacent, stop wasting your time, and start taking care of the issues that matter most to you right now, the most important issues on your ballot.
If Obama wins but we lose on Prop 8 and lose the Washington governor's mansion, it's not clear to me that we will have won a damn thing. This is a fight for the future of our country. It's time we all started acting like it.
ACTION LINKS
Donate to the No on 8 campaign
Phonebank for No on 8
No on 8 yard signs and bumper stickers
Contribute to Gregoire's Reeelection Campaign
Volunteer to defeat Rossi
Update [2008-10-8 11:53:45 by eugene]: Vow to Vote No on Prop 8
Watch this ad from the Courage Campaign to get a sense of why straight folks like me are opposed to Prop 8: