Governor Howard Dean came to San Diego on Tuesday to lend his support to and announce Democracy for America's endorsement of Lori Saldana. I have already written a few diaries about this race; you can read a good overview here.
Also present were Adam Green and Stephanie Taylor of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, one of Lori's earliest endorsers.
In other news, her "democratic" opponent Scott Peters loaned himself $1.25 million in two weeks (yes, that's million) in a congressional primary that hasn't quite topped a half-million for both candidates.
Video of Governor Dean, Adam Green and more below the fold...
This video is really great - I was there and it captures the excitement that all of us felt in the room at the prospect of having this great progressive fighter in congress!
My favorite quote is this, at the 3:00 mark:
You know, if Barack Obama had had 26 more democrats in the last two years, we would be much closer to balancing the budget, much closer to having an economy that created more jobs. The fact of the matter is what the republicans have done in the house is block this president from doing the things that had to be done to put the economy back on task, and then turn around and blame the president for what they did. That is why we need Lori Saldana in congress!
...
The revolution happens when you elect ordinary citizens to congress - congress was intended to be an organization for ordinary people. It was never intended to be a lifetime sinecure for people who had so much money they could buy, [put, all the television stuff] they could out there...
And Councilwoman Marti Emerald spoke as well, at 5:24
When Lori wins, San Diego will have an honest and honorable voice on Capitol Hill.
(I can't get Vimeo to embed, and I'm sorry I don't have a full transcript; I'm really crunched for time and I just wanted to get this out.)
So, the other news is that Lori's opponent Scott Peters (or Minimitt, as we like to call him) just loaned his own campaign $1.25 million. That really blew us away.
It's hilarious for a couple of reasons: first, that there are a few self-interested media people and politicos in this city who have been known as "progressives" who have chosen to endorse Scott over Lori. The most frequently cited reason is that "he has the money, the deep pockets, and he can out-raise Lori". Well, they were wrong. Lori raised over $90K this last quarter, compared to an anemic $64K by Scott. Not a great showing for a guy who is supposed to have all the most powerful San Diego players in his back pocket.
Second, it's hilarious because he has been pounding mailboxes with ineffective mailers, and he bought not one but two television spots that are in their whole pretty lame. His mantra is that he's a calm, reasonable guy who can "get it done" (yes, that's his slogan). He's been endorsed by the 42-member New Democrat Coalition in congress (for those of you who don't know, they are the legacy of the failed Democratic Leadership Coalition, or DLC).
He won't articulate an exact position on anything; for instance, he is on the record saying that he would consider cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and has been trying to walk it back ever since.
However, after all the heat he has taken from Lori's campaign, PCCC and the media, he still cannot bring himself to say the words "I will not cut Social Security or Medicare". He is known for back-room dealing, and that is why he refuses to take a stand on anything - everything is on the table for Scott Peters. His bland and dispassionate mailings and ads reflect this refusal to articulate his positions.
Lori is also ahead in the polls; she was beating Peters and tied with republican incumbent Brian Bilbray back in January in a poll by Independent Voters Network. In April, the campaign commissioned a poll by FM3 in which she was beating Peters and in a statistical tie with Bilbray, and just last week IVN released a non-scientific survey with the same results. Three polls, three similar outcomes... It's ridiculous to think that with Peters' millions he didn't commission at least one poll; I'm sure he did and we don't know about it because he got the same results.
One more cherry on the cake for Lori in what has already been a pretty great week - the leading progressive publication in San Diego, the OB Rag (Ocean Beach), has endorsed her for the 52nd district. This is made even more awesome by the fact that earlier this week Andy Cohen, one of their "columnists" (actually, a self-described sports writer who dabbles in politics) endorsed Peters. He basically had starbursts and tingly legs because Peters agreed to sit down with him for an hour and charmed his socks off. So while the Peters campaign was crowing about this "endorsement" from the most progressive paper in the district, the paper came out the next day with their official endorsements and announced their support for Lori.
So please, check out Lori's website, donate to her ActBlue page, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter @Lori4Congress !!!