Election 2008: September 2008 Archives

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin will make her second trip to
Southern California this weekend with a GOP rally in Carson.
Palin will be appearing at a campaign rally at the Home Depot Center, 18400 Avalon Way, Carson, as part of a get out the vote effort of the party.

A fundraiser on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama, featuring Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, is planned for Saturday at The Edison in downtown Los Angeles, a former power plant now serving as a meeting place for power players. Council President Eric Garcetti is one of the hosts.
Billed as an environmental fundraiser, among the items noted about the event are fully compostable plateware and flatware is being provided by California Recycles , an offsetting of green house gas emissions through organizations such as Tree People and The Climate Registry and organic food and drink.
"Angelenos will come together to express their concern for the environment and show their support for Presidential candidate and environmental supporter Senator Barack Obama," the invitation says.
"This event aims to be an evening that will take a more thoughtful approach to political fundraising through environmental and sustainable means, while raising campaign funds for the last push of Senator Obama."
Cost of the event is $500 per perwson, $2,500 for those who want to go to a VIP reception with Clinton.

Sen. John McCain issued a statement saying that while work still needed to be done on the Wall Street bailout, he is confident a framework for an agreement will be reached this weekend.
As a result, "The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the Senator will travel to the debate this afternoon. Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement, especially those of taxpayers and homeowners."

Former Rep. Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president, says he's willing to take on Sen. Barack Obama in Friday's scheduled debate if Sen. John McCain won't.
"For the past several elections, candidates have used the CPD (Commission on Presidential Debates) as an official buffer to keep competition out of the two-party presidential contest," Barr said. "McCain publicly proved with his announcement what we've been saying all along: The candidates call the shots as to when to debate, where to debate and who to debate.
"Given Senator McCain's political stunt to avoid the debate, I ask that Friday's debate moves forward without him, as I am more than willing to step in to participate."
Barr noted that former President Ronald Reagan debated third-party candidate John Andreson, one on one an din 1992, George H.W. Bush demanded the inclusion of H. Ross Perot in all three presidential debates.

California Faultline, the political blog of KNBC, is reporting another dustup between the campaigns of Councilman Bernard Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The two who are competing for the seat on the Board of Supervisors being vacated by Supervisor Yvonne Burke, have been engaged in a hotly contested race, with a series of charges and counter-charges.
The most recent involve Parks, who registered twice with the American Independent Party, an apparent mistake when he meant to register as decline to state. Officials with the AIP estimate up to one-third of their registered voters did so by mistake.
Here is the complete blog item and the link to the voter registration forms is here: California Faultline.:
Parks registered twice with American Independent Party, but party's chairman says 1/3rd of members may have have joined mistakenly.

On the first document, from 1992, Parks does check off "American Independent Party," but below it writes in "Independent." The form from 1996 only has "American Independent Party" checked off, but offers no other field to write in the party."

For the full item, go to ">California Faultline.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen released new voter registration figures on Friday, showing that interest in the presidential election remains high.
Bowen said the state now has 16.2 million registered voters, with Democrats representing 43 percent of all voters and also representing the biggest gains.
The full statement is on the jump...

The family feud raging within the Parks for Supervisor Campaign since the primary came to a head last week, when field director/campaign manager Herb Wesson III left the building. Betty Pleasajt in the Wave Newspapers

Wesson, son of City Councilman Herb Wesson, quit Councilman Bernard Parks' campaign for county supervisor Sept. 10 because "there was some punk [two expletives deleted] going on that is not politics," Wesson said.

As former LA Mayor Richard Riordan entered Tuesday night's Barack Obama fundraiser in Beverly Hills he told CBS2, "When I was mayor I had dealings with McCain where I didn't respect him." Courtesy of LAObserved on KNBC-TV
Riordan, a Republican, is now endorsing Obama for President, saying, "I think he's a much more open person. He's young, he has more energy, more electricity." [watch here]

After being hammered by the campaign of Sen. John McCain and under fire from his own supporters to fight back, the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama in a memo to reporters said today is the first day of the new campaign.
And, campaign manager David Plouffe said the Obama campaign plans to fight hard.
Countering the controversy over pig on a lipstick and new McCain ads again calling Obama a celebreity, the Obama campaign has its own new ads out, this time questioning if McCain is out of touch with voters.
The full memo follows:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority risked violating state law recently by using its taxpayer-funded Web site to potentially promote its proposed half-percent sales tax increase, the Los Angeles County Counsel's Office has determined. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Following the counsel's advice, the agency removed material from the site that appeared to support Measure R, although officials said they may replace it with more neutral phrasing that conforms to state law.

But at the same time, the agency is moving forward with a $4.1 million public-information campaign that is apparently legal, although it has raised the ire of taxpayer groups and at least one county supervisor.

Tony Bell, spokesman for Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, said the supervisor plans to ask County Counsel Ray Fortner for a report on the information campaign.

"A public agency ought not to spend public dollars campaigning for a proposed ballot measure," Bell said. "That presents a legal question, and it may constitute a misuse of public funds."

As part of the information campaign, the MTA has placed advertisements on the radio and in local newspapers referring people to www.metro.net to get more information about the ballot measure. The MTA plans to spend $23,885 on radio advertisements and $884,948 on print advertisements through Nov. 4 in connection with the proposed tax increase.

T he internet newspaper Politico asked a number of people what questions they would post to Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin if they were to sit down with her for an interview.
Here is a sampling of the questions suggested from a variety of sources.

Barbra Streisand will be among the headliners at a fund-raiser for Barack Obama on Sept. 16, where she will perform for the presidential candidate at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Daily Variety.

The plans for the event were outlined this morning and Streisand confirmed that she would take the stage. The hotel ballroom holds an estimated 700 people.

Obama's fund-raiser is expected to be his final visit to raise money here before the general election.

Obama will start the evening with a 5 p.m. dinner event for about 250 people at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, the historic estate once owned by the legendary Doheny family. Tickets for the event are $28,500.

Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood inadvertently became the backdrop for Sen. John McCain last night in his acceptance speech for the GOP presidential nomination.
The background was supposed to be of the Walter Reed Medical Center.

Don't tell Republican presidential nominee John McCain's faithful in the San Fernando Valley that this is a "blue state" and that their freshly-minted national ticket doesn't have a prayer of winning California.Tony Castro in the Daily News.

"We hope to win L.A. County, and if we can win L.A. County, there's a chance we can carry California," said Nancy Spero of Tarzana, co-chairwoman of the San Fernando Valley McCain campaign.

Spero is one of many of McCain's faithful backers who say his prospects have been brightened by the choice of running mate Sarah Palin.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Cal., offered a critical view of Palin's speech:

Last night, Sarah Palin proved that she can throw a punch--one packed with sarcasm to divert attention from her lack of experience.
Palin didn't even attempt to make the case to the American people that she is ready to be Vice President or President, should that become necessary. Sarah Palin is a great candidate for the far right, but after examining her slim record in office, I cannot imagine mainstream Americans would support a Vice Presidential nominee with such extreme views.
Palin would criminalize abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, and does not believe insurance companies should cover birth control.
Palin remains unconvinced that human activity is the cause of global warming, even though the world's leading scientists unequivocally agree that it is.
Palin has a one-dimensional answer to our energy crisis - the Exxon policy of giving more leases to Big Oil. She has no concern about our thriving coastal, tourism-based economy and no requirement that they drill in the
millions of acres where they already hold undeveloped leases. Sarah Palin is a candidate who is extreme, not mainstream.
In addition, Palin is under investigation by her state legislature for abusing her executive power and when she was mayor, she left the people of Wasilla in debt.
The choice of Sarah Palin by John McCain shows a real lack of judgment.

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Delegate Joel Fox of Fox and Hounds Daily offered this review of Gov. Sarah Palin:
Vice-Presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska lit up the Republican National Convention last night and turned anxious delegates into wild cheerleaders. Many delegates admitted waiting with unease for what amounted to a coming out party for the little-known governor. If Palin didn't perform well, the delegates felt the campaign for President would never gain momentum.
But measuring the feelings of delegates who witnessed the speech in the Xcel Center, all concerns were put to rest. Former California Governor Pete Wilson said she was subject to "uncharitable speculation" before the speech that she would not do well. He said he was confident going into the speech that she would succeed. After he heard the speech, Wilson said, "My confidence was more than vindicated. She connected with the audience here in the hall and in the living rooms all over America."
Political strategist Jeff Randle said that Palin had no room for error after the pounding she had taken since John McCain's announcement that he had chosen her as a running mate. Randle said she made no error. Anaheim mayor Curt Pringle admitted to being anxious about her performance before the speech but concluded after the speech that it was "great and she over-performed."
Palin surprised many when she took to old fashion political hardball going after Democratic nominee Barack Obama. Speaking to Obama's theme of change Palin said, "In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."

The McCain campaign put out these statements lauding the performance of Gov. Sarah Palin:
Patricia Bates, Orange County Supervisor: "Sarah Palin, like John McCain, knows what real reform and the right kind of change look like because she has taken on special interests and government corruption as governor of Alaska. She also knows the importance of finding realistic solutions to our current energy economy and that national security is imperative. John McCain could not have chosen a better or stronger running mate."

Sharon Runner, Assemblywoman: "Sarah Palin, as a former mayor and current governor, has shown her the strength of character and integrity as she has stood up to entrenched interests and government corruption. She has proven that she will put the well-being of citizens above politics. She has the experience to handle the most important issues that we face, like national security and energy. We are delighted that John McCain chose such a strong woman to be our vice presidential nominee."

Now that Labor Day is over, the race for the county Board of Supervisors pickes up this week between Councilman Bernard Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles.
Parks holds most of the establishment endorsements, including of the member he wants to succeed, Supervisor Yvonne Burke.
Ridley-Thomas, however, has the support of unions and a number of other elected officials -- many of them colleagues in the state legislature -- who he will use in a kickoff rally this Saturday.
The event will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at his campaign headquartrs at 2092 Jefferson Blvd..
Ridley-Thomas was the top vote getter in the June primary, falling short of winning the election outright.

John McCain's prepping America for Sarah Palin's speech Wednesday night with a new 30-second TV ad. Sacramento Bee.
It contrasts the Alaska governor with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Palin, the presumptive vice presidential nominee, "has a record of bipartisan reform," the ad says. Obama is the Senate's "most liberal."
Palin "took on the oil producers," while Obama's reputation is "empty words," an allegation his backers would vigorously dispute.
Palin is to speak to the convention Wednesday at 10:30 P.M. eastern time.

Delegate Joel Fox gives his views for Fox and Hounds Daily on Day 2:
Fred Thompson rocked the house at the Republican Convention last night in St Paul, Minnesota, but Sen. Joe Lieberman left a larger mark on the delegates at the convention.
Democrat Lieberman went farther than he was expected to go in support of Republican McCain according to a number of delegates in the hall. Despite a host of previous speakers, it fell to the Democrat Lieberman to first mention by name Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama.
"Senator Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead. But eloquence is no substitute for a record -- not in these tough times," Lieberman said. He added, "In the Senate he has not reached across party lines to get anything significant done, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party."
Lieberman, the former Democratic Party vice-presidential nominee, offered words in support of Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Delegate Joel Fox, editor of Fox and Hounds Daily, filed this report on the first day of the convention:

With all eyes fixed on Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the Gulf Coast the Republican Convention was prepared for a quiet, uneventful, first day. Then as one reporter labeled it, the "hot story" broke--the news that presumptive Vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol was pregnant. This was the number one issue for reporters to the delegates. What would the news mean to Palin's candidacy? How will the news effect the convention? What kind of mother is Palin? Did the McCain team know and when did they know it?
The campaign's response was that McCain knew ahead of time and that the media should leave the candidate's children out of campaign reporting. Even Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama argued that the media should stay away from the story.
The delegates rallied around Palin. On nearly every occasion when the names of John McCain and Sarah Palin were mentioned from the podium, Palin's name received the louder cheer.
Watching First Lady Laura Bush and First Lady-in-waiting Cindy McCain at the podium and in front of a large screen with video messages four Republican Gulf State governors, you had to wonder if there was a subliminal message being sent about strong women and strong governors - women/governors - a now prominent woman governor in the GOP -- or am I reaching here?

Resuming its full schedule today, the Republican National Convention will try to make up for lost time in bashing Democrats.
President Bush is scheduled to address the convention via video and Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman crosses over to make the GOP keynote address.
The California Delegation also picks up todaywith a vaiety of meetings, including a post-convention appearance by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney,

Delegate Joel Fox of Fox and Hounds Daily offered his perspective:

Members of the California delegation to the Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota responded to Senator John McCain's request to limit convention activities the first day as Hurricane Gustav threatens the Southeastern United States. McCain wanted the focus to be on the potential natural disaster the hurricane might cause in the Gulf States, and declared that conventioneers should take their "Republican hats off and put their American hats on."
Public Opinion Strategies pollster and GOP delegate Steve Kinney said, "This is what should happen. This is the John McCain we know. He would never put something over the interest of the country."
Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel understood the Senator's motives but also emphasized that the business of the convention must go forward.
Congressman Dan Lungren said he had confidence that those running the convention would make good decisions, but he also said the Republicans had to present the party's candidates and ideas to the American people.
Chuck Bell, the attorney for the California Republican Party, suggested that the convention hear by satellite from the five governors in the states threatened by the hurricane. The governors of Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Texas could be seen in control, making executive decisions and keep the delegates informed of the circumstances from their states. Bell noted that the governors from all five states were Republicans.
He also pointed out that another Republican governor is set to accept the nomination for vice-president. Governors are decision makers, Bell said, and the American people will take notice.

The California Delegation to the Republican National Committee has changed its scheduled to reflect the toned-down event as a result of Hurricane Gustav.
Among the plans are fundraisers to help vicitms and other events designed to respect what those in teh affected areas are going through.
Compete statement on the jump:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the followintg statement on his decision to pass on attending the Republican National Conention:
"I am honored that Senator McCain invited me to speak at the Republican National Convention. He is an American hero, a great leader, and the right candidate to be our next president.
"However, California is always my number one priority, and there is no greater priority for our state right now than putting a responsible budget in place that fixes our broken system. Therefore -- as I have said -- I will not be attending the National Convention in order to focus on working toward a state budget agreement. It is totally unacceptable that 62 days past its deadline, the Legislature has not sent me a budget that I can sign. Just as they must do in our nation's capital, Republicans and Democrats must compromise and do the work of the people."