Power to the People

STUDENT DEMONSTRATION TIME
Dozens of UC Berkeley students and other activists staged a real protest at a mock refugee camp on the grounds of the State Capitol on Tuesday May 30th. Their goal: to force a change in the way California invests millions of dollars. So they pitched tents at “Camp Darfur” to take a stand against the genocide now sweeping the African nation of Sudan, where an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 people have been killed and millions more are homeless.

Cal student Lisa Xu tells Capitol Insider, “One thing we can do is put a bit of economic pressure on the government of Sudan – and we can do that by divesting from the oil companies and telecommunications companies that are operating in the region.”

The students want the State of California to actively divest from companies that do business in Sudan…and they’re supporting a bill by Assemblymembers Paul Koretz (D) West Hollywood and Jerome Horton (D) Inglewood that would force the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teacher Retirement System to divest assets supporting Sudan within 18 months. The University of California Regents have already voted to divest tens of millions of dollars..and so far there is no formal opposition to the Assembly bill. Expect a vote on the Assembly floor later this week.

LATINO VOTERS
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election campaign scored a major coup, political analysts say, by hiring Arnold Torres to court Latino voters in the race for Governor. Torres is well know in the Latino community as a political analyst for Univision.

Torres is hoping his message of less government regulation will resonate with the growing Latino community. Torres tells Capitol Insider, “New citizens in this country, they want to get started in their businesses and it’s much better for them if you have less taxes, if you’ve got less regulation taking place for them to experience the American dream and the California dream.”

Democrats are not impressed. Democratic political strategist Bob Mulholland had this zinger for Capitol Insider, “Nothing will remove the tattoo on Schwarzenegger’s right arm which says ‘Yes on Proposition 187′.” Prop 187 was the 1994 ballot initiative supported by former Governor Pete Wilson. It passed with nearly 60% support and was designed to deny social services, health care and public education to undocumented immigrants.

The measure was later overturned by the courts..but many political observers believe Prop 187 turned Latino voters away from the Republican party in large numbers. Capitol Insider will be watching closely to see if Arnold Torres can make a difference in this year’s Governor’s race.

Presidential Politics

FOX VISIT
In a speech to California business leaders in Sacramento on Friday May 26, Mexican President Vicente Fox focused on his country’s growing economy – but he couldn’t avoid the biggest hot button issue in American politics – immigration reform. Fox praised the U.S. Senate for its recent vote making it easier for millions of undocumented workers to become American citizens. Fox declared: “They are now going to be able to live together. They don’t have to be hiding again. They can do their work with loyalty, with productivity, with dignity. I think it was a great, great, step.”

Or a giant step in the wrong direction, according to many Republicans at the State Capitol. On Thursday May 25, half a dozen GOP members boycotted President Fox’s speech to the California legislature.

REPUBLICAN REVOLT
It started with an insult from Assemblyman Ray Haynes of Murrieta
who stated, “Quite frankly, I don’t think that President Fox has a lot to say to the people of the State of California. He should go home, fix his border, fix his economy and keep his people at home.” Then Assemblyman Russ Bogh of Beaumont lobbed the next grenade saying, ” We have hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants coming across our border and I’m very concerned that the Government of Mexico is sometimes encouraging this.”

Next the Senate got into the act with Dave Cox of Fair Oaks encouraging those members attending the speech to wear yellow pins proclaiming, “No Mas”, meaning No More undocumented immigrants. Eight GOP members did just that.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had to step in to calm the waters saying “Mexico is a good friend of the United States” and the #1 trading partner for California. While the Republican legislators reveled in the political protest, some Democrats called it not a revolt..just revolting..and an insult to the President of a neighboring country.

BACKFIRE AT THE BALLOT?
The Republican protest sent a powerful and provocative message to be sure, but one that some political pundits say could backfire against the GOP. Political analyst Steve Swatt tells Capitol Insider, “I think there’s a potential against the Republicans in general, amongst the Latino voters, which is the fastest growing voting block in California.”

Political analyst Barbara O’Connor, Director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media, tells us, “It sends a hardliner signal and the language that they’re using is emotionally laden – you know – take care of your own border, keep your people at home – is not conciliatory language. It’s not likely to lead to an agreement that both sides can support”.

IMPEACH BUSH
California is a die-hard blue state where liberal Dems are seeing red over President Bush on an issue that could turn out to be red meat for Republicans. Turns out 8 member of the State Assembly have introduced a Resolution (Assembly Joint Resolution 39) to impeach the President. The Resolution ringleader is Assemblyman Paul Koretz of West Hollywood.

He accuses the President of high crimes against the Constitution including, “defrauding the public and Congress by using false pretenses to get us into the war in Iraq.” The other resolution renegades include Assemblymembers Mark Leno of San Francisco, Loni Hancock of Berkeley and Jackie Goldberg of Los Angeles.

Republicans are outraged, calling the AJR 39 a distraction from budget matters and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Assembly Republican Leader George Plescia of San Diego put it this way: “I just think these far reaching left wing conspiracy theories are not appropriate for the legislature to be discussing.”

One prominent political analyst thinks the resolution could backfire for the Dems. “The most likely impact of this resolution is precisely the opposite of what the Democrats want it to be,” noted Dan Schnur, a political science instructor at UC Berkeley and USC. Schnur, a former communications chief under Governor Pete Wilson, added this twist, “What the Democrats in the California legislature are doing is, they are mobilizing disillusioned conservative voters far more effectively that George Bush or Arnold Schwarzenegger or a Republican Congress ever could. What this resolution points to is the profound political divide between West Hollywood and Berkeley and the rest of the world.”

AJR 39 has no immediate timetable for a vote…it could be a week, a month or never depending on what Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez decides to do. Many political observers think the top Dems will ignore AJR 39 to maintain the current bipartisan harmony over the budget.

DUMP CHENEY
It was a rough week for Vice President Dick Cheney. The Vice President’s fundraising trip to NorCal was met with protests. First the VP attended a Sacramento fundraiser on Monday May 22nd for embattled GOP Congressman John Doolittle of Roseville, while dozens of picketers chanted and shouted slogans denouncing the duo. Leading the pack were the Raging Grannies, Bay Area activists wearing bonnets and old time granny glasses. The Raging Grannies are pushing for a “Clean Money” initiative that includes public financing of political campaigns. The Vice President also attended a fundraiser for Congressman Richard Pombo of Tracy.

MILITARY SCAMS
Two of California’s top military commanders say they’ve identified a direct threat to military readiness…and it’s not a lack of equipment or weapons. The bigger enemy they say is the vendors who offer so called payday loans at triple digit interest rates, leaving our troops vulnerable to financial attack.

Sgt. Major Wayne Bell of the U.S. Marine Corps (Camp Pendleton) really shook things up when he testified on Tuesday May 24th at the State Capitol saying: “I consider the loan practices of these vendors, payday loan lendors as a cancer to our institution. They prey on our young when they are most vulnerable.”

Those words were reinforced by Navy Captain Mark Patton from the Point Loma Naval Base in San Diego. He said the top reason why our soldiers cannot deploy to Iraq is because they lack security clearance due to financial troubles. Patton added ” The main reason we believe it’s happening is because of the predatory practices that are seeking out these Sailors and Marines and selling them high interest loans, getting them into an endless cycle of debt.” In response, the pay day loan folks say the soldiers are “misusing” their product.

The commanders say 1 out of every 5 people using payday loans comes from the military and they’re asking California lawmakers to help protect the men and women who are protecting us. Bay Area Senator Liz Figueroa of Sunol is holding hearings on the matter.

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Capitol Insider
The Buzz from Under the Dome Into Your Home

Polluted People: Environmental activists are urging California to become the first state in the nation to adopt a biomonitoring program, allowing consumers to test the toxins in their bodies. The Environmental Working Group recently conducted a small sample of moms and daughters with Bay Area connections. The four women found their bodies contained chemicals from some 35 different consumer products, including flame retardants. The moms and daughters are urging Capitol lawmakers to approve spending for a voluntary program that will allow anyone to be tested. The cost: between three and five million dollars with roughly one-third of the money coming from federal funding. The activists say they have a right to know what’s in their own bodies. Others accuse the group of using scare tactics to whip people up into a frenzy with incomplete data that most people won’t even understand. The American Chemistry Council says chemicals are a part of life and having them in your body doesn’t mean you’re chronically ill or dying. Expect a big fight over this one with heavyweights from the Dems, including Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata of Oakland, vowing to find money in the budget. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed similar legislation last year. If approved this year, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health Services would run the biomonitoring program jointly.

Can You Hear Me Now? A new consumer poll shows 87% of voters want 30 days to cancel a cell phone contract without any hang-ups from the service providers. Californians used to have that right, which was taken away by the California Public Utilities Commission. Bay Area Assemblyman Ira Ruskin wants to change all that. His bill giving Californians 30 days to make sure new phone works properly got good reception from consumers but died in the Assembly Utilities Committee.

Clean Money: Hundreds of registered nurses rallied around the Capitol recently, calling for sweeping reform of the state’s political system. The nurses, sworn enemies of Arnold are sponsoring a ballot measure that places tight limits on campaign contributions from lobbyists and corporations. No surprise there, but here’s the shocker: unions are also part of the reform package. Deborah Burger, president of the California Nurses Association tells Capitol Insider: “We’re trying to exclude unions, we’re trying to exclude corporations from really having undo influence on the political system, and we’re trying to eliminate lobbyists from the whole system, so it’s really a major overhaul.” If the nurses can get enough signatures, you’ll be voting on the initiative this November.

Take Five: Jazz legend and California native Dave Brubeck was honored by the state legislature on Tuesday, May 15th with a resolution marking his lifetime achievement. The 85-year-old musician, perhaps best known for his big hit Take Five, has made more than 300 records and CDs and is still touring the world. Last year he performed in more than 80 concerts, including three tours of Europe. What keeps him going on the road? It’s his passion for music. Brubeck tells CI: “The main thing is to love it. Because it’s a hard life and that great compensation is the love of what you’re doing”. Dave Brubeck is a master on the piano but also plays cello, tuba, French horns and cymbols. Let’s hope Dave keeps playing for many more years!

To Have Your Voice Heard in Capitol Insider….Contact Michael Luery,
Capitol Bureau Chief via e-mail at michael.luery@nbcuni.com