Kerry Leads Edwards Handily in Calif. (56-24) Kerry-Bush (53-40)

[kskiska]

(snip)

Beyond next week's election, the survey found California to be decidedly unfriendly territory for President Bush in November. Just over half of California voters disapprove of his job performance. In potential match-ups, Kerry and Edwards each finish well ahead of the Republican president -- in Kerry's case by a solid 13 points.

Indeed, the depth of opposition to Bush among Democrats, who dominate California elections, is a key factor fueling Kerry's strength in the primary, the poll found. Among likely Democratic primary voters, 56% say it was more important to choose a candidate who could drive Bush from office than one who agrees with them.

"He's one of the worst presidents we've had in 150 years," Democratic poll respondent Robert Drescher of Santa Clarita said in a follow-up interview.

(snip)

Following the pattern set in other states, Kerry's support in the primary cuts across a broad range of demographic groups. He wins majorities of men, women, liberals, moderates, Latinos, union members and senior citizens, among others.

more…
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-me-poll24feb24,1,7730978.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[PaveThePlanet]

1. Great....special interests win no matter what!! n/t

[fearnobush]

4. Get over it.

John Kerry, Special Interested?

What is so negative about collecting special interest money to bring jobs and investment to the state from which you serve? Isn’t that what Senators are suppose to do. Isn’t that why we have a big dome in Washington called the Capital building?
What’s really strange is Bush’s attacks on Kerry’s so called special interest. Or did Karl Rove, Bush’s number one political advisor forget to check George Bush’s number one special interest donor? In fact, that donor has given more money to the Bush campaign alone than Kerry’s entire 32 years of special interest donations.
Well, it turns out that this number one Bush donor just happens to be, Enron. Enron represents the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history. Enron is also responsible for squandering away over 1 billion dollars, virtually all of it’s employee 401K retirement plans. Some 20,000 workers, many of whom never worked for Enron until their utility companies were bought out by Enron lost their life savings in the blink of an eye. One may argue that Bush’s political financing was provided by the retirement accounts of these unfortunate employees.
So… “When the Democrats try to tie Bush to Enron, his No. 1 campaign contributor (executives from that single company gave the president as much as Kerry has received from all lobbyists in his entire career)”, people have a hard time buying Bush’s whole John Kerry, the monster special interest, influenced politician. What the people see instead is Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, “led away in handcuffs. In that context, Kerry's line about "Benedict Arnold CEOs" works just fine.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4339954/

[saltpoint]

2. If the GOP recalled Gray Davis and put Arnold in --

-- office, and Bush is losing by that much to a Democrat, then it doesn't speak very well for Bush.

I'm not subtracting from Kerry, Edwards, or anyone else's hard work this year -- I'm just saying that Bush is in worse shape than he may have thought.

[shanti]

3. prop 56

THEY ARE IGNORING IT or negating it! vote YES on 56!

Our Coalition of Supporters

• AARP California
• Advancement Project
• Alameda County Board of Education
• Alameda Health Consortium
• Alliance for Rural Community Health
• American Association of University Women
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
• American Lung Association of California
• Asian American Voter Education Fund
• Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
• Berkeley Unified School District
• The Breast Cancer Fund
• Bricklayers & Allied Craft Workers BAC Local #3
• Building & Construction Trades Council of Kern, Inyo & Mono Counties
• Building & Construction Trades Council of San Mateo County
• California ACORN
• California Alliance for Retired Americans
• California Association of Non-Profits
• California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
• California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems
• California Association of School Business Officials
• California Budget Project
• California Church Impact
• California Citizens for Health Freedom
• California Common Cause
• California Community College Board of Governors
• California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
• California Faculty Association
• California Academy of Family Physicians
• California Federation of Teachers
• California Foundation of Independent Living Centers
• California Independent Public Employee Legislative Council
• California for Justice
• California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
• California League of Conservation Voters
• California National Organization of Women (NOW)
• California Nurses Association
• California Physicians Alliance
• California Primary Care Association
• California Professional Firefighters
• California School Boards Association
• California School Counselor's Association
• California School Employees Association
• California School Nurses Organization
• California Seniors Coalition
• California Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• California State Association of Counties
• California State Conference of the NAACP
• California State Employees Association
• California State Firefighters' Association
• California State PTA
• California Tax Reform Association
• California Teachers Association
• California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
• Californians Against Waste
• Campaign for Long Term Care
• Caring Council
• Cement Masons Local 500
• Centennial United Methodist Women
• Center on Policy Initiatives
• Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy
• Child Care Law Center
• Citizenship Project
• City of Berkeley
• City of Cupertino
• City of Mountain View
• City of San Diego
• City of Salinas Councilmember Sergio Sanchez
• City of Sunnyvale
• City of Watsonville Mayor Pro Tem Ramon Gomez
• City of Watsonville City Councilmember Antonio Rivas
• City of Watsonville City Councilmember Manuel L. Bersamin
• City of Ukiah
• Clean Water Action
• Coalition for Community Health
• Coalition for Economic Survival
• Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
• Coalition of Labor Union Women, California Capitol Chapter
• Coalition of University Employees (CUE)
• Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU 1957
• Communications Workers of America, Local 9423
• Communications Workers of America, Local 9575
• Communities Actively Living Independent & Free
• Community Alliance for a Fair Economy
• Community Health Councils, Inc.
• Community Health Partnership
• Congress of California Seniors
• Consumer Federation of California
• Consumers Union
• Contra Costa Central Labor Council
• County of Alameda
• County of Contra Costa
• County of Los Angeles
• County of Napa
• County of San Mateo
• County of Santa Barbara
• County of Santa Clara
• County of Santa Cruz
• County of Sonoma
• Disability Resource Agency for Independent Living
• El Camino College Federation of Teachers
• Esperanza Community Housing Corporation
• Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
• Faculty Coalition for Public Higher Education
• Family Service Council of California
• Federation of Retired Union Members (FORUM)
• Friends Committee on Legislation
• Glaziers, Architectural Metals & Glass Workers Local 718
• Golden State Mobile/Manufactured Homeowners' League
• Greenbelt Alliance
• Greenlining Institute
• Gray Panthers of California
• Health Access California
• Health Care for All - California
• Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church of San Jose
• Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, AFL-CIO
• Housing California
• Human Services Alliance of Los Angeles
• ILWU Northern California District Council
• IN SPIRIT
• InnVision
• Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 551
• JERICHO
• Justice Matters Institute
• Kern Regional Center
• Kids in Common
• Korean Resource Center
• La Maestra Family Clinic, Inc.
• LandWatch Monterey County
• Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
• Latino Issues Forum
• League of Women Voters of California
• Livable Place
• LOOKOUT! Players Theater Company
• Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
• Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees
• Los Angeles Family Housing
• Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California
• Mental Health Association of California
• Mental Health Association in L.A. County
• Mental Health Association of Orange County
• Merced Mariposa Central Labor Council
• Movement Strategy Center
• National Black Business Council
• National Council of Asian American Business Associations
• Oakland ACORN
• Older Women's League of California
• Painters & Allied Trades District Council 36
• Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
• Planning & Conservation League
• Plumbers & Pipe Fitters Local 447
• Plumbers & Steam Fitters Local 398
• Plumbers & Steam Fitters U.A. Local 342
• Plumbers, Pipe, & Refrigeration Fitters Local 246
• Plumbers, Steam Fitters, & Refrigeration Fitters Local 467
• Professional Engineers in California Government
• Progressive Jewish Alliance
• Protection & Advocacy, Inc.
• Public Employees Union Local 1
• Resources for Independent Living
• Retired Public Employees Association
• Sacramento Housing Alliance
• San Bernardino Public Employees Association
• San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council
• San Francisco Community College District Federation of Teachers, AFT2121
• San Francisco Tomorrow
• San Lorenzo Valley Teachers Association
• San Jose/Evergreen Community College District Board of Trustees
• San Mateo County Central Labor Council
• Santa Cruz Action Network
• Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District
• Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District
• Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC
• Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN)
• Sierra Club California
• Small School Districts' Association
• Social Justice of Marin
• Solano Children's Alliance/Children's Network Council
• Sprinkler Fitters & Apprentices Local 483
• Sprinkler Fitters U.A. Local 790
• State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
• Surface Transportation Policy Project
• U.A. Local 114
• UAW Local 2895
• United Educators of San Francisco
• United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO
• United Food & Commercial Workers Local 870
• United Nurses Association of CA/Union of Healthcare Professionals
• United Teachers of Los Angeles
• University of California Students Association
• Vote Health
• Walts/Century Latino Organization
• Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom
• Working Assets




http://www.yeson56.org/

[ahimsa]

6. Other than WHO wants it to pass..

..can you summarize WHY it should be passed, seekthetruth? I visited the website but thought maybe it would be helpful if you could just post the reasons here.

These sound pretty good:

• Permanently forfeit the Governor’s and legislators’ salaries, per diem expense allowance, and car allowance for each day until the budget is adopted and signed into law;
• Require the Legislature to remain in session and prohibits them from acting on other legislation until the budget is adopted;
• Give voters information about the budget in the ballot pamphlet and on a an easy-to-use web site;

But I'm not sure about these:

• It "changes the vote required to adopt the state budget and related tax legislation from 2/3 to 55%." Is that a good thing in a Democrat-controlled legislature? Or are we assuming that with Arnie in place, the Repubs are going to take over the legislature soon and this is a pre-emptive strike?

• The prop also will "MAINTAIN ALL OF PROP 13’S PROPERTY TAX PROTECTION" - is prop 13 a good thing mainly for property owners? What about everyone else?

Thanks for any insight! I seek the truth too but I'm clueless about this one!

[Old and In the Way]

5. Fantastic! Looks like JK will be taking Dimson apart come November.

Oh, this is gonna be good.

[DeaconBlues]

7. Didn't Herr Gropenator just say the Bush was going to win

in California? So much for his fabulous predictions. Go back to your Hummers and cigars, you fool.