I was asked to write a letter concerning the CA election for a local newsp

[CAcyclist]

newspaper. Can I get some feedback on this article?
It is clear, are the references understandable - is it too vitriolic? I have a good relationship with this paper, which, while it did endorse Westly to my dismay, I don't want to damage. I am not sure this is the kind of letter Jon (the editor) has in mind, but it's the letter I want to write. I can always send this out to other papers and write him a different one if this is too strong. Please don't anyone copy any of this letter, though, until tomorrow and then I would be honored if anyone wanted to copy it for themselves - I just want to be the first one to publish it.

The LTTE:(Concerning the California Governor's race)

Dear Editor,

Note:The following letter is commentary on the whole mass media spectacle surrounding this election, not the Daily Journal.

As dependable as an Osama video appearing after a Republican poll down-turn,we hear the perennial prediction of the "lowest turn-out ever" from the mass media every time we have an election, particularly a primary.

From my stand-point, this election was intensely important to many. As I write this, we won't have the final count until probably Wednesday, due to the need to count paper ballots in Alameda County, the election problems in Sacramento, San Joaquin and Kern Counties and the large number of absentee ballots.

The conclusions I have derived from this election are that the mass media, particularly the papers owned by corporate conglomerates, have lost sight of their duty to inform the public and, instead, prefer a spectacle.

In fact, the other words that came to mind, were, as Jon Stewart might say, what do you call it? Oh, yeah - partisan hackery. Never mind that these two are both nominally Democrats.

We have one candidate, supported by 67% of state Democratic delegates, with a very detailed plan, who clearly and firmly called for raising taxes on the very wealthy and corporations, the same group of people who enjoyed tax cuts amounting to 17 BILLION dollars from the federal government, in order to put California back on track as the best state in the nation. We have another candidate who paid $34 million from his own very deep pocket out of $36 million spent, whose only experience in office is signing checks, who couldn't generate more than 20% support at the Democratic State Convention, and who has no clear plan for what he's going to do when in office or how he's going to pay for it.

This isn't American Idol, folks. The way we vote has real consequences for what happens to us individually and as a state. If we can't get real information from the mass media, we are lost.

So, as Jon Stewart might say, Stop. Just Stop. Stop the affected cynicism, stop the spin, stop the he said/she said "reporting". Prove to us that investigative journalism isn't just fiction any more, after all.

[brook]

1. Seems like a damned

good letter to me. Clear, concise and truthful.

[CAcyclist]

2. Thank you!nt (edited for sp.)