CA Dem Party e-letter.

[pinto]

Letter from the Chairman


Democrats from all areas of our state are coming together to put forward an agenda and a message that is coherent, concise and focused. From the grassroots many great ideas are emerging.

A few weeks ago I met with over 100 activists in Los Angeles, many of whom will be at our State Convention (April 15-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center). The meeting was terrific, and we had a great exchange of ideas. My thanks again to the presenters: LA County Chair Eric Bauman; Rules Committee Chair Garry Shay; Eric Bradley, Co-chair of the Resolutions Committee; Rick Jacobs; and Michael Webber.

This past Monday in Sacramento, I also met with a great group of Democrats from many of our Northern rural counties, led by Mary Longmore of Nevada County. Also present were: Karen Bernal, Mark Cesare, Jackie Lamb, Jan McDonald, Roberts Braden, Ralph Miller, Gary Prost, Jerry Straughan, Janet Stromberg, Barbara Pyle, Richard Peterson, Mayme Hubert, Lucy Sells, Bernice Boss-Demartinez and Candace Kass.

These are all committed Democrats who showed up with their "I am proud to be a Democrat" button, which I will wear at our State Convention. We spoke at length on ways to help open up year-round Democratic offices and determining a much more coherent message. My thanks to all these supporters for their time and energy.

SOCIAL SECURITY
The movement is increasing with even "Rock the Vote" in the action helping our Social Security recipients. A more troubling issue in all this is the politicization of the Social Security Administration. My friends Congressman Henry Waxman, Congressman George Miller and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi put out an important report on how the president is using the Administration to support his views on Social Security destruction.

Just as troubling is the assault on AARP. I was very disappointed in their position on the horrible Bush's Medicare Reform bill, but I applaud their opposition to the Social Security Destruction Act of 2005! Now we have a $10 million ad blitz from USA Next attacking AARP. Their leader Charlie Jarvis said that the AARP is the "boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts...we will be the dynamite that removes them." Art Linkletter, the famous TV personality back when I was a kid in the late 50's and 60's with his "Kids Say the Darndest Things," is one of the leaders of USA Next. We need to watch out for this group because they just hired the consultants to the Swift Boat Ads!

ARNOLD
And now, on to the governor. This is the guy who boasted he was the "Collectinator," yet earlier this week missed an important meeting with the nation's governors in DC to lobby for their states for more federal funding. Where was Arnold? He was AWOL, waving a green flag at a car race in Southern California! Another promise broken from this Austrian Pinnochio. Be sure and check out our new Web site feature "Arnold's Broken Promise of the Day" - the material is endless!

Like many of you, I admit I have been a fan of the "Law and Order" television show for years, and I especially admired the late Jerry Orbach. Dick Wolf, the producer of Law and Order has ponied up $44,600 as a state finance co-chair for Arnold's big soiree at the Century Plaza March 16, 2005. He joined Jerry Perenchio, head of Univision (who just gave $1.5 million on Thursday); Tony Robbins and others to help Arnold take away the hard-earned pensions of our firefighters, state employees, nurses, and especially police officers - isn't that ironic!

It's outrageous to see the wealthy and powerful helping Arnold pummel our teachers and nurses in the fight of their lives - also ironic because none of these privileged will ever suffer because of education cuts or deficient health care. It's just too easy for those at the top to think they know what's best for the average working citizen. They don't!

Hats off to Assemblymember Paul Koretz and our labor leaders for attacking Arnold's ridiculous "fake-news" video which he tried to pass off as a news story supporting the governor's proposal to strip workers of their right to lunch breaks! Californians are tired of his phony bag of tricks! Wake up, Arnold! You are not in Hollywood anymore. We need to continue reminding people that this governor proclaims he is for the workers, the "common" people, yet at every turn he is trying to take away the very simple rights we fought for long ago to have in the workplace.

Thanks to Jim Gordon, Chair of our Labor Caucus and President of the Consumer Federation of California for allowing us to post his important message on the recent news on privacy rights and ChoicePoint on our Web site. You may remember ChoicePoint from the 2000 elections when the state of Florida hired a ChoicePoint subsidiary to clean up its voter file. ChoicePoint took this work to heart and named at least 8000 Florida voters as felons, who were, in fact, not felons. Jim's letter is something everyone should read.

Regarding Democrats and faith, I want to share portions of a touching and articulate letter that I received from Rosemary White:

"I'm an endangered species. I'm a Mormon Democrat. I grew up in a family that was proud to be both, but that pride wasn't often shared. Some of my earliest memories are stories told by my relatives about taunts and insults from other church members: 'You can't be a good Mormon and be a Democrat.' When I got older and that remark was directed to me, I remember the frustration and the anger. Now it seems that the insult has widened. Apparently, you can't be a good Christian, or someone with faith and values, and be a Democrat. Apparently, if you're a "good" person, you must be a Republican as well. It isn't right. It isn't fair. It should be confronted in a strong way. The Democratic Party has got to show America that the Republicans do not own religion. They don't own God. They don't own belief or values. They don't speak for God and they are not God's party. Neither political party can or should claim that."

Our Party is responding, by reaching out to people and sharing our values with America. I applaud the work that our Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi is doing to create a bigger tent for our Party. She has taken the lead by creating the House Democrats' Faith Working Group to work "with faith communities on common values such as fighting poverty, improving schools, speaking out against materialism and greed, providing better housing, and fighting for social and economic justice."

Sincerely,


Senator Art Torres (Ret.)
Chairman, California Democratic Party


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News Roundup

Grave Medicare Ills Await Attention
Associated Press
A looming Medicare shortage is seven times the size of the one that Social Security faces and nearly four times the entire federal debt. It is not being addressed by President Bush and Congress, and, to some, that is just as well.

Overhaul a Tough Sell, GOP Lawmakers Find
Los Angeles Times
Discouraged by the feedback they received in meetings with constituents, Republican lawmakers returned to Congress this week convinced that it would take time to build support for President Bush's still-evolving plan to overhaul Social Security.

An Early Call for Compromise on Social Security
New York Times
Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Finance Committee, said Monday that if public opinion did not soon begin to swing in favor of President Bush's Social Security plan, it would be an indication that the plan was in trouble.

Judge Rules Governor Illegally Blocked New Nursing Staff Ratios
Associated Press
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suffered a major potential setback Thursday when a judge tentatively ruled that he illegally blocked a law boosting the number of nurses needed to staff California's hospitals.

Opinion: Legislative Bypass
San Francisco Chronicle
In January, Arnold Schwarzenegger picked on four problems that he wanted immediate action on: turning the state employee pension plan into a 401(k)-type plan; transforming the way teachers get hired and paid; changing the way legislative districts are drawn; and putting limits on state spending by triggering across-the-board cuts whenever revenues decline.

New Poll Finds Bush Priorities Are Out of Step With Americans
New York Times
Americans say President Bush does not share the priorities of most of the country on either domestic or foreign issues, are increasingly resistant to his proposal to revamp Social Security and say they are uneasy with Mr. Bush's ability to make the right decisions about the retirement program, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

<snip>

Quote of the Week:

"I love your sweater. How's the lunch? What are you drinking? It's on me."
(Gov. Schwarzenegger's comment to a woman while table-hopping at a Sacramento eatery as part of his initiatives campaign kick-off, looking to curry favor among the voters, one drink at a time, March 1, 2005.)

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