L.A. County Democratic Party

Statement from California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to sign SB 924, allow voters to voice their opinion on Iraq

“Regardless of the Governor’s views on the war in Iraq, California voters deserve the right to have their voices be heard. In this war that has now claimed more than 3,700 American troops, Californians have suffered the largest toll, having lost more than 400 of our own in Iraq.

“Recent polling shows that two out of three Californians support either withdrawing some or all of the U.S. troops now stationed in Iraq.

“The self-proclaimed ‘People’s Governor’ owes it to the people of California, our troops and their loved ones to let the voice of the voters be heard.”

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Following is an editorial from today’s Orange County Register:

Let Californians be heard on Iraq
There’s no good reason not to have a referendum on the Feb. 5 ballot.
An Orange County Register Editorial

It is difficult to imagine what great harm would be done by having a measure on California’s ballot in February calling on President Bush to begin the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. It would provide a snapshot of public opinion on what is shaping up to be the key national issue of the day. And it could spark more discussion among the people rather than the politicians.

The state Assembly voted Monday to put such a referendum on the Feb. 5 ballot. Since the Senate passed a slightly different version in June, it has been sent back to the Senate. Once the Senate agrees, it will go the Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desk for signature or veto. The governor hasn’t made up his mind and is said to be a little leery of having to address the issue.

He should go ahead and sign it.

One of the consequences of never having had a formal declaration of war (as we still believe the Constitution requires) before invading Iraq is that the kind of far-ranging discussion that should have preceded such a drastic step was short-circuited. A referendum in California would have no power to bind or mandate the president. But it would offer him and his advisers important information about how the people view the Iraq war almost five years on. Not that California is necessarily representative of the nation as a whole, but the views of Californians are not unimportant.

The most childish reason to oppose putting such a referendum on the ballot is the argument that even discussing the idea of troop withdrawal will hurt morale in the military in Iraq and perhaps even endanger the troops. There’s little or no reason to suspect this is true. We’ve read interviews with soldiers and Marines who support the mission passionately. We’ve read interviews with military people in Iraq who have become deeply disillusioned with the war – or convinced that the Iraqi people don’t want what America is offering as badly as the administration wants to offer it – and would welcome immediate withdrawal. We’re in no position to know the precise breakdown, but soldiers in Iraq have more than one monolithic viewpoint.

The one thing we’re quite sure of us that whatever they may think privately of their mission, the men and women on duty in Iraq are professional and well-trained enough that learning some people back home are questioning the wisdom of the war will not turn them into quivering blobs of self-pity and remorse who simply won’t be able to carry on. They have much more important (and threatening) things to worry about. The notion that their morale would crumble if such a referendum were held is a profound insult to them.

Even if a referendum on the war will have no immediate practical effect, it will provide valuable information. If it helps to inspire more wide-ranging and passionate (but civil and informed, we hope) discussion and debate, it will serve the purpose of strengthening civil society back home.

Governor Signs 2007-08 Budget

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the 2007-08 Budget into law on Friday, August 24. The Governor vetoed $703 million in General Fund spending, extensively cutting healthcare and socila service programs.

A new California Budget Project summary reviews the Governor’s vetoes, changes in the final budget agreement as compared to the plan passed by the Assembly in July, and reviews key policy changes in the budget.

To read more go to www.cbp.org

To link directly to the Governor’s summary of the 2007-08 Budget and a listing of his vetoes go to: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/Enacted/BudgetSummary/FullBudgetSummary.pdf.

Statement of LACDP Chair Eric Bauman on Adoption of the Budget

“After seven weeks of holding the people and government of California hostage to a hyper-partisan right-wing agenda, enough Republicans in the State Senate finally broke free today to enable passage of the long-overdue state budget.

“This budget is by no means a great victory for the people of California, but in the face of unrelenting partisanship from the Senate Republicans, its passage is welcome.

“For weeks now we have watched as the Senate Republicans moved the goalposts every time a deal was at hand.

Did they do it to ensure a budget that protects those most in need? No!
Did they do it to ensure California remained fiscally sound? No!
Did they do it to cut spending on projects they hold dear? No!

“They did it in an attempt to strangle California’s landmark law to fight global climate change, an issue that has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the budget and to attempt to advance other parts of their conservative agenda, so clearly out of step with the majority of Californians.

“It took concerted, outspoken and unbending leadership from Democratic Senate leader Don Perata and Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, who spoke out each day and refused to make a difficult budget even worse. It took the Governor traveling to Republican districts to demand these ideologues put the people of California ahead of their partisan interests.

“Many people have felt the sting of this unnecessary budgetary delay; especially small businesses that operate and provide services to nursing homes and child care centers. Community colleges, which faced the unknown as they prepared to begin the fall semesters and tens-of-thousands of students who did not know if their college grants and loans would be available in time to begin college.

“We urge Governor Schwarzenegger to spare those in greatest need, the elderly, disabled and others dependent on the state for healthcare and other critical services from further harsh cuts in the budget. Through the line-item veto process.

“The only answer to this budgetary insanity is the elimination of the two-thirds requirement for adopting a budget. The people of California should never again face the prospect of a small, unyielding, partisan mob, upending the operations of the State of California and forcing innocent people and small businesses to suffer.

“The LA County Democratic Party stands ready to join with our colleagues and like-minded groups across our state to once-and-for-all put an end to these budgetary shenanigans.”

URGENT VOTER FRAUD ALERT - LYNWOOD CITY RECALL ELECTION

Candidates Edward R. Jacinto and Jim Morton falsely claimed Democratic Party endorsement

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LACDP) today learned that two Lynwood City Council candidates running in the Lynwood City Special Recall Election on Tuesday, September 25, 2007, have falsely claimed the endorsement of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. 
 
Candidate Edward R. Jacinto, running to replace City Councilmember Fernando Pedroza and Jim Morton, running to replace City Councilmember Leticia Vasquez, have falsely claimed the endorsement on their campaign literature and at public events.
 
The Los Angeles County Democratic Party has not endorsed any candidates running in the Lynwood City Special Recall Election.
 
Jacinto and Morton have been sent official cease-and-desist letters by LACDP’s legal counsel. Additional actions against them may be taken to ensure the voters of Lynwood are not further misled.
 
“By falsely claiming the endorsement of the Democratic Party, these candidates have damaged the integrity of the election process and have misled voters.  We are outraged and do not condone their behavior in misleading voters in the name of the Democratic Party. This type of fraudulent behavior will not be tolerated,” said Eric C. Bauman, Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
 
The Los Angeles County Democratic Party is the official governing body of the Democratic Party in the County of Los Angeles and works in cooperation with the State and National Democratic Committees.  LACDP is the largest local Democratic Party entity in the United States, representing nearly 2 million registered Democrats.
 
LACDP conducts the Democratic Party campaign in Los Angeles under the general direction of the California Democratic State Central Committee. It is responsible to build the party organization at the district, regional, and county levels, to register Democratic voters and to encourage Election Day turn out among Democratic voters.  The essence of LACDP’s mission is to encourage the fullest possible participation of all Democratic voters and to disseminate the Democratic message, platform and philosophy.
 
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The Los Angeles County Democratic Party

in collaboration with

The California  Democratic Party, Stonewall Democratic Club,
LA Stonewall Young Democrats, & LA County Young Dems

present

UNITY FORUM WATCH PARTY

August 9th, 2007

5:45 pm - 8:00 pm

at HERE Lounge

(Parking is available in parking lots on Santa Monica Blvd)
696 N Robertson, West Hollywood, CA
Free Admission

Join us as we watch a forum with the Democratic Candidates for President

Sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and the Logo Network.

If you can’t join us, you can view the forum on online at  www.logoonline.com.