January 2005 Archives
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It is getting harder and harder to ignore the coming split between labor unions and the Democratic Party. The split has started in California cities where hairline fractures are becoming cracks and it's going all the way to the top of the ticket.
When all is said and done, there's a good chance that the Golden State may not be a reliable Democratic stronghold because it is labor that provides Democrats with money and muscle during elections.
The signs are pretty much everywhere. But let's start in San Francisco, long home to some of the West Coast's most powerful unions. First, despite it's pre-Christmas strikes, the union lost its bid to make all contracts with San Francisco's hotels run on the same national timetable.
Continue reading "Fading Unions"Mon 12:35 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Okay, so Hillary Rodham Clinton has pulled a Sister Souljah and gone to a Roe V. Wade commemorative meeting to talk about how Democrats should be less dogmatic about abortion and more interested in embracing a culture of life.
You saw this one coming, didn't you? If you didn't, the January/February Atlantic has a very good, smart essay "Clintonism RIP" on the Democrats and the Clintons by Chuck Todd.
Continue reading "Sistah Hillary"Fri 11:48 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Just in time to commemorate San Francisco's Love Spring -- or Weddingpaloza or Marriage Madness or, most self-importantly of all, the Great Gay Marriage Revolution – Goeff Callan and Mike Shaw have popped up a website previewing their documentary "Rush to the Civil Altar."
The film isn't done. It needs a new name, no? But the trailer that's up at the site (download warning: it's a huge file) has some nice inside footage and a priceless interview with couples – two older lesbians in particular – talking about just how dull they are. It's true. Ask anyone in San Francisco. Our gay residents are some of our stodgier couples.
Continue reading "Chapel of Love: The Movie"Fri 11:06 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The DNC Chairmanship race has heated up a bit. Western Democrats gathered in Sacramento on Saturday. Today MoveOn.org announced that it's throwing its fundraising and organizing weight behind Howard Dean's bid for the job. That raises new questions about what will happen if Dean doesn't get the party leadership job. Of course, the thought of Dean as DNC chair raises a whole series of questions about how Corporate Democrats will try and stop -- or modify -- his role.
It's been an interesting contest for someone sitting between tech and politics and looking at the splits that need to be healed within the party -- and fast, dammit -- I started thinking about the possibility of a split chairmanship. So I wrote about for my friends at PersonalDemocracyForum.
If that's not enough for you, I did a techier version for the nice folks at eWeek. This networking thing us Silicon Valley types like so much is catching on and that's going to mean changes -- eventually -- in Washington.
Wed 09:49 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Markos Moulitsas, DailyKos himself, writes in to tell me about his choice of credentials at the DNC's Western Caucus Saturday.
You didn't get a response because this address only works for a handful of people. It is spam blocked for everyone else. If you need to talk to me, you can use the form on my site.
As for "press" badge, I am media. Jon Stewart would wear the same badge, even though he's not a journalist. Same with Dave Barry. Or a style columnist for Bazaar.
In today's media environment, "press" and "journalism" are no longer synonymous. Not everything published is "journalism". "Press" is actually more akin to "media".
Seriously, are you finding this that confusing? It's not that complicated.
Well, you know I think it's safe to say that there's a lot less confusion here than meets the eye. It's arrogance that got Big Media. And it's contagious.
Wed 09:19 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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A great deal of virtual ink was spilt last week in long discussions about Markos Moulitsas – known to most folks as DailyKos – and his insistence that he's not a journalist, he's an activist.
Since he's a partisan Left-wing blogger – not a journalist or, God forbid, a mainstream media representative – Kos argues that he's doesn’t have to worry about some of the conflict-of-interest restraints that tie down others who style themselves as reporters and writers. So he can accept payment from candidates. Or have clients who are advertisers and advertiser who are clients who benefit from his fundraising. It's a convincing argument – up to a point. A brief and unstable point.
Seeing Kos – he introduces himself with the simple "I'm Markos" -- Saturday at the Western Caucus of the Democratic National Committee brought the back the questions raised last week with full force. Kos, the partisan blogger, was wearing a green card, a press credential. Sitting with a group of Simon Rosenberg supporters, Kos wasn't wearing the yellow cards hanging around staffers' necks or the necks of those calling themselves "observers" – folks attending for some particular purpose or cause. Nah. He was wearing a press card.
Kos hasn't responded to an email asking about his choice of identification. And, make no mistake, it was a choice. The Western Caucus was keeping track of who attended and the organizations represented. And he's certainly justified in claiming that his audience makes him a kind of reporter so people who talk to him know they have a reduced expectation of privacy. That's why the press gets tagged.
But this sort of behavior undermines all the arguments Kos made last week. And it leads us right back to the path of full and open disclosure, now doesn't it? And that's a path Kos is refusing to take. That's not good for anyone who's calling themselves a "blogger."
Mon 09:35 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Finally. The San Francisco Chronicle got around to sending someone to write a decent and insightful profile of Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Writer Mike Weiss gets Newsom to talk about his father, his mother and his relationship with the Getty family. He gets Ann Getty to talk about her husband's relationship with the Newsom and – at last! – get at the source of Gordon Getty's closeness to Gavin's father, Bill.
This is a well-known story. It remains a mystery to me why The Chron's political writers have not seen fit to tell it. It explains a great deal: Why Newsom remains close to the Gettys. Why Gordon Getty has always looked out for him. He's just returning a favor. A big favor. Judge Newsom got Gordon Getty access to his father's billions and it did it at a time when the money was very much needed. Using his skill as a lawyer, Newsom broke the trust J.P. Getty, a nasty, miserly old many by any description, had set up to reduce his tax burden. This is the same nasty, miserly old billionaire who only grudgingly agreed to pay his grandson's – Gordon's nephew's -- Italian kidnappers. And it was Bill Newsom who carted the cash to get him released.
Sun 12:58 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Okay. Keep it up. Sit on your wallet. Ignore the fact that this increasingly popular website is having a pledge drive.
I know, I know, you think, hey, those other guys will give – they're richer than me – she'll get by, Politics From Left to Right will survive.
Guess again.
I am very hopeful this will be the last time I'm going to have to turn to readers and ask directly for your support. The tools needed to keep a business like this one – more sophisticated advertising and investor support – are falling into place. What started as a cutting-edge experiment is gaining strength and power – hell, they're even having a Harvard conference about blogging and credibility. You're right if you think the money can't be far behind.
We are close. But we're not there yet. And that's why I need your help.
Expansion and growth cost money. Bandwidth isn't free. Neither is site maintenance. So pony up. Hit the PayPal button or click the Amazon link. Your brain will thank you.
How much? That's entirely up to you. But if you're a regular reader, I'm saying $25. That's less than I pay each month for my lame-ass daily newspaper, The San Francisco Chronicle.
And don’t forget: Prizes. Dinner at Incanto ($75) or a cool poster commemorating San Francisco's gay marriage fest for some lucky subscribers.
Thanks. Support details are here, also, for those of you who like more traditional means of payment.
Thu 11:40 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This week's eWeek column is about stem cell research. It's a follow-up to the passage of California's initiative allowing the state to spend $3 billion over the next 10 years to fund such research,
Everyone, it seems, is getting in on the act. Any state with a major university – New Jersey and Princeton, Connecticut and Yale, New York and Columbia as well as Rockefeller and Cornell, Massachusetts with Harvard, MIT and the UMasses – is worried about being outclassed by California.
The working total of money that could be authorized? Another $3 billion, give or take. Not all these proposals are going to get enacted. But the political grandstanding is certainly meant to reassure large institutions worried about losing funding – and jobs – that their local politicians are behind them.
So, one ballot initiative has unleashed the potential to double the amount being spent on this research. I'm not exactly sure this is what conservative have in mind when they talk about federalism but it's a good example – a great example, in fact – of the course Democrats could steer in the future in a number of different ways. And it's a fine, fine example of Progressive libertarian thinking: the belief that government isn't always the answer and that focused efforts, led by business-minded individuals or groups can get a lot done.
Thu 11:16 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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There's been a lot of chat recently about Democrats getting angry, standing up and fighting back. But there is such a thing as much of a good thing. For an illustration, let's turn to the California Democratic Party.
Last week, Democrats stood up and told Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger they weren't going to take it any more. But they didn't pick their battle very carefully.
To demonstrate their independence, the legislature declined to re-appoint Reed Hastings to his seat on the state Board of Education. Hastings, said the legislature's Latino caucus wasn't as supportive of bi-lingual education as he should be. The Netflix CEO, appointed by former Gov. Grey Davis, is in favor of charter schools, long a teacher-union-busting tactic. And – what's worse – he's a Democrat appointed by a Republican. My God! The Horror!
Continue reading "Golden State Warriors"Tue 10:18 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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A lot of you are showing up here because of the links from Kos et al so I'm to take the liberty of repeating myself. It's nice to spend time talking about ourselves among ourselves but sometimes it's not a bad idea to think about other things.
Saturday was the anniversary of Martin Luther King's birthday. I put this post up last week but reading Andrew Sullivan on Abu Ghariab made me think it might be worth pointing out to a larger audience. I think it's safe to say that if King were alive today, the word "LIberal" would never have become a term of scorn.
Charles Graner, the guy convicted of leading the torture ring at the Iraqi prison says he knew he was violating the Geneva Convention. The man nominated to interpret this nation's laws as its top law enforcement official wouldn't even comment on the matter when asked by the U.S. Senate.
Mon 07:59 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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There have been a number of notes and letters about the earlier post about the "blogola" scandal.
Let me take a minute to respond and to make one important correction.
Matt Stoller, the commentator and on-line activist was not a Deaniac nor did he support Howard Dean's campaign for president. "I never supported Dean," Stoller writes. My apologies for the mistake.
Many of you have written to point out that DailyKos and MyDD have, in fact, endorsed Dean for the DNC chairmanship. They are. That's why I said that they were endorsing "Rosenberg as an alternative to Dean." Dean has only been in the race for the chairmanship – officially – for about a week. The two on-lines sites were – as good activists do – hedging their bets. They are now saying their first choice is Dean, their second is Simon. That's two, not one, endorsement and it could serve to weaken Dean's support.
Continue reading "More Combustion and Some Ashes"Mon 09:12 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Given the nice long post that follows about ethics and how web sites make money, I'd be remiss in failing to call your attention to the fund drive we're having. It's a necessary evil, I'm afraid.
There are prize, though. Good ons, too. A tasty dinner at Incanto and a cool one-of-a-kind poster.
Let me be as clear about this as I can. This site depends on readers for its support. There is little else. Its commentary and thinking – hey, we say nice things about Republicans around here -- does not fit into any conventional agenda so even if I was inclined to take full-fledged political party support, such an application would be rejected. It's too broad in scope for foundation underwriting and since it's riding the very edge of a wave that's just gathering force it's not exactly a slam-dunk business (or advertising) proposition. (You don't want to hear about the guy who suggested that The Atlantic Monthly, started 1857 was a "vanity" publication).
Now, there are more than 40,000 of you stopping by here every month. Many of you are return visitors. That's a lot of people. There's only one of me. And while I am optimistic that this will be the very, very last time such a fund-drive is necessary, right now it is vital to the site's survival. I am, sorry to say, not exaggerating.
So please open your wallet and slap a few bucks down on PayPal or Amazon. Your brain will thank you. So will lots of others working to keep this site up and running.
Here some details about what you can do to help.
Thank you.
Sat 09:03 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It's a holiday weekend, things are slow, the perfect time to review the little "blogging ethics" contretemps going out there. This isn't all about paying "bloggers" for influence. Some, to my jaundice and cynical eye, is very much connected to the race for the DNC Chairmanship.
Last week, Zephyr Teachout former Howard Dean campaign director of Internet organizing put a post up on what she – and she has got to be joking – calls a private website saying that Dean paid a bunch of bloggers who supported his candidacy.
Now, let's get something straight from the start. There are no angels here. The two bloggers who accepted payments from the Dean campaign, Markos Moulitsas and Jerome Armstrong aren't the innocents they'd like you and the rest of their partisan readers and supporters to think they are. They have no qualms about having their readers think they're some new kind of journalists but they are, really, political activists and organizers. Teachout is no babe in the woods, either. Her comments revealed nothing new. The fact that she made them, however, was newsworthy. And that she, well-known from the Dean campaign, made them against two equally well-known bloggers, made the story national news. She can protest all she wants – and she is – but she knew the impact that post would have when she clicked on the "publish" tab.
Continue reading "Not-So-Spontaneous Human Combustion"Sat 08:50 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Here's a little tidbit for all you Newsom watchers out there.
SFWeekly, the city's free weekly, has done a little quiz to folks sort out their feelings about the beautiful couple's split.
Knock yourselves out, the punch line about the actress who used to be married to the guy who runs our local paper makes it all somehow all worthwhile.
Thu 05:37 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Okay, so my favorite Ambivalent Lawyer Josh Benson over there at Berkeley's Boalt Law School has written in to give me a hard time about the stuff I've written about Gov. Schwarzenegger.
He makes some good points and he pretty much represents the criticism I've seen and head elsewhere so I'll give him the floor for a few minutes. I don't really disagree with anything Benson is saying. But Democrats – national and here in California – are focused on process not on politics. I've been trying to write about how Republicans are deftly – national and here – are using politics to implement the policies they believe are necessary. Just 'cause you notice it don't mean you like it. I shouldn't need to say that's the way things are supposed to work but, uh, we live in difficult times.
Continue reading "Operation Stop Arnold: A Better Road Map"Thu 03:17 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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We're still having a fund-drive here. It's going to last for a full week. 'Cause you really can't do enough to support stand alone journalism. Besides, if things go well, this will be the very last time a drive like this is necessary. So hit the PayPal or Amazon button as hard as you can.
Good works and dollops of guilt aren't enough, I know. So there are prizes: You can win dinner for two (a $75 value) at San Francisco's marvelous Incanto or a cool "Justly Married" poster commemorating San Francisco's gay marriage love fest printed out just for you.
Details about subscribing are here. Thanks for you help.
Thu 03:01 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This week's column at eWeek is about patents and IBM.
It's kinda geeky. But if you're working in the gap between politics and tech, it's interesting to see how Big Blue's business has changed. IBM is more and more a services business that helps people with software. That may well be where the business is headed. Which makes outsourcing even more a part of our futures.
Thu 03:00 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It is time, once again, to remind you reader types that good journalism doesn't come cheap. It doesn't come free, either.
As a stand alone journalist – outside the traditional media structure that would collect advertising and subscription revenue and turn it into a salary -- I have to turn directly to you folks and ask for your support. There are more almost three times as many of you as there were when Politics From Left to Right first solicited subscriptions, twice as many as there were in July during our last fund drive. Dear reader, you are not alone.
Continue reading "Getting More Than You Pay For"Tue 05:55 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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There isn't going to be much discussion on this site about the fight over Social Security. It's an important issue, yes. And it's a big fight where the Democrats get to – or should get to – rack up some credibility with voters. But so far, it's been a pretty dry conversation best left to the experts, wonks and economists.
But we're starting to get a look at the politics of this thing. And it's kind of interesting. Remember, changing Social Security used to be known as the "third rail" of national politics? Changing it was deemed impossible. That's no longer the case. And remembering that context give you an idea of what's to come.
Continue reading "Walking the PowerLine"Tue 11:13 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Well, Donnie Fowler came back to town and Big Media, in the shape of the AP's capable Beth Fouhy, took notice.
"Two Tech-Savvy Young Men Join Fray to Lead DNC," reads the wire service headline on the story she wrote over the weekend about the tussle – now a real live honest-to-God campaign – to run the Democratic National Committee. Nothing you didn't already know if you come by here regularly, of course.
Tue 10:15 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It's noteworthy that today's paper carries two stories about cruelty and injustice, from two different eras. It is ironic that they should run together just over a week before Martin Luther King's birthday.
One, the Mississippi Burning arrests. It's been more than forty years since three civil rights activists were taking to a wood outside Philadelphia, Miss., and shot dead. Today, a 79-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman is charged with their murder.
Continue reading "His Dream Deferred"Fri 11:49 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This being Thursday, I have a column over at eWeek about – ta dah! – blogs. You were wondering when I'd write about myself, weren't you?
It's a column about the power that sites – yes, sites like this one – will have as their influence spreads beyond politics. Never fear, I didn't quote myself. No, I went out on an limb and called a former colleague, Dan Gillmor and got him to tell me about blogs and how important they are.
I didn't call Dan because I know and like him. Well, not entirely. Gillmor and I were thinking alike on this subject. A few weeks ago, I noticed how Josh Marshall's readers at TalkingPointsMemo, were "reporting" on how their Congressional Representatives voted on changing House Ethics Rules. A few days ago, Dan wrote on his – Grassroots Journalism blog – about Marshall's success when the House reversed itself and undid the rules change.
And for those of you out there who know us and our different styles of journalism – I can hear the knowing chuckles -- I'd say that me being early and speculative and Dan being a bit later and definitive is typical of our different reporting styles. But that's what on-line journalism is all about. And that's a good reason why what I call stand alone journalism should be seen in the same light as Dan's Grassroots journalism. They are different approachs to an end that, once we get there, will look very similar.
So call this a joint demo. And welcome to our world.
Thu 11:26 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It is miscellany day here at Politics From Left to Right. Lots of little things to do. Remember the $100,000 that James and Jim the Hotornots were giving away?
Well, they had to badger the winner but he finally answered the phone and collected. Here are the details. Since Eli Ivie, the lucky college student – ain't that great? – registered directly with VoteOrNot.org, James and Jim got to keep the $100,000 they were promising the person who referred the winner.
Thu 11:21 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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CNN is canceling Crossfire. There may yet be hope for civilized political discourse on TV.
CNN exec Jonathan "Flood the Tsunami Zone" Klein says it's because viewers don't want to watch a bunch of guys screaming at each other. What's better? They're also cutting Tucker Carlson – the twit in the bowtie – loose.
Is Jon Stewart – who had the good sense and the brass balls to tell Paul Begala and Carlson how much they suck on their very own show – a great American or what?
Thu 08:41 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Let's get this out of the way. I'm on the record as not caring one way or the other if Gavin and Kimblerly Guilfoyle Newsom stay married. Their pending divorce is not unexpected. It's sad but it has absolutely nothing to do with his ability to do his job.
If anything she had the potential to get in the way and make real trouble. Her political judgement -- telling blow job jokes to a gay audience in New York -- isn't very sound. And her ambition -- get as much exposure as possible to build an audience for your TV show -- was at odds with his.
So TheEx and The Chron are leading today's papers with the Newsom split. It was even the above-the-fold lede in today's Chron. Old San Francisco – the over-50 crowd that packed the pews at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral and who The Chron still, mistakenly, thinks runs this town – cares desparatly about the Newsom marriage. So the split beats out Gov. Schwarzenegger's fire-breathing state-of-the-state speech as the day's lede for our supposedly regional newspaper. TheEx, they're a tabloid. This is what they're supposed to do.
Maybe the Chron's getting back at Newsom for his comment to the Examiner about the potential for labor unrest at the paper. In other words, we may have a newspaper strike in our future. And you know what, this time around, I'm not sure anyone will notice.
Newsom's quickie interview with the Ex -- and the story about the split -- was far more informative and interesting than the huge and boring "Report Card" The Chron ran earlier in the week.
Thu 08:32 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Progressive libertarians of California, your moment is at hand. Make that moments. And if you're a tried and true California Democrat – as opposed to being a business-oriented moderate with a fiscally conservative streak -- you might want to pay careful attention to some of the strands blowing in the wind.
It's gonna be make or break for California Democrats this year. And, from the press accounts, it seems like they know it. The party that's been running the state – they run the legislature – is facing an opponent who is popular, savvy and ruthless. Oh, yeah, and he's an international movie star, too.
Here's the state of play:
Continue reading "Operation Stop Arnold"Wed 10:33 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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We get a highway on stilts. But the Greeks, Norwegians, Chinese, Malaysians and Brazilians get big beautiful bridges at least one of which – the Greek span – is earthquake resistant.
We'll leave the French out of it for now but look at the photos of all these marvelous works of human engineering and think about what the state of California is building on one of the most beautiful sights in a state filled with beautiful sights. It's a sad metaphor.
Mon 02:54 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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"FBI Presence Shadows Legislature's New Session" is one hell of a headline. Particularly if you don't live in Louisiana.
The LATimes, God love 'em, is finally taking notice of the legal woes – and possibly the pending indictments of – Sen. Don Perata, recently elected Senate Majority Leader, and Secretary of State Kevin Shelly. Both have legal problem which, taken together, spell high-profile political vulnerability for the party that runs the state Assembly.
Continue reading "Paging Earl Long*"Mon 01:55 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
