CBS News covers the dirty tricks CA electoral reform issue...quotes Courage Campaign

From a blogger writing a diary on Daily Kos to a national broadcast on the CBS Evening News, this is what people-powered progressive politics looks like:

First, Steven Attewell, an eagle-eyed blogger on Daily Kos, posted a community diary about the "children with cancer" bait-and-switch by California Counts signature gatherers at UC Santa Barbara. Courage Campaign staffer Erik Love immediately talked with Attewell and worked with me and Online Political Director Julia Rosen to deploy a grassroots film crew to capture the dirty tricksters in the act. Calitics blogger Dave Dayen quickly edited the raw video. Finally, the day before Thanksgiving, we emailed the video to Courage Campaign supporters asking for reports of any similar sneaky signature-gathering tactics witnessed over the holiday weekend.

Dozens of first-hand reports from the grassroots came pouring in to the Courage Campaign. Erik then contacted the chief of the Secretary of State's Fraud Investigations Unit, who indicated the tactics used were likely illegal. Finally, I sent an official request to Secretary Bowen asking her to open up a formal investigation.

...."Whether or not an investigation is launched, Secretary Bowen and County Registrars will be examining hundreds of thousands of petitions submitted by California Counts in the coming weeks to determine if enough legal signatures have been collected. The more sunlight we all can continue to shine on these sneaky signature gatherers in the next few days, the less of a chance this shady scheme will qualify for the June ballot.

You are on the ground floor of a new movement led by the Courage Campaign to synergize the netroots with the grassroots to achieve a progressive vision for California. Now, as we battle these devious dirty tricksters from deadline to deadline, we need your support to make that vision a reality.

Thank you for everything you are doing to create progressive change in California and the country.


Rick Jacobs
Chair

P.S. As Bradley Whitford ("Josh Lyman" on The West Wing) said in a Courage Campaign YouTube video last month, if the dirty trick succeeds...

"That, my friends, would be the ballgame."

The initiative, said Dean, is "an opportunity for the Republicans to neuter California, to take away California's role as the most powerful state in the country when it comes to selecting the president."

I asked Dean whether Democrats were opposed more to the initiative itself... or the fact that it was being proposed only in California. He seemed to say that it's the latter, adding: "If the Republicans were sincere about they'd be starting this in Texas and Florida, where they control the legislature and the governor's office."