The Real Grassroots Stand Up

The grassroots, aka the people, of California just finished up a statewide conference call with Robert Greenwald and Assembly Majority Whip Karen Bass. Seven hundred or so citizens of this great state took an hour out on a Thursday in June to be together, listen and talk about how to stop the Governor's power grab. I "grew up" in the Dean Campaign. I know from house parties. People got very excited about being on national conference calls during the rise of Dean's presidential candidacy. Other candidates used the same device to a greater or lesser degree of success, but the turn out for those calls was always about a person. It's easier to rally for a character than for an idea.

That's why tonight was so much fun. It was all about community, about good government, about leadership and about citizenry. 40,000 people have signed petitions calling on the Governor to govern, not spend $80 million on a special interest special eletion. The Governor, in the meantime, has paid millions to out of state signature gatherers to qualify his "initiatives" (that word is wholly inappropriate for what this man is doing).

The Speaker of the Assembly, Fabian Nunez, was meant to join the call tonight. Where was he? On the floor of the Assembly doing his job, leading at 7 and 8 and 9 o'clock. Where was the Governor? Probably out of town again raising money from corporate cronies to pay for ballot initiatives.

The grassroots in California are alive and well. We want good government, not acting. Karen Bass put it best: it's time for this Governor to follow Jesse Ventura out the door.