San Ramon Valley Democrats

In this issue

• Reflecting on November 7th , looking forward to ‘08
• President’s Corner
• Voter Registration Team News
• !!!Finally!!! by Matt Atkins
• Jerry McNerney Thanks His Volunteers
• One Person Can Make a Difference
• Tell the FCC What You Think about Media Ownership
• Humor Corner
• Garrison Keilor Apologizes to the Republicans
• In honor of Rumsfeld’s last day

Reflecting on November 7th and Forward to 2008
The San Ramon Valley Democratic Club will hold its last meeting for 2006 on Tuesday, November 28th at 12.00 noon at Mudd’s restaurant in San Ramon. Our speaker will be Lisa Vorderbrueggen, political editor and columnist for the San Ramon Valley Times. She will comment on the November 7 election, and present her expert interpretation of the results and their implications for the upcoming political scene. Lisa has been a political columnist for the Contra Costa Newspapers and Knight Ridder (now MediaNews Group) since late 2004. Prior to her political assignment, she covered regional growth and transportation issues for the Times. She is an entertaining and excellent speaker.

Long after we scheduled Lisa as our speaker this month, Lamorinda secured her as their speaker on the 17th. Speaks well of our choices in speakers.

Steve promises a special meal so come and enjoy the company of your fellow Democrats and get charged up by Lisa’s remarks on the 2008 presidential election! Send your $18 checks, made out to Mudd’s, to Judy Link, P.O. Box 818, Diablo, CA 94528, by Friday, November 24.

(We’re bringing 12 guests that day; isn’t there someone you’d like to invite to join us as we end this election season?)
Peggy Rubin

President’s Corner
“You’ve come a long way baby. . .”

Those words come to mind in light of our recent electoral success and particularly in view of the fact that Nancy Pelosi has become the first woman to hold the position of Speaker of the House, to break through what has come to be known as the “marble” ceiling. As a man, I welcome this event and think it bodes well for our country. I don’t think women necessarily can do a better job of running our country, but then again they can’t do any worse than the bunch of guys we threw out. Many women bring a mentality of pacification, of reason as opposed to brawn that can add immeasurably to the dialogue in Washington. Our election of Jerry McNerney as our representative is a major accomplishment and I’m confident he will make a significant contribution to the legislature, but I’m very grateful that we have women like Pelosi, Boxer, Feinstein and Tauscher also representing our state and our country.

As the new Congress convenes in January, there will be significant challenges. The war in Iraq is a huge problem with no good solutions and while it would seem of paramount importance that we get our troops out as soon as possible, we may find that the Middle East will become more and more unstable unless we can persuade neighboring countries to become involved in a positive way.

Coupled with the problem of what to do about Iraq, Congress will have the problem of dealing with the deficit and our national debt, problems that have been significantly exacerbated by the war. If we are to avoid having our children and grandchildren assume the burden, we may find it necessary to begin to pay for the folly of the last several years, rather than continuing to “borrow and spend” as the Republicans have had us do. All in all, we face difficult times, but I am extremely grateful that we will face them with a Democratic controlled Congress and I’m optimistic we will, with hard work and determination, find our way out of the wilderness.
Ray Link

!!!!FINALLY!!!!

November 7th was a very good day to be a Democrat. It was also a good day for democracy. It proved that even with all of the power the Republicans have consolidated over the years, the voice of the people can still be heard if we shout loud enough. If we look closely however, Election Day also showed how much work we still have ahead of us.

We can celebrate some great victories. We took control of both houses of congress. We were able to elect Jerry McNerney and thus give the boot to long time incumbent, Richard Pombo. The resignation of Donald Rumsfeld was announced the very next day. More than anything, I feel relieved. Now we can hope for some positive changes on issues from the war in Iraq to global warming.

There were also defeats. Just one year ago, voters showed huge dissatisfaction with the Schwarzenegger agenda. Still, he was re-elected by a wide margin. The national party, the state party, and even the grass roots could have done more to help elect Phil Angelides. To me the old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” comes to mind. As governor, Schwarzenegger, will be raising lots of money for the Republicans over the next four years. A little more spent to remind voters of his failed ballot initiatives could have gone a long way towards changing the outcome of that race.

We also lost races locally. We were not able to get Terry Coleman elected to replace Guy Houston in the 15th assembly district. Our own Frank Quattro mounted a campaign for Community College Board that I am extremely proud of. Still his campaign was not able to overcome the twin obstacles of incumbency and his opponents name recognition.

It is at this local level where we need to redouble our efforts starting today. Be happy about the results of this election, but do not rest. 2008 is around the corner and we have a lot to do. Contra Costa is turning Blue, but it is up to us to take it the rest of the way. Start by inviting a new friend or neighbor to each club meeting. And stay involved! The San Ramon Valley Democratic Club has a number of committees that need you. Whatever time you h ave to give, an hour or a hundred hours, there is a way you can help.

Congratulations!
Mat Atkins

Voter Registration/News Releases

First off, I just have to applaud our voter registration team again for a fabulous year of hard work and dedicated support. Hats off to Mary Linton, Brad Turey, Lynn Anderson, Dave Krug, Vicki Bissell, Ernie and Bev Nidick, and our newer team members Elizabeth Farra and Jan Witkowski! You made my job as chair of our team easy and enjoyable. A big thank-you to Peggy Rubin and Judy Link for their unfailing support at the market, too!

I’ve decided to become more active in my own Congressional district next year, so we’ll need someone to step up and take over scheduling for the Farmer’s Market in 2007 and someone to be sure to contact all of the local newspapers about club meetings and events each month. Please contact Ray Link (rjlink@comcast.net) if you would like to serve as Voter Registration Chair. I’ll be happy to share all of my resources regarding the kit Glenda Andino and I put together as well as scheduling tips, etc. Give me a call at (510) 881-8492 or (510) 506-1549 and ask for Pat Marchant. You can also reach me at marchantp@sbcglobal.net. I’ll look forward to seeing all of you at our next meeting or club event. And thanks again for your much appreciated acknowledgement and support. Thanks to our active commitment and participation in the democratic process, we’re looking at blue skies ahead.

Pat Marchant

Jerry McNerney’s Thank you Letter to Volunteers
It’s been an incredible whirlwind week since I was elected on November 7 as your Congressman-Elect in California’s 11th Congressional District. Yesterday, I spent my first full day in Washington, D.C., taking the first steps to being sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives in January.
I owe my election to you. When others said I would not be able to overcome an entrenched incumbent with millions of dollars, you believed otherwise. Without your steadfast support, winning would not have been possible.
Thank you.
Winning a Congressional seat is an incredible undertaking. It certainly takes money and lots of it. But anyone who thinks it’s all about money is sadly mistaken. What it really takes is heart, passion, commitment, and the accumulated intelligence of hundreds of supporters.
In our incredible victory, these ingredients created the people power that overcame a 2-to-1 disadvantage in fundraising, shocking the pundits and power-brokers. I may have initially stood up and decided enough was enough, but it was the tidal wave of people — who decided to make a real difference and step up with time, energy, and love of country — that created the real change.
I was overwhelmed by what happened in the last six weeks of the campaign. We saw the wave building, week by week. We saw the tide coming in, day by day. More people every day working, walking, phoning, filing, delivering signs, mailing, recording data, and doing everything that needed to be done. In the final days of the campaign, it reached a crescendo that loudly resonated on Election Night.
It was truly a thing of beauty. It was awesome to see people of all kinds, all ages, all walks of life, coming out to make a real difference: People who chose to take action, no longer satisfied with the status quo. Whether you were able to volunteer or contribute your hard-earned dollars, you made this amazing victory possible.
Because of your volunteer and financial support, we had an organization in place capable of managing this incredible onslaught of people power. Spearheaded by intelligent and passionate citizens who dedicated months of their lives to our campaign for change, we, together, stood up and changed the direction of our beloved country.
I have no way to fully express my appreciation and honor for what you have done. But I asked our staff to work over the last few days to create a special victory video for those who could not be there on Election Night. (Editor’s note: Video link is on the web site www.jerrymcnerney.org)
The video provides highlights of the speech I gave at our Victory Party, footage of our Get Out The Vote campaign across the district, and excerpts of volunteers talking about why they decided to join our campaign for change.
We have won an election. And now it’s time to chart a new direction for the 11th Congressional District and America. In the coming weeks, I will be communicating with you about our agenda. Meanwhile, many wonderful ideas from the grassroots helped our people-powered campaign over the last few months. The campaign may be over but our dialogue is not. I would like to hear your ideas for how we can move our district and our great nation forward.
Please send your thoughts to “newideas@jerrymcnerney.org”.
As your Congressman-Elect, I will do my absolute best to bring positive change, hope and optimism to our country. That’s my pledge to you for the work you have done.
Thank you for your support. Thank you for your trust. I look forward to being your voice in Congress.

P.S. I have received hundreds of emails and phone calls congratulating me on our victory. I wish I could share them all with you. However, you can share your thoughts with me and others. Please go to my blog right now and post a comment telling me (and everyone) what this election means to you: http://weblog.jerrymcnerney.org/

One Person Can Make a Difference!
In February 2004, there was no one on the Democratic ticket in the primary to run for the 11th Congressional District against Richard Pombo. Along with a few other members of our club, I met Jerry McNerney at Peet’s in San Ramon at a Saturday morning coffee meeting. Soon I was carrying half-page fliers door-to-door in my neighborhood, urging my neighbors to write-in Jerry McNerney for Congress, feeling somewhat alone, swimming against the current, yet convinced that I had to do something to make a difference.

In 2006 I again went door-to-door for Jerry, this time carrying two-page glossy fliers. I did not know if Jerry would win, but I still felt I had to try to make a difference. On Election Night 2006, I stood with hundreds of supporters of our new congressman-elect. These were hundreds of people who each felt that they individually had to do something to make a difference – and we were right! This time we made a HUGE difference! Together, through all of our individual decisions to try to make a difference, we have dramatically changed the composition of the Congress and put the Democrats in the majority!
Mary Linton

Tell the FCC What You Think about Media Ownership

I hope you can find inspiration in our local election successes and in the Democratic victories across the country - inspiration to find your own opportunities to make a difference. One excellent opportunity is to comment to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) on its 2006 Review of Media Ownership Rules. The FCC regulates media ownership – i.e. how many newspapers, TV and radio stations can be owned by a single owner in a given market. Increasing concentration of ownership means less diversity and less opportunity to hear different voices and views. Increasing concentration of media ownership threatens the free flow of ideas that is an essential foundation of democratic society. The FCC site on this topic is http://www.fcc.gov/ownership , and you can easily file your comments either electronically or via the US mail. The Media Alliance site
http://www.media-alliance.org/ has background information and talking points. The comment period deadline has been extended to December 21. Please take advantage of this opportunity to make a difference for democracy by sending your message to our FCC!
Mary Linton

Garrison Keilor Apologizes to the Republicans.

“Having been called names, one looks back at one’s own angry outbursts over the years, and I recall having at various times referred to Republicans as:
‘hairy-backed swamp developers, fundamentalist bullies, freelance racists, hobby cops, sweatshop tycoons, line jumpers, marsupial moms and aluminum-siding salesmen, misanthropic frat boys, ninja ditto heads, shrieking midgets, tax cheats, cheese merchants, cat stranglers, pill pushers, nihilists in golf pants, the grand pooh-bahs of Percodan, mouth breathers, testosterone junkies, and brownshirts in pinstripes.’

I look at those words now, and ‘cat stranglers’ seems excessive to me.

The number of cat stranglers in the ranks of the Republican Party is surely low, and that reference was hurtful to Republicans and to cat owners. I feel sheepish about it.”

In Honor of Rumsfeld’s last day
Donald Rumsfeld is briefing George Bush in the Oval Office.
“Oh and finally, sir, three Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq today.”
Bush goes pale, his jaw hanging open in stunned disbelief. He buries his face in his hands, muttering “My God… My God.”.
“Mr. President,” says Rumsfeld, “we lose soldiers all the time, and it is terrible. But I’ve never seen you so upset. What’s the matter?”
Bush looks up and says…
“How many is a brazilian?”