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Friday, April 08, 2005
Action Hero Chickens Out in Berkeley -- Live Blog
Posted by Tim TagarisNot a very good week for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Bay Area. First their were the mass protests in San Francisco, his approval rating dropping to a paltry 43%, and today, the action hero known as Governor was a no-show for a speaking engagement with Bayer.
Girlie Man? Yeah.
Ahnold, who is "not beholden to special intersts," has taken tons of money from the pharmaceutical indusrty, vetoed a bill making safe importation of affordable medicine. Today, the California Nurses Association, Machinists Local 1546, Teamsters, and teachers all showed up at the event to protest to support patients, students, workers, and affordable health care.
The only person missing was Arnold. (Liveblog in the extended copy)
I just got off the phone with Bob Brigham who, again, was at the event. He said that the rain was coming down so hard that you could see the animals marching two by two to the ark. He told me that the event was very well organized and attended, especially since no one really knew about it until yesterday.
"The passion is certainly here," Bob said.
I also had a chance to speak with frequent Kos and MyDD contributor, Paul in Berkeley. He said, "We drew a line and said, the Bay Area is not a place where he is welcome. He should stick to doing visits to shopping malls in orange county, because the bay area is an Arnold free zone."
As I was on the phone with Bob and Paul, I could hear all kinds of people driving by and honking their horns in solidarity. The California Nurses Association is to be commneded especially. They were the ones that gave Bob the bottle of water as he breathed in the smoke from smoke bombs at the San Francisco rally; today, they were there with an umbrella for him. They are really taking the fight to the action hero.
The moment that word came that Arnold had cancelled the event, a celebration ensued among the dozens and dozens of protesters in attendance.
If you are in California, take a look at the campaign website of Phil Angelides. I know at least one member of his staff, and I am very impressed by what they are doing. Maybe you can volunteer a few hours if you live out that way?
Posted at 01:17 PM in 2006 Elections - State, 2006 Elections - State, Activism, California | Technorati
Comments
I know some of Phil's people, too maybe we have mutual friends. I think the Treasurer has been a stand-up guy and good Democrat for a long time, but he took it to another level in his fight against the Recall and his stands in opposition to Arnold on the budget and ballot measures.
It took a lot of guts to take on Arnold just after his election, when his popularity was not in the muck where it currently resides. Hell, some Dems positioning to run against Arnold VOTED FOR HIM!
(I'm not naming names, of course.)
The past few weeks have shown California what their Governator is all about, and the past week has shown Democrats that he can be beat - just as much as he can be bought - and how to do it: Get in his face with the truth, and let the people watch him scramble, spin, and hide.
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