CA Supreme Court Upholds Redistricting Lines for 2012 Elections The California Supreme Court has denied a challenge to State Senate district lines drawn by the Citizen's Redistricting Commission. While a referendum proposing to overturn those lines is undergoing a signature review and will likely be on the November ballot, the court ruled unanimously that the Senate districts crafted by the commission were the "most appropriate and least disruptive" to this year's elections. A Republican-backed group had brought the challenge because, even though the lines were drawn by the nonpartisan commission, they reflect a bluer California, and the practical effect will likely be an advantage for Democrats, perhaps even a Senate supermajority. While the GOP predictably decried the decision, Commission Chairman (and Republican appointee) Peter Yao defended the Commission's work, calling the challenge an example of "partisan self interest" that has "cost precious taxpayer dollars to defend."
President Obama Calls for Tax Fairness In his fourth State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama drew a sharp distinction between those who have suffered during the current economic meltdown and those who are fighting to protect the status quo. Calling for tax reform that would require millionaires to pay at least 30 percent in income taxes, he added, "you can call this class warfare all you want ... most Americans would call it common sense." The president also decried legislative obstructionism, championed a federal Financial Crimes Unit to crack down on large-scale fraud, and called for new infrastructure investment to rebuild America. Watch it here.
Governor Hails Bold Future in State of the State Address After a year of wrestling with the state budget, Governor Jerry Brown took time to outline a bold future for California in his annual State of the State speech. Hailing California's leadership in pioneering the green economy and going all-in for high-speed rail, Brown sketched out a confident tomorrow made possible by critical investments today. He called out Republicans for leaving the state with "unfinished business" by refusing to budge on temporary tax hikes, but reiterated his commitment to deal with the state's budget issues with a combination of cuts and new revenues. He also called for major education reform. The entire address can be found here.
Brown Takes Tax Plan to Conservative Strongholds Fresh off his State of the State address, Governor Jerry Brown took his budget message to the more conservative corners of California, where he claimed businesses largely support his plan because of the dire consequences of its failure. Brown argued that critical investment in education and infrastructure is dependent on additional revenues. Noting that taxpayers would pay less under Brown's plan than they had been paying under tax rates that recently expired, the president of the Orange County Business Council agreed, saying, "That becomes a compelling argument that I think our business community needs to focus on, and I think as a result, the general population will see that."
President Obama Moves Ahead on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, NLRB Defying Republican attempts to shut down both agencies, President Obama used the Congressional recess to make key appointments to the consumer agency created by last year's financial reform legislation as well as the National Labor Relations Board. Though mandated by law, Republicans had effectively prevented the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by declining to even consider any nominees to run it. Republicans had hoped to similarly cripple the National Labor Relations Board by refusing to appoint enough members to form a quorum. Asserting, "I am not going to stand by while a minority in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people we were elected to serve," President Obama announced the appointment of former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray to head the new consumer agency; he also announced three appointments to fill vacancies on the NLRB.
President Obama welcomes home troops from Iraq: A Promise Kept
Governor Brown Lambastes Climate Change Deniers at California Academy of Sciences Conference Calling them climate change deniers "political lemmings" who are putting the future at risk, Governor Jerry Brown called for investment technologies that will blunt the effects of global warming. He noted that climate change in California has lengthened the fire season, quickened the snow melt, and placed undue burdens on an already overloaded public infrastructure.
President Obama Calls Fight Over Economy "Defining Issue of Our Time" Calling it a "make or break issue for the middle class," President Obama decried the growing inequality
of American incomes, arguing that cutting taxes and regulations "has never worked." Instead, he called
for investment in education, science, research and the next generation of high-tech manufacturing. "At
stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a
modest savings, own a home and secure their retirement," he said. The president delivered his remarks
at a speech in Kansas, where he outlined his economic priorities.
Kamala Harris teams with Nevada State AG on mortgage fraud Attorney General Kamala Harris and Nevada's Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced that
they have teamed up to investigate mortgage abuse in their states, two of the hardest-hit in the ongoing
mortgage fraud crisis. Having pulled out of a nationwide settlement to aggressively pursue independent
investigations of their own, Harris and Masto said the alliance will help speed up those investigations.
"The mortgage crisis is a law enforcement matter, and we will prosecute to hold accountable those who
are responsible and also protect the homeowners who are targeted for fraud," Harris asserted.
U.S. to World: Gay Rights are Human Rights The Obama Administration announced that, going forward, how countries treat their gay citizens will be taken into account when it comes to foreign aid. In a speech following that announcement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asserted, "Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights."
Obama Administration Proposes Wage Protection for Home Health Care Workers The White House moved to protect home health care workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which would finally provide them minimum wage and overtime protection. These workers, who spend long hours caring for the elderly and disabled, are predominantly women and minorities; almost 40 percent are reliant on Medicaid and food stamps.
"We Can't Wait:" White House Announces $4 Billion Energy Initiative Bypassing Congressional inaction on his jobs plan, President Obama announced the latest portion of
his "We Can't Wait" campaign, designed to help spur the economy with moves the Executive Branch can
take on its own. The most recent is a combined $4 billion public and private effort to invest in energy
upgrades in federal buildings as well as office, municipal, hospital, industrial and school buildings. The
plan relies on long-term energy savings to pay for up-front costs, at no cost to taxpayers. Other portions
of the We Can't Wait program include a housing initiative aimed at helping people refinance their
homes and a plan to help students repay loans.
Voters Reject Anti-Labor Efforts in Ohio Election Day, 2011, marked a sharp reversal for the anti-labor movement in
Ohio. By a margin of 61%-39%, voters rejected a Republican effort to curb collective
bargaining for public employees in an election that saw the highest turnout for an
off-year contest in 20 years. Other right-wing initiatives lost around the country
as well: In Mississippi, voters turned back a "personhood" amendment that would
have outlawed all abortions as well as many forms of birth control, and in Maine,
they rejected a move to make it harder to register to vote.
DC Circuit Court Upholds Affordable Care Act A three-judge panel of the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled today that the essential
element of the Affordable Care Act, the individual health care mandate, is constitutional. The ruling is
significant, since the DC Circuit is considered the most important federal bench below the US Supreme
Court. Two judges, including conservative Lawrence Silberman, appointed by Ronald Reagan, voted to
uphold the law; a third, appointed by George W. Bush, would also have voted to uphold the law, but
argued that the court lacked the proper jurisdiction. The Supreme Court will decide whether to review
the Affordable Care Act later this week.
State Supreme Court Rejects GOP Redistricting Challenge California's Supreme Court unanimously rejected two Republican challenges to the new lines drawn by
the independent California Redistricting Commission. Claiming that the process had been "hijacked" by
partisans, Republicans decided to fight the new lines, once it became clear that the Democratic Party's
proportion of state voters would be accurately reflected in the commission's redistricting plan. Although
unanimously rejected by the court, state Republicans launched a signature-gathering effort to place
their challenge on the November 2012 ballot, fueled by a million-dollar check from Mercury Insurance
Chairman George Joseph. Joseph spent $8.1 million this summer to back another initiative allowing
insurance companies to hike rates for some customers.
GOP Blocks Vote on Money for Teachers and Firefighters Senate Republicans once again defeated Democratic efforts to get Americans working again, this time
filibustering a $35 billion aid package to states for hiring teachers and first responders. The bill was part
of President Obama's comprehensive jobs plan, which Republicans had previously rejected. Although
the proposal was deficit neutral, relying on a 0.5 percent surtax on millionaires to pay for it, such a
demand on the wealthy proved unacceptable to the GOP. A recent CNN poll indicated that 70 percent of
voters support the bill.
Jerry Brown Signs California DREAM Act Removing a barrier to college for thousands of high-achieving, but undocumented, students, Governor
Jerry Brown signed the California DREAM Act as one of hundreds of bills signed at the end of the
legislative session. "Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative
thinking," Brown said in a statement. "The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to
improve their lives and the lives of all of us."
California Democratic Party Supports the Occupy/99% Movement The Santa Clara County Democratic Party and California Democratic Party have passed resolutions in support of the 99% movement. We call for adequate regulation of the financial industry and
Wall Street speculators, reversing the catastrophic slide of income inequality and halting the implementation of
austerity-driven economic policies. See this and other State Party resolutions here.
Santa Clara County Democratic Party Dinner Save the date for the 2012 Democratic Party Dinner. The dinner will once again
be held at the Fairmont Hotel, on Friday, May 11.
See our Calendar for a summary of upcoming events.
Watch Democratic Television Neil Struthers, CEO of the Santa Clara and San Benito County Building & Construction Trades Council
Join one of our Great Democratic Clubs There is a club for every interest and every part of the county.
Using our request form, you can contact clubs of interest and request information.
Become a Permanent Absentee Voter The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters and Democratic Party urge you to become a permanent absentee
voter. By doing so, you will always get a ballot mailed directly to your home 4 weeks before each election.
This will save you time taken to go to the polls on election day and make voting easy.
Your Elected Democrats Santa Clara County has elected leaders that are committed to progressive values of fairness,
opportunity, environmental protection, open government, and educational excellence. See our list
of great Democrats leading the way locally.
California Democratic Party's Platform The 2010 California Democratic Party platform was adopted at the State Convention
in Los Angeles in April. The platform contains the party's view on economic, social,
and foreign policy issues.
