WRITE YOUR LEGISLATOR AND...... Thoughts on Democracy

 POSTCARDS 4 DEMOCRACY!

Last week we wrote postcards to elected politicians supporting impeachment, protesting restrictive amendments to the ADA (Disability Rights Act), and several other issues.  We also had a good time talking with each other.  

Please join us.

THIS WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4, 7-9pm

Cafe Boheme, 24th/Mission across the street from BART.   

THOUGHTS ON DEMOCRACY

Truly, I feel we have to:

ELECT DIFFERENT PEOPLE TO THE SENATE 

AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES!  

... and also to all the other legislatures in our lives.  Because -- guess what? -- that's what the Tea Party did!  That's right.  They started at the bottom -- Library Board and Sewer Commission and such, and they built from there.  Before they started seriously working on  getting elected to SOMETHING, no matter how small, they were considered politically irrelevant wing nuts.  Pesky mosquitos to be squatted every once in a while.  Who knew they carried Zika?  

And why did they do it?  Because they realized that the power to:

1. pass laws, and
2. spend tax money

is REAL POWER!!!!!

And let me tell you, it's not easy to elect a progressive candidate -- even in the Holy Land of San Francisco.  For example, my supervisor district has not elected a progressive candidate since we elected.... Harvey Milk in 1977!!!

Why is it so hard to elect progressives?  Most importantly, the other side has more money (SURPRISE!!).  When Matt Gonzalez ran for Mayor against Gavin Newsom, Gavin won with 52% of the vote.  But he spent $4,000,000 to Matt's $400,000.  In other words, Matt was outspent 10 to 1.  I think it's safe to say that the extra $3,600,000 that Gavin had to spend gave him his winning margin.  

With equal funding, Matt Gonzalez would have won.   Our country would have had its first Green mayor of a major city, which undoubtedly would have scared the Dems to the left!

And who KNOWS where we'd be today?  Maybe medicare and free college for all!

Okay, I don't want to get everybody all depressed by talking about how screwed up San Francisco is.  I know, for some people, the only thing that keeps them going is the belief that San Francisco is DIFFERENT!  But, folks, change for the better is harder than we would like.  That's the simple truth.  That's why we have to work so hard.

Please, start thinking about who you might work to elect or defeat the next time your vote comes around.

I would like to talk about how you can effect change even when you LOSE an election in a future blog.

Terry

Here's me and my campaign manager, Sue Vaughan, when I ran for Mayor in 2011.  I had a good time and MADE A DIFFERENCE!!

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WORKING FOR HILARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT (orig. email sent 10/5/16)

Subject: PLEASE JOIN ME IN WORKING FOR HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT 

Wednesdays 4:30-8:00pm  Squat & Gobble, 1 West Portal

Thursdays 5:30-8:00 pm Mission Developing Environments 540 Alabama

(These two I'll be at for sure)

Hillary for President HQ 1001 Van Ness/O'Farrell 9:00 am-9:00pm

(If anyone wants to go to the HQ at any particular time, I'm open.)

I've decided/realized that there is nothing more important than electing Hillary Clinton President of the United States.  We're talking about the survival of civilization as we know it.

Reportedly, when Hillary's main opponent was briefed by top security advisors, as all Presidential candidates are, Hillary's opponent asked three times -- THREE TIMES -- if it wasn't possible to use nuclear weapons.  

If Hillary Clinton's opponent is elected, I predict we will have a nuclear war with North Korea.  

There is a deep soul sickness in our people, caused by crushing growing inequality between the rich and everyone else.  We have to attend to this soul sickness, by ending the inequality that causes it.  That's easy:  TAX THE RICH -- Duh!

But before we do that, we have to elect Hillary Rodham Clinton the first woman President of the United States.  

This is the next thing on the plate of all of us.  I felt the same way the two times Reagan ran for President.  I feared that there would be a permanent change for the worse.  And there was.  

Please do what you can and continue doing it until the polls close on election day.  It's easy.  Just go to hillaryclinton.com/events and find something in your zip code.  Get a button and wear it all the time.  Get 10 buttons and sell them for $1 and donate the money to the campaign.  Make people promise to wear them.

In Northern California, some of us are cavassing in Nevada.  I plan to do that once.  I heard it was grueling.  

And forward this to friends.  And the friends forward until we have a volunteer army of people who understand we have  a choice between two things:

1.  The end of civilization as we know it

2.  The same old same old with a woman.  

I choose #2.  I'm asking, I'm begging you to do the same.    I'm personally driven by a need to not feel personally guilty if the worse happens.  

Please.

Terry

Slightly World-renowned Lesbian Playwright