2, 4, 6, 8, Carole's gonna dominate!

Alright, alright, I'll bite. The CA Democratic Party Convention in San Jose, 2008, was the most blatant, shameless display of the kind of dirty politics that laymen always accuse politicians of. And rightly so! Here you have a situation where the accomplished Senator's main opponent pledges to run a "clean campaign", putting on that big used-car-salesman smile of his in hopes that the gullible masses will believe him (and golly gee, they do), then promptly turns around at an advantageous time and starts slinging(1) dirt(2). Such dirt that if you look at it closely, you'll notice contains only quips from obviously biased sources and out-of-context headlines - things that usually appeal to insiders who know the full story, but get distributed to the general masses who have better things to do than think critically. But what's more important is what the fliers don't contain: a union bug, despite the tradition of Democratic Party candidates standing in solidarity with organized labor. It looks like Mark, whose campaign is run by a consulting powerhouse that should have known much better, has no problem turning his back on such a solid relationship.

The smear campaign against Carole is focused on several things - ethics, compliance/transparency, and her personality - although if I were in Mark Leno's shoes I wouldn't go around calling the kettle black on all three accounts. Leno supporters will balk at the idea of "stealing an election" or "member stacking", but that's exactly what his campaign did at the CDP when uninterested and unformed delegates from the entire state of California overturned the endorsement of the regional caucus. When asked, many of the Leno supporters hawking their non-labor-printed fliers and clipboards said that Carole has at some point personally offended them. You know what offends me? That, according to Leno, someone from Los Angeles is better suited to make decisions about which of our candidates the party should support. While I'm at it, why don't I let some sorostitutes from the Marina choose my Supervisor for me, too?

Speaking of ethics, which was the topic of choice for the Leno campaign when attacking the Senator, what was the situation exactly? Whichever version of the story you choose to believe, let's at least agree on the facts - tangible, untouchable, balanced facts - surrounding the case. There were issues with Carole's financial filings, which she never denied or attempted to mask. Her solution was to defer the decision about the fines and campaign funds to the court, the most transparent solution possible. The court affirmed her that her actions in regards to her campaign funds, which have been exaggerated both in the media and by the Leno campaign spin doctors beyond any recognition, are justified. So, to recap, we have some uninformed Leno folks going around telling anyone who'll stop to listen that the Senator's actions are unethical... meanwhile, the courts say they are. Who shall we listen to?

For a more organized write-up on this topic, check out Chris Daly's article in the Fog City Journal.