I received an email from the government this morning.

“Greetings”. Uh oh, um, I’m a little too old for the draft.

No, it’s the confirmation that my ballot for the June 7 primary is headed my way. That’s the way we run here in California, every registered voter gets their ballot about 3-4 weeks before election day. Fill it out at home, or wait till some of the polling places open ten days before the election and fill it out there, then return it by mail or drop it in the collection boxes located at most libraries and civic buildings throughout the state.

If you don’t vote it’s because you went out of your way not to vote.

A mere 9 months since he was last on the ballot, Gavin Newsom is on it again, this time running for reelection to his job. Unfortunately we’re a “top two” election state when it comes to primaries, so even if he replicates his 62% landslide from the recall election he’ll still have to face some no name who got like 6% of the vote but that was the highest of the other 25 people running.

Plus we have to vote twice for Senator. Much as I’d prefer to be voting for Dianne Feinstein’s replacement (you’ve lost it Dianne, go home to Presidio Heights and relax) we find ourselves voting to confirm Alex Padilla for the remainder of the term he is currently serving (till January of next year) for taking over for Vice-President Harris and then for the full six year term that would begin next year. He’s running against 22, say it with me again, no names but again he’ll have to face someone who gets like 6% in the general election.

One thing that’s interesting about this ballot is that there are no propositions being determined this time out. Only four have qualified, but they all wanted to be on the November general election ballot. I get it everyone wants to be the headliner in the big room, not playing the lounge at 3AM.

All of this brings me to what the man at the top of the ballot (Gavin) had to say the other day when asked about the leaked Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe:

“Why aren’t we standing up more firmly, more resolutely?” he barked into a bouquet of microphones outside Planned Parenthood’s Los Angeles headquarters. “Why aren’t we calling this out. … Where’s the counteroffensive?”

Where is it indeed?

You know what the MAGAts are responding to when they go crazy for Trump? Not his bullshit rhetoric or his bad “jokes”. What they respond to is a man standing up and saying “I don’t care what you may think of me, I’m gonna say crap that you will eat up with a spoon and f**k what the other guy says”.

This is the biggest liar to have ever sought political office in the history of this country and people elected him because he offered easy solutions to complex problems and white males with no college degree ATE IT UP. Democrats, you need to do your version of that.

You need Gavin Newsom or whoever to stand up and say: “Look I believe a woman has a right to choose and it’s not the government’s place to get involved in that choice. I believe that work, all work, is worth respect and a decent wage. I believe corporations should pay their taxes and they should pay more than what you as an individual pay. I believe that climate change is man made and can be halted by man and that the millions of new clean jobs that will be created from that effort will more than make up for the old jobs lost. I believe that elections are fair and honest and whoever wins is whoever wins but once they have won they are the servant of the people not just those who voted for them. I believe if you try to violently overturn the results of a fair election that makes you a traitor, plain and simple, whether you stormed the capital or helped plan it. I believe in respect for all people no matter who they are or who they love. I believe if you’re going to try and put a wedge between me and my neighbor than it’s you that needs to be kicked to the curb, not my neighbor. But most of all I believe in the United States of America, what it stands for, what it is, and what it can be”.

In other words, I believe in the Democratic Party of Matt Santos, fictional though he may be. The Democrats need to stop being the party described by Will Rogers. And they need to do it right away before the Repugnicants get their propaganda machine humming along.

Shapiro Out