Yesterday, there was a clear implication in a post about the death of California's single-payer bill that the mess could be lain at the doorstep of the state's bribe-taking, compulsive liar of a neo-liberal governor, Gavin Newsom. Whether it was by order of Newsom of not, the decision to prevent a roll call vote in the Assembly hides the names of the Democrats who were ready to vote with the Republicans against the bill. People who want accountability want to know who the Democrats in the Assembly were who tanked this.
Among the anti-healthcare ring leaders were 2 Assemblymen currently running for Congress, Adam Gray and Rudy Salas, two corrupt corporate Democrats. Neither Manchin nor Sinema have anything on Gray and Salas. They take corporate money and do the bidding of corporate special interests. That's what they've been doing in Sacramento and there is exactly zero reason to assume that would be any different if either went to Washington.
Courage California rates every member of the legislature based on their votes and their propensity for corruption. Year after year, Gray and Salas have been at the bottom of the barrel. Each always gets a grade of "F"-- failure. But the two of them couldn't have killed AB 1400 on their own. We'll never know for sure who would have voted against it but thanks for Courage California who know that 13 Democrats have "F" grades and abysmal scores, some as bad as Republicans! These are surely the Democrats who caused the death of single payer in California, along with their scores and their grades):
Jim Cooper- F (5)- Elk Grove, Galt, Lodi
Rudy Salas- F (9)- Hanford, Delano, Bakersfield
Adam Gray- F (15)- Modesto, Merced
James Ramos- F (13)- Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Loma Linda
Cottie Petrie-Norros- F (24)- Irvine, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach
Tom Daly- F (29)- Anaheim, Santa Ana
Sharon Quirk-Silva- F (30)- Fullerton, Buena Park, Cypress
Blanca Rubio- F (32)- El Monte, Covina, Glendora, Duarte
Tim Grayson- F (35)- Vallejo, Concord
Ken Cooley- F (38)- Citrus Heights, RAncho Cordova
Freddie Rodriguez- F (41)- Ontario, Pomona, Chino
Joaquin Arambula- F (43)- Fresno, Coalinga, Mendota
Jacqui Irwin- F (45)- Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo
This morning, as Trump was whining to Newsmax about how Lindsey Graham is a RINO who "doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about." in regard to opposing Trump's promise to pardon the insurrectionists, the Anti-Defamation League was reporting that the Republican Party is running over 100 fascist-oriented candidates this cycle, from QAnon whack jobs to Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, anti-Semites and white supremacists. The ADL singled out crackpots like Wendy Rogers (AZ), Chester Doles (GA), Daniel Tooze (OR), Walter Blackman (AZ), Allen West (TX), Nick Taurus (CA), Neil Kumar (AR), Darren Aquino (FL), Alison Hayden (CA), Mellisa Carone (MI), Ruben Dante (TX), Mary Wagner (CO), Brian Perras (FL), Sam Peters (NV), Ryan Kelley (MI), Alex Rotar (PA), Josh Barnett (AZ), Tim Swain (SC) and Patrick Witt (GA).
But the Democratic Party has its own problem with nominations. They may not be getting behind fascists (yet) but they are certainly nominating corrupt conservatives, the precursor to fascism. Like I said earlier, Adam Gray and Rudy Salas, two of the worst of the worst in California, are running for Congress this cycle. So far there is no credible better alternative to Gray. Rudy Salas, on the other hand, is running in a jungle primary with Republican incumbent David Valadao, a couple of insane Trumpists and progressive champion Brian Osorio, mayor of Delano. It's crucial to support Osorio so that Salas-- basically the Corruption Party candidate-- is excluded from the runoff. And you can do that here or by clicking on the Blue America California thermometer on the left and contributing what you can too Osorio's campaign.
