[Sosfbay-discuss] Leading the charge for Moore Healthcare

[Wes Rolley]

Green Vern Nelson is leading the charge using Sicko to lobby for better 
health care in Orange County.  Also, he is turning this into a weapon to 
target two legislators (State and Congress) whose districts have 
considerable overlap.  That is Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and State 
Senator Tom Harman.

Using an issue such as this with specific intent to build a constituency 
for electoral action is exactly what we should all be doing.  This 
involves standard practices like tabling ...
> Actually this looks to be a lot simpler than I expected.  I thought 
> the film was opening in 16 theaters in 13 OC towns....but it really 
> looks like it's JUST:
>  
> Aliso Viejo's Edwards Aliso 20, at 10:15, 1:15, 4:15, 7:15 and 10:10
>  
> Huntington Beach's Bella Terra at 11:15, 2, 4:50, 7:40, and 10:30
>  
> Irvine's University Town Center 6 at 11:35 AM, 11:55, 2:10, 2:30, 
> 4:50, 5:05, 7:30, 8, 10:05, and 10:20
>  
> Orange's AMC 30 at the Block, at 10:20AM, 11:20 AM, 1:20, 2:20, 4:20, 
> 5:20, 7:10, 8:10, 10:05, 11:10 and 12:30 am
>  
> Laguna Niguel's Mann Rancho Niguel at 25471 Rancho Niguel Road, at 
> 11:30, 12:30, 2:30, 3:30, 5:30, 6:30, 8:30, and 9:30
>  
> AND Newport Beach's Edward Island 7 at 1, 3:50, 7:20, and 10
>  
> SO I aim to have people handing out info/flyers Friday, Saturday and 
> Sunday at the above times and places.  We (CARA's Sandy Goldfarb and 
> I) can get you the material in the next couple of days.  If we manage 
> to fill up the time slots below, then we'll probably just have to get 
> a few thousand copies to whoevers doing the first showings, and they 
> can then pass their stuff on to their replacements when they show up.
>  
> What worked well at the "sneak preview" last Saturday was we actually 
> went into the movie (we would have paid but it was sold out, but then 
> they also weren't too strict checkin on people) and as soon as Michael 
> says his last line, that he is going to "have the government do his 
> laundry," and everyone laughs, two of us get to the exits and get 
> stuff to people just as they're leaving.  THEY WILL BE REALLY 
> RECEPTIVE.  We said stuff like "we are the people in California trying 
> to do something about this problem and we need your help."
and he reached out to the local press to counter a Big Pharma ad 
disguised as an OpEd by Harman. (Rohrabacher has a 11% rating from the 
American Public Health Assn.)
>
>
>           Oh yeah, my new FAVORITE local paper the HB Independent
>           printed my attack on Tom Harman almost in full here: 
>           http://www.hbindependent.com/articles/2007/06/28/opinion/hbi-soundoff28.txt
>           but of course all I can do is obsess over my nasty sentences
>           that they cut out!
>           oh and in the print version they illustrated it with a
>           cartoon -- a little silly but it seems sympathetic. 
>           Entitled "two approaches to healthcare", it features a
>           picture of Michael Moore captioned "Moore" and a picture of
>           a pinched-up, scroogy Harman captioned "Less"
>
And finally, they have started to walk precincts in those towns where 
Harman's district overlaps with Rohrabacher's. For each contact, they 
are feeding back information on initial attitude toward (1) the issue, 
(2) Harman and (3) Rohrabacher. Since they already have a voter 
registration DB, this is a real basis for understanding what is 
affecting the district and will help them refine the message as they go 
along.

If I were a football commentator I would be talking about basic blocking 
and tackling and execution.  Since this is about politics, it is about 
having a plan and execution.  All of the good intention is not worth 
much without execution.

Now, I believe that the CCWG (correct me if I am wrong, Warner) favors 
finding overlapping districts where a common issue can be used against 
both candidates and focusing energy in that manner.  In this way, a 
smaller group can have a bigger impact.

So, the question here is one of whether Santa Clara County can identify 
and exploit an issue for electoral gain in the same manner.

-- 
"I find I have a great lot to learn – or unlearn. I seem to know far too much and this knowledge obscures the really significant facts, but I am getting on." -- Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Wesley C. Rolley
17211 Quail Court
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
(408)778-3024
http://www.refpub.com/