As usual with anonymous reports, the information is inaccurate, and proffered with the sole intent to cause harm.

The fact is that Mary Pallant and her campaign are going full force. Senator Barbara Boxer personally thanked Mary for running against Gallegly at Arianna Huffington's home on Wednesday evening. On Valentines Day, Virginia Governor and potential 2008 presidential candidate, Mark Warner praised her campaign, and Assemblymember Lloyd Levine 40th AD endorsed her the following day. Just last night, the San Fernando Valley Young Democrats endorsed Mary in the June 6 Primary.

Stay tuned.

Campaigns have volunteer turnover; people come and go. That is the nature of political campaign organizations, but Mary is here to stay. So am I. Mary continues to prove what a fighter she is and that she is the best candidate to represent all of us in the next Congress.

As always, Mary and her team are available to discuss the issues that concern voters here in the 24th Congressional District.

Chris Robson
Deputy Campaign Director
Mary Pallant for Congress 2006

Brian:

I can't wait to find out what happens next. This primary is like watching clown after clown climb out of a Volkswagon bug.

Maybe, by the end of this race most staff will have switched sides at least one.

I haven't had this much fun since the California Recall when 9,000 people ran.

I would like to clarify that I HAVE left the Mary Pallant campaign and I did not consider myself--or any of the others that left at the same time as I did--to be mere volunteers.

If Mary is the best candidate, then why is she unwilling to sign the campaign pledge that is on this blog? The candidate that is willing to work with all Democrats to register voters, educate voters, and keeping the money and ethics clean is the candidate that has my vote.

To: Brian Dennert
CC: Brian Mack, Heather Schmidt

To the point: Neither Heather Schmidt, nor Brian Mack have signed an employment contract with me.

Heather and I became friends prior to her resignation from the Pallant campaign. This led to lunch with Brian and a lengthy conversation regarding a version of the Clean Campaign Pledge a Jill Martinez 2006 campaign volunteer helped me draft.

Heather and Brian agreed with me that all the candidates should spend the bulk of their time registering voters, confronting the 20-year incumbent on the issues, (especially those his Party has attempted to claim ownership of) and keeping their campaigns clean (in terms of money, morals, and ethics).

I asked Brian and Heather if they would be willing to help pressure the Democrats, Republicans, and independents caught up in the personal politics of the Primary campaign to re-shift their focus onto laying the groundwork to unseat this career politician whose salary we've been paying tax-return after tax-return since 1986.

They said yes.

Each agreed to lend their skill sets, social capital, and talents to such an effort.

In sum: The Clean Campaign Pledge is not a stunt. And while I have offered both Heather and Brian paid positions with the Jill Martinez 2006 campaign, they have both thus far agreed only to work with me, not for me.

Unai Montes-Irueste
Campaign Director
Jill Martinez for Congress (CA–24)
www.JillMartinez2006.com

JillMartinez2006@gmail.com

http://ourplaceinhistory.blogspot.com/

Just for clarification, I am also not part of the Mary Pallant Campaign anymore and I was not merely a fair-weather campaign volunteer but part of the campaign staff (webmaster) and resigned to fully dedicate myself to another race that I had committed to prior to my involvement in this race.

Gina, while I am pleased to provide you with some amusement regarding this race, I regret to say that despite the current turmoil that is taking place, that everyone of us who is working on, or who has worked on this Congressional race thus far, isn't making these difficult decisions arbitrarily or based on loose convictions. In fact, our convictions are stronger than ever and we are all ready to give a full, concerted effort to support the candidates of our choosing.

My main point here is that although it may be entertaining to hear the things that are going on, that I believe that everyone is ready to work together, come the conclusion of the primary, to elect the candidate chosen by the voters to represent the Democratic Party and hopefully carry that individual (whomever that may be) to office as our Representative in the House of Representatives in the 24th Congressional District.

Mr Mack,

Why would you join a campaign and quit? Sounds pretty flimsy to me.

Actually, your in line with the democratic party right now, by making knee jerk reactions to tough choices and tough decisions such as which campaign to work on.

The Democratic party is basically a party of semantics not substance. They were for the war, against the war, for the war, and against the war.

This is why I find humor and feel amused. What happend to good ole fashioned my word is my bond? I say what I mean and I mean what I say.

The democrats are so worried about pleasing everyone they stand for nothing, well except long-winded poll tested bull.

The party should take a page out of Paul Wellstone's book. Just talk straight. Just be a liberal and admit your a liberal and allow the voters to trust your convictions.

Your an activist, Why do you think democrats lack clarity of conviction?

Chris,

I find your comments somewhat manipulative. You are trying to create a sense that Mary is gaining support, but where is the endorsements from Boxer or Mark Warner?

Look, if Hillary Clinton smiles at Mary at a cocktail party, I don't take that as a sign of going full force.

Unless she gets endorsements, don't imply support.

Chris Robson,

Is Mary Pallant interested in the clean campaigning compact? If so, what changes is she interested in making to it, if any?

And to everyone, when you leave a comment, remember you can leave a link.

Has anyone heard if Brett Wagner is interested in the clean campaigning compact?

Brian and fellow bloggers:
Here is the response I sent via email to Jill's campaign manager in reference to the issue regarding a clean campaign.
Onward!
Mary Pallant---

Unai,

Thank you for the work and research on this issue. Although I believe it to be a great idea, and imperative for unification of party values, as written it is much too complicated. In light of that, however, I have previously pledged publicly, on numerous occasions, that I will not attack another democrat and that pledge has been published in an article printed Jan.12th in the Ventura County Star.

As I am the only one who has done this, I believe my obligation to a clean campaign has thus been met. I would encourage your candidate and others to take the same public stance that I have and then act accordingly, inclusive of all staff and volunteers.

Warm Regards,

Mary Pallant -
Congressional Candidate, CA-24

Mary,

Thanks for your input. I appreciate candidates that take time to speak directly to voters and comment on ( and support ) local political blogs.

One day, candidates that missed the new forms of communication will be made fun of in campaign training sessions.

Dear Bloggers,

All this horse trading and jockeying for position among the three fledgling campaigns is much ado over nothing. And all this grandstanding over signing a public pledge to keep the election clean and free of verbal attacks is somewhat childish. Let's face it, Mary Pallant is the only candidate that has a chance to beat Gallegly in November. The candidates and their staffs would be best advised to stick to their message and address the needs of their constituencies and fellow Americans. Stick to the high road Ms. Pallant and save your ammunition for the general election.

Rick Lebeck

Rick,

All horse trading and jockeying aside, I would like to ask you what it is that you know about Mary that proves her to be the best candidate...the only one that can beat Gallegly? Can you please clue us in to what we do not know?

Point blank: why is Mary the ONLY ONE who can beat Gallegly?

Burt Hull

Burt,

Thanks for the softball. Democrats have a bad habit of taking on complex issues and mangling their own, albeit well meaning, message. Mary Pallant is cogent, concise, and decipherable. She is the "tougher" of the three candidates and is more likely to stay on message.

First of all, I want a candidate that won't provide concession speeches before the election. That eliminates Brett Wagner. While I find both Mary Pallant and Jill Martinez to be both personable and accessible, Ms. Martinez is simply too emotional for my taste. I don't need her tears, crocodillian or otherwise, being served up to "Mr. Tough Talk", Elton Gallegly. It is OK to bleed for people, but if you want to change the world, you had better be clear-eyed, determined, and resolute.

Mary Pallant has the right punch and panache for the job.

Sorry I've come to this conversation late. But I wanted to say something about the Clean Campaign Pledge.

If I understand it correctly, Jill Martinez's main intention in drafting the pledge was to get Democrats to work together on registering the new voters required to secure the general election, and then, from there, to support whomever is elected in the primary so that Gallegly can be defeated. What's wrong with that?

The document, from what I've heard, was meant to be an internal pledge between the Democratic challengers and not a public document. (As opposed to going on TV and declaring "No negative attack ads!", which seems more like a posturing opportunity to me.)

In Mary Pallant's response to the pledge, above, she only responds to the negative campaigning issue. What about the cap on spending? What about voter registration?

I find it interesting that she and others would neglect to sign a piece of paper that they find redundant. What's the big deal? It takes a lot less time to sign a pledge than it does to draft and circulate an explanation as to why you refuse to sign it.

I think it would show much Democratic unity if each of the major campaigns signs onto a pledge.

I am not sure if a spending cap is the right idea. If the campaigns can register voters and spend the cash it takes to win the primary, they will gather part of the momentum they need.

Cash can be replaced easily if any of the candidates are able to show a plan for battle that has a chance of winning.

Show me a great plan and I promise money will flow in from around the country.

But if the plan is to save up money until after the primary, many months of campaigning will be lost.

The best long term plan though is for all three campaigns to team up and drive the voter registration numbers closer. With closer numbers more people will pay attention to the district.

Or at least to put some serious money into the type of research it takes to make a charge stick. Not " I think he might of met Jack Abramoff" but rather " he took x amount of dollars y days before the vote and changed his opinion/worked for out of state interests contrary to his stated ideology z times".

Does Elton Gallegly go on junkets? Has he met Jack Abramoff? Does he support Ralph Reed? How many times has he voted for Tom Delay? Dioes he still support Tom Delay? Will he support Tom Delay for relection? Has he given to Tom Delay's legal defense fund? Has he taken any money from the defense contractor that bribed many members of congress? What about the defense contractors employees?

I am coming into this debate a little late too.

I have seen Pallant speak on many occasions and the only thing I am clear on her NOT wavering on is her shoes.

For a candidate who is running on ending the war NOW, impeaching Bush, and fiscal responsibility, it is kind of funny that she is spending hundreds of dollars on stilletos, fish-nets, and outfits that no-one has seen twice.

If we are going to talk about restoring fiscal responsibility let's talk about restoring fiscal responsibility--not how many winter-clothes shopping trips we're going to take as soon as we beat Gallegly.

I wish she would talk about clean air, clean water, the environment, and education. I don't care about shopping trips, flashy endorsements, or Beverly Hills. I care about my kids, my retirement, and my country.

And, finally, the only thing besides her shoes that Pallant has been "cogent, concise, and decipherable" on is that she does not believe in working with her opponents to achieve the goals in this clean campaign pledge.

I don't care if you're not going to attack other Democrats--ARE YOU GOING TO PROTECT OUT VOTES?

All of this sounds to me like someone hasn't fully overcome her Republican ways.

I just saw Mary's campaign director at the Camarillo Dem club say that this fair campaign thing violates McCain-Feingold...

How?

http://www.campaignfinancesite.org/legislation/mccain.html

Leah,

Did you just attack Mary Pallant's shoes? I have seen low attacks, but literally unless you are attacking the ground she walks on nothing could be lower than her shoes.

Do you attack how men dress? What do you think of Elton Gallegly's shoes?

Does Jill Martinez where nice outfits ( but not too nice) for you?

Mary,

The point was not to insult your shoes--the point is that I don't care about your shoes! Or anybody elses shoes! I don't have to attack how Elton Gallegly dresses because that's not the only thing he talks about!

I don't care if candidates walk around bare foot and use Fred Flinstone's car--if you have a plan to bring health insurance to 47 million Americans and bring my premiums down, then let me know! If not shut up about the shoes and the shopping trips!

This is not about you being a woman or Elton Gallegly being a man--I am a woman and a feminist, which is why I find it insulting that you speak about these things so superficially.

And I am a mother, which is why I find it surprising that you don't talk about what it means to be a mother and how if you get sick (or something happens, God forbid) your kids are ultimately on their own, and there is nothing there to protect them. That even if nothing happens to you and you work hard, do well at your job, do things you are supposed to do--the cost of healthcare keeps going up, the cost of college keeps rising, the cost of housing keeps going up, the number of kids dying in Iraq keeps rising, the number of people retiring and the number of jobs going to China keeps going up, the number of people in the world hating us keeps rising, the number of big polluters poisoning the water and air keeps going up, the number of tax cheats and people who use bank accounts elsewhere to avoid paying their fair share of the highways, schools, and post-offices keeps going up, the corruption in Washington DC keeps going up. The amount of lies that the White House and Republican majority tell us keeps going up. So every day I get up early in the morning, I feed my kids, and I ask them to thank God for what they have, ask them to work hard in school and not judge people on how they dress, how much money they have, the color of the skin, and how much they pray or whether they pray at all and all I ask in return is that someone go to DC and represent my interests, my neighbor's interests, my children's interests, my children's children's interests, and--most of all--my community's interests. How about some empathy for me and taking seriously the job you're running for?

Stop talking about your shoes.

Before all this blathering, this blog put out the idea that Pallant's staff had switched sides. While that may not be the case, entirely, I am hearing rumors that many of Pallant's staff members quit and that her Campaign Manager was fired. I have also heard some rumors about whether or not people on the campaign that were supposed to get paid did.

Can anyone clarify this? Who works for Mary Pallant and what happened to the rest?

Reality Check 1:

Why would a the Pallant campaign, which has raised thousands of dollars want to combine with another campaign that, so far, has reported raising nothing?

(FEC reporting period ending 12/31/05, a matter of public record).

Even if there were some reason to do a joint fundraising venture the reporting alone is absurdly comlex:

http://www.fec.gov/pdf/partygui.pdf

Combined fundraising rules

http://www.fec.gov/pdf/candgui.pdf

Combined fundraising guidelines for Congressional Candidates

The purpose of a primary is to learn what differentiates the candidates, so their supporters can make a choice before that candidate represents them against the general election opponent(s).

And, please, let's not wallow in the lowly mud over wardrobe issues of staffing problems...

Peace and Victory!

I saw that Mary Pallant was supporting Busby to take over for Duke Cunnibgham now that he is in prison. Mary Pallant is active in trying to take back the congress.

I went to her website but could not find pictures of her shoes.

I have heard her speak many times and never heard her mention clothing. But I heard her on the issues.

I haven't had a chance to her Jill Martinez yet but I do look forward to it.

Thanks Brian for seeming somewhat unbiased!

As a volunteer on the Martinez campaign; yet, at the same time, a concerned citizen who likes to vote on the issues and the viability of the candidates, I must say that I think Jill speaks to the core of the issues in ways that NO candidate in this district has in a long time.

Also as a volunteer on the Martinez campaign, I can say that the Martinez campaign has been working strongly in their efforts to support the Busby race. The email that went out, from Chris@maryforcongress.com, implying that Pallant was the only candidate to be supporting Busby and implying that all the organizations listed on it endorsed her (Pallant), was the primary reason for our campaign initiating a Fair Campaign Pledge that Pallant has yet to sign on to. Is the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee and Sharon Hillbrant okay with this implied endorsement?

The Martinez campaign is so coordinated with the Busby race that we have a contact--Pete Johnson--who is in charge of all Busby interaction. Please feel free to publicize that he is the go-to person as far as Martinez' help in Busby's race.

In terms of candidates speaking on the issues, and the thing about the shoes: while the shoe-issue may be a little over-blown, it is true that I too have heard Pallant speak of her shoes on many occassions--including the story about Stephanie Miller saying that Pallant will have the best shoes in Congress. I think the point that Leah was trying to make was that we need a little more substance behind the Democratic candidates in this race. We need a little more of the facts and little less of the cliches and catch phrases.

Let's face it, if Pallant told the story about Miller and the best shoes in Congress closer to the general, Gallegly would sound-bite a portion of that and use it to make Pallant look like a 90210 Valley-girl...is that how we win a Congressional race that hasn't been won in 20 years?

How can the Martinez campaign ask for someone to be a "clean money" candidate when the clean money bill has not passed in our state legislature at this time? This is a ruse to get the candidate with the most money to turn over voter information,lists, etc. Martinez stated she is a moderate. Progressives plan on WRITING IN PALLANT! Martinez stated on the same podium as Mary Pallant that she was running and proud to be a MODERATE. Pallant was running as a true PROGRESSIVE. It is that simple folks.

OH and one last note to Leah the concerned mother who likes to hate women for their looks. Mary has been extremely involved in raising two daughters. Mary spends time at the school, reading and doing art projects with her children and has helped mine. So, stop being a hater and get a life.