Local Moveon.org members are pushing an economic agenda focused on job creation instead of cuts alone. Click on continue reading for their announcement.

I do find it odd that so many are more concerned with reducing the debt through immediate spending cuts instead of job creation. Obviously both can be related problems but creating new jobs would help us with our debt. The debt deal didn't do much for job creation.

What would you prefer Congress prioritize?

If you go to the rallies please post pictures to my Facebook page for this blog.

Attack ads like this are among the many reasons Americans lose interest in politics.

Republicans who don't want to raise the debt ceiling (to pay for the budget they passed) without cuts to Medicare are attacking Rep. Lois Capps for allegedly cutting Medicare.

There is a difference between cutting expenses and cutting benefits. But attack ads don't have time for nuance.

What is really significant about this ad is that Republicans in Washington DC seem to be preparing for a much closer election against Rep. Lois Capps this time. So far Republican Abel Maldonado has been preparing to run. Have you heard of any other potential candidates? I wonder if Mike Stoker is thinking seriously of running. The district lines are expected to be final in August.

I don't know if Abel Maldonado will be able to attract enough Republican support after upsetting conservative activists for compromising on the budget.

( Jackson Browne will be performing at the event)

The new district lines are not set but that isn't stopping Rep. Lois Capps from preparing to run for re-election. Here is an announcement of an upcoming fundraiser:

Keeping Our Future Bright: A Campaign Event to Support the Re-Election of Congresswoman Lois Capps

With Special Guest: Senator Dianne Feinstein
And a Performance by Jackson Browne

Sunday, June 26, 2011, 5-7 p.m.
At the home of Betty J. Stephens
Santa Barbara

Chair: $5,000
Sponsor: $2,500
Host: $1,000
Guest: $250 per person

Make checks payable to:
Friends of Lois Capps
P.O. Box 23940, Santa Barbara, CA 93121
Or RSVP online at https://secure.actblue.com/page/june_26

Chairs and Sponsors are invited to a VIP reception with special guests.
Valet parking available. Flat shoes and hats recommended.

For more information email jennifer@cappsforcongress.com

Send in fundraiser information for other candidates for Congress to have them posted. Is Rep. Gallegly holding any upcoming local fundraisers?

What caucuses does Rep. Elton Gallegly belong to in Congress? His website doesn't include a list. He previously mentioned he was considering joining a Tea Party Caucus but I haven't seen an update.

His website is not exactly very modern in appearance or functionality. Remember Geocities websites? Reminds me of that era.

The other Members of the House from this region list their caucuses in an easy to find place including Democrat Rep. Lois Capps, Republican Rep. Buck McKeon, and Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman ( his website mentions a few that he belongs to I don't see a list).

So why not Rep. Elton Gallegly? It is bad enough that this area doesn't get to have townhall forums with our elected Representative in Congress but his staff could at least update his website.

If the new district lines draw McKeon and Gallegly together I think looking at their websites will quickly show who is ready for a tough campaign.

I'd like to see Rep. Gallegly post which caucuses he belongs to on his website. Post a comment on this blog entry if you agree. You don't need to register to post but keep it classy.

The Sunlight Foundation has a website up titled Party Time that seeks to add transparency to the fundraising process in Washington DC. Readers can submit invitations and then a searchable database is created.

As an example you can see recent fundraisers that readers submitted like this Fiesta with Rep. Elton Gallegly. Rep. Gallegly raised a large amount of money in his last campaign but not too many of his events are listed. If you have some old invites around go to the website to submit them. I'm not sure why they labeled a particular fundraiser of his a fiesta. Maybe the chips and dip picture? That could be pita and hummus.

Maybe now that the election is over Rep. Elton Gallegly can hold a townhall event like every other local area of Congress.

Rep. Lois Capps also has her events listed there too.

Both of these Members of Congress are seen as very safe. Democrat Tim Allison ran an energetic campaign but he wasn't able to make the race competitive. Republicans weren't able to find a strong enough candidate to go against Rep. Lois Capps. Maybe redistricting will alter the competitiveness of these districts.

Adding transparency to government is a worthy goal and helps us to have more trust in the process. Sometimes though the amount and sources of money can make us more cynical. Go through the database and tell me what you think. You don't need to register to comment.

Rep. Lois Capps voted in favor of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and in a recent email update she is defending the effectiveness of it.

I wanted to make sure you saw some recent news confirming that the Recovery Act is helping our economy recover and changing America for the better. According to a recent report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Recovery Act has boosted real GDP by up to 4.5 percent in the 2nd quarter of 2010, and increased the number of American jobs by as many as 3.3 million.

Also, I wanted to make sure you saw the recent piece in TIME entitled "How the Stimulus is Changing America." The article outlines how the Recovery Act is aggressively moving our country forward - transforming it for economic growth and stability in the 21st Century.

From TIME:

"...the battle over the Recovery Act's short-term rescue has obscured its more enduring mission: a long-term push to change the country. It was about jobs, sure, but also about fighting oil addiction and global warming, transforming health care and education, and building a competitive 21st century economy...Any of those programs would have been a revolution in its own right..." [8/26/10]

It has been a rough 18 months and we have much more work to do, but we are moving in the right direction. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. Please stay in touch on my Facebook page and website.

I appreciate her defending it when I see so many Republicans attempting to argue the stimulus created zero jobs when what they mean is that we have had a net loss of jobs, which is a big difference.

This is the last contest entry in my top political animal contest. The judging is being done by a couple of little kids. The poll below is for fun as we all know that there isn't much that can be done to stop a person from voting over and over.

Dave Stockdale is running for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic Rep. Lois Capps in the district that includes Oxnard and Santa Barbara. Barack Obama won this district by almost a 2 to 1 margin and Rep. Capps isn't on the top target list of any serious nationwide group. Dave offers conservative solutions to the problems he sees including supporting more offshore oil drilling. His website says that he is prolife and against gay marriage. I don't see him having much cross party appeal with his conservative ideology.

That said I appreciate that incumbents don't go unchallenged and he is willing to take his conservative arguments to voters in a liberal district. If Rep. Lois Capps was defeated it would surely be a wave election that changes party control of congress.

Here is his message he sent in with his dog picture:

Brian,

Here is my entry in your "Top Dogs" contest. Arnold is a Great Dane/Lab mix who adopted us from the Humane Society some years ago. He loves to walk, bark, and play with our 21 pound cat (yes, 21 pounds.) Arnold is truly our gentle giant.

Regards,

Dave Stockdale

This is a great video to illustrate how a party out of power isn't always powerless. In it Rep. Tom Price is attempting to grind typical House of Representatives business to a halt using parliamentary procedure. This comical video is less than a minute but the tactic was repeated over and over to other members.

I recently was a guest speaker in Professor Jeff Gorell's public policy class at CLU. His students have many intriguing projects they are organizing to promote. Here are some of them I remember from our discussion:

Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell ( DADT)
Repeal of The Defense of Marriage Act ( DOMA)
Marriage Equality for gay people
Repeal of Special Order 40 in Los Angeles ( Does anyone in local law know if Ventura County has a similar order?)
Expanded rights for breastfeeding
Protecting property rights in the greenbelt areas of Ventura County
Healthcare Insurance Reform
Protecting funding for Adult Education programs

Jeff, remind me of any of the projects I didn't include.

One of the students was interested lobbying local members of congress over the current healthcare insurance reform proposals and after the class she decided to write a letter to the editor calling for Rep. Capps to debate Rep. Gallegly. Here is her full letter:

Debate needed

You know what would really help me gain a clear and local perspective on the real impact of passing/not passing the proposed healthcare reform? Some honest, open dialogue between our local leaders, specifically Reps. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, and Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley.

As a grad student, I'm partial to finding the facts on issues through doing my own research. However, after spending many, many hours on the Internet, including Capps' and Gallegly's Web sites, sifting through facts/myth sheets, summaries and bullet points, I get the sense each side is telling their own version of the story and maybe not the whole story.

Where is the real, complete story? How can we get the real truth?

Perhaps if Capps and Gallegly care to spend time together with us, speaking their minds on healthcare reform and taking our questions, we just might get there. I'm sure my school will gladly open its doors to host a debate.

-- Maria Arias, Sherman Oaks

(The writer is a student of public policy at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. -- Editor)

( Photo courtesy of Ventura County Democratic activist Sharon Hillbrant. Marie Panec holds the microphone. In the background congressional candidate Tim Allison speaks to Rep. Brad Sherman.)

Moorpark Professor and Oak Park School Board Member Marie Panec has officially announced she is running for the Democratic Party nomination in the 24th congressional district. The seat is currently held by Rep. Gallegly.

I have an interview scheduled with her on this blog coming up on Thursday, October 8th. Leave some suggested questions in the comments section and I would include some of them.

Click here for her campaign website. It is under construction but you can sign up for campaign newsletters there.

The poll questions below are obviously not scientific as they reflect the intensity of readers of this blog, not the average voter. Many of these are all ongoing polls started from earlier entries.

I had an interesting idea. I would like to see Rep. Capps and Rep. Gallegly debate healthcare for local citizens. They can meet in an area where many people from both districts can attend. I am sure they can find a venue and a moderator to host it. To be clear I am not interested in hosting or taking credit for the event. I just want to watch the debate.

Would you like to see them debate? Leave a comment or vote in my poll showing your support for this proposal. You don't need to register to vote or to leave a comment but keep it classy.

( I am a big fan of paintings by Norman Rockwell. In this painting make sure to analyze the everyman who is to be given respect in our system of government. He is a blue collar worker showing up to a public meeting. I like the social messages in Norman Rockwell's paintings so much that the bland selection of prints in the Home Town Buffet in Simi Valley irritates me.)

Rep. Lois Capps held a town hall forum in Oxnard focuses on healthcare reform. I didn't go but here are some links to the coverage:

From The Ventura County Star

From Red County Blogger Eric Ingemunson
( No where in the post does it mention that Rep. Gallegly does not hold scheduled and public town hall forums. )

From Daily Kos ( Did I miss the background story of an Oxnard Church been burnt by an arsonist? Can someone fill me in or leave a link?)

The coverage and photos from the event show it was a peaceful event with strong arguments from many people. Sometimes we allow the obnoxious people to define our democracy with rude behavior, conspiracy theories, and demagoguing of issues until differing sides cannot even agree on what is being discussed.

That's a mistake.

The overwhelming majority of people attending town hall forums are decent, passionate, and patriotic citizens that want to be heard. The coverage should focus on them.

That's why I have next to nothing to add to a story to the story of brawls at rallies. It is an insult to everyone else there to minimize their concerns and issues and to focus on the drama. Sure the drama draws our attention and is newsworthy. But I just have the enthusiasm for it now.

I have more videos and pictures to post later this week. If you have videos of pictures from today you want posted send them to me.

Former State Assembly candidate Ferial Masry has news regarding her intentions:

Candidate for Sheriff Geoff Dean (R) worked the crowd. Here he is speaking to Ventura City Council Members Brian Brennan and Ed Summers. I expect Geoff Dean's list of endorsements will be updated with new bipartisan additions soon.

I ran into a friend of this blog Denis O'Leary of Oxnard. Denis has been a long time activist for a variety of progressive causes.

State Assembly candidate Susan Jordan gave a speech that outlined her life story and the causes she supports. Her opponent Das Williams was there too. I will post his picture later. Das, if you have pictures from today you want posted send them in.

Here are a bunch of polls related to the labor day picnic and candidates that were there.

Click here for the news story from The Star.

I have a feeling this rally will be big when you count people from all the different sides. Bring your cameras and send me any photos you want posted afterwards. If you have a video you need help posting send me an email and I will do it for you. Keep it classy.

A group opposed to the proposals in congress to reform health insurance is protesting against Rep. Lois Capps because she hasn't scheduled a town hall forum ( She has stated an event is being set up for this September.) They are gathering this afternoon outside of her office. As expected, local progressives are gathering to support her and to show they support the proposals to reform health insurance. Her office has already announced an event is going to be set up in September, whereas Rep. Gallegly is not planning to do an event.

Click on continue reading for details.

Click here for the news story from The Star from the Democratic Club Meeting.

Click here for the political report from RedCounty from outside of the event last night. I like Eric Ingemunson's posts because they focus on Ventura County politics.

How come people don't protest that Rep. Gallegly doesn't have town hall forums? If hundreds of people, including many Republicans, showed up to a Democratic Club meeting I am sure he could draw a crowd. Do people really not care to hear from him? I would think citizens of all political backgrounds would want him to do it. I disagree with him on many issues but I would like him to do it.

Do you agree with me that he should hold a town hall meeting? Leave a comment here or call his office at (805) 497-2224.

If anyone knows the last time he held a town hall forum was I will be very impressed. My standards are basic: it must be scheduled, open to the public free of charge, and announced before the event.

State Assembly candidate Das Williams is calling on people to show up to support reform. Click on continue reading to see his email.

State Assembly candidate Mike Stoker is calling on people to show up to show their opposition to the reform proposals and to protest against Rep. Lois Capps for not scheduling a town hall meeting on healthcare insurance reform although she has already announced they plan to do set an event up in September.

I emailed Mike Stoker to see if the wants Rep. Gallegly to hold a town hall meeting too, especially since he is encouraging people to protest against Rep. Lois Capps even though they are setting up a meeting.

Simi Valley Democrats are holding a panel discussion. Click here for details.

Even though there are always a few people that take away from an event I am glad that we live in such a vibrant democracy. Thanks for reading my blog and thanks to those of you that take the time to leave comments or go to events. Always bring a camera. If cheap digital cameras have a video feature. You might need it for evidence if someone does something stupid and people tend to behave better that way.

Here are some photos of the event submitted by State Assembly Candidate Susan Jordan:

Thanks to Susan Jordan for posting this photos on Facebook and allowing me to use them. If you have photos to the event let me know if you want them posted.

I heard that Mike Stoker was there but I haven't heard any reports if Das Williams was there.

While people were protesting against a member of congress that has scheduled a tow hall meeting on health insurance reform and ignoring the local member that has not this was happening in Los Angeles.