Democrats
rally for Davis
By Jill Thomsen
On-line Forty-Niner
Two
presidents joined Gov. Gray Davis for a
Democratic “get out the vote” rally Monday
night at Animo Charter High School in Inglewood.
Former President Bill Clinton, actor Martin
Sheen and around 23 statewide democratic
elected officials rallied the crowd with
chants of “Si se puede!” and “Four more
years!”
“It is time to open up a can of whoop-ass
on the Republicans,” California State assemblymember
Herb Wesson Jr. said. “They are the party
of the privileged, we are the party of the
people.”
Davis highlighted his improvements in education
noting “schools are more accountable. Teachers
are better trained. A college education
is more accessible.”
Clinton echoed the governor and highlighted
California’s leading role in America.
“There’s not a state in the country that
has done more progressive things when it
comes to education, when it comes to health
care, when it comes to balancing the needs
of working families, when it comes to the
rights of working people and women and minorities
and gays than the state of California,”
Clinton said.
Davis used the charter school setting as
a backdrop for emphasizing his opposition
to vouchers.
“I will not allow millions of dollars to
be funneled away from the public school
system,” Davis said.
State Board of Equalization member John
Chung said, “Republicans want to give tax
breaks to Enron, we want to give tax breaks
to these beautiful students behind me.”
Both Davis and Clinton used the positions
of Bill Simon, the Republican candidate
for governor, as an example of how far the
opposing party’s views are from Californians.
While Simon is backed by the NRA, Davis
has signed several gun control measures,
including bills that limit semiautomatic
weapons and limit gun purchases to one a
month. Davis also is staunchly pro-choice
while Simon is pro-life.
“My opponent is out of step, out of touch
and out to lunch,” Davis said.
About 45 protesters picketed the event.
Pro-life activists were especially prominent,
as were representatives of the Green Party
and its gubernatorial candidate, Peter Camejo.
“They won’t let us in, but we’re getting
our message to the people,” said Camejo
supporter Richard Burlingame.
All of the speakers referred to recent polls
that indicate Democrats around the country
are not going to vote in Tuesday’s election.
“When you don’t vote, you are voting — against
your families, against your democratic ticket
and against your community,” said Assemblyman
Jerome Horton.
A recent Los Angeles Times poll shows that
although Davis had a 56 percent unfavorable
rating, he is leading the governor’s race
by a 45 percent to 36 percent margin.
The rally was part of an ongoing, statewide
“get out the vote” effort that is “unparalleled
in its scope and reach,” according to Democratic
Party Chairman Art Torres. Around $5 million
is being spent to mobilize more than 5,000
people to reach out to more than 600,000
voters.
“We’re going to give them a surprise on
election day,” Clinton said.
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