(on loan from the Courage Campaign in Maine)

The Yes on 1 campaign just issued a "red alert" last night, raising their ad buy by $25,000 today.

I'm here in the No on 1 campaign boiler room (nerve center) and our coffers are dry after having invested in a field campaign to protect marriage equality second to none. We need to raise $50k on ActBlue today to counter their ad buy and expand our online ad buy to match their expansion. Jesse Connolly the No on 1 campaign manager just sent out an email to their list about it:

I wasn't going to come to you to ask for money again. We've asked so much, and you've dug deep and really come through.

Honestly, I wouldn't take my time away from managing our Get Out The Vote operation to send this email if it wasn't really important.

[snip]

With the money we have now, we simply can't counter their arguments on TV.

You and I have both invested a lot in this campaign. I won't-- I can't-- let them win this because we couldn't come up with the last $25,000 $50,000 in the final 36 hours.

We can't let Yes on 1 win the airtime war with their misleading, and factually inaccurate ads.

We can't let Yes on 1 lie to Maine voters about schools and teachers and children and same-sex couples in Maine.

We need to stand up and match every one of their lies with an ad of our own, that explains that marriage equality won't do anything to families but protect all of them.

And I need you to help. Can you come through one last time and give what you can to help us finish this campaign with a win?

Not much more I can add to that. We wouldn't be asking if we didn't really need it. I would be writing a "please help us make calls" blog post and we would be sending GOTV emails, not asking you for money.

I know the Blue America community has dug deep, but can you do it once again? We are 0-30 on marriage equality races. We can win this one, but we need your help.

In 19 days we will know whether we beat back NOM and the Catholic Dioceses and protected marriage equality for Mainers, or took yet another step backwards at the ballot box for equality. 30 states have had votes on marriage equality since 1998 and the right-win has won in all 30 of them. We are going to stop that streak in Maine, but we can't do it without the resources to fuel a massive get-out-the-vote operation.

Today at midnight is the last major financial reporting deadline and it also marks the first day of early voting. If you were planning on giving to No on 1 and haven't yet, or have the resources to give again, today is the day to do it. Luckily, we at Blue America have a little sweetener, courtesy of Howie:

Meanwhile we have something nice to offer to donors today. The first 9 people who kick in at least $30 at the Blue America '10 page each wins a special DVD of Barbra Streisand's spectacular 1966 television special Color Me Barbra (which includes a rare poster). And if that wasn't fabulous enough, we also have something pretty mind-blowing for the person who donates the most by 6AM (PT) tomorrow. The picture is above. It's a gorgeous Joan Osborne RIAA custom double platinum award for both Relish and "One of Us." It's rare, collectible, unique and... well, what a gift it would make for anyone who you happen to know who went bonkers over the song below! And, more important, what an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Maine!

There is new polling out that shows us up 51.8% to 42.9%, but Bill in Portland Maine over at the great orange satan reminds us of why poll numbers are crap:

I take you back to 1997 when, after nine attempts spanning 20 years, the Maine legislature finally passed a basic civil rights bill preventing discrimination in employment, housing, credit and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation. Governor Angus King signed it. The law was put on hold while the religious conservatives---trying to marginalize our very existence by denying us any official state recognition---launched a war to repeal it by a citizens veto referendum, very similar to the kind they're waging now. They got the signatures they needed and the fight to take away our newly-won civil rights was on.

The polls had our side up by several points. The result? The 1998 referendum passed. The fundies won. The final vote: 51.9% to 48.1%. It's one thing to feel disappointment when your favorite candidate loses. It's quite another when you are the one being voted on by your neighbors, and a majority of them agree that, yes, it should be legal for a Maine business owner to pull you aside and say, "I don’t want no faggots workin' here. You're fired." It took another seven years to finally make that against the law. To this day I still get a knot in my gut when I think about what happened 11 years ago.

The only way we stop this from happening again is to make sure that we can get our voters out to the polls. The No on 1 campaign needs your help to make sure they have the resources to execute their field plan. So give today and maybe take home a platinum Joan Osborne album, or a rare Barbara Streisand poster and DVD.

The Courage Campaign is sending me back to Maine in a week or so. Expect more reports from on the ground there on how your generous donations are being spent. I was there a couple weeks ago and can assure you, the campaign is a tightly run ship, simultaneously on the offense and firing back at the lies spewed from the other side. No on 1 is IDing and turning out their voters, relying on thousands of in state volunteers and assisted by out of state phone bankers from around the country. They know how to win in Maine "and can do it with your help.

Yesterday, the No on 1 campaign released this great new ad, featuring a Catholic mom who wants nothing more than for her gay son to have the same rights as everybody else.

It seems to have touched a nerve with the other side. A Catholic group is demanding that the ad be taken down, because:

“Everybody knows the Catholic Church is opposed to counterfeit marriages. The Church believes marriage is a natural institution, vindicated by common reason that serves both men and women, and the needs of children. The Church defends marriage as a civic institution believing marriage and family to be the fundamental unit of society,” explained Burch.

“For homosexual groups to suggest that the Catholic Church believes otherwise is disingenuous, dishonest, and an insult to the intelligence of Catholic voters in Maine,” said Burch.

We are on offense here in Maine, pushing back at the Catholic Church which has raised over $214k for Stand for Marriage Maine last quarter.

But the campaign needs your help to win this election, to be the first to protect marriage rights at the ballot box, to keep the momentum up that we have gained since Prop 8. And they need the resources to do it.

We are launching a "moneybomb" for Maine, with a big push to get as much cash in the door for No on 1 by Oct 15th, the last major financial filing deadline and the first day of early voting.

After that date money in the door just isn't as useful for the campaign. They need to figure out their budget for the last few weeks of the campaign.

Give now if you can on Blue America's ActBlue page. Maine is a cheap state. Here's a breakdown of what your donation will "buy".

$1,000 we can blanket the state with radio ads for 1 day

$800 pays for one field organizer for a week

$720 would fund 20 canvasses in key counties around the state on a Saturday

$550 pays for one channel of cable for a day

$420 pays for one much needed field organizer for a week

$330 is 2 radio commercials to beat back their lies

$210 pays for 70 $3/day cell phones to talk to targeted voters

$186 about the cost of 1 radio commercial

$137 will buy supplies for 4 door-to-door canvasses

$108 buys about 100 yard signs for visibility

$72 will pay for signage for visibility for one weekend on a targeted campus

$66 pays for about 20 $3/day cell phones to talk to targeted voters

$54 buys 50 yard signs for visibility

$36 will fund supplies for one door-to-door canvass

$24 buys 20 yard signs for visibility

Greetings from Maine! I arrived on a red-eye yesterday to help out Maine's "No on 1" campaign to protect marriage equality. Everyone around here is pumped up, but they just crunched the numbers for their quarterly fundraising goals. As of a few minutes ago they are $112,000 short of the goal.

The reporting deadline is Wednesday at midnight and they need to get to $803,208 on ActBlue. Contribute on the Blue America ActBlue page.

If you need more reason to give, than me just saying they really need the cash (and they do), check out this quote from the other side via the Baptist Press:

"Until this point, our opponents have presented a rose-colored glasses view of homosexual marriage," Stand for Marriage Maine campaign director Marc Mutty said in a statement. "Starting today, Mainers across the state will hear about the real cost to society should traditional marriage be replaced by genderless contracts whose sole focus is the adults involved in the relationship."

Rose-colored glasses? What the heck is he talking about? (Note the use of homosexual marriage, not same-sex or gay) It's simply an attempt to sow doubt about marriage equality "scary unforeseen consequences" boooo!

Repeat after me: marriage is a civil contract. It is a legal binding agreement between two adults. Letting gays get married changes nothing about this.

Mutty is seems to be insinuating that some how kids from straight couples will be effected when the forms people fill out when they get married no longer read "male" and "female" and instead are some version of "party 1" and "party 2". That of course is patently absurd.

The other side is counting on prayer to help them. In honor of Yom Kippur, I ask for you to atone for your sins and promise to make next year even better with a win in Maine. ">Do that by contributing to the No on 1 campaign.

Although funding certainly is critical, Joey Marshall, a local Southern Baptist pastor, says the pro-Question 1 side must not forget the importance of prayer. It's vital to "inform the people in the state of Maine of the dangers of same-sex marriage," he said, but it's more important to pray.

I'm fasting and working. I'm sure you guys can multi-task as well.

This is the brand new ad from the Yes on 1 campaign in Maine:

And, this is a Prop 8 ad from last fall in California:

The same consultants behind Prop 8 were hired for exactly this, drive up fear about marriage equality using lies about kids and churches. It goes without saying that Maine does not force school to talk about marriage equality, in fact they don't have to talk about marriage at all. Dirigo Blue got a comment from the Maine Department of Education Comunications Director David Connerty-Marin:

I cannot comment on Massachusetts education law or decisions made by local school districts in Massachusetts. Here in Maine, our Learning Results standards and education regulations make no reference to the teaching of marriage in any way. So a change in Maine's laws or definition of marriage places no requirements on local districts regarding whether or how they teach about marriage. Such curriculum decisions are strictly local. Before or after passage of the gay marriage law a district could choose to teach about marriage or not, and to teach about it in any way it deemed appropriate. It simply is not governed by state education law.

But Schubert/Flint seems to be phoning it in a bit. They don't seem to realize what a far right wacko they picked to be in their ad.

Charla Bansley is a high school teacher at a private Christian school, not an elementary public school teacher as they are implying in the ad. And the leader of the Maine Chapter of Concerned Women of America, which is a hard-right nut-job org (anti-gay, anti-abortion, pro-religion in schools, anti-porn, and anti-UN, yes they hate the United Nations). And she is a teabagger. And tried to get a student expelled for writing a pro-marriage equality letter to the editor as part of a class project.

And she thinks gays are psychotic and deviants. From a speech she gave at a Stand for Marriage Maine rally recently. Louise has much more over at the Blend.

Public display of psychosis and we have dealt with it by redefining decency down so as to explain away and make normal what a more civilized, and ordered, and healthy society would label deviant and the result has been a stunning failure.

This woman is a walking opportunity for opposition research and should be fodder for a while. Her values are not Maine values.

Fight back against this nasty. Fight back against fundie lies. Fight for love and marriage.

Give till it hurts, because if they win, there will be pain for Maine LGBT families.

P.S. The Courage Campaign is deploying me out to Maine next week. So expect a few posts from on the ground.

Dkos released yesterday the first public polling numbers on Ballot Question 1 in Maine, which asks voters if they want to repeal the marriage equality law passed by the legislature and signed by the governor.

We are up by the narrowest of margins: 46 YES, 48 NO. That is essentially were we were at this point in the Prop 8 campaign, prior to the Yes side's devastating ad campaign.

The other side is excited about these results. From a Yes on 1 press release:

We are encouraged by the results of a poll released today by Daily Kos which shows that Mainers support protecting marriage between a man and a woman over legalizing homosexual marriage by a 48-to-46 margin.

Our lead is particularly significant given that the poll was conducted after our opponents had the television airwaves to themselves for two-and-a-half weeks and our ad had aired for just two days. It is clear that their message of fairness and equality do not compel voters to support homosexual marriage, particularly against the backdrop of the serious, real consequences to individuals, small businesses and religious organizations that we raise.

They are right. We are yet to see the effects of their messaging on the polling and that makes me really freaking nervous. We have never won a marriage fight at the ballot box. Losing in Maine would really set back the marriage equality movement, particularly after all of the momentum post-Prop 8.

But we all have the power influence the outcome of the race.

Maine is small. (For us out in California, it is really freaking small.) They are only expecting about 500k voters and have a budget of $3 million. They are as they like to say, "a cheap date".

That means we, the netroots can have a huge impact on this race.

I'm proud to announce that Blue America's 2010 ActBlue page is now live and No on 1 Maine is the first campaign to be list. They need your help to make sure unlike the Prop 8 campaign can stay up strongly on the air and continue to build their robust field program.

Give whatever you can. Early money is much more useful than late money, especially when so much of the vote will come in through the mail.

If you have some airline miles to spare, you can donate them here to fund volunteers traveling to Maine for a week, as part of their volunteer vacation program.

I'm headed to Maine myself in a week, on loan from the Courage Campaign. I can't wait to work beside the wonderful volunteers featured in this video:

(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

The California Supreme Court announced today its deeply disappointing decision to uphold Proposition 8.

It's wonderful that the court recognized the legal marriages of the 18,000 same-sex couples married in 2008, but this is a very sad day for California.

But we don't have time to mourn the failure of the state court to restore marriage equality to California.

It's time to go on offense. To be fearless in our fight for equality by building a grassroots army 1 million strong. Starting right now.

In response to the court's decision, the Courage Campaign will hit the California airwaves in the next 72 hours with a 60-second TV ad version of "Fidelity"—the heartbreaking online video viewed by more than 1.2 million people, making it the most-watched video ever in the history of California politics.

We are launching this provocative new TV ad in the spirit of Harvey Milk's call to "come out, come out wherever you are" and proudly tell the stories of the people most affected by the passage of Prop 8—in moving images set to the beat of Regina Spektor's beautiful song.

More than 700,000 Courage Campaign members are ready to restore marriage equality to California. Will you help us get to "1 Million for Marriage Equality"? Watch our powerful new 60-second "Fidelity" TV ad and sign the pledge.

If you like TV ad, please contribute to put it on the air in Bakersfield, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco.

Marriage equality is gaining momentum across America.

On Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court -- by a unanimous ruling -- made marriage equality the law of the land. Then the Vermont legislature overturned their Governor's veto of a marriage equality bill by a two-thirds margin on Tuesday.

And now the religious right is responding with a national TV ad filled with fear about a same-sex marriage "storm" gathering across the country.

This morning, the "National Organization for Marriage" launched a disturbing ad using actors to push lies claiming that marriage equality threatens personal freedoms. The ad is going up on the airwaves across America as NOM seeks to build what they are calling a "rainbow coalition" against equality.

We need your help to fight back right now against this deplorable ad. With many legal experts expecting the California Supreme Court to uphold Prop 8, our only option will be to place an initiative on the ballot to restore marriage equality. To repeal Prop 8, we will need to build a grassroots army for change in every county of California.

In response, the Dolby Family is challenging the Courage Campaign to raise $25,000 as a matching grant to fund Camp Courage trainings for marriage equality activists.

While NOM's TV ad uses actors to portray false victims, Camp Courage is mobilizing real people to speak from their heart, door-to-door across California.

Modeled on the "Camp Obama" training events that helped propel President Obama into the White House, Camp Courage uses the "Story of Self" to transform personal experiences -- each participant's unique inspiration for supporting marriage equality -- into compelling and authentic narratives that can persuade undecided voters.

Can you help us respond to these lies and distortions by turning fear into hope? Watch this despicable TV ad now and then contribute to support more Camp Courage trainings by helping us meet this generous $25,000 matching grant from the Dolby Family -- thus doubling their amazing donation.

(full-disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

California finally passed a budget last night. The budget is devastating and will hurt just about every single Californian. It is the consequence of two things 1) the recession put California in a deep hole 2) the structural way that California's legislature operates on taxes and the budget mean that a conservative budget is the only one that is able to be passed.

Dave has more details on the budget and the aftermath over at Calitics, but the fact still remains...

California's government is hopelessly broken. Republicans turned the budget negotiations into a hostage crisis by exploiting the rule requiring a 2/3rds vote of the legislature to pass a budget. Senator Abel Maldonado blackmailed the Senate into accepting even more spending cuts and an open primary that threatens progressive power as the cost of his vote for the budget deal.

California Republicans are an extreme minority. A party in exile. Rejected by Californians at the ballot box, Republicans have decided to take revenge by using the budget crisis to achieve their radical goals, no matter the cost.

Only TWO other states -- the small states of Rhode Island and Arkansas -- require a 2/3rds supermajority to pass a budget. But, ironically, it requires a 2/3 vote of the legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to repeal the 2/3rds rule.

Since Republicans in the legislature will try to block that too, it is up to we, the people, to restore democracy to California and finally end the Republicans' obstruction. And the only way we can stop them is to repeal the 2/3rds rule by ballot initiative.

This is insanity. And it's made possible by the 2/3rds rule, which allows a small cabal of extremist Republicans to hold the state hostage to their demands, as they have done year after year.

We have to stop the insanity. The only way this madness will end is if we eliminate the 2/3rds rule. Please join the Courage Campaign and CREDO and take the pledge to support a repeal of the 2/3rds rule.

(full-disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

John Amato:

I don't understand why we don't have a gas tax in CA either. With the prices so low, people will not complain about it because they understand how bad conditions are and it would raise a ton of money. If oil goes through the roof again, then the tax gets rescinded. Rachel Maddow in the above video also points out the absurd problem that exists because property taxes are capped in California.

MADDOW: The GOP is also in exile in the great state of California, where Democrats have big majorities in both Houses of the legislature. However, California is turning out to be a test lab for what happens when the party in exile, the “party of no” can‘t get overruled. Legislative rules in California require a 2/3 vote on certain legislation, which means a few minority Republican votes are needed to pass the Golden State‘s horrible new budget.Why is it horrible?

Well, because California capped property taxes when I was five. I remember because that shut down my town‘s library for most of the week, not that I‘m bitter.With no real property tax base, California is instead really dependent on income taxes, and since people‘s income goes up and down with a lot of volatility depending on the state of the economy, California‘s state budget has ended up being really sensitive to economic downturns. And in case you hadn‘t noticed, this is to economic downturns what a buffalo is to a buffalo wing.

(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

And Ken Starr is to blame.

Yes, that Ken Starr. The prosecutor who led the campaign to impeach President Bill Clinton has filed a legal brief -- on behalf of the "Yes on 8" campaign -- that would forcibly divorce the 18,000 same-sex couples married in California last year before the passage of Prop 8.

News broke Tuesday that the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on March 5, and will then make a decision within 90 days on the validity of Prop 8 and these 18,000 marriages.

When Starr's legal brief went public in December, the Courage Campaign immediately launched the "Don't Divorce..." campaign, asking our members to send us pictures with a simple message for Starr and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund.

Those pictures, and the heartfelt messages on them, inspired blogger Paul Delehanty (kid oakland) to send us a suggestion: Would Regina Spektor allow us to put the pictures to the words and music of her hit song "Fidelity"? So, we asked her and she said yes, very enthusiastically.

Regina Spektor's song, in concert with the pictures, shines a beautiful light on the 18,000 couples that Ken Starr wants to forcibly divorce.

Watch "Fidelity," the heartbreaking music video, and then tell the Supreme Court not to divorce 18,000 California couples. Tell the Court to invalidate Prop 8, reject Ken Starr's case, and let loving, committed couples marry. DEADLINE: Valentine's Day.

Sign the letter to the Supreme Court here.

(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

California faces financial "Armageddon," as Arnold Schwarzenegger bluntly stated a few weeks ago. And yet Arnold and his fellow Republicans rejected compromises by Democrats to rescue our state from a catastrophic budget crisis, unparalleled in the history of California.

Because of the ridiculous 2/3rds budget rule -- the super-majority required to pass a budget in the California state legislature -- and Arnold's failure to deliver even one vote from a small cabal of obstructionist Republicans, Californians may be getting IOUs in the mail next month instead of financial aid checks or tax refunds.

Many Californians are so overwhelmed by this paralyzing crisis that they've just tuned it out. As a result, Arnold is not being held accountable for his failure to lead.

That's why the Courage Campaign decided to try something a bit unorthodox -- raise awareness by using humor to highlight the absurdity of these IOU's, or what we are calling "Arnoldbucks."

We asked one of our members to see what would happen if he tried to use "Arnoldbucks" as legal tender at a few businesses in the area. You won't believe what happened. It's all caught on camera -- even a few security cams.

Watch the video and then spread the word and spread the Arnoldbucks. Download your own Arnoldbucks by clicking the image for a .pdf. Got any ideas on how you would use your Arnoldbucks, or other kind of actions we should take with Arnoldbucks? Let us know!

Infamous prosecutor Ken Starr has filed a legal brief -- on behalf of the "Yes on 8" campaign -- to nullify the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California between May and November of 2008.

Yes, they really did go there after promising repeatedly not to do this.

It's time to put a face to Ken Starr's shameful legal proceedings. To put a face to the 18,000 couples facing forcible divorce. To put a face to marriage equality. Because, gay or straight, YOU are the face of the Marriage Equality Movement.

The Courage Campaign just launched "Please Don't Divorce" a community photo project. They will break your heart and have made me cry on more than one occasion.

Please click through the photos in the slideshow above and then submit your own photo, as an individual, a couple or in a group (perhaps with your family over the holidays). Take a picture holding a piece of paper that says "Please don't divorce us," "Please don't divorce my moms,""Please don't divorce my friends, Dawn and Audrey," "Please don't divorce Californians" or whatever you want after "Please don't divorce..." and send it to: pleasedontdivorce@couragecampaign.org.

(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

"Home Invasion" was produced by two of our friends in the progressive movement -- netroots activists and brothers Dante Atkins and David Atkins. This 60-second ad satirically skewers the Mormon Church's dictation of public policy to Californians. We will be airing on CNN, MSNBC and Comedy Central in selected markets on Election Day.

Let's just say, the Mormon Church is not pleased and the Salt Lake City media is all over this ad. They are uncomfortable being in the spotlight, which they richly deserve for being the biggest force behind the Yes on 8 campaign. BTW they have been planning a fight like Prop 8 since 1997. Dante Atkins (hekebolos) has an internal document from the Mormon Church up on Daily Kos.

Here is the statement they have released in response to the ad.

“The Church has joined a broad-based coalition in defense of traditional marriage. While we feel this is important to all of society, we have always emphasized that respect be given to those who feel differently on this issue. It is unfortunate that some who oppose this proposition have not given the Church this same courtesy.”

We respect that you feel differently about this issue, but rather than respecting our differing positions, you have attempted to impose your position on all of California. That is what we are responding to and why we are fighting so hard to keep our rights that you are trying to take away.

If you are in CA and can volunteer tomorrow, call your local No on 8 office. If you like our ad, contribute to help get it up on the air.

And here is the big one. Make sure that everyone you know makes it to the polls tomorrow and votes all the way down the ballot. Even if Obama is looking good and numbers are coming in from the East Coast, we need to make sure people go vote. So spread the word! No on Prop 8.

Let's annoy the Mormon Church even more with a victory tomorrow.

(full disclosure: I proudly work for the Courage Campaign)

Frankly, I am not surprised in the least that they went there. African-Americans tend to be more conservative on GLBT equality issues than much of the rest of the Democratic coalition. The Yes on 8 campaign is fighting for every vote and thought that they could gain from misrepresenting Obama's position on Prop 8.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden both oppose Prop 8. The Yes on 8 campaign sent a mailer above to untold thousands of African-American voters in California, featuring large pictures of Obama and the quote that "I'm not in favor of gay marriage..."

The quote is real, Obama and Biden oppose marriage, BUT refuse to take away rights from Americans. Here is the statement they released in reaction to the mailer:

"Senators Obama and Biden have made clear their commitment to fighting for equal rights for all Americans whether it's by granting LGBT Americans all the civil rights and benefits available to heterosexual couples, or repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' While Senators Obama and Biden oppose same-sex marriage, they support civil unions," said a statement issued by campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt. "Senator Obama has already announced that the Obama-Biden ticket opposes Proposition 8 and similar discriminatory constitutional amendments that could roll back the civil rights he and Senator Biden strongly believe should be afforded to all Americans."

Now the question is will more people hear about Obama's real position on Prop 8 than will read the mailer? It is up to us to help spread the word.

I am sitting in the No on Prop 8 headquarters in San Francisco. This place is just buzzing with energy and flooded with volunteers. There were 300-400 people here for just one of four trainings that will be held here this weekend (see pic below). Mayor Gavin Newsom choked up when he spoke to the volunteers. This is the final few days of a battle he helped start four years ago and one we can finally win on Tuesday.

BTW my colleague Lucas is at "The Call" the supposedly huge gathering of evangelicals in San Diego against Prop 8 (and 4 for that matter). They were talking about getting 71,000 people in Qualcomm stadium. Lucas says it looks like about 7,000 people are there and a steady stream are heading for the exits.

You can help us win. Respond to the mailers by making sure we have the cash to get the message out to voters that Obama opposes Prop 8. Donate via ActBlue now.

Sign-up here to volunteer. We need every single person that can help talk directly to voters. There is a special netroots sign-up form. Don't forget to say that Crooks and Liars sent you.

(cross-posted from Calitics)

Yes, he went there at an official Sacramento Yes on 8 rally yesterday. This is Brad Dacus, an official Prop 8 spokesperson speaking. He is the President of the Pacific Justice Institute, a religious-right lawyers 501c3 organization.

Here is the transcript:

"There was another time in history when people, when the bell tolled. And the question was whether or not they were going to hear it. The time was during Nazi Germany with Adolf Hitler. You see he brought crowds of clergy together to assure them that he was going to look after the church.

And one of the members, bold and courageous, Reverend Niemand (sp?) made his way to the front and (inaudible) said "Hitler, we are not concerned about the church. Jesus Christ will take care of the church.

We are concerned about the soul of Germany." Embarrassed and chagrined, his peers quickly shuffled him to the back.

And as they did Adolf Hitler said, "The soul of Germany, you can leave that to me." And they did, and because they did bombs did not only fall upon the nation of Germany, but also upon the church and their testimony to this very day.

Let us not make that mistake folks. Let us hear the bell! Vote on Proposition 8!"

Dacus is the guy who was the chief architect of the movement to get an opt-out law for parents to take their child out of any school activity that violates their religious or moral beliefs. Like say, if a charter school asks the parents if they want to take their kids on a field trip to celebrate their teacher getting married. You know, the one they are conveniently forgetting about and then lying in their ads about education and teh children.

Heck, you can even find instructions on how to get an opt-out form on his organization's website. This is the guy who is comparing me to Hitler in an attempt to take away my rights.

The best way you can answer back to Dacus is to get out this weekend and election day and volunteer for the No on 8 campaign. There is a special netroots volunteer sign-up form. Fill it out and tell them you came from Crooks and Liars.