Watch This: Smithsonian Call to Action - Voice Your Vision

In honor of Night at the Museum: battle of the Smithsonian - which I took my two boys to this weekend - check out:

Smithsonian: Call to Action - Voice Your Vision

Beth Krom for Congress - Mothers Day 2009 Message

A special Mothers Day 2009 message from former Irvine Mayor Beth Krom and her mother, Elaine Weinstein.

Learn more about Beth’s term as Mayor and her campaign to represent California’s 48th Congressional District at:

http://www.BethKrom.com

Or follower her campaign at http://twitter.com/Krom4Congress or http://www.facebook.com/people/Beth-K…

(And stay tuned at the end for some words from Beth’s three kids; Hershel, Noah and Abby!)

Gavin Newsom: The Humphrey Bogart of California Politics

Twitter user @SGourley raises an interesting point about search engines, public personas, and political aspirations by offering the instructions seen to the right.

Following those instructions (running a google image search on “gavin newsom“), you’re greeted with a number of views of the honorable Mayor of San Francisco: taking the oath of office, eating a reporter’s microphone (where’s the video of that one?), lounging with his former wife, smiling with his wonderful new bride, looking goofy in a T-Shirt, looking strong behind a podium, and - shall we say - looking amused in the “3rd Result” that @SGourley is focusing on.

@SGourley assumes that Newsom would want rid of such a picture.  But with Garry South - Newsom’s campaign guru (and a guru of mine) - talking up every reporter in his speed dial about Jerry Brown’s time in office (code for “the other guy’s old!”), maybe Newsom wants pictures like this out there.

Part of the allure of a candidate like Newsom (and even stick-in-the-mud Barack Obama) is that there’s a certain brash danger that comes with a handsome young leader.  The swagger.  The knowing smirk.  It’s like Humphrey Bogart is running for office; a drink in one hand, a smoke in the other, and a remit envelop in the inside pocket of his suit.

In fact, the Newsom photo actually reminded me of a famous picture of Bogart.  Out on the town with Lauren Bacall, Bogie found himself face to - ahem - face with Marilyn Monroe.

Bogart’s got a few years on Newsom, and is playing it cooler…

…but there’s that look.

The handrolling of the cigarette is certainly more than any politician could ever muster, because of California’s modern smoking laws and the fact that there will only ever be one Humphrey Bogart.

But, the look is the same.

Which brings me to of another famous photo from that era (and the moral of the story).  Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield.

The eyeline is the same, but the meaning is completely different.  I’m guessing Lauren Bacall laid the same look on Monroe just after this photo was taken.

And while a Google image search of Jennifer Siebel Newsom turned up no similar shot, take this as a word of warning.

Female Newsom supporters: you probably won’t get the Bogie look, but the Loren look is always right there in your face - or wherever.

UPDATED:  I took the time and tracked down a short clip of Newsom eating a reporter’s microphone mentioned above - a still of which appears in the “gavin newsom” image search @SGourley is talking about.  Oh Gavin, you cad!

David Plouffe or Mitch Stewart: Who’s more of a pill? (Watch and decide)

Organizing for America, the nationwide undertaking that picks up where the Obama campaign left off, has a video out today encouraging folks to join their Pledge Project in support of President Obama’s budget and program blueprint.

The video is in the stlye of Obama for America campaign manager David Plouffe’s frequent and popular webcam updates - right down to the compelling delivery.

Mitch Stewart, Director of the new OfA, hits all the thrilling Plouffe-ian notes:  The stoic, staid monotone.  The mind-nimbingly spartan slides.  Art direction consisting of Obama signs and maps on office walls.

Nothing like sticking to what works, eh?

So look at the video above and the one below and tell me, who’s more boring Plouffe or Stewart?  And does it matter if they continue to be so successful?

Young Progressive Majority Hosts Obama In Los Angeles

Usually, I consider myself in the loop about the comings and goings of President Obama in Los Angeles.  After all, I work for the campaign’s State Director for California, Mitchell Schwartz.  People count on me to know this stuff.

But somehow I missed the President holding an LA Town Hall with Obama.

Oh.  Wait.  Never mind.

Watching it again, I figured out that they were just cutting footage from the President’s first press conference together with footage of actors faking questions to him.  It’s really a GOTV piece from Young Progressive Majority for the Los Angeles elections taking place on Tuesday, March 3, 2009.

So, check out Jordan Carlos, Lauren Weedman, Christopher Redman, Marguerite Moreau, Marty Dusig, Enuka Okuma, and Cara Pifko in a piece produced by Raul Gasteazoro & Luke Frydenger and directed by Bryan Carmel.

If you feel like reliving the magic of the real East Room press conference, here it is…

SF Chronicle: For Brown and Newsom, Age Is Just a Number (of Facebook friends)

A line of differentiation is appearing in the California Gubernatorial Primary.

It’s a generational line.

Emboldened by the hip young cat who brushed off claims of inexperience and won the White House, the exploratory campaign of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (Born: 1967) is making no bones about casting their main opponent - Attorney General Jerry Brown (Born: Before the Earth cooled) - as old…

“This will no doubt be the first governor’s race in California history - if not nationally - where one candidate sat on the other candidate’s lap as a little kid,” crows Newsom political consultant Garry South…  (San Francisco Chronicle)

…or out of touch:

“The question that I think Californians will have to come to grips with is, does California need the same governor in 2011 that it had in 1975?” said Newsom strategist Garry South.  (Los Angeles Times)

Oh, that Garry South.  Such a trouble maker.

Who knows if this line of attack works?  We’re not talking about John McCain here.  This is Jerry Brown - a very different opponent to label as old or out of touch.

That didn’t stop the Chronicle from looking for age spots on Brown’s campaign techniques:

Example: the dramatic disparity between Brown and Newsom on the social networking site, Facebook, a spectacularly successful fundraising and networking tool for President Obama’s campaign.

Newsom has launched an effort to raise “30,000 supporters in 30 days,” already amassing more than 25,000 contacts on his Facebook site, with 300-400 more signing up daily. Brown, son of the late Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, has less than 700 Facebook contacts.

The San Francisco mayor has used Facebook, Twitter, his Web site and blogs (on Daily Kos and Huffington Post) - all tools that appeal to younger voters - to attract hundreds of people around the state to town hall meetings in the past month.  (San Francisco Chronicle)

Here are a few bones I have to pick with this analysis…

First, recent Pew findings deflate the “internet is for young folks” myth:

Contrary to the image of Generation Y as the “Net Generation,” internet users in their 20s do not dominate every aspect of online life. Generation X is the most likely group to bank, shop, and look for health information online. Boomers are just as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online. And even Silent Generation internet users are competitive when it comes to email (although teens might point out that this is proof that email is for old people).  (Pew Internet and American Life Project)

Next, all of the candidates; Newsom, Brown, Garamendi and Villaraigosa are on Facebook.  You can also find Antonio, John, Jerry and Gavin on Twitter.  I’ve seen several of them as authors on prominent blogs, and all are tapping their respective email lists.

Finally, victory isn’t as simple as merely using the tools, or amassing high friend-counts on the SocNets.  It’s about establishing bi-directional communication, speaking in the language of the web (which changes daily), and showing something authentic to the online community’s magnificently well-honed bullshit detector.

Take the Facebook numbers cited in the Chronicle…

When his campaign launched this friendraiser, Newsom already had about 23,000 supporters banked.  In the two weeks since - with active outreach on Facebook and multiple blasts to their email lists - they’ve climbed to just over 27,000.  Growth of 4,000 (about 17%) over two weeks.  Not too shabby.

On the other hand, Jerry Brown had only 400 friends and change when he dropped his 25 Random Things list at the end of last week.  In the week since, Jerry has shot up to over 1,500 friends (over 350% growth) with little extra effort.  His novelty and authenticity also earned several earned media hits in meatspace.

The raw numbers are still very much on Newsom’s side, but Brown’s tapping of the meme-of-the-moment had a dramatic effect on the reach of his online community.  For that instant, it was Brown who was more fluent in the language of the web.

Online Organizing is not unlike Field Organizing; The Grind does matter.  But catching that imaginative spark - riding that wave of the internet zeitgeist - can supercharge you in bursts.

Staying open to those memes and turning those bursts into your Grind is how you dominate.

Ads from the 2009 Los Angeles City elections

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti was a vocal and early supporter of President Obama.  Now he’s brining that Obama-style change to Los Angeles.  Some friends of mine are actually hosting a fundraising event for Eric on the 24th.  RSVP for An evening with Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti on Facebook.

Councilmember Wendy Greuel is running for City Controller.  From the sound of this commercial we need some better oversight over the wacky spending going on at City Hall.  Sign up for activist action on the Wendy Greuel for Los Angeles City Controller Facebook page.

In the City Attorney race, Councilman Jack Weiss talks about his push to clear a backlog of rape kits that LAPD had yet to DNA test.

2007 California Democratic Convention - Volunteers

Volunteers prepare as conventioneers gather for the 2007 California Democratic Party State Convention.

John Pérez for Assembly - Campaign Launch

John A. Pérez launches his campaign for the California Assembly.

Watch This: The Gay Alphabet (HD)

You always knew there was something different about the alphabet.  Admit it.

We all had out suspicions, and now they can be put to rest.

The alphabet has come out of the closet in this new video: The Gay Alphabet.

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