Has been more than enough to make me want to vote for her even if I were the dumbest, most conservative ex-military bonehead in San Diego. The GOP appears to be as desperate as a junkie to hold on to the pork barrel conveyor belt system set up in the 50th District.

Why are we having this stupid election? Because the incumbent was such a retarded fascist scumbag that he openly accepted bribes, no doubt perceiving nothing wrong with his way of doing business. He was an ideal candidate for this braindead part of southern California: corrupt, stupid, happily ignorant and not about to generate any new brain cells. Dumb as dirt and proud of it. Another asshole wrapped in the flag.

I hope that Busby wins tomorrow. Seems like a nice woman. I doubt that she'll fit into the culture of corruption in DC the way that "Duke" Cunningham fit in. Which is apparently what has the GOP foaming at the mouth with veins standing out on its neck.

As for the description of this area, "sleepy beach towns" no longer exist and haven't for 25 years. People are packed in like sardines, traffic is a fucking nightmare 24/7, the cost of living is obscenely high, civic planning is unheard of, sports clubs turn our politicians into mindless whores... But, hey, the weather's nice...

That Bilbray isn't a complete scumbag out of the gate... I mean, he's no Bob Filner (the bottom of the barrel)... but he's just another idealogue and I assume that the GOP sees him as a plug of clay, ready and willing to be shaped by ye olde military-industrial complex.

But, as an San Diego North County independent who can't remember the last time I voted down one party's line, I've had it with the National Republican Party. I am sick and tired of the overwhelming negativity and fear that they have tried to inflict on us through mailers, but especially through phone messages left on my answering machine.

So, it was surprising, a few days ago, to get a phone message from one of Busby's supporters that was actually positive, polite, and about the candidate. And that, since then, I have gotten phone calls from live people working for the Busby campaign.

So, for the first time in my life, I am going to go out tomorrow to stump for a politician, Francine Busby. I'd like to see change in D.C. and I have to accept that if it's going to happen, it's going to have to start here in District 50. Please wish us luck, because, let's be real, this district still has more registered Republicans than registered Democrats.

NOTE: The television ads from the national political parties have been "make me sick to my stomach" awful. As for Bilbray, he's been such a one note monkey these past few weeks. I guess if he tried to talk about other issues, or heaven forbid, ethics, no one would buy it. But, it's too bad his moderate stance on social issues would turn hard line Republicans against him. As an independent, I might have considered voting for him.

I've had the pleasure of working with Francine Busby and her staffers in last November's Special Election, where she had what can only be called the courage, before it was in any way clear that the propositions would be roundly defeated, in coming out early and strong against the Governor's initiatives--even to the point of allowing us to use her staff, her lists, and her office for phone banking and precinct walking--she got a secondary name ID, but that was it.

That gaffe, I took as something that comes with the territory in the final stretch of a grueling race: you're tired, and in that fatigue, you can run the real risks of sticking to script and coming off as too wooden and rote, or making errors with off-the cuff statements in service to a 'keep it real' vibe. I don't think that by itself has the power to move this election.

What does are the voters of the 50th--a constituency that, to my mind, Mr. Verini got very right and very wrong. North County San Diego has always been a case study in contridictions, with demographics all over the map; hemp wearing ex-hippies with money, both liquid and in equity in the coastal regions; biotech and telecom yuppies, Mira Mesa with its large numbers of enlisted military, and a very large Filipino and Southeast Asian community--that's been here long enough to have a significant pool of voters, the 78 corridor, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido, with a large (and counter to what you may have heard, voting eligible) Latino population, that is flexing the muscles it started developing years ago with Props 187 and 209. I can say with conviction, after repeated contact with this district, that they're not nearly as knee-jerk as one might think.

That almost mythic 20 points that Duke won by last election was basically a self-fulfilling prophecy in that Dems, not seeing a chance of winning, didn't support the candidate, and so lost handily. We see that in a lot of races in so-called 'safe' seats--Duncan Hunter in San Diego's East County is considered 'unbeatable' --so we don't run a strong contender, and he picks even more momentum. And what's true for San Diego is true for the rest of the country.

It's wrong. I've been saying for years now that we should consider every seat to be in play, and possible to pick off; conceding too early by running sacrificial lambs, or worse, allowing GOP'ers to run unopposed is suicide, and bad for every other race--state, county, municipal. I'm glad Dems have gotten religion on this. Let's hope this keeps up into 2008--we have a real chance right now to take our country back, precinct by precinct congressional district by congressional district, state leg by state leg. Let's not drop the ball when we're so close. Mainstream America wants us to win--they may be to overwhelmed and demoralized to help us much--the last 5 years I've compared to a bad case of PTSD, with learned helpnessness and psychological numbing major components, and a real reason why we don't see more people doing more.

But that's why we're here, right? To do the work, and show the rest of the nation that it's not futile, that change, can really happen. It really is possible to course-correct even something as large as the ocean liner that is this country. It seems as though we're sinking, but we're not; we're just listing. We can set things right.

And that's why the 50th is so important--this could very well be the B-12 shot America, and those who love her, so desperately needs.

Go Busby!

(apologies in advance for spelling/grammar/style errors. it's late, and there's no spellcheck)