Thursday, September 13, 2012

On Law’s 18th Anniversary, Peters Campaign Reminds Voters of Bilbray’s Vote to Undermine Violence Against Women Act



San Diego – Today, on the 18th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, the Scott Peters for Congress campaign called on Brian Bilbray to explain why he voted to roll back protections in the law earlier this year.

“The Violence Against Women Act was landmark legislation that dramatically increased our ability to combat domestic abuse,” said Peters Communications Director MaryAnne Pintar. “Scott believes all women deserve these protections.”

Originally enacted in 1994, the VAWA increased the ability of law enforcement agencies to protect victims of stalking, domestic violence and sexual assault. Since then, it has been reauthorized twice with bipartisan support.  On May 16, 2012, however, Bilbray voted to undermine core principles of the law by removing protections for Native American women, immigrants and members of the LGBT community.

Peters is a steadfast advocate of equal rights for all. He is endorsed by several women elected officials as well as the national Human Rights Campaign. Planned Parenthood has also endorsed him, with a 100 percent rating, for his record of standing up for women’s reproductive rights.

This is in stark contrast to Brian Bilbray who voted against equal pay protections for women, to limit women’s access to contraception and reproductive care, and to reduce the number of women protected under the Violence Against Women Act.

For more information about Scott Peters campaign to bring common-sense reform to Congress, please go to www.scottpeters.com.
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Calitics: Carl DeMaio, the next Scott Walker



By Lucas O'Conner

Cross posted from Calitics

Statewide, we're all gearing up to beat back Proposition 32, that tries to give full financial control of our elections to corporations and millionaires that have already been running amok since Citizens United came down. But down in San Diego, we're already fighting what comes next. Carl DeMaio is running for mayor with big designs on becoming a national sensation for the far right, and if he gets momentum now he just might pull it off.

Prominent state and national GOP figures are already putting on Orange County fundraisers billing DeMaio as "The Next Scott Walker," and his calling card has become the string of roadmaps and pathways that mirror Paul Ryan's Roadmap for America's Future. DeMaio knows how to become a champion for the far right, and he's executing the playbook from DC step by step.
Lucas O'Connor :: Carl DeMaio, the next Scott Walker

It's a record that should have a familiar ring to anyone who's been following the presidential race. Plucked out of college by Newt Gingrich, he worked on the Contract for America before moving on to the Reason Institute to have his work funded by the likes of the Koch Brothers and Scaife Family and fell in with the Abramoff crowd.

In a sadly familiar story, he made a personal fortune after starting companies to help the government cut jobs and outsource work, and help contractors to profit off the deals. Playing both sides of the street paid off handsomely for him.

The boldness of his hypocrisy and the things he outright makes up could almost be admirable if they weren't so damaging. Running as a fiscal conservative, he's orchestrated a new billion dollar tax payable directly to corporations. Even though voters rejected the same tax twice, he simply imposed it anyways.

He's roiled many in San Diego's LGBT community by accepting big campaign checks from some of Prop 8's biggest supporters despite being a gay candidate himself. Reportedly, the price of those donations was a promise that "he would not push the gay agenda issues" as mayor.

Now in the general election, his claims have gotten even wilder.

After posting the worst cumulative score on the League of Conservation Voters scorecard since joining the city council, he's declared himself an environmentalist based on nothing in particular.
He's attempting to reach out to San Diego's Latino community after announcing that local police should enforce federal immigration law and casting the only vote on city council defending Arizona's SB1070 racial profiling law.

And now he's announced he's pro-choice, which would be great... but big news to Planned Parenthood. Of the four leading candidates for mayor in the primary, DeMaio was the only one not rated pro-choice by Planned Parenthood.

DeMaio's gamble is that not enough people have been paying attention and the media won't push back enough for all these bizarre claims to backfire on him. He'll have millions in TV ads to make his case, and it remains to be seen whether the plan will work.

He's already spearheaded dramatic attacks on public workers, championed outsourcing, and promised that he owes favors to the developers and contractors who are bankrolling his campaign. Along the way, he hasn't hidden his plan to bring this agenda to the state level next.

If the state and national GOP is lining up to spend millions electing the next Scott Walker in San Diego, it's time to push back. You can learn much more about what's on the horizon at DirtyDeMaio, and stay up to date on Facebook and Twitter.

I'm proud to work for San Diegans for Bob Filner for Mayor 2012



A Desperate Bilbray Tries to Divert Attention from the 30,000 Military Jobs He Could Cost San Diego


San Diego, CA – Faced with what he admits is one of the biggest threats to re-election he’s ever faced, Brian Bilbray laid bare his desperation today by asking a question that was asked and answered repeatedly during the primary election.

“Brian Bilbray has voted for sequestration cuts that could cost San Diego 30,000 military-related jobs, and to charge seniors $6,400 more for Medicare so he could give tax cuts to the corporate special interests who have paid millions to support his campaigns,” said Peters’ Communications Director MaryAnne Pintar.

“Scott has made public every single source of his income for the past 12 years,” she said. “Of much greater concern to the voters is how incredibly beholden Mr. Bilbray is to the special interests that have paid millions towards his lobbying fees and to fund campaigns to support him over the past 18 years.”

During the debt ceiling debacle last summer, Brian Bilbray was part of the obstructionist Tea Party effort that caused the nation’s credit rating to be downgraded for the first time in America’s history. The resulting “sequestration cuts” he supported could cost San Diego as many as 30,000 military-related jobs.

“Rather than acting to fix this looming crisis that could devastate our economy, Mr. Bilbray’s acting like a career politician more concerned about saving his own job than about saving the jobs of 30,000 San Diegans,” said Pintar.

For the past 12 years, as a City Councilmember and Port Commissioner, Peters has filed financial disclosure statements that detail each and every source of his family’s income. His most current filing with the Federal Elections Commission is 16-pages long and was made available on line in March 2012. Peters is running to unseat Bilbray in the newly drawn 52nd Congressional District.

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Peters Campaign Launches First TV Ad of General Election



“Kids” Takes Aim at Dysfunctional Congress  


San Diego – The Scott Peters for Congress campaign launched its first television commercial of the General Election today. The 30-second spot, called “Kids” takes aim at the terrible dysfunction in Congress which has caused Congressional approval ratings to hit an all time low.

“The constant conflict and quarrelling we’re seeing from elected representatives in Washington, including Brian Bilbray, has never been worse,” said Peters. “We wouldn’t let our kids get away with behavior like this, why should we accept it in our leaders?” he said.

The ad opens with Peters saying: “Bickering. Fighting. We wouldn’t put up with this from our kids. It’s time Washington got something done.” Behind him are children dressed as House members in a mock Congressional committee room arguing and throwing paper at one another.

“It would be comical if it weren’t so sadly representative of the way our current Congress, and the incumbent, Brian Bilbray, have been conducting our nation’s business as of late,” said Peters' Communications Director MaryAnne Pintar.

“Brian Bilbray has worked in D.C. as a special interest lobbyist and congressman for decades, yet he's trying desperately to portray himself as an outsider,” she said. “He can't hide from the fact that he's part of the problem. To change Congress, we must change who we send.”

Several recent national polls show that public approval of Congress is at its lowest in history, due in large part to hyper partisanship and bickering that has caused unprecedented gridlock in Washington, D.C.

Peters is running to unseat Bilbray, a 12-year-incumbent, in the newly drawn 52nd Congressional District. To find out more, go to www.scottpeters.com.

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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Statement from Scott Peters on the Anniversary of 9/11


San Diego -- On the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our nation on Sept. 11, 2001, Scott Peters, candidate for the newly drawn 52nd Congressional District, issued the following statement:

"In the midst of heated political campaigns, we tend to focus on our differences; it’s how we make our case for election and distinguish ourselves from our opponents. On this day, though, we focus not on what divides, but on what unites us as Americans, including our tremendous gratitude for the sacrifices others have made to protect our freedoms, and our heartfelt sympathy for those who lost loved one on this date eleven years ago.

"It's hard to believe it’s been that long since we all woke up to the tragedies that unfolded in Pennsylvania, at the Pentagon, and in my one-time home of NYC. But we remain vigilant and we remember still."



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