AD-51: Bradford and Gray Vie To Replace Price

Former Assemblymember Curren Price was elected to the State Senate to fill the seat of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, thus leaving Price's 51st district Assembly seat vacant. The seat will be filled in a special election to be held Tuesday September 1st.

The two front runners for that seat are Steve Bradford and Gloria Gray. Bradford originally lost the 2006 Democratic primary by a heartbreaking 112 votes to Price, who has now endorsed Bradford to be his replacement in the Assembly.

Equality California has endorsed Steve Bradford. They are aware that in the 51st AD Proposition 8 passed by a margin of 57.9 to 42.1 per cent.

Here's an excerpt from a statement from the candidate:

"If elected to represent the people of the 51st Assembly District, I will vow to continue fighting to protect the rights of all Californians including those of our LGBT brothers and sisters. In building a true state of equality, we must ensure that all members of our communities are given equal rights and protection under the law including the right to marry."

Stonewall Democrats have also endorsed Bradford. MadProfessah also endorses Bradford.

CA-GOV: Brown Refuses To Defend Prop 8 In Federal Court

Celebrity Friday: Novak Djokovic In A Speedo

Novak Djokovic attended a fashion show before the Montreal ATP Masters Series and shocked and thrilled the audience....

Obama Awards Billie Jean King Medal of Freedom

Clinton Heckled By Gay Activist at Netroots Nation

While I was at Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh Bill Clinton spoke to the assembled attendees. My blog-friends Andres Duque of Blabbeando and Matt Comer of Q-Notes were sitting next to me and Andres has now posted the full transcript:

Lane Hudson: Mr. President, will you call for a repeal of DOMA and “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” right now? Please...

President Clinton: Hey, you know, you ought to go to one of those congressional health care meetings. You did really well there. I’ll be glad to talk about that. If you will… If you will sit down and let me talk, I’ll be glad to discuss it. But if you stand up and scream I won’t be able to talk. But the other guys would love to have ya. I wanna talk a little about that too.

But anyway, so, here we are in a different world. Now, it’s not like the 1990’s. You wanna talk about ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’, I’ll tell you exactly what happened. You couldn’t deliver me any support in the Congress and they voted by a veto-proof majority in both houses against my attempt to let gays serve in the military and the media supported them. They raised all kinds of devilment. And all most of you did was to attack me instead of getting some support in the congress. Now, that’s the truth.

Secondly – it’s true! – You know, you may have noticed that presidents aren’t dictators. They voted - they were about to vote for the old policy – by margins exceeding 80% in the House and exceeding 70% in the Senate. The gave test votes out there to send me a message that they were going to reverse any attempt I made by executive order to force them to accept gays into the military. And let me remind you that the public opinion is now more strongly in our favor than it was sixteen years ago and I have continued supporting it. That John Shalikashvili, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under me, was against “Don’t A..” – was against letting gays serve – is now in favor of it. This is a different world. That’s the point I’m trying to make.

Let me also say something that never got sufficient publicity at the time. When General Colin Powell came up with this ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ it was defined while he was Chairman much differently than it was implemented. He said that, if you will accept this, here is what we’ll do. We will not pursue anyone, any military members out of uniform will be free to march in gay rights parades, go to gay bars, go to political meetings, whatever mailings they get, whatever they do in their private lives, none of this will be a basis for dismissal. It all turned out to be a fraud because of the enormous reaction against it among the middle level officers and down after it was promulgated and Colin was gone. So nobody regrets how this was implemented even more… anymore than I do. But the congress also put that into law by a veto-proof majority and many of your friends voted for that, believing the explanation about how it would be eliminated. So, I hated what happened. I regret it. But I didn’t have, I didn’t think at the time, any choice if I wanted any progress to be made at all. Look, I think it’s ridiculous. Can you believe they spent – what did they spend? - 150,000 dollars to get rid of a valuable Arabic speaker recently?

And, you know, the thing that changed me forever on ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ was when I learned that 130 gay service people were allowed to serve and risk their lives in the 1st Gulf War and all their commanders knew they were gay, they let them go and risk their lives ‘cause they needed them, and then as soon as the 1st Gulf War was over, they kicked them out. That’s all I needed to know, that’s all anybody needs to know, to know that this policy should be changed.

Now, while we’re at it, let me say one thing about DOMA, since you… The reason I signed DOMA was, and I said when I signed it, that I thought the question of whether gays should marry should be left out to states and the religious organizations, and if any church or other religious body wanted to recognize gay marriage they ought to. We were attempting at the time, in a very reactionary congress, to head off an attempt to send a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the states. And if you look at the Levin referendum much later in 2004, in the election, which the Republicans put on the ballot, to try to get the base vote for President Bush up, I think it’s obvious that something had to be done to try to keep the Republican congress presenting that. The President doesn’t even get to veto that. It’s the Congress can refer constitutional amendments to the states. I didn’t like signing DOMA, and I certainly didn’t like the constraints it would put on benefits, and I’ve done everything I’ve could, and I am proud to say that the State Department was the first federal department to restore benefits to gay partners in the Obama administration, and I think we are going forward in the right direction now for federal employees, and I don’t like that eith… I don’t like the DOMA.

But actually all these things illustrate the point I was trying to make. America has rapidly moved to a different place to a lot of these issues and so what we have to decide is what we are going to do about it.

It was pretty electric to be in the room at the time. Interestingly,when we sat down I had tried to talk Matt and Andres into heckling Big Dog with "What About DOMA" but they talked me out of it. Apparently Lane asked people in the Netroots Nation LGBT caucus on Twitter right before standing up and doing it.

Although I don't condone the disruption, it was very interesting to get Bill Clinton on the record on DADT and DOMA.

Daily Kos Poll On Marriage Equality

Daily Kos polled on the question of same-sex marriage. Here are the results

Research 2000. 8/9-8/12. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines)

If you voted in the 2008 election last November did you vote for or against Proposition 8 which banned same-sex marriage?

For 51
Against 45
Did not vote 4

As you may know the 2010 ballot may feature an initiative which if passed would allow for same-sex marriage in California. If you were voting today on such an initiative would you vote for or against allowing same-sex marriage in California?

For 47
Against 48
Not sure 5

In the first question, "For" is against gay marriage, in the second, it's for it. In short, support for gay marriage is up 2 points, while opposition is down from 51 percent to 48 percent. That's a five point drop. For a ballot initiative that passed by a scant 4.48 points, that turns this effort into a toss-up.

Unfortunately, Kos makes a typical error here. 1) The margin of error is +/- 4 points. That means that you have no idea what the actual opposition to marriage equality is. He has it at either -6 or -1 but it could 4 points in either direction. 2) His sample of 51% Yes on 8, 45% No on 8 underestimates support for Prop 8, as well as the opposition. (Who are the nutjobs who didn't not know how they voted??) That sample that is being polled is NOT the electorate we have in 2010!

In order for MadProfessah to support a ballot measure to repeal Proposition 8, support for marriage equality needs to be GUARANTEED at 50%, outside of the margin of error. In this poll, that would be a result of 54%. Even with those numbers, it would take millions of dollars to win an affirmative marriage equality proposition in a general election, and victory is NOT assured.

Here are the internals

QUESTION: As you may know the 2010 ballot may feature an initiative which if passed would allow for same-sex marriage in California. If you were voting today on such an initiative would you vote for or against allowing same-sex marriage in California?

       FOR AGAINST NOT SURE
ALL           47 48 5
MEN           45 50 5
WOMEN         49 46 5
DEMOCRATS     65 29 6
REPUBLICANS   15 81 4
INDEPENDENTS  54 42 4
WHITE         50 44 6
BLACK         27 71 2
HISPANIC      43 53 4
ASIAN         49 45 6
18-29         64 32 4
30-44         46 49 5
45-59         44 50 6
60+           37 57 6
NORTHERN      41 51 8
CENTRAL       40 54 6
LA COUNTY     50 47 3
BAY           66 30 4
SOUTHERN      38 56 6

Note the highlighted numbers. Although since there's no oversampling the margins of errors on these sub-groups can be extraordinarily high. The intense Republican opposition to marriage equality is clearly a problem, especially the lukewarm Democratic support for it.

Also, it is unusual (and disturbing) that only 2% of African-American respondents are undecided.

Clijsters Returns; Beats Bartoli, Schnyder & Sveta

Former World #1 Kim Clijsters of Belgium returned to the WTA Tour in Cincinnati Open and has dispatched 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli (6-3 6-2), crafty lefty Patty Schnyder (6-2 7-5) and 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova (6-4 4-6 6-2 ) in consecutive matches. Clijsters plays World #1 Dinara Safina in the quarters on Friday.


The day did not go as well for the Williams Sisters, who less than 5 weeks after meeting each other in the Wimbledon final forthe second consecutive year played their worst tennis in years to lose hours apart. Venus Williams lost to Flavia Penneta (who has turned into something of a bete noire for the 7-time major champion) 7-6 (2) 6-4 while Serena Williams lost 7-5 6-4 to Sybille Bammer.

SF CHRONICLE (& Mark Leno & Mayor Gavin) Support 2012!

The San Francisco Chronicle printed an editorial in support of the Prepare to Prevail position on when to repeal proposition 8: 2012.

It's regrettable that the restoration of marriage rights to gays and lesbians has to be subject to strategic political calculation. But it's also hard to argue with the conclusion reached by Equality California, the state's largest gay-rights group, that the repeal of Proposition 8 would have a better chance in 2012 than in 2010.

Other gay-rights groups plan to push forward with a ballot measure in 2010.

Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said he agrees with the decision to wait. "There is much work to be done in winning the hearts and minds of California voters," he said, citing polls that showed public opinion has not shifted notably since November.

However, polls show an unmistakable correlation between voters' ages and their support for marriage equality, and each election cycle brings another wave of young voters. The issue also is advanced as Californians who may be instinctively uncomfortable with the idea of same-sex marriage consider the effect of this discrimination among neighbors and colleagues who are denied the rights, responsibilities - and societal reverence - of marriage.

The delay is wise in giving advocates of marriage equality the time - and resources - to educate and motivate voters to remove this vestige of discrimination from the state constitution.

Openly gay State Senator Mark Leno was the chief sponsor of the marriage equality bill passed by the California Legislature in 2005 and 2007 and vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

San Francisco Mayor (and gay marriage champion) Gavin Newsom also does not support rushing to the ballot in 2010.

Newsom said today he believes that a 2012 ballot initiative makes sense, considering the fragmented state of the same-sex marriage coalition.

"In a perfect world we'd go forward next year, but the reality is we're not united," Newsom said.

"Time is definitely our ally," especially with thousands of younger, liberal Californians registering to vote, he said.

It will be interesting to see the 2010 proponents rebut these arguments from same-sex marriage supporters with data and analysis, instead of emotion and "magical thinking."

MadProfessah is at Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh!

EQCA Supports 2012; Courage Campaign 2010

As expected, in a detailed plan with accompanying press conference, Equality California came out in favor of targeting November 2012 to repeal Proposition 8 by an affirmative marriage equality ballot measure.

The Courage Campaign reiterated their support for continuing to aim for November 2010, citing their success in raising well over $100,000 by today's August 13th goal.

Interestingly, Marc Solomon (EQCA's Marriage Director) sat down with Unite The Fight blogger Phillip Minot and gave them an exclusive interview in which he strongly cites the Prepare to Prevail statement as influential in making EQCA's decision. An excerpt:

"When I first got out here, I thought, 'Of course we’re going back in 2010. We can’t wait.' And I heard people say, 'Well are you sure? Does that make sense?" From funders and more."

Marc paused. "And then I really started listening. I listened carefully. I think the people need to listen carefully to the POC LGBT groups who feel they are being steamrolled. I think they felt steamrolled when we first came out for 2010.

"There’s this feeling that when it’s convenient, that people will listen to what [the POC groups] have to say and when it’s not, they won’t. I think we all have to think about that. Think about what these communities went through after Prop 8 passed and the blaming of POC communities. I think it’s important that people listen to that perspective, that they're thinking 'Our communities got blamed for Prop 8.' And after, people said a lot of work will happen, and now the work hasn’t happened and we’re saying we’re going right back to the ballot. That’s an important perspective to keep into account."

Marc rebuffed the claim that those who support 2012 are wanting to "wait."

"We all want to win back marriage as quickly as humanly possible. The question is, 'Can we get it done by 2010 or not?'"

Marc then addressed the philosophy of returning to the ballot each election year until we win.

"We [EQCA] don’t believe we can go back to the ballot in [2010 and 2012] - it’s one or the other. If we lose, it will be very hard to go back to the ballot before 2014, 2016 or 2018. The thought of spending 150 million dollars three election cycles in a row is totally unrealistic.

"If you keep going back to the ballot over and over, you appear to the movable middle, to the people you need to persuade, as a zealot. Regular people will say, 'Oh my god, they’re back again. Haven’t we already decided this?' And we say, 'We’re fighting. We’re fighting to win.' But we have to think about who needs to come our way and who we need to move."

If people are curious about what they can do to win marriage back NOW there's a Joint EQCA-JRC-VFE Canvass this Saturday from 10am-3pm in South Los Angeles. We'll be talking to real voters door-to-door about marriage equality. Join us!

VOTER CANVASS
Saturday, August 15th, 10am-3pm
Holy Faith Episcopal Church
260 N Locust St
Inglewood, CA 90301

RSVP@jordanrustin.org

We're not waiting until 2012, we're working until 2012!

BOOK REVIEW: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is Susannah Clarke's award-winning fantasy novel from 2005 that swept the international best-seller lists by storm (unbeknownst to me at the time). It was one of the many books I read on My Trip to Italy in January 2008. Other amazing books I read on that trip were Junot Diaz ' The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (click to see MadProfessah's review) and Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

It won the 2005 Hugo Award as well as the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. It lost the 2005 Nebula award to Joe Haldeman's Camouflage.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the debut novel by Susannah Clarke. It is a 1,000-plus page tour de force combination of fantasy, folk tales and English manners.

The central conceit of the book is that magic has left the British Isles and only a certain Mr. Norrell is the only genuine magician left in the entire country. Unfortunately, Norrell turns out to be a reclusive, misanthropic egomaniac.

The book is set in 19th century Britain and so has the feel of a classic work by Dickens or Austen with odd Olde English spellings of words, especially verb tenses. However, the book is long, very long, and it is also very slow, in a deliberately languorous way. This is clearly a choice by the author, but it is a dangerous one. It turns Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel into a book that one is not going to finish in one, two or even ten sittings. It is only the richness of the world and curiousity about the ultimate fates of the two central characters that keeps one coming back for more.

When one gets to the end, one is satisfied and pleased that one has made it to the end, like completing a marathon, but it is not something one will set out to repeat any time soon.

PLOT: A.
IMAGERY: A.
IMPACT: A-.
WRITING: A-.

OVERALL GRADE: A/A-.

2010 vs 2012 To Be Clarified In Next Two Days

Equality California is set to release their plan on how to win back marriage in California today.

MEDIA ADVISORY: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 12, 2009

CONTACT: Vaishalee Raja
PHONE: 916-284-9187 EMAIL: vaishalee@eqca.org

Equality California today Releases Roadmap, Recommended Timeline to
Restore Freedom to Marry for Same-Sex Couples

What: After many conversations with community members across the state, coalition partners, donors and political strategists, Equality California (EQCA) will hold a teleconference to discuss its “Winning Back Marriage Equality in California: Analysis and Roadmap,” with a recommended timeline on returning to the ballot to restore the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. EQCA will also discuss the achievements of its Win Marriage Back: Make it Real! effort, an on-the-ground, statewide organizing campaign launched almost 100 days ago.

When: Wed., August 12th at 11 a.m. PDT; 2 p.m. ET

Who: Geoff Kors, Executive Director; Marc Solomon, Marriage Director; Andrea Shorter, Deputy Director of Marriage and Coalitions; Amy Mello, Field Director

How: Dial-in (866) 213 - 7648; Note: participants must also provide the following conference ID number: 24283655. Lines are limited and will open at 10:45 a.m. PDT.

This call is for reporters and bloggers.

Equality California will continue soliciting feedback from community members and will hold a virtual town hall via livestream moderated by Bay Area Reporter Editor Cynthia Laird on Thursday, August 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. PDT. To join the town hall, visit www.livestream.com/equalitycalifornia at that time.

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org

Unfortunately, MadProfessah will miss the fun because I will be on a plane to Pittsburgh for Netroots Nation. However, a little bird told me that it is very likely that EQCA will be Preparing To Prevail.

Tomorrow, Courage Campaign will be releasing the results of their fundraising appeal of raising $200,000 by August 13 to move forward with the necessary ballot language testing and message research to get ready for the September 25th deadline to submit initiatives to the Secretary of State (and Attorney General) for the November 2010 statewide ballot. They are widely expected to have raised their half of the money--the big question is did they get partners to raise the other $100K?

We'll know by Friday, folks. Stay tuned!

MadProfessah Quoted in Sacramento Bee on 2010 vs 2012

A little bird emailed me to let me know that I was quoted in today's Sacramento Bee column("Gay marriage advocates debate next California move") by noted political pundit Dan Walters. In fact, not only was I quoted but this very blog you are reading was mentioned as well! Unfortunately, he still clings to the "zombie meme" that Black and Latin voters were to blame for Proposition 8's passage:

In the aftermath of the 2008 Proposition 8 campaign, it became apparent that much, if not all, of the winning margin came from African American and Latino voters who turned out in extra-heavy numbers to support Obama's presidential bid, and that has generated nearly a year of acrimonious debate within the gay rights community and black and Latino political circles.

Ron Buckmire, a mathematics professor at Occidental College who describes himself in his Internet blog as a "black, gay, Caribbean, liberal, progressive, moderate, fit, married, college-educated, NPR-Listening, tennis-playing feminist atheist," has emerged as one of the leading advocates for waiting.

"As I like to say: Do the math," Buckmire said in one interview. "It's going to take a long time. … I haven't seen a plan to win yet. I've seen a plan to get on the ballot. But not to win."

One question that gay rights advocates are trying to answer is whether the 2010 election, an off-year for presidential politics but one in which California will elect a new governor, would be more or less conducive to same-sex marriage.

Voter turnout would be lower than in 2008, most likely, and that probably would mean a somewhat whiter and older set of voters, which also could mean a lower turnout of those pro-Proposition 8 black and Latino voters.

While it is true that if only White voters had voted in November 2008, Proposition 8 would have failed. That does not mean that people of color are responsible for the passage of the measure. When you control for the rate at which different groups go to church (i.e. once a week, once a month, almost never) Black, Latino and Asians have approximately equivalent rates of support for marriage equality as white voters.

Whitney Houston Single "Million Dollar Bill"

The first single from Whitney Houston's comeback album, I Look To You, is called "Million Dollar Bill" and was written by Alicia Keys. The single will be released next Monday August 17th, the album comes out two weeks later on the 31st of August.
hat/tip to Wonder Man

Field Poll Shows CA Movement on Marriage Since 1977

Last Wednesday while MadProfessah was on vacation in Costa Rica, the Field Poll released new data (pdf) which showed that support for marriage equality in California has reached 49% (while opposition is now at 44%) with a margin of error of +/- 1.1 percentage points.

The report explains what has caused the change in support for same-sex marriage in California from 1977 to present: Democrats!

Among the most significant changes in voter attitudes over the past thirty years has been an increasing level of support for allowing same-sex couples to marry. In 1977 voters opposed allowing same-sex marriage by a two to one margin (62% to 31%). When The Field Poll asked the same question this year opinions are far different, with 49% of registered voters supportive and 44% opposed.

Californians’ greater acceptance of allowing same-sex marriage has come entirely from the changing views of registered Democrats and non-partisans rather than Republicans. Democratic voter views have shifted from greater than two-to-one opposition in 1977 to greater than two-to-one support this year. Similarly, where non-partisans opposed allowing same-sex couples to marry three decades ago by a five-to-three margin, now they support it five to three.

Republicans, on the other hand, have not changed their views on this issue, and if anything, are now more opposed than they were thirty years ago. A nearly three to one majority of Republicans (68% to 23%) currently opposes allowing same-sex marriage in California. This is slightly greater than their 65% to 30% opposition found in a 1977 Field Poll.

The specific question asked (in 1977 and in 2009) was: "Do you approve or disapprove of California allowing homosexuals to marry members of their own sex and have regular marriage laws apply to them?" It should also be noted that the actual polling was conducted February 20th to March 1st, many months before the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 on Decision Day (Tuesday May 26).

Downtown LA HIV/AIDS Cuts Protest Tue Aug 11

MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released July 15th and MadProfessah and The Other Half saw it during the first weekend (at our usual movie house in Alhambra).

The Other Half hasn't read any of the books but has seen all of the Harry Potter movies with me, and I have read all the books. Unfortunately, although the 6th edition in the series is one of the strongest books, it is decidedly NOT one of the strongest of the film adaptations.

It's true that at this point in the series the main characters are now teenagers with the concomitant hormonally fueled obsessions but on film this seems to overwhelm any of the other multiple story lines that J.K. Rowling has packed into the penultimate book.

The Half-Blood Prince is an incredibly important part of the Harry Potter series, with an incredibly important plot development that I won't reveal here (it involves the death of one of the most important characters).

My point is that when the pivotal event occurs in the film instead of being emotionally overwhelmed by the significance of the moment one is simply unmoved.

It is surprising that this film is so bad because David Yates directed this one and the one before, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (read MadProfessah's review), because the two are so divergently effective. Yates is scheduled to direct the two films which the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (read MadProfessah's review) is being made into, for release in Christmas 2010 and Christmas 2011. Hopefully, he will do a better job with those film than he did with The Half-Blood Prince.

Running Time: 2 hours, 33 minutes. MPAA Rating: PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.

Plot: B.
Acting: B-.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: C.

Overall Grade: B-.

Eye Candy: Philip Fusco (reprise)

MadProfessah.com first featured model Philip Fusco on February 9, 2009 in color but he is attractive enough that I think that we need another look at him, this time in black and white only. Interestingly, Mr. Fusco is more than just a pretty face and a lithe body; he has his own blog.

VIDEO: Sotomayor Sworn In As 111th SCOTUS Justice

MadProfessah Quoted in SF Chronicle Blog

MadProfessah has been involved in the Prepare to Prevail movement to urge people who are gung ho about repealing Proposition 8 by an affirmative ballot measure in 2010 to think more deeply about the implications and impacts of such a commitment on the entire community.

To that effect, the media has been catching up to the story of intra-community dialogue. The latest story was written by Joe Garofoli at the San Francisco Chronicle Politics blog and is titled "The uphill climb facing same sex marriage supporters"

Leave it to a math professor -- like Ron Buckmire, associate math prof at Occidental College -- to break down some raw numbers to illustrate the task facing folks who want to put gay marriage on the ballot in November 2010.

The Mad Professah -- as herefers to himself in his blog-- has another gig as board prez of the Jordan/Rustin Coaltion, a African-American gay rights group in LA. As we've told you before, it's one ofseveral LGBT coalitions of colorthat says there hasn't been enough outreach done, and wants to hold off on rushing to the ballot (like in 2010) until more hearts and minds can be changed. The Professah knows how hard that can be. He's been canvassing in LA for a while (and involved in other gay rights campaigns since the early 1990s).

In July, he was part of a group that had its most successful day ever in "moving" voters in a middle-class black neighborhood in LA -- that is getting them to change their mind just a bit about the issue. They moved 50 voters -- after knocking on 1,200 doors.

"As I like to say: Do the math," Buckmire told us. "It's going to take a long time." While he's happy that some outreach is starting, "I haven't seen a plan to win yet. I've seen a plan to get on the ballot. But not to win."

Garofioli goes on to intimate that a plan to win will be released on Monday. Presumably, he is referring to Equality California's Marc Solomon's much anticipated memo on exactly how and when the state's largest LGBT organization feels Proposition 8 should be repealed.

MadProfessah will be on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius radio show at 1:30pm PDT on Monday discussing the reasons why I think 2010 is too early to attempt to repeal Proposition 8 permanently.