ASSEMBLYMAN MARK DESAULNIER GOES TO CHURCH.
On July 9, 2008, 11th Assembly district legislator, Mark DeSaulnier, (D), held a Town Hall meeting in a local Concord Church. The meeting entitled “What Does California’s Budget Deficit Mean To You?” was originally planned to be conducted in a Catholic Church. However, the pastor cancelled the meeting upon learning from parishioners that this was a political meeting and that this man has a 100%. abortion approval rating from Planned Parenthood, The meeting was held, instead, in a nearby Lutheran church.
Apparently someone forgot to tell DeSaulnier about the switch. At one point during his presentation he made reference to the faith of his Irish/Catholic mother and how pleased he was to be “back in this church.” At another point he turned to the altar and made a Sign of the Cross. Either a hectic campaign schedule caused a lapse in his memory as to where he was or, more likely his presentation was so thoroughly memorized that he couldn’t stop himself. Whatever the reason, this unpardonable behavior drew gasps even from the audience of mainly tax addicted county and non-profit employees.
DeSaulnier’s actions were not accidental. They were intended to have a powerful impression on those watching the taped Contra Costa County Cable TV showing. The goal was to make it appear that DeSaulnier and Aides for Senator Tom Torlakson,(D), Craig Cheslog and Assemblywoman Loni Hancock,(D), Jessie Buendia, (both also with 100% Planned Parenthood ratings) and big-government agendas were acceptable to the Catholic Church. It might well also impress any Latinos watching the program.
Contra Costa Times Political commentator, Dan Borenstein, hosted the program and at times, through questioning the presenters, actually controlled the direction of the talks. Borenstein informed the audience that Assembly member Guy Houston,(R), had declined the invitation to appear. A chair with his name on it sat empty. It would have been nice for the one and only local Republican elected official to have been there to give a more balanced presentation, but he certainly would have been outnumbered and would probably have been make the scapegoat for the awful budget crisis as presented by the afore mentioned tax hungry crowd.
From the angle of the camera it was impossible to determine how many people were actually present, but from the questions asked by audience members it was not hard to determine that it was mostly directors and members of non-profit organizations and community activists. Of the seven or so questions asked at least 5 carried the same refrain: “We’ve done everything you’ve told us to do and it hasn’t worked. Please tell us, Assemblyman DeSaulnier, what we can do now to get more funds and services”. Even one angelic looking nine year old girl sweetly lisped into the microphone that it (budget cuts to health care services) was “unfair to the elderly. What could she do, she was only a child?” Torlakson’s Aide, Craig Cheslog, suggested that she write her concerns to the Contra Costa Times.
Two other members of the audience attempted to ask relevant questions. One wanted to know why, since the state was paying out millions of dollars to the stem cell research people, there was no money set aside to pay for urgent needs? Why don’t the people have a greater say in budget negotiations?
DeSaulnier told her that: “We had to start off in good faith offering cuts somewhere.” He also spoke at length about the initiative process and that it had been an initiative that approved the stem cell research funding.
The other woman wanted to know why the cuts in the budget were directed to the most needy, did any of the three state employees on the panel have any ideas about what other areas could be reduced instead?
DeSaulnier made a pitch, at that point, for Senator Sheila Kuehl’s Universal Health Insurance Coverage - Single Payer. He said that that would solve the problem of cutting funds to the poor and needy. And, then he reiterated his main theme of supporting the progressive tax upon the wealthy. He also, at one point, made a slight reference to “find[ing] ways to comfortably tax ourselves by deciding what are our fundamental choices, what type of state do we want to live in?
His second theme was blaming the Republicans for the situation the state budget is in. He put it this way: The Republicans are being told by their constituents in their gerrymandered (and wealthy) districts that they don’t want to pay more taxes. “Republicans are just trying to save their offices”, he declared rather smugly. He then made a pitch for re-districting.
Much was made by the three officials there of the importance of doing away with the burdensome 2/3rds vote on funding and taxing issues. It only takes, DeSaulnier said, 6 Assembly Republicans and two senators to switch to the Democrat side in voting to remove that super majority requirement. At that point a woman got up waving sample texts and addresses and meeting dates for people to contact their elected officials.
Mark DeSaulnier. This is the man who, most likely, will be the Senator for Contra Costa County, replacing Tom Torlakson. The Democrats are putting everything they have into the local Assembly 15th district race campaign to replace the outgoing Republican with Planned Parenthood endorsed Joan Buchanan. The Republican Candidate, Abram Wilson, declares himself pro life and pro family. A Republican loss will mean that there is no representation for conservative, Christian and Bill of Rights people in the entire San Francisco Bay Area.

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