I’ve been feeling a little cynical lately so I thought I’d write about Jackie Speier just to make myself feel better about what’s going on in the state of California and GOP attempts to paint it red. Besides I met her a couple of weeks ago and she was pretty cool.
She’s the California State Senator who took Ahnold down recently after he vetoed her bill to cut the use of supplements among high school athletes. She thought “that’s weird,” did some checking, and found out about his lucrative contracts to endorse said supplements. His polls then started their big tank-aroo.
But Speier is also a notable character in California history, having been one of the assistants to Congressman Leo Ryan when he went to Guyana in 1978 to investigate rumors about the People’s Temple. Speier was shot along with Ryan and left to die on the tarmac for 22 hours by Jim Jones’ death squad. Part of her thigh was blown away and she sipped Rum to kill the pain. (Gotta love her for that.) She still carries some of the bullets.
Anyway, Speier is running for Lieutenant Governor of California, and admits it’s the first step in running for the Governor’s seat. I don’t know enough about either her or her politics to know if she’d be good, bad or otherwise, but I sure like her spirit.
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Thought she looked familiar at first, then read the part about Leo Ryan and remembered: When my family first moved from D.C. to S.F. in the mid sixties, my folks rented a house in SSF from her parents. Damn, almost 40 years ago.
Hope you make it all the way to Sacramento, Jackie. Way to smack Ahnold down, too.
Somehow, the Republicans will come up with someone who will say “I was on that tarmac and Jackie Speir was actually off in the bushes making love to an armadillo”.
But I will happily vote for her. Phil Angelides is another good future governor.
like other, i never heard about the jones thing, but as a calfornia resident i have always admired jackie speirer. literarly on every issue progressives care about she is there actually introducing legislation, being the point person pushing views into the papers, and generally being a leader on all the important issues. there are very very very few politicians who actually make you feel good about our repsentative democracy, jackie speier is one of them.
Yeah, Texas Dem, I was just going to say that if I was going to hand over my political opinion to anyone, it would be MB. She must be the bomb.
Hello. Jackie Speier just got the coveted Meteor Blades endorsement. She has my vote for the rest of her life.
I actually have met Jackie Speier… and was very impressed with her, even without knowing this amazing story from the jungles of Guyana.
She was giving an “ice cream” reception at a suite during the California Democratic Convention. You attract a lot of flies with ice cream, and I was one of those flies. :)
Anyways, she came across as a smart, dynamic, and capable woman.
If I’m not mistaken she also lost her hubby years ago in a broadside by a red-light-runner.
Speier is the epitomy of political courage. Coupled with a innate decency and bare knuckled toughness, she always fights the good fight, win or lose. She is, without a doubt, one of the finest public servants I have ever known. My admiration for her could not possibly be greater. My mother, who once worked for San Mateo County’s social service department, swore by her. The handful of times over the years in which I turned to her office for information or assistance, her people always came through (I was her constituent up until a few months ago). Above and beyond all that, I encourage any resident of California to peruse both her biography, and more importantly, her voting record. She is, simply, eminently worthy of any office in the state she may seek.
For the record, I am not in the habit of laying it on thick where politicians are concerned- far from it. I’ve never met Speier, and likely wouldn’t even recognize her if our paths crossed. But this is from the heart. Vote Jackie Speier.
Now I wish I lived in California. How can you not vote for someone who was laying on the tarmac 22 hours, left to die, and sipping rum? That is Christopher Walken-character-level cool. I can’t think of an actress that portrays that level of cool…
She sounds like a tough cookie! That fighting spirit is sorely needed on today’s political scene.
Forget Lt. Governor–she sounds like she’d be a great governor!
Jackie’s always been tres kwel….
Yes! I have returned from Amsterdam. It’s good to be back in the U.S., aside from the whole Bush being the President thing.
Rob! Are you back?
After facing down the Jim Jones death squad and living to tell about it, I’m sure facing off against Arnold seemed kind of trivial.
For my money, Jackie is terrific. Reproductive rights, labor issues, consumer issues, civil rights, education, environment, on and one, she not only votes on my side of the spectrum, but also sponsors and gets good legislation passed, and has a string of “first” accomplishments.
What is not to like?
Thanks for reminding us all of that piece of history, Jane. Obviously if she survived Jim Jones’ goon squd she has no fear of the Steroid Nazi.
Face it Jane after Arnold Kobe would be step up. She has evidently got some spit so I would tend to give the benefit of the doubt.
Well if she took on ARnold and live to tell about it, she’s got to be one of the ‘good guys/girls’!
Darn you for telling me that.