Friend,

What do Mike Huckabee, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and anti-vaxxers have
in common?

They’re all among the key backers of the campaign to recall California
Governor Gavin Newsom.(1)

The Republican recall in California is part of the same far-right movement
that backed Donald Trump -- and if they succeed, they’ll use these same
tactics to kneecap every future governor who doesn’t line up with their
far-right agenda.

Courage California has launched a campaign to expose the far-right roots
of the Republican recall. But this is a fight we didn’t budget for when
the year started, so we need our members’ help to reach as many people as
possible.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to Courage California and help say NO to the Recall
campaign?

The people behind the Recall movement claim to be frustrated with Newson’s
actions during the pandemic, but in actuality, the founder of Recall Gavin
Newsom, the most prominent group collecting signatures for the election,
began the petition to stop immigration. He once posted on Facebook that
California should “Microchip all illegal immigrants” like “Animal
control.”(2)

The other group behind the Recall, Rescue California, is led by Del
Berccaro, a contributor to conspiracy-theory-driven news site Newsmax and
website the Epoch Times.(3)

The major funders of the two groups include Mike Huckabee’s Huck PAC,
evangelical group Pro 3:9, a supporter of the anti-government militia
group Three Percenters, and anti-vaccination group Freedom Angels.(4)

These are not the mainstream of California -- they’re extremists who are
trying to unseat the governor in a right-wing power grab.

But that’s not the story the media is spinning. Politico ran a long
interview with former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said that the
Recall was the result of dissatisfaction from the public at large.(5) USA
Today and the Los Angeles Times describe a pandemic backlash, ignoring the
fact that Newsom has a majority approval rating.(6,7,8)

And everything is being muddled by the pop culture focus on celebrity
candidates for governor, setting us up for a repeat of the 2003 recall
media circus.(9)

What is being lost in the media spin is that this Recall election is
terrible for our democracy. Voters will have a chance to evaluate Newsom’s
performance in 2022, when his term is up -- the state should not be
spending $81 million on an out-of-cycle election driven by extremist
interests.

Courage California is going to get that message out, with advertisements,
information sessions, and real grassroots campaigning. Will you donate to
help protect our democracy?

[ [link removed] ]Yes, I’ll donate to Courage California today.

Yours in the fight to end corporate control of government,

Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Caitlin, Deepthi, Jay, Lindsay,
LisaMarie, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team)

Donations go to support all of Courage California's work for a more
progressive California and country. Follow us now on [ [link removed] ]Facebook or
[ [link removed] ]Twitter!

Footnotes:
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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.

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