Friend,

In the middle of a surge of the ultra-contagious, deadly Delta variant of
the coronavirus, Larry Elder sent this tweet:

[ [link removed] ]Billboard

This would be ludicrous, except for one thing: Talk-show host Elder is the
leading candidate to replace Governor Gavin Newsom in the Recall.(1) And
he could win with just a tiny fraction of the vote.

[ [link removed] ]We cannot let Larry Elder become governor of California. Will you chip
in $5 and help turn out the vote we need to defeat the
Recall?

If Elder wins, it is game over for California in this pandemic. We will
become another Texas or Florida, rejecting science and suffering wave
after wave of the virus, while people die and small businesses crumble.

Polls show that Newsom is basically tied against the Recall effort, and
while Republicans are eager to vote, the San Francisco Chronicle reports
that despite Democrats having a 2–1 advantage, they aren't paying
attention or planning to vote at the rates we need them to in order to
win.(2)

Courage California’s election machine is working to change that. We’re
reaching out to youth, holding a vote-rallying town hall, and ramping up
our media strategy to make sure that people know they need to vote to save
our state from anti-vaxxers and Trumpers come September.

[ [link removed] ]Will you chip in $5 and help turn out the vote we need to
defeat the Recall?

Californians really counted on this summer to revitalize the economy and
reopen schools. To make that happen, the state implemented
first-in-the-nation measures to get state and health care workers
vaccinated.(3)

Following the state government’s lead, San Diego County, Long Beach, Los
Angeles, and San Francisco are requiring vaccinations or weekly testing of
their employees, and large employers, including Facebook, Google, and
Netflix, are as well.(4)

And it’s working. Not only is California inching up the list of the most
vaccinated states, but during this surge, California is still reporting a
fraction of the rate of infection as states like Florida, Louisiana, and
Texas.(5,6)

Larry Elder would undo all of that progress and send us on a crash course
with the Delta variant.

Last month, Elder hosted a Texas “functional medicine” doctor on his show
who epitomized the conspiracy theory crowd. The guest said the shots are
part of Bill Gates’ effort at “population control,” and are aimed at
harming low-income and minority communities. She said the vaccines are
particularly dangerous for people who already had COVID-19, and the Delta
variant is just one of the many strains the government is releasing to
turn people into blind followers. And Elder agreed with her all the
way.(7) Now he’s promising to ban vaccine and mask mandates if he wins.

And with the way the polls are going, come September 15, this person just
might be governor of California.(8)

[ [link removed] ]We’re running out of time to make sure as many Democrats as possible
vote in the Recall election. Will you chip in $5 right away?

Yours in the fight for democracy,

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

PS: Courage California is fighting for equity and justice across the state
and country. [ [link removed] ]Will you become a monthly donor and help sustain our work?

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:
1.
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2. Ibid.
3.
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4.
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5.
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6.
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7.
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8.
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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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