The great divide 

Like a dutiful little progressive, when Vice President Kamala Harris was crowned heir apparent, I was so elated that Democrats had a chance to keep the White House that I coughed up a meagre donation. Now the text messages won't quit!

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"Team Harris-Walz: Shredder, did you see this email from Oprah Winfrey?" "Shredder, we're at a point in this election where each of us must reconsider whether we're doing enough." "Shredder, it's the Harris-Walz Merch Team here with an amazing opportunity to win an autographed yard sign!" "Shredder: If everyone reading this text donated $100 to Kamala Harris' campaign for President, we would not only have a huge number of donations—but we'd have the resources we need to win."

I'm getting five or six texts a day, to say nothing of the stream of emails and phone calls. I understand it takes money to win elections, but shouldn't it be a battle of ideas rather than a battle of big bucks? Even at the local level, money makes the world go around, and traditionally, the Republicans have won that game, but not lately and certainly not in SLO County, where the SLO Democratic Party is sitting on $336,717 compared to the Republican Party of SLO County's paltry $15,891.

Before all you fellow progressives cream your Underoos™ at the thought of monetarily bulldozing over the local MAGA conservatives and their election-denying, conspiracy theorizing, and scapegoating of immigrants, consider that according to SLO County Democratic Party Chair Tom Fulks, only about 10 percent of the money raised will be spent on local races. Most of it will fund candidates in other state district races deemed "gettable"—a tight contest in which a Democrat might win over a Republican, an open seat, "or where they're defending a particularly vulnerable Assembly member whose district is close," Fulks added.

If it all seems a little weird, as if state Democrats are hiding money in SLO County, it is, but it's all part of the Dems' grand plan to win as many down ballot races throughout the state as possible. Are the Dems finally getting smarter? Schmaybe!

Republican Party of SLO County Chair Randall Jordan is probably quaking in his boots and the attached straps he no doubt pulled himself up by. Even if the Dems only spend 10 percent locally, that's still more than double what the Repubs hold.

"The unions and the consultants, normally, special interest groups, don't want to donate to the Republican Party, because we hold our values very, very, very closely," Jordan said. "With the going trend with socialism and communism being introduced into our society, we fight that."

Gotta watch out for that darn socialism, with its public education, first responders, Medicare, Children's Health Insurance Program, and Social Security. Nasty business, amirite? And don't get me started with communism, which is obviously taking hold in capitalist-consumeristic America (insert exaggerated eyeroll). Do liberals and conservatives live in two separate realities? Jordan is waxing poetic about the "values" conservatives hold "very, very, very closely," and acting like liberals are heathens, but which party cares about helping people in need and which one cares about embryos and controlling women's bodies? You believe unions don't want to donate to you because of your "values?" You're probably right. Your "values" suck.

I don't know about you, but I miss the days when the Republican party wasn't led by an unhinged malignant narcissist, 34-time convicted felon, and sexual abuser who claims Black immigrants are eating their neighbors' pets and who cares more about rally crowd sizes than the U.S. Constitution. The fact that the previous sentence can even be written proves just how crazy our world has become.

Speaking of down ballot races and craziness, what's up with the Grover Beach City Council and its 10 months of sustained acrimony? The race for mayor is heating up, and it looks to be more of the same nastiness as former Mayor Debbie Peterson battles to get her seat back. Current Mayor Karen Bright isn't even running again, and I don't blame her. Grover Beach residents are now so deeply divided and distrustful of their "opponents" (You know you guys are neighbors, right?) that every council meeting is a lesson in incivility.

"That's the result of Debbie Peterson in the way she does business," Bright told New Times. "Truly, if she's not disrupting or sowing seeds of distrust, she's just not doing her job."

Things went sideways for Bright when Grover Beach joined Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach in the Central Coast Blue regional recycled water project and voted to raise Grover's water rates to pay for it. That inspired Peterson to form Grover H2O, which opposed the rate hike, tried to recall Bright, and eventually led to Grover pulling out of the project. According to Bright, Grover H2O members come to council meetings and intimidate those who disagree with them.

"It makes people who are in the audience uncomfortable. If someone gets up and says something that they don't particularly agree with, they're snickering in the background," Bright said. "Everybody has a right to their opinion, and whether it agrees with yours or not, they have the right to speak it."

I have a feeling the snickering is just beginning. Δ

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