Dianne Feinstein has a progressive challenger for the Senate primary...

Dianne needs to be replaced by another,better Dem. I hope this guy is' If I look around I may find my "Dump Dianne" button from the mayoral campaign.

Sounds good so far, I am especially interested in reading/hearing more about his take on the environment -- that is a very serious issue for me. Glad to see a challenger step forward.

It will be interesting to watch.

I'll be watching for news from his campaign.

We need a replacement for Feinstein. She has "served" long enough and made lots of money while "serving."

I'm sure that Feinstein's husband works very hard and that they would have been very wealthy even if she had not been a senator and sat on such important committees.

Still I ask myself to what extent the Feinsteins have benefitted financially from the fact that she has had a front row street on what is going on in terms of foreign policy the judiciary and other government business?

This will be interesting to see if the savy upstart understands politics and if the old guard really want one last battle.

Good luck to the upstart but a first time out statewide run is a long shot.

But even I don't want to see her replaced.

Really hard. I can't get behind tossing her just yet.

DiFi has made some regretable choices, but she's also made some good choices in the past couple of years.

That said, nothing wrong with a true progressive articulating the points that should be made.

Small correction about her Campaign treasurer: not exclusivly DiFis, but she worked for many, many Democratic Orgs in the state. Ripped off groups from Eureka to SanYsidro

I doubt that they'll win, but it's in a safely Democratic seat, for good reasons, not the result of a temper tantrum over a moderate Dem in a moderate district, and not trying to primary with a candidate far to the left of the general election base.

Actually, there are at least 3 Democrats and more progressive challengers to Dianne Feinstein.
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/2012-elections/june-primary/pdf/notice-to-candidates-US-senate-2012.pdf

The "levitt" campaign seems to have neglected to get a statement in the ballot pamphlet
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vig-public-display/060512-primary-election/candidate-statements/us-senate.pdf

We are one of the alternative Democrats at the TaxTheRich2012.org / Mike Strimling for Senate campaign. You can view our ballot statement at the above link. Here is how Mike Strimling's statement will appear in the voter pamphlet:

"Tax The Rich. I run to allow you to vote for your beliefs. The rich have attacked the middle class. Taxes were four
times higher on millionaires from 1942 to 1982—when America was strongest. Even in 1918, taxes on millionaires
were 77%. Now, Romney pays only 15% on millions! You pay more! When the rich were taxed, they kept their money
invested, creating jobs. Now, they yank money out of American jobs. The result is clear. The richest 1% own more
wealth than the bottom 90% combined. Tax cuts for the rich have bankrupted America. The middle-class pays: in
expensive education and healthcare, fees and tolls, broken schools and bridges, closed parks and courts, threats to
Social Security and Medicare, debt to our children. Talented students cannot afford tuition, threatening America’s
future. The radical Supreme Court assaults consumers. Inequality causes dangerous unrest. Send a message. Restore
our beloved country. Let’s erase the deficit by restoring taxes on the rich to what they paid during Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon eras. Tax all stock and property worth over $3 million to pay the debt. Revoke charters of corporations that refuse to limit political contributions. Restore freedom and privacy. Stop senseless war. This vote is to restore balance between the 1% and the 99%. www.TaxTheRich2012.org"

Although Dianne Feinstein has not been great, by any means, we have tried not to make this a campaign about throwing mud and slime on her.

Rather, our campaign is about a central idea of Democrats whose time as come again: taxing the rich.

That central tenet of Progressives has been lost in a lot of identity politics and wedge issues, such that the rich are paying taxes at rates today that are 1/4 to 1/6 of historical rates. We have come to a time where Democratic Senators and members of Congress can vote for tax cuts for the rich and get no push back. Meanwhile, economic inequality has become outrageously high in America, and social mobility has gone down. We are using our website to get a lot of these facts and figures out to the voters and public. If you have something you'd like to contribute, we'd like to hear.

A vote for Mike Strimling on the primary ballot will bring the chance to make a clear statement in favor of progressive taxation. You can find a lot of other info about Mike on the web, for his long history of advocating progressive causes, but we are trying to bring over Independent and other voters in this "open" primary who would vote to tax the rich, as well.

We would appreciate your comments and help in getting the word out about our campaign. Come visit us at TaxTheRich2012.org and Mike Strimling's own page at

http://taxtherich2012.org/mike-strimling-for-senate-page.html