Thanks to the current budget problems, here in San Diego I've had friends telling me about teachers receiving pink slips during class; adding insult to injury in an amazingly cruel way. In the meantime, rumors are flying about projections of 60 student average class size when the dust settles. Needless to say, this is grabbing people's attention.

As the budget crisis begins to hit the people who are directly devoting themselves to raising a smarter generation, Republicans in Sacramento are fighting tooth and nail to protect their rich yachting friends. The contrast is, to say the least (and steal from Rick Jacobs), shocking and unbelievable. Education is where everything else in society starts, so to begin the cuts there...well...you tell me.

Further down, Rick Jacobs has the details on the opening salvo from the Courage Campaign:
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It's shocking and unbelievable.

California is in crisis, facing a $16 billion budget deficit. Social services are being slashed to the bone. Teachers and education professionals are being laid off by the thousands (up to 20,000, according to California Department of Education). Tuition and fees at state universities and colleges are being raised through the roof.

And California Republican Assembly members are unanimously supporting an appalling loophole in our state's tax code that allows the super-rich to avoid paying sales taxes on...

Yachts.

Still blinking in disbelief? You read that right: Tax loopholes for yacht owners.

While you are wondering if your child's school is going to be shut down because of the brutal cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his California Republican "Yacht Party" colleagues in the state legislature are protecting the lavish lifestyles of the super-wealthy.

With the budget crisis approaching catastrophe, it's time to change the conversation inside our state capital. Inspired by California netroots activists like David Dayen and Robert Cruickshank, the Courage Campaign asked our friends at Agit Pop Communications to create a memorable ad to air on cable news programs watched by Republicans in Sacramento (OK, we also want to air it on "fake news" shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but not fake news like the Fox News Channel).

The 30-second ad is called "Yacht Party" and you can watch it by clicking here. To air this ad Wednesday on CNN and MSNBC, plus the Daily Show and Colbert Report, we have to raise $10,000 by Tuesday from members like you.

That means we need 250 generous donors contributing an average of $40 per person ASAP. Will you chip in $25, $50 or $75 or more on ActBlue to fund our "Yacht Party" ad campaign no later than Tuesday at 12 p.m.?

http://www.actblue.com/page/YachtParty

Yacht purchases aren't the only tax loophole California Republicans are blowing open for the fat-cat donors who paved their path to power in Sacramento.

Get this: Private jets are tax-free as well.

The only catch? Richie Rich must stash his yacht or private jet outside of California for at least 90 days.

So, if you're wealthy enough to not only own a yacht but spend a sizable chunk of time vacationing on it (or sneakily ship it elsewhere for a few months), you don't have to pay one dime of sales tax on your ultra-luxurious extravagance. Meanwhile, people like us pay sales tax on essential needs, from clothing to school supplies. And the Republicans in the state legislature march in lockstep, calling for draconian cuts that will destroy California's social safety net.

It's time for someone to tell the truth inside Sacramento: instead of serving the people of California, Republicans are serving their yacht-owning paymasters.

Will you help us raise $10,000 to air this "Yacht Party" ad on the Daily Show, Colbert Report, CNN and MSNBC? If you can contribute $25, $50, or $75 or more on ActBlue by noon on Tuesday, we can air this ad Wednesday on the huge flat-panel TV's of Republicans across Sacramento:

http://www.actblue.com/page/YachtParty

We don't have much time. But if 250 generous supporters of the Courage Campaign contribute an average of $40 per person before Tuesday at 12 p.m., we can raise the stakes in Sacramento, change the conversation, and maybe even embarrass Republicans into doing the right thing.

Can't contribute? Then please forward this email to your friends who can ASAP.

Your activism is making 2008 a new era for progressive politics in California. Together, we helped kill the GOP's electoral college "dirty trick," count the "double bubble" votes in Los Angeles County, and block Blackwater's base on the California border.

Now, with 30 seconds of your time and a few dollars, we can change the conversation in Sacramento.

Rick Jacobs
Chair

P.S. On Monday, Democratic Assemblymember Mark Leno blogged the details behind this outrageous "yacht tax" loophole on Calitics (a community blog for Californians):

"In February, the legislature considered closing the loophole that gives the wealthiest in the state a tax exemption for their extravagant toys. The proposal was simply to adjust this loophole in the tax law and increase the waiting period to a year--an action that is estimated would have netted the state $26 million. No-brainer, right? Well, not to the Republicans in the legislature.

Because Republicans in both houses voted against the bill, it failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed for passage. Republicans in the legislature have taken a pledge to never, under any circumstances, consider tax increases, even during budget deficits like the $16 billion one we currently face...

... (Governor Schwarzenegger) is now proposing that we cut more than $4.5 billion from K-12 education; decimate our AIDS Drug Assistance Program; further reduce reimbursement rates for health care providers; put the children of mothers on state assistance at risk of homelessness; deny the blind, the elderly, and the disabled even a minimal cost-of-living adjustment; slash funding for our court system; virtually close down our state parks system; and continue to under-fund our higher education systems."

Enough is enough. Please watch the "Yacht Party" ad. Contribute what you can afford on ActBlue by Tuesday at noon. And spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends across California as soon as possible:

http://www.actblue.com/page/YachtParty