Jackie Speier: Badass Democrat

From Jane Hamsher comes the story of Jackie Speier, California State Senator and candidate for Lt. Governor. Speier is the kind of fighting Democrat that the party really needs more of.

The most fascinating part of her career concerns her early political career. Speier was a congressional assistant to Rep. Leo Ryan, and she accompanied him on his fact-finding trip to Jonestown in the late 1970s. Ryan was killed during the mission; Speir was shot five times and left for dead. Here's an SFGate piece with more details on this chapter of her life.

And she's suffered other tragedies as well: two miscarriages and the death of her first husband in a car accident (when she was pregnant with her second child, no less).

No wonder this woman's got fighting spirit. She's the one who first noticed Schwarznegger's little conflict of interest regarding nutritional supplements. Something tells me that all she's lived through, Ahnuld is a walk in the park.

And she wants to be lieutenant governor? Heck, if I were in California, I'd want her for governor.

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