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H e said that he kicked our butts, he said that we were a special interest. Arnold Schwarzenegger's adminis- tration told us, after reducing safe staffing standards, that we should be glad that they did not reduce all of the standards. Those imprisoned in staid political conventional wisdom said that we had to find a way to compromise with him because he was too famous and too powerful to stop. When I met with our organization's leadership on the day of the "announcement" there was not the slightest doubt as to what had to be done. We went to work doing what we do when injustice is done to nurses and patients—we stand up and we fight back. As many of us know, what became an immediate challenge was not the clever- ness of the extreme corporate right's cam- paign to pay off the governor rather than paying their fair share in California taxes— that was the easy part, we fight them every day. What we were up against was a demor- alized and politically cynical civil society that had lost hope that they still had the power to shape their own destinies against the litany of corporate abuses heaped upon them that have been so eloquently depict- ed by Ralph Nader through the years. We found ourselves on a faint but indeli- bly just path cleared by those courageous political pioneers that preceded us by decades—the women who had stood up for the right to vote, the labor heroes and hero- ines who lived and died trying to bring a better life to their families and communi- ties, the political warriors who had chal- lenged—and changed—their own states and countries to create a better world. Our protests began in many small ven- ues as well as in many more highly-organ- ized rallies. The objective of our protests was to reveal the ravenous corporate appetite that had taken hold in California as embodied in its latest host, the former superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger, and to force the press to observe and analyze the picture. When other groups who also pro- vide protection and security for their com- munities joined us, their dedication warmed our hearts. When patients and stu- dents and retirees and conservatives who had never previously attended a protest began joining us, it strengthened our spir- its. But the tenacity to continue was and remains challenging as this governor has an appetite for money that is never satiat- ed. There have been so very many fundraisers sponsored by the governor who abandoned public service in favor of a slav- ish devotion to corporate interests, the gov- ernor who is intent on selling off our public protections to the highest private bidder. We were up against something even greater than we had originally assumed. The depth of the corruption that was occur- ring was shocking even to many in the busi- ness community. Our state pensions became commodities for the open market, our schools opened for bidding by those who would benefit financially from vouch- ers, our minimum standards of living held back by a Chamber of Commerce that chose to give the governor millions while relegating those who depend on a minimum wage to a life of bare subsistence—or less. The list goes on. For every dollar the cor- porations gave the governor, an injustice was visited on the California public. The governor sought statewide initia- tives through a designer election that would, if successful, consolidate his power and greatly strengthen the power of the cor- porate elite, while silencing any reasonable voice of opposition. There were no initia- tives for the people for whom he professed to care about when he had run for office two years before. There was no challenge to oil companies that gave the governor mil- lions in exchange for his complicity and silence. There were no reductions in drug prices or policies allowing Californians to purchase Canadian drugs because U.S. drug companies were lining the governor's pock- ets with their most refined formulary— money. Did you ever imagine a year like this? We were not only up against a very corrupt governor, we were up against the apathy of a demoralized society. We were up against multinationals that have chosen to move their investments abroad to make greater profits. We were up against career politi- cians in a political system who would not challenge even the most basic corporate affronts to human dignity for fear of becom- ing "unelected." But we were never up against our own faith. It was faith in the basic belief that people are entitled to live a healthy life. It was the belief that we have in ourselves, the belief that brought us to CNA in whatever way, the belief that we could make a dif- ference. It was this belief that was before us Tuesday night as the California public voted with the only group that said no to everything in November, the California Nurses Association. I always knew that we made a difference. But somehow I never imagined that we would make the difference. It's a hard road, a daunting road. But when people hold out their hand, I know that you will be there to take hold. And this is the moment, with all the responsibility it engenders, in which we find ourselves. I wish us well on our journey. In all hon- esty, it is in many ways a work of art. I do not have the answers but I have the confi- dence that comes from the privilege of watching and nourishing an organization that is imbued with that rarest of gifts— political grace. And again, I thank each of you who have made this journey possible. Perhaps we can simply uncover and retrace the historical footsteps of those who preceded us on our journey. More likely, we will have to con- struct our own path and our own future. But wherever that path leads, I have one certainty—we will create it together. My love and respect to you all. ■ C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 5 7 Rose Ann DeMoro CNA Executive Director Our Year of Protest What these victories, your work have meant to me By Rose Ann DeMoro