> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Bar owner taps into political inspiration - URL: https://www.smdp.com/bar-owner-taps-into-political-inspiration/ - Published: 2004-01-09T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:29:22.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Bar owners providing a soapbox for new generation* Bar owner Claire Ragge couldn’t open a newspaper without shedding tears. She felt helpless as the world around her seemingly crumbled a little more each day. “It has gotten so bad in this country. I would read the paper every day and I would cry,” she said. “I said to myself, ‘What can I do?’ “I started doing ‘Booze, Blues and Views’ and I stopped crying.” For the past year and a half, Ragge has hosted the political forum every Monday at her Gaslite tavern on 20th Street and Wilshire Boulevard. Everyone from the chairman of the chamber of commerce board to city council candidates to local activists have debated and discussed issues with citizens over cocktails and complimentary pizza. Ragge, who previously worked as a bartender and as a publicist in the entertainment industry, had never been involved in politics. But then one day, she had an epiphany of sorts. She had grown tired of the direction the nation was heading and decided to use the one asset she had — a venue — to connect people with the issues. Political expression has always gone hand-in-hand with knocking a few cocktails back, but rarely do bar-flies have contact with the politicians in question. It occurred to Ragge that she could bring the two sides together and perhaps start a meaningful debate, with the goal of getting those who wouldn’t otherwise be involved in politics at least interested. “I would listen to people at the bar talking politics,” she said, adding that the first forums consisted of discussions with Santa Monica City Council candidates two months before the November 2002 election. “It gave people that didn’t normally have access to them a chance to talk to them and, at first, they were hostile toward (the politicians), but then they talked with them and began to understand their positions. “Watching the shift in attitudes was amazing.” But Ragge has temporarily suspended the “Booze, Blues and Views” forums to focus on what she considers a more important effort — the Howard Dean presidential campaign. “I’ve never campaigned for anyone in my life and I’ve never been involved in politics,” Ragge said. “But when things get so bad you have to do something, you have to take action, and I wish more people would do it and they are with the Howard Dean campaign. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Ragge got involved in the Dean campaign when, after attending a speech by Dean in downtown Los Angeles this past summer, she realized that his supporters were a lot like her — they had never before been involved in politics, but believed in the grassroots effort and the power of individualism. 57F,“Like the ‘Booze, Blues and Views,’ people feel connected, people feel like they are part of something meaningful,” she said. “It helps to overcome the helplessness feeling... the power of individualism is so exciting.” For the past six months, Ragge has been hosting what the Dean campaign calls “meetups,” where supporters and potential volunteers meet at venues usually chosen online. Ragge, who has volunteered as the regional press coordinator for the Dean campaign, offered her bar as a regular meetup venue. On Wednesday, more than 100 people crammed into the small corner bar to rally together and organize their volunteer efforts for the upcoming caucuses and primaries. They also learned more about the national campaign’s latest strategic initiative — the “Southwest Victory Express.” More than 1,000 supporters are expected to hit New Mexico and Arizona the last two weekends of the month to canvas for the campaign before the states’ Feb. 3 primaries. “(The meetups) are really helpful in terms of volunteerism,” Ragge said. Also on Wednesday night, across town at “The Yard,” bar owners Jeff Decker and Sean Norris held another Dean “meetup,” which was voted online by supporters as the preferred Santa Monica venue. About 75 people showed up to watch Dean’s opening speech on a big-screen TV, listen to campaign organizers and help write letters of support to Iowa for the upcoming caucus. The average age of those who showed up at the Gaslite was about 35 years old. Phyllis Chase, a 46-year-old marriage and family therapist in West Hollywood, grew up with Dean in East Hampton and attended Wednesday’s meetup there. Chase also had never been involved in politics, but she became impressed with the grassroots effort the Dean campaign has attracted. “It’s changing the face of politics,” she said. “I really never thought I would get involved in politics and it’s really foreign to me, but I know that I can trust him.” Rick Jacobs, California state chair of Dean for America, said the volunteer effort is unprecedented in any presidential campaign, but has similarities to Gary Hart’s 1984 bid because his supporters also were political first-timers. The Dean campaign’s success is largely attributed to its widespread grassroots support that has been driven by the Internet. Dean’s multi-million dollar campaign war chest has been built on small donations. In the third quarter of 2003, the average donation to the campaign was $77. “The core of people keeps growing,” Jacobs said. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/010904-03_01.jpg) Above: More than 100 people pack The Gaslite bar on Wednesday to rally around presidential candidate Howard Dean. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 9, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010904.pdf?ref=smdp.com)