By Beth Solomon
BOULDER CREEK, CA — It was only 8:30 on a Saturday morning, but Harvey Dosik, 65, was already doing a brisk business in front of the Blue Sun Cafe. He wasn’t selling Very Berry Muffins or hazelnut decaf — those were inside. This being redwood country in a heat wave, Dosik could have been peddling hats or handkerchiefs, both of which were selling like hotcakes at Scarborough Lumber, a hardware store, down the block.
On this day, Harvey Dosik, former bookstore owner, was involved in a different kind of capitalism. To topple a government.
“Committee to Defeat George Bush,” his plastic banner announced. It dressed up the skinny legs of Dosik’s card table that had become a commercial hotspot along the main drag in town. A swarm of bodies buzzed around, handing over greenbacks and scribbling names. They were lining up to buy the hottest item on Main Street: A $5 raffle ticket to defeat President Bush.
“Thank you,” the customers said. “Thanks for doing this!”
Nine tickets sold. The ticket buyers remembered fondly the time in history when they had a full set of constitutional rights, public lands protected by laws, and the freedom to travel the world in relative peace. But enough nostalgia.
“I wanna go to a swing state. Anything to get this maniac out of office,” said Tim Welch, 36, a local sales rep who intends to travel weekends to get out the vote in the fall. Funds from the raffle ticket sales will support such efforts.
“But why do you oppose George Bush?” I asked innocently. This was a brave question in the hills above Santa Cruz.
“Because he’s reversed every major environmental law in this country and blocked the rest? Because he lied about the war? Because he rigged the last election?” Welch sniffed and leveled me a stare. “Should I go on?”
“I have tapped into a reservoir of discontent that astonishes me,” said Dosik, a Brooklyn native who came to California 30 years ago after his hair — mysteriously, he says — started growing long. “People are thanking me. They’re so happy to be able to do anything to defeat George Bush.”
Michael Sherf, a high-tech manager, said he couldn’t join Welch to get out the vote in Ohio or Wisconsin, but he bought two tickets. “I’m focusing locally,” he said. “And doing what I can.” 10 a.m., 13 tickets sold. A group called “American Coming Together” says efforts like these can make a difference. They’re planning 25,000 organizers and 200,000 volunteers to knock on 10 million doors by November. Because last time around, Democrats carried Wisconsin by 5,396 votes. Dems carried Oregon by 6,765 votes. And then there was Florida, where the margin was...
That’s too painful. Let’s not go there. Things look better this time. But this is Santa Cruz. Like Santa Monica, an oasis of progressive sense in a country short on both. The Republicans have a volunteer club called the “Rangers” whose members drop $200,000 in the party coffers, just to join. Under-40 donors can join the “Mavericks” program for a mere $50,000. They’re just kids. The other day George Bush dropped by in Santa Clara and raised $1.5 million.
So it’s a fair question, can Harvey’s $5 raffle tickets do any good?
He counted again — 17 tickets sold. “My hope is that this idea will catch fire and spread around the country,” he said. To Santa Monica, perhaps? To the Coffee Bean, the farmers’ market, Trader Joe’s? Monterey, Boulder, Bel-Air?
You don’t need a big group or lots of time, Dosik says. He got a local movie theatre to donate movie passes as the raffle prize. But judging from the enthusiasm, a used pitchfork, a garden hose maybe, would do just fine.
And the bigger question, what does it take to change the world? A grand old party, a campaign headquarters, a conference call? You might just ask Harvey Dosik at Ask for the direct line to the Committee to Defeat George Bush.
Harvey knows the number. “The phone is right by my bed.” (Beth Solomon is a Left Coast writer reachable at).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 17, 2004. Read the original PDF.