Elisha Shapiro, the National Nihilist Party candidate for Governor of California, will make a campaign stop in Santa Monica on August 26. He will be at the Un Urban Coffee House at 3pm to meet voters and discuss his candidacy. Shapiro’s innovative solution for California’s problems centers around his plan to make California an independent country.

“The main plank of this campaign is secession from the United States. I know people say this or that is no panacea, but I’ve been thinking about this one for a while. Secession is a panacea. It would add billions to the California budget without raising taxes, and it would get those red-state bible-thumpers off our ass,” explained Mr. Shapiro.

Shapiro says that secession from the United States will benefit Californians in many ways, including:

ß Keeping $50 billion in California taxes which Washington now sends to other states

ß California Supreme Court with Jon Stewart and Angela Davis

instead of US Supreme Court with Scalia and Thomas

ß Gay marriage, Cuban cigars and Venezuelan oil

ß Return of California Guard soldiers from Iraq

“The United States seems to be getting more religious and conservative with each election. But that is not true for California. If the Republican Congress and the Bush Supreme Court want to take away privacy and reproductive rights, let the red states worry about it. At this point, I think we’d all be happier if we just went our separate ways,” continued Shapiro.

Mr. Shapiro was the Nihilist Party candidate for President in 1988 and for LA County Sheriff in 1994. He is best know for his nihilism-related conceptual art, including the 1984 Nihilist Olympics in Los Angeles and the Nihilist Film Festival, of which he is the director.




A campaign tour across the state this August includes Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Los Angeles. More information is available at the Nihilists’ Corner and the National Nihilist Party websites (www.nihilists.net/gov.html).

The Un Urban Coffee House is located at 3310 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica.