Despite Davis' unpopularity, recall drive faces hurdles

Mercury News ^ | 4/26/03 | Mark Gladstone

[NormsRevenge]

SACRAMENTO -If all it took was public disdain, Gray Davis might become the first governor in California history to have the voters boot him out of office.

Davis' approval rating has sunk to its lowest point -- lower than any sitting governor in the past 55 years. In a recent survey of voters, nearly half said they would recall Davis, who has been at the helm during a disastrous energy crisis and an unprecedented budget deficit.

[NormsRevenge]

Das Spin for the day ..

``If you let the actions of a couple of disgruntled conservatives dictate how you run things,'' Salazar said, ``you'd never get anything done.''

Hang on to your hats!

[onedoug]

'Davis still taking communion?

[Russell Scott]

Davis needs to stew in his own juices, instead of being removed from the pot, before his political career is fully cooked.

[Theodore R.]

I don't think the Democrats of CA will sign this petition because they do not know what would happen if Davis were forced into a recall election. Must there be a majority vote for the winner of a recall? Many liberals will stick with Davis because they at least know him. They don't want to take a chance on a conservative squeaking through in a divided field. By the time such an election were held, most of the liberals would not even remember why people were initially upset with Davis. CA deserves Davis! And if the GOP candidate couldn't or wouldn't run a decent campaign, what was the alternative?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for catching all of the good stuff on California!

calgov2002:

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[dalereed]

Worry about the politics in your own state, keep butting in and we just might send you Davis!

[Theodore R.]

We in TX will get a Davis sooner or later -- he just might not be named "Davis." I think you underestimate the number of Californians who "believe" in Davis and his style of government. Apparently, many CA conservatives have either moved out of the state of quit voting over a lack of meaningful choices. Explain the long-term Democrat trend in your state please. I don't see anything that can break the Democrat trend.

[valleygal]

There's talk of recalling our new Dem. governor in Arizona, too...Janet Napolitano, nicknamed by on local talk guy, "The Godmother".

Will be interesting to see how it develops. I'll sign to get rid of her!

[Cicero]

Republicans would ``rather see an injured Gray Davis twisting slowly and keep him around as a foil'' than risk a Democrat winning the recall election.

I couldn't agree more. All this talk of a recall is obviously damaging to Davis and the Democrats. But I frankly hope that it doesn't succeed for the reason given.

Indeed, there is an even worse danger--that Riordan or some horrible RINO will replace Davis and offer the voters no alternative for the foreseeable future. As long as the Republican party in California is controlled by Gerald Parsky and his buddies, it would be foolish to give them another opportunity to screw things up or gain long-term control of the state party.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Taking a break from homework and housework. I thought I was going to have time to distribute recall petitions until I saw the load of math homework. Oh well.

Of course Davis still receives communion. I'll bet Roger Mahoney serves it to him. There, I nailed two of my least favorite people in one sentence.

[NormsRevenge]

There may be a couple of silver linings, even if the recall fails. Parsky is probably going to be sent packing in the name of unity rather than continued divisiveness... And Davis is toast, no matter what.

[Publius6961]

``If you let the actions of a couple of disgruntled conservatives dictate how you run things,'' Salazar said, ``you'd never get anything done.''

Isn't it kind of hard to say that with a straight face if 900000 signatures in fact are gathered and certified?

[NormsRevenge]

Salazar, South,maviglio,hitlary mclean, All the Gub's henchmenfolks .. Goin' Down .. Priceless ;-)

[Brandon]

I couldn't agree more. All this talk of a recall is obviously damaging to Davis and the Democrats. But I frankly hope that it doesn't succeed for the reason given.

Far be it from me to tell the people of California what to do with this cretin, but I suspect you are right, fwiw. If Davis stays in place, he will be an albatross around both Boxer's neck and the Dem presidential nominee in 2004. With a sitting governor with approvals ratings in the 20s, California might actually be in play for President Bush next year -- and if California goes GOP, the election is over. There is no credible scenario for a Democrat electoral college win if they lose in California.