Posted on 06/11/2003 6:57:15 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:42:44 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Democratic supporters of Gov. Gray Davis mounted a fierce defense Tuesday against a movement to recall him by publicly calling conservative GOP Rep. Darrell Issa -- who has donated nearly $700,000 toward the recall effort -- a political "extremist" out of step with California voters.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Recall picks up steam Davis' opponents believe momentum is on their side
Elk Grove, Sacramento County -- Mike Todd says there is something "viral" about the work collecting signatures to oust Gov. Gray Davis from office.
It spreads and multiplies on Internet chat rooms and conservative talk radio, outside the sliding doors of Target and Wal-Mart, in strip mall parking lots and offices, until it becomes a force in itself.
"I don't want to sound esoteric here," said Todd, standing outside a Target store near Fashion Gal Plus and the Bible House, "but there is almost a revolution going on."
Or something like it. It is becoming increasingly clear, say organizers, that because of people like Todd, along with hundreds of thousands of registered voters signing petitions across the state, California is about to witness the first gubernatorial recall election in state history.
It is happening faster than anyone predicted. As of Tuesday, organizers said they have collected nearly 700,000 signatures, more than half of their 1. 2 million target, although only a fraction have been turned over to the secretary of state.
The vast majority of the signatures are coming because U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a San Diego County Republican who wants to become governor, is using his considerable fortune to hire people to gather signatures, produce radio spots and send out 1 million pieces of mail to Republicans.
Issa's money is fueling something that was not seen in the past 31 failed attempts to recall a governor: momentum. Just a few weeks ago the recall was considered a longshot. But now a constant buzz is making life easier for the paid petition-gatherers who are part of the ground war to remove Davis from office.
Outside the Elk Grove Target store, retiree Sally Forsythe stopped to sign the recall petition without hesitation. Forsythe said she voted for Davis in the past two gubernatorial elections but now blames him for refusing to release details of contracts California signed with power companies during the energy crisis, which she said turned out to be too expensive.
"I see the man who has had the most training to be governor in the state of California ever, and he didn't learn and he panicked, and in his panic he didn't want to reveal to the rest of the state what he had done," said Forsythe, 58, echoing Davis' own 1998 campaign slogan of being "the best- trained governor in waiting."
Ruben Robles stopped to sign as well. For him, it's personal. He spoke about Davis' "corrupt nature" and his "multiple heads." But Robles also recently left the Davis administration after a shakeup in the Office of Criminal Justice Planning. Now, Robles is getting Davis back.
"This is to get rid of Daddy's old boss," Robles, 34, said sweetly to his daughter as he leaned over to sign the petition.
"He makes promises with some people and smoke-and-mirror deals with others, " Robles continues. "Maybe that's old business. But put his decisions under a microscope, and he just hasn't been good for California."
People signing the recall petition had long list of grievances they blamed on Davis, not just the current budget deficit or the energy crisis. One Caltrans worker who declined to give her name blamed Davis because Assembly members and state senators drive "$125,000 cars" and force staff members to pick up their dry cleaning.
Others were more focused, believing that Davis misled them during the 2002 election.
"I don't think it came out before the election about how bad things were," said Donald Wolfe, 40, a real estate appraiser and Republican who signed up last week. "He knew how bad things were and could have done something about it instead of telling everybody, "Oh, by the way, we're going to increase your car registration to cover up this problem.' "
Todd is a 40-year-old volunteer who said he spends several hours a day moving around, from gas stations to Borders Books, looking for like-minded people to support the recall. A former Marine with his head still shaved, Todd looks intense but ends up sound relatively low-key as he rattles off the reasons Davis should be recalled.
Todd said he has collected about 3,000 signatures -- worth at least $3,000 if he were working for a paid signature-gathering firm. Todd said he has noticed that people want to feel a part of something. If Todd is standing alone, he said it's much harder to get people to approach him. "If there is a whole bunch of people crowded around," Todd said, "everyone will come up and sign."
Todd said he might even consider voting for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif., or a qualified Republican candidate. He doesn't know much about Issa and finds the political maneuvering distasteful.
"I want to keep the recall process in its pure form," Todd said. "It's not supposed to be about jockeying for position. It's about removing Gray Davis. The issue is, 'Is this person qualified for the job?' "
It's difficult to find anyone on the street who has a favorable opinion about Davis. Most of the people opposed to the recall said they objected to overturning a recent election, even while holding a low opinion of Davis.
One shopper blew past Todd, then stopped and turned toward him on second thought. Jordan Towers, 18 years old and about to join the Marines, said Davis "is a crook, but he's not that bad."
"So soon after you vote a guy in, you yank him out. That says something about Californians," Towers said. "It will lead to a chaotic situation. If you have to vote between two foxes, you're going to get a fox in office."
A recall election doesn't necessarily mean Davis will be ousted from office.
A Field Poll released three weeks ago showed that only 24 percent of those surveyed gave Davis a favorable rating, likely the lowest opinion of any governor in California history. But nearly 60 percent also opposed the recall.
Retired state worker Gwendolyn Lemons, 67, said Republicans have sour grapes.
"I think it's a waste of money. I really thinks it's unfair," Lemons said. "He went through all of the process of the voting, and just because Republicans can't have their way, they recall him. I don't think that's right."
At the same time Todd was collecting signatures, another crew is trying to undermine his work. A committee working for Davis, set up to oppose the recall,
is gathering signatures for a plebiscite that would carry no legal weight but would put people on record as opposing the recall.
It's a way to keep the roving armies of signature gatherers who travel the country making $1 to $3 a signature tied up and away from the paid signature- gathering effort to support the recall.
Organizers supporting Davis said they have more than 200,000 signatures so far, and that a viral effect also is infecting their campaign. Carroll Wills, a spokesman for Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall, said hundreds of people have volunteered to "carry our message to the streets."
The plebiscite also is a way to plant a seed in the minds of voters, a one- on-one chance to sway their vote, said Dustin Wefel, a 21-year-old Michigan man gathering signatures for Davis recently outside a Wal-Mart in south Sacramento.
Wefel said he has worked in Washington, Arizona, Michigan and New York gathering signatures for other political issues, and he's now confidently mastered California politics in two weeks. He knew even minor details about the state's budget debate and could run through the costs of recalls for anyone interested.
"Reaction is pretty good," Wefel said. "Democrats don't want to see Democrats get recalled by Republicans who are pissed because they lost the election. You can boil it down to that. I used to say, 'Protect schoolteachers' jobs,' but that was too much explaining."
"I've actually changed recall people's mind," Wefel continued. "What happened was the recall thing came out first and people got influenced by the rhetoric. There is another side to the story."
But so far, the effort to oust Davis is outpacing any effort to tell his side of the story. The governor has only recently acknowledged the inevitable by assembling a team of political experts to fight the recall.
So many signatures are being gathered, in fact, that a special election could be called. That would put Davis at a political disadvantage compared to consolidating the recall on the March Democratic primary ballot.
If the threshold is reached by mid-July, well before the final Sept. 2 deadline, then a special recall vote is inevitable. With almost bloodless efficiency, the signatures keep piling up.
"There isn't anything positive about him from anyone in my family," said Linda Schroeder, 55, who signed the recall petition. "I've got liberals (in my family). I've got conservatives. I've got middle of the road. He's just not cutting it for a lot of people."
Voters may be asked whether to recall Gov. Gray Davis in November and pick a new governor. Here's how the process would work:
1 Proponents have 160 days to deliver a petition alleging the official reason for recall to the Secretary of State. If enough signatures are gathered,
an election to recall and replace the governor would take place within 180 days from the date of certification of the signatures. . 2 If such an election takes place, voters would be asked to respond "yes" or "no" to a question such as "Should Gray Davis be recalled as governor?" They would then be asked to pick a replacement in case the recall is successful. . 3 If voters do not approve the recall, Gray Davis remains in office.
Source: California Constitution
Chronicle Graphic
900,00: number of signaturesneeded to force arecall
200,000: number of signaturesDavis supports saythey've collected
E-mail Robert Salladay at rsalladay@sfchronicle.com.
FRom the LA Times (eXXXcerpted)
Davis Recall Casts Light on Issa
By Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writer
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) was just back from a Middle East trip in late April when he turned his attention to matters closer to home.
Efforts to recall Gov. Gray Davis appeared to be stalled. Hungry for money, groups backed by veterans of the ill-fated Bill Simon Jr. campaign, a former assemblyman and an anti-tax advocate had collected only a small portion of the nearly 900,000 signatures required to put the matter on the ballot.
Yep I think the common folks have just about had it!
calgov2002:
 calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register |
Is support for abortion really so strong in California that Davis can save his a$$ on the issue?
On a related matter, I saw on CSPAN2 this morning the introduction of a planned march for abortion next April in Washington. The sponsors are Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Feminist Majority, and NAG. Whew! One of their charming spokeshags claimed that 70% of Americans support abortion. I flat don't believe that. You can learn all about them at www.marchforchoice.org. I searched, but didn't find anything about them on FR.
Homer
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