Sacramento Bee file, 2003/Dick Schmidt
Posted on 06/22/2003 9:23:08 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Edited on 04/12/2004 5:51:38 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The state attorney general calls efforts to recall Gov. Gray Davis "a profound threat to democracy." The lieutenant governor calls it an "expensive perversion" of the recall process. The state treasurer describes it as an "odious use" of the system.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Margaret Talev - Sac Bee
Six Democratic statewide officeholders have condemned the recall effort and have said they do not intend to run if it qualifies. But most Republicans and some Democrats are skeptical their pledges will hold if the recall reaches the ballot. The officeholders are:
Recall is no conspiracy -- GOP prefers internal combat
State Treasurer Phil Angelides stopped just short the other day of using the infamous phrase "vast right-wing conspiracy" to describe the recall campaign being waged against Gov. Gray Davis.
Angelides, however, told the Sacramento Press Club that he believes Republicans are holding up passage of the state budget as part of an orchestrated scheme to prolong the budget crisis and therefore drive down Davis' already abysmal public approval ratings. He described it as "a concerted effort ... to link the policy debate on the budget to the politics of the recall."
Other Democratic Party figures go further.
The state party's political director, Bob Mulholland, is telling everyone that Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political tactician, is pulling the strings for the recall, including the holdup of the budget.
Davis' record-low popularity, they are saying, is the product of circumstances beyond his control. Republicans, the party line continues, are trying to capitalize on Davis' unfortunate circumstances by driving him from office with a misuse of the recall process and replacing him with a right-wing Republican. The comments indicate that as the dump-Davis petition drive continues to gather steam, with a recall election now probable, Democrats appear to have settled on an overall defensive theme -- a sort of Clinton-impeachment-redux approach depicting it as an illegitimate coup d'etat.
The Davis-as-victim propaganda is designed, it would appear, to generate some sympathetic support among Democrats who might otherwise be tempted to sign recall petitions and/or vote for a recall.
Another element of the defense strategy, apparently, is to force those Democratic voters to see the choice as only between Davis and a GOP alternative. At the urging of state labor union leaders who are organizing the Davis recall defense, Angelides and other major Democratic figures are now insisting they will not offer themselves as alternatives should the recall make the ballot. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Saturday she's not a candidate, either. It's not certain, however, their unity on that point will hold.
Back to the right-wing conspiracy theory. Angelides et al. are giving California Republicans much more credit for strategic vision and organizational efficacy than they deserve. Not only are they inherently incapable of such concerted action against Democrats, since they spend most of their energy trying to shaft each other, but in fact they are squabbling among themselves over whether the recall is a smart political move and are probably incapable of settling on a single GOP alternative to Davis.
Rove and the White House are clearly cool to the recall notion, as are some of the state's senior Republicans -- albeit privately. As they see it, a recall election could have multiple potential outcomes, some of which would hurt the GOP, to wit:
* Davis could win a recall and get a new lease on political life.
* He could be recalled, but be replaced by a more popular Democrat (Feinstein is especially feared) who could then go on to win a new term in 2006.
* Davis could lose a recall election and be succeeded by a weak Republican, who would inherit all of the state's fiscal and economic problems, face an implacably hostile, Democrat-controlled Legislature and be a losing candidate for re-election in 2006.
The best outcome for Republicans would be to have Davis gone and a strong GOP successor also elected, one who could retain the office in 2006. But even that would not be an unmixed blessing because that GOP governor could not, under the term limit law, run again in 2010. And it's the governor elected in 2010 who will control redistricting after the 2010 census.
That's why Republicans who are leery of the recall believe that their party's interests are best served by leaving an unpopular Davis in place, poisoning the political well for Democrats and leading to Republican gubernatorial victories in 2006 and 2010. Their party would then control redistricting, enhancing chances of picking up legislative and congressional seats.
If nothing else, the recall crusade has spawned countless scenarios.
These "popular" RATS that say they won't run are having a serious "cut off your nose to spite your face" attack. They are not running because they oppose the recall effort. Stupid morons.
That's what I think, too. As the recall qualifies for the ballot, Democrats will end up running -- question is who and how many.
Unfortunately he is right. Republicans are setting themselves up for the scenario which would hurt Republicans the most. Some just like to cut off their nose to spite their face.
" He could be recalled, but be replaced by a more popular Democrat (Feinstein is especially feared) who could then go on to win a new term in 2006."
calgov2002:
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Yes, that's why we need to tell the RINOs to shut the hell up and get behind Tom McClintock.
That would be great! I'm sure he could get lots of bipartisan support (votes) by real taxpayers.
I'm glad the Sac Bee has printed this profile of the potential candidates. Even though it's short, it's better than other local papers (such as the LA Times) that are busy creating multi-page descriptions of Presidential candidates while ignoring the upcoming recall.
(Pass it on.)
You did notice that the press once again spiked *any* mention of Al Gore or Bill Clinton getting on the ballot, or even that California law can be interpreted to require only 59 days residency in the state to qualify for the recall election.Also worth noticing is that the major Democratic Party mouthpieces such as Donna Brazille, Terry McAulliffe, and James Carville have all remained completely silent about the recall. None of them are bashing the recall, as one would normally expect.
Sorta makes ya wonder why...
Why have a race that you can't win?How can McClintock beat Bill Clinton in California?
Turn in those recall signatures and you've just elected Clinton.
You mean he wouldn't want to live near Hollywood starlets, schmooze daily with celebrities who want favors from him as governor, and that he wouldn't want to be seen as leading a national Democratic revival in 2004 due to his landslide win in California in 2003? Well, OK, that's good enough for me (/sarcasm)...
Hasn't *anyone* noticed that Clinton is still searching for a legacy for himself?Well, if he becomes the first man to ever win a governorship after being President, combined with being governor of two different states, combined with leading a Democratic Party revival in 2004 due to his landslide win in 2003, well maybe, just maybe, he's got himself a legacy (in his eyes).
Besides, what else is he going to do, make the talk show and lecture circuit for so many years that he turns his schtick into yet another joke?!
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