Recall takes the tone of populist revolt

The people have called an election, and the political elites of both major parties hate it. So does big business and, for the most part, the media. But it's amazing the level of ownership real people feel over the recall. It is something they have done in defiance of California's ruling establishment.

As I walked through the Recall Gray Davis rally at the Capitol Saturday, the mood was giddy.

Republicans were out in force, of course, but they weren't alone. The Libertarians were there, the remnants of Ross Perot's Reform Party, and even the Peace and Freedom and American Independent parties. A stray Democrat or two wandered by.

It was a political fair, with volunteers handing out brochures from booths, entertainment for the kids, talk-radio hosts going remote and, best of all, a buzz of discussion about California and its future. At least 1,000 people showed up in the middle of a broiling Sacramento summer day to show their support.

At one point early on, a group of Davis supporters, many from organized labor, gathered across the street from the rally site and shouted slogans against the recall. Folks on the rally side yelled back with chants of their own. Civil discourse it wasn't. More like a spirit contest at a high school football game. But a spirit contest over California politics?

There is something different about this election, an energy level you don't see too often in these parts.

It definitely has the feel of a populist revolt. The fervor might yet fizzle before Oct. 7, or be overwhelmed by the massive TV campaign to come. But it's there now, and it's real. For some, that's scary.

Former Rep. Leon Panetta, who also served as President Clinton's chief of staff, opined disapprovingly Sunday that the recall is "democracy run amok." The New York Times' Maureen Dowd, quoting an unnamed aide to the governor, sniffed that the parade of potential candidates was like "unlocking all the cages in the zoo." A more accurate assessment is that the recall threatens to unlock the rooms in which California's power brokers have increasingly kept government and politics hostage, their own private game to which the public was neither invited nor welcome.

It's old news that you have to pay to play in Sacramento, especially in the Governor's Office. But fewer people have focused on the fact that elections themselves have been rigged to keep the public out. Legislative districts are drawn to discourage competition, and statewide races are run in ways designed to offend, and depress, all but the most committed voters. It's all a plot to keep the electorate under control, to ensure that results can be manipulated and predicted with scientific precision based on polling, focus groups and past results.

"I think this is a populist movement," said Mark Stromberg, a market analyst for the semiconductor industry, as he shouted anti-Davis comments at the anti-recall forces across the street. "This is a mass movement of the population that spans party lines. There is a lot of excitement about it on all sides."

Josh Cook, as a legislative aide and chairman of the Butte County Republican Party, is part of the political establishment. But he felt like a rebel on Saturday.

"It's more fun when we call the election than when the county clerk calls the election," Cook said. "Government is so big, sometimes you don't feel like you have a say. Right now, we've taken the government and we are making it do something we want it to do, instead of them telling us something we have to do. It's good to know every once in a while that we are still in charge."

Deane Dana, whose father was a Los Angeles County supervisor for many years, brought his two children to Saturday's rally so they could witness history in the making. Dana is a private health care consultant now, but he once challenged a Republican incumbent for the Assembly, and was frozen out not just by the Republicans, but by the Democrats as well. Leaders of both parties chastised him, Dana said, because he had "the gall" to go after a member of their club.

"I think it's great to see people energized with politics again, and recognize things are a little broken," Dana said. "I am hoping it spreads around the country."

In the election a year ago, barely one-third of Californians eligible to vote went to the polls; only about half of those registered to vote bothered to turn out. Both were record lows for a governor's election. Now the state is popping with political conversation, and the people who were responsible for depressing voter turnout don't like it.

California's constitution has included the recall provision since 1911. Unlike impeachment, it sets no standard other than the will of the people. And the will of at least 1.7 million people, quite clearly, is that Gov. Gray Davis has lost the ability to lead. Others disagree. So let's have the election, and quit whining about it.

"I think it's great to see people energized with politics again, and recognize things are a little broken," Dana said. "I am hoping it spreads around the country."

And not a shot fired!

Let's compare this:

Former Rep. Leon Panetta, who also served as President Clinton's chief of staff, opined disapprovingly Sunday that the recall is "democracy run amok." The New York Times' Maureen Dowd, quoting an unnamed aide to the governor, sniffed that the parade of potential candidates was like "unlocking all the cages in the zoo." A more accurate assessment is that the recall threatens to unlock the rooms in which California's power brokers have increasingly kept government and politics hostage, their own private game to which the public was neither invited nor welcome.

With this:

"It's more fun when we call the election than when the county clerk calls the election," Cook said. "Government is so big, sometimes you don't feel like you have a say. Right now, we've taken the government and we are making it do something we want it to do, instead of them telling us something we have to do. It's good to know every once in a while that we are still in charge."

Looks like the establishment just got a cold bucket of water thrown on them. Kind of refreshing, isn't it?

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