GOVERNOR BUSTAMONTE AND LEARNING TO DO SIMPLE MATH

[Chancellor Palpatine]

California registered voters, by party.

To all the mathematics challenged "true conservatives" gleefully carving up the GOP votes with more candidates, please carefully observe the numerical superiority in the number of registered Democrats - nearly 1.5 million - which is augmented by roughly 150,000 green party members.

Also look at the group of 2.3 million unregistered voters - a group which is not historically wedded to the "true conservative" wing of the CaliforniaGOP - a fact borne out in several elections.

If one considers that Cruz Bustamonte is enthusiastically backed by the state apparatus if the majority of the voters go over the threshhold and ashcan Davis (which I'm now in doubt over, since Simon is entering), and considering that there is no credible prominent Democrat opposition to him, then how does it help to carve up the GOP vote by having Simon and McClintock at the same time as Schwarzenegger?

[dpwiener]

Why wouldn't the scumbags put a gun to Davis' head and make him resign the day before the recall election, thereby negating the need for a recall election at all, and making Bustamonte the governor by succession?

I won't bother digging up the link to the California Election Code, but suffice to say that it can't happen. Now that the petitions have been filed and a sufficient number of valid signatures have been certified, the recall election will go forward (and a successor will be chosen if a majority vote to recall him) even if Davis resigns.

This train has left the station.

[eureka!]

Re#32 Resignation doesn't matter. The vote goes forward anyway. Doofus had to resign before the recall was "filed" with 10% of the signatures. You're not alone in thinking otherwise, Rush made the same mistake today...

[Dane]

Arnold vs. Arianna. We'd need translators.

JMO, but the candidate who needs a translator is larry flynt.

[Dog Gone]

Having Ah-nold enter the race and having Issa withdraw was Davis's worst nightmare. It literally destroyed his election plan, and left him in the position of having to defend his own record.

Ah-nold predicted the slime from Davis on his background on the Leno show, which largely innoculated him from it. That, and Lockyer's surprise warning to Davis about "puke politics" took the last bullet out of Davis's gun.

He is so toast.

[dpwiener]

Davis cannot resign now that the recall is in progress.

Well, technically Davis can resign, and Bustamante could become governor for a few weeks. But after the recall election took place, if a majority voted on the first question in favor recall, then the winner of the most votes among the replacement candidates would become the new governor.

[Lancey Howard]

This train has left the station.

Great news!
Thanks to all who responded to my question.

[buwaya]

Because the CA constitution says the recall election goes on even if the office becomes vacant.

[mystery-ak]

Please, can someone tell me how any Republican can win this when there are so many Repub's on the ballot...the rats will win this unless the Repub's unite behind one candidate....anyone, please!

[L,TOWM]

How dare you introduce logic, analytical thinking and realpolitik into this battle for the heart and soul of California?

Watch. The demonrats are going to keep some party discipline and let Bustamante carry the torch, while the good guys get into an ideological food fight...(again).
Mullholland, Morris, Carville, and every other 'rat operator, when they are behind closed doors, must shake their heads in amazement at how we keep managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and always manage to pull the trigger when the gun is centered at our own nuts.

[Dog Gone]

The weird thing is that, under that scenario, the recall election would in effect be a question of whether to recall Bustamonte. However, he would still be listed as one of the replacement candidates in the event the recall passed.

Davis, however, does not have that luxury. He can't be a replacement candidate.

[eureka!]

No problem. You must be a Johnny Come Lately to the Davis threads. The same question is asked on nearly every one.

In any event, the show is just beginning. Hehehehe....

[cinFLA]

Davis cannot resign now that the recall is in progress.

He can resign (it's still a free country) but the recall goes on anyway.

[Uncle Hal]

It may not be politically correct but I question whether the average resident of CA. is ready to have a hispanic governor. I have a lot of democratic friends and they are as fed up with the illegal alien problem as I am. If we get Bustamonte in their we might as well become part of Mexico. I cannot believe the Dems are not aware the situation.

[novacation]

Your comments don't sound like a plan to fix anything. California can not afford to not fix this mess now. If conservatives are more interested in party politics than results at this moment then the whole thing is a waste of time. There are real problems that have to be addressed soon or the entire California and US economy will crash. It is not just a California problem. It is probably a hopeless cause anyway.

[Wolfstar]

Thanks for the ping. Since the recall campaign first began, I have been, at best, ambivalent about it. I am convinced Issa (whom I've met) began it because he thought it would be a shortcut for him to achieve national prominence. I believe the man wanted to use the governorship to run for president in '08. His seemingly odd emotional withdrawal yesterday makes perfect sense when one realizes that Issa believes Schwarzenegger's candidacy derailed his (Issa's) dreams.

As usual, many Conservatives are pinning their hopes on a great guy, Tom McClintock, who hasn't got a snowball's chance unless a miracle happens. This recall is going to wind up doing one of two things: giving us our first Hispanic governor, and a very troubling Leftist one at that, or giving us a "moderate" Republican governor who will help deflect blame for the state's problems from our heavily Leftist legislature to the Republican Party.

The real tough work of rebuilding the Republican Party in this state from the ground up will still be left undone. I don't see Schwarzenegger doing any party building. People who register to vote for him because of his celebrity status won't necessararily transfer their voting loyalty to Republicans in general.

I believe California Conservatives are going to once again find themselves out in the cold when the dust settles from this recall. And that's a genuine shame, because their voices and ideas are almost entirely missing from the halls of power in Sacramento.

[MHT]

Republicans are figuring that the ultra-celebrity status of Arnold will bring out first-time voters, offering a new wealth of possible registered Republican voters. The psychological effect of a positive Republican who gets lots of face time could be a lift unto itself. Any improvement in the general economy will have an impact on California's economy. Alone, he will not be able to make any real changes in two years, especially with a Democratic legislation.

But, as the Clinton's and Kennedy's have proved for decades, appearance beats substance in politics and Arnold's stage presence and style may overshadow anything he actually does anyway.

[Lancey Howard]

I cannot believe the Dems are not aware of the situation.

Of course they are.
They don't care if California becomes part of Mexico, if that's what it takes for them to get and keep their cushy offices and all the perks and power that go with them.

Any party whose primary agenda is the destruction of traditional America and its families doesn't give a rat's behind about illegal immigration or anything else for that matter, trust me.

It's all about the Democrats' selfish lust for personal power and priviledge.
Nothing more, nothing less.

[CyberCowboy777]

You are right.

[Wolfstar]

The Dems would never admit to it publicly, but Garamendi is the anti-Mexican Dem candidate. The dirtly little secret of Dem Party in California is that, as the Medican vote grows exponentially, non-Hispanic Dem politicos are just as much an endangered species as non-Hispanic Republicans.

[Dog Gone]

Ronald Reagan himself could not fix California's problems in the next three years. Maybe if he had a Republican-controlled Legislature, he could make a good start. The problems are that bad.

But the Legislature has just done redistricting, and Democrat control will remain until 2011, at a minimum.

The only thing that will really save California is the fact that Wall Street will only lend it money with strings attached. California politicians have no choice but to agree.