California Recall Daily Thread: 57 Days To Go

California Recall Daily Thread: Up To The Minute News ^ | 8.11.2003 | DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

Welcome to the California Recall Daily Thread.

In just 57 days, the people of California will choose a Governor and as a result set a course that will affect the future of the state and our country in profound ways.

This thread has been created to keep us all informed of the important developments.

I invite you to post all the major recall stories here or if it has already been posted, then add links to these posts. We welcome discussions of the candidates, the issues, campaign strategy, the polls, etc. Please be civil in your comments.

If you want to be added to a ping list on the recall please freepmail me and make sure you mention that you want to be added to the "recall ping list." I will ping you once daily at the start of the thread and occasionally if there is major breaking news.

Let the fun begin.

DoctorZin

[F14 Pilot]

Ballot order could play key role in California's landmark recall election

TOM CHORNEAU, Associated Press Writer Monday, August 11, 2003

---

(08-11) 01:35 PDT SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) --

With close to 200 candidates already signed up to run in the state's historic recall election of Gov. Gray Davis, the ballot itself could be a real page-turner.

When Californians vote Oct. 7, they may have to scan though several pages of options until they find the candidate of their choice. The ballot listings themselves also will vary from district to district.

On Monday, the secretary of state was scheduled to hold a random drawing to determine the order in which candidates' names will appear since state law requires more than just across-the-board alphabetized lists.

The recall election, first in the nation in 82 years, has attracted as many as 193 candidates, including actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth and political commentator Arianna Huffington.

But scores of other candidates with unknown or strangely familiar names -- like electrical engineer Michael Jackson -- also have qualified, making position on the ballot a key to success, according to political observers.

A lottery-style drawing of canisters will determine an initial random alphabetical order. If "U" is drawn first then Ueberroth may be listed near the top in District 1. If "C" is drawn second, then all the candidates whose name begins with "C" rank high. And so on through the alphabet.

"The big unknown is who will turn out to vote in this election," said John Pitney, government professor at Claremont McKenna College. "How many will vote on the recall question and then freeze when they see this list of over 100 names?"

For additional fairness, the listing of names on the ballot will be rotated across the state's 80 Assembly districts. The candidate at the top of the ballot in District 1 would go to the end of the ballot in District 2 so that every letter of the alphabet gets the top position somewhere in the state.

The final list of names certified for the ballot is due to be released Wednesday.

Davis will lose if he gets 49.9 percent or less on Oct. 7. With so many challengers on the ballot, the eventual winner could only need a fraction of the vote to become governor.

A Time/CNN poll of 508 registered voters released Saturday found Davis with just 35 percent of the vote supporting him. The same poll had Schwarzenegger leading Bustamante 25 percent to 15 perc.....

More At:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/08/11/national0435EDT0452.DTL

[goldstategop]

The liberal pointy heads don't like the wonderful devices of democracy when they know they're going to lose. Behind all their talk of being for the "common man," the truth is they fear him and they want to be the ones in charge, not him. Which is why they're rabidly opposed to the recall election in California for the simple reason that its the one time they can't tell people what to do.

[F14 Pilot]

Recall field widens to 193
State: Opponents attack Schwarzenegger for backing Prop 187; polls show him ahead.

By James Nash
Associated Press

Actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger faced tough questions Sunday over his income tax returns and his vote for Proposition 187, the controversial 1994 ballot measure that sought to deny public services to illegal immigrants.

Schwarzenegger was in New York at Inner City Games, a physical and mental fitness program of which he serves as chairman of the board. But in response to inquiries from reporters, his campaign released his 2000 and 2001 tax returns and revealed that he voted for Proposition 187.

Democratic Party leaders, united behind Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante as the party's choice if voters oust Gov. Gray Davis on Oct. 7, stepped up their attacks on Schwarzenegger, who was shown to be the front-runner in the race for governor in a Time/CNN poll.

Schwarzenegger led the pack of about 193 candidates with 25 percent of potential voters, followed by 15 percent for Bustamante. A second poll released Sunday by CNN and USA Today and conducted by Gallup found 42 percent of voters said they might vote for the actor, 72 percent take his candidacy seriously and more than half think he could do a better job than career politicians. Bustamante was far behind.

At a small rally Sunday afternoon at Pan-Pacific Park in Los Angeles' Mid-Wilshire district, Davis supporters linked Schwarzenegger to the policies of President Bush and former Gov. Pete Wilson, who backed Prop 187. Noting that Schwarzenegger has named Wilson as his campaign chairman, the antirecall forces said a Schwarzenegger administration would resuscitate many of Wilson's policies.

"To be honest, that scares me,' said U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte. "And that should scare working families and women.'

At the rally, which attracted about 80 people, Solis mocked Schwarzenegger's catch phrase "Hasta la vista, baby!' and said that once immigrants look at the actor's political positions, they will favor keeping Davis in office.

Pressed by reporters to release specific positions on issues, Schwarzenegger's campaign confirmed Sunday that the actor had voted for Prop 187, which would have denied health care and public education to illegal immigrants. The ballot measure passed at the polls but later was ruled unconstitutional and appeals were not pursued by Democrats who succeeded the Wilson administration.

Also Sunday, Schwarzenegger's campaign team released the candidate's tax returns for 2000 and 2001, a requirement for gubernatorial candidates. Schwarzenegger listed gross income of $26.1 million in 2001 and $31.1 million in 2000. Schwarzenegger's 2002 returns are not yet complete, his campaign said, but likely will be released in September.

California Fair Political Practices Commission documents released by the campaign Sunday also show that Schwarzenegger and his family have received thousands of dollars worth of gifts, from a $250 box of cigars from motivational speaker Tony Robbins to $2,500 worth of shirts and sweaters from fashion designer Georgio Armani. Schwarzenegger who was reportedly paid $27 million to $30 million for starring in this summer's "Terminator 3' also received a Terminator talking skull valued at $1,000 from the sequel's producers.

Sunday was the first full day to campaign since the 5 p.m. deadline Saturday for people to file as candidates in the historic election in which voters will decide whether to remove Davis, and if so, who will replace the second- term governor. Few of the high- profile candidates made public appearances.

The California secretary of state's office said Sunday that 193 candidates had filed the necessary combination of signatures and money to run. Of those, 89 candidates have qualified for the ballot while 104 remain under review.

Top Republican contenders include Schwarzenegger; Pacific Palisades investment banker Bill Simon Jr., who lost to Davis in last year's general election; former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, who is running as an independent, and state Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21474~1563581,00.html

[RonDog]

1 - Incorporate the actual DATE into each day's thread title, i.e. (8/11/03) - so that others can more easily seacrh through these daily threads in the future.
(The Free Republic search function is most effective when searching for words in the thread TITLE.)

Check out the thread titles in THESE popular semi-regular "daily" threads, for example:

search Free Republic for "day in the life" (match exact phrase, sort by post time):

A Day in the Life of President Bush (photos): 8/8/03
			Posted by GretchenEE On 08/08/2003 8:02 PM PDT with 128 comments Yahoo.com ^ | August 8, 2003 | GretchenEE
A Day in the Life of President Bush (photos) - August 6, 2003
			Posted by ohioWfan On 08/06/2003 5:07 PM PDT with 427 comments Yahoo.com, Netscape.com, Whitehouse.gov | 8/6/03 | ohioWfan
A Day in the Life of President Bush (photos): 8/1/03
			Posted by GretchenEE On 08/01/2003 7:17 PM PDT with 332 comments
A Day in the Life of President Bush (photos): 7/31/03
			Posted by mtngrl@vrwc On 07/31/2003 4:32 PM PDT with 439 comments yahoo.com | 7/31/03
A Day in the Life of President Bush (photos) - July 30, 2003
			Posted by ohioWfan On 07/30/2003 5:08 PM PDT with 603 comments Yahoo.com, Netscape.com, Whitehouse.gov | 7/30/03 | ohioWfan
A Day in the Life of President Bush (photos): 7/29/03
			Posted by MJY1288 On 07/29/2003 5:57 PM PDT with 1,101 comments YAHOO, WHITEHOUSE

Note also that a TEAM of FReepers now take turns starting these "day in the life" threads, so that ONE PERSON does not get stuck doing all of the work.

(You could decide in advance who would post each day's thread.)

If a future researcher wanted to monitor the recall news of a particular day, this simple modification of your idea would be an IMMENSE benefit to his efforts, and make your "archive" MUCH MORE user-friendly.

No offense, of course, intended with ANY my suggestions. :o)

[AdmSmith]

Agree, we should be aware of the fact that there is a psychological barrier in voting for the "other party".

Arnold will attract not only democrats but as well people that normally do not vote. Expect the highest number of votes for many years. Can someone dig up some statistics?

[Miss Marple]

Newt Gingrich on this morning on Fox and Friends. He says that Simon and McClintock have an almost impossible hurdle to overcome, with Arnold at 40%. He thinks that conservatives who go heavily for either of these two candidates might throw the election to Bustamante.

He thinks Arnold has a good business and charitable record, marks of good citizenship, and would draw from crossover democrat voters.

He also repeatedly referred to the Davis/Bustamante administration, which I think is a good talking point for all of the Republican candidates.

I am not expressing an opinion here, but merely reporting as accurately as I can what Newt said.

[Tribune7]

put me on the ping list.

[Valin]

Schwarzenegger supported ballot measure to deny social services to illegal immigrants
Sandra Marquez, Associated Press

Published August 11, 2003

LOS ANGELES -- Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger voted for a 1994 ballot measure to deny social services to illegal immigrants, his campaign said Sunday -- offering the first glimpse of the actor's stand on a major policy issue.

The Republican has promoted himself as the candidate in California's gubernatorial recall who can best appeal to the state's politically and ethnically diverse electorate.

But Democrats were quick to jump on the disclosure as a chink in his armor.

The GOP-backed Proposition 187 to deny health care and public education to illegal immigrants was passed by a wide margin, although it was eventually ruled unconstitutional. It remains a contentious issue and a litmus test for some voters, particularly Hispanics, to gauge whether a candidate is immigrant-friendly.

Schwarzenegger campaign manager George Gorton said the Austrian-born actor's vote for the measure would not prevent him from reaching out to all voters. "He has a lot of empathy for people who have come here for a better way of living, whether they have gotten here legally or illegally," Gorton said. "But he definitely feels that people should get here legally."

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, slammed Schwarzenegger for his decision to appoint former Gov. Pete Wilson, the architect of Proposition 187, as chairman of his campaign.

The issue was one of the first Schwarzenegger's campaign has publicly addressed, discussing the vote in response to a reporter's inquiry.

Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, who is trying to survive the recall, and Schwarzenegger's Republican rivals have criticized him for speaking mostly in generalities since announcing his candidacy Wednesday.

Davis opposed Proposition 187.

Schwarzenegger's campaign also released tax returns showing he paid more than $9 million in state and federal income tax in 2001 on $26.1 million in income, while giving $4.2 million to charity.

Meanwhile, the number of candidates hoping to run in the recall election grew to 193 as the secretary of state's office sifted through paperwork Sunday.

[DoctorZIn]

Thanks for your recommendations.
I agree with your recommendations and will try to encourage others who post here to do the same.

Great meeting you as well.

[DoctorZIn]

Gray Davis Begs For Clintons' Help During Embarrassing Today Show Interview.

NBC Today Show | Lester Holt / MB26
Posted on 08/11/2003 4:39 AM PDT by MindBender26

Signaling he realizes his campaign is in deep doo-doo, California’s embarrassing Governor Gray Davis today begged the Clintons, both Senator and Philanderer-in-Chief, to campaign for him.

Appearing in the 7:00-7:30 segment of the NBC “Today” show, Davis told substitute host Lester Holt, “I haven’t asked them before, but I’m asking them now” when queried about having the far-left political superstars help him stay in office. He desperation to get some sort of personality transplant from the Clintons was obvious in both the tone of his voice and his choice of an undeniably public forum in which to make his plea.

If the Clintons aren't there within 96 hours, the message from the DNC is obvious, "Adios, Gray."

With his wife beside him, (wearing a plain frock and a non-stop adoring smile) Davis still couldn’t avoid the deer-in-the headlights image is he reached out in desperation. He is trying to get help from a couple most Americans associate with political, economic and moral failure, not just the economic failure and leadership vacuum usually associated with Davis, and it shows badly.

You can find the post at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/961810/posts

"If you want on or off this RECALL ping list, Freepmail me”

[DoctorZIn]

Schwarzenegger opposed (ILLEGAL) immigrant services

AP | 8/11/03 | SANDRA MARQUEZ
Posted on 08/11/2003 8:31 AM PDT by kattracks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger voted for a 1994 ballot measure to deny social services to illegal immigrants, his campaign said Sunday — offering the first glimpse of the actor's stand on a major policy issue.

The Republican has promoted himself as the candidate in California's gubernatorial recall who can best appeal to the state's politically and ethnically diverse electorate.

But Democrats were quick to jump on the disclosure as a chink in the action hero's armor.

The GOP-backed Proposition 187 to deny health care and public education to illegal immigrants was passed by a wide margin, although it was eventually ruled unconstitutional. It remains a contentious issue and a litmus test for some voters, particularly Hispanics, to gauge whether a candidate is immigrant-friendly.

Schwarzenegger campaign manager George Gorton said the Austrian-born actor's vote for the measure would not prevent him from reaching out to all voters.

"He has a lot of empathy for people who have come here for a better way of living, whether they have gotten here legally or illegally," Gorton said. "But he definitely feels that people should get here legally."

Gorton said Hispanics were among the strongest supporters of Proposition 49, a ballot measure Schwarzenegger successfully campaigned for last year aimed at dedicating as much as $550 million annually to before- and after-school programs.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, slammed Schwarzenegger for his decision to appoint former Gov. Pete Wilson, the architect of Proposition 187, as chairman of his new campaign.

"There's a famous phrase in our community, and that is, judge a person by the friends that he keeps," Torres said. "And unfortunately, his new chairman, Governor Wilson, supported 187 furiously against immigrants and Latinos."

The issue was one of the first Schwarzenegger's campaign has publicly addressed, discussing the vote in response to a reporter's inquiry.

Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, who is trying to survive the recall, and Schwarzenegger's Republican rivals have criticized him for speaking mostly in generalities since announcing his candidacy Wednesday.

Davis opposed Proposition 187.

You can find the post at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/961976/posts

"If you want on or off this RECALL ping list, Freepmail me”

[SAMWolf]

P>Davis told reporters he's getting a:

[DoctorZIn]

CA: Davis' version of budget crisis doesn't square with history

Sac Bee ^ | 8/11/03 | Dan Walters
Posted on 08/11/2003 8:22 AM PDT by NormsRevenge

The state's immense -- and still unresolved -- budget crisis has spawned, among other things, creative efforts to rewrite history.

Gov. Gray Davis and his minions have been working overtime to convince Californians that the budget crisis isn't his doing, well aware that it is a major source of voter anger as he faces a historic recall election.

You can find the post at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/961968/posts

"If you want on or off this RECALL ping list, Freepmail me”

[NormsRevenge]

From the NY Times

Bush's Task in California: Avoid Recall Fray

By ADAM NAGOURNEY with ELISABETH BUMILLER

OS ANGELES, Aug. 10 — When President Bush comes to California this week to make speeches and raise money, he will be visiting the scene of a political spectacle that has overshadowed the race for the White House itself: the recall effort to oust Gov. Gray Davis.

But, Republicans here and those close to Mr. Bush said today, the president will do all he can to stay above the bedlam in his two days in the state. He will not, they say, appear with any of the major Republican candidates seeking to replace Mr. Davis, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, an old friend of his father's, and he will avoid statements that might be read as a presidential intervention in a state battle.

Indeed, if Mr. Bush's visit demonstrates anything, it is just how complicated the recall battle has become for the White House. Mr. Bush and Mr. Schwarzenegger may well be the two most famous Republicans in the land these days — and Mr. Bush was described today by associates as favoring Mr. Schwarzenegger in the contest — but their interests do not necessarily intersect.

Mr. Schwarzenegger's advisers said today that they were gratified that Mr. Bush had offered warm words at his ranch in Texas, saying Mr. Schwarzenegger would be a "good governor." But they and Republicans advising other candidates here said that a flat-out endorsement from Mr. Bush in this overwhelmingly Democratic state could hurt as much as it helped.

The president's popularity in California has sunk 24 points, to 49 percent, since its high-water mark after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to The Field Poll, a respected California polling operation, released July 17. More problematic for Republicans, a high-profile Bush presence could provide just the target Mr. Davis has been looking for.

"That would be just what Davis needs," said Dan Schnur, who is advising Peter V. Ueberroth, one of the better-known Republicans on the Oct. 7 ballot. "There is nothing Gray Davis would like more than to be able to talk about the recall as a nefarious plot by out-of-state Republicans."

An adviser to another prominent Republican candidate, reflecting the concern about Mr. Bush and the forthcoming visit, said, "He could be a help, he could be hindrance."

The apprehension goes both ways. Republicans were quick to cite reasons the president, who has at least one eye on his re-election bid next year, might want to avoid coming too close to Mr. Schwarzenegger, at least for now.

For one thing, Mr. Bush risks crossing his conservative base of supporters, many of whom have risen up against Mr. Schwarzenegger for taking such positions as supporting gay rights and abortion rights. Many have rallied around the candidacy of Bill Simon Jr., a conservative who lost to Mr. Davis last year.

"At first glance, all Republicans like Arnold Schwarzenegger," said K. B. Forbes, a senior adviser to Mr. Simon. "He's a famous actor. He's pleasant. But I believe as the scrutiny comes when people start looking at him and the issues, that's going to change."

For another, Mr. Schwarzenegger's senior campaign advisers include many backers of the campaign that led to Californians approving a referendum in 1994 that barred illegal immigrants and their children from receiving public money. (A federal court later ruled the proposition unconstitutional.) The initiative was fiercely opposed by many of the Hispanic political leaders Mr. Bush is trying to recruit for his re-election effort, and the president himself, while campaigning here in 1999, signaled that he did not support it.

Mr. Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, and his campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, declined to comment today about Mr. Schwarzenegger. Publicly, the position of the White House is that this is a matter for Californians to decide. Only under persistent questioning from reporters did the president finally offer on Friday that Mr. Schwarzenegger would be a "good governor," a statement that White House advisers said stopped well short of an endorsement.

[NormsRevenge]

From LA Daily News, Sunday, 8/10/03 - Opinion/Commentary on Recall and state of things in Calfornia govt

People v. The Pols
Who's to blame for California's woeful condition?

Among failed politicians, special interests and establishment media organizations, the standard explanation for California's problems is: It's the people's fault.

For 25 years, they claim, the unwashed masses have hampered our sage politicians in their pursuit of elite benevolence.

First, Prop. 13 denied the politicians unlimited access to taxpayer money. Then Prop. 98, by mandating certain levels of education funding, tied their hands. Finally, term limits unjustly kicked the most experienced of our rulers out of office, allowing the riff-raff to take their place.

If only Californians had the good sense to leave politics to the politicians, the establishmentarians say, the politicians would have been free to create the utopia of our dreams.

Naturally, proponents of this theory have already concluded that Californians should vote against recall, never mind that Gov. Gray Davis hasn't yet offered his defense, nor have his would-be successors had an opportunity to put forward their own vision for California's future.

For the elite, this is a debate not worth having, like all public debates, really. The public has botched things badly enough already.

Allow us to present an alternate point of view:

It's not the people who have locked into spending patterns far beyond their revenue-earning potential.

It's not the people who have spent a generation auctioning policy off to the highest bidder.

Nor is it the people who have handed control of the state treasury over to public-employee unions.

It's the politicians.

And despite bellyaching about Prop. 13 for a quarter of a century, the state's politicians have only received an ever larger share of taxpayers' money since the landmark initiative's passage. It's just that the money hasn't been able to keep up with the politicians' ability to spend it.

It was the failure of the politicians, in fact, that led voters to pass Prop. 13 in the first place, for fear Sacramento's ravenous appetites would soon starve them.

Ditto for Prop. 98, an honorable if flawed attempt to force politicians to do something about the state's failing public schools.

Term limits were likewise a populist response to the failings of Sacramento. The state's most experienced rulers, it turns out, were experienced only at perpetuating their rule -- limiting their terms was the only way to get fresh blood into Sacramento.

That's not to say California voters haven't made their share of mistakes, but those mistakes derive largely from ignoring the political scene, not from getting overly involved in it.

Californians have been content over the years to largely give politicians free rein. The politicians, in turn, have responded with sloth or corruption, and only when the abuses become too much to bear has the public bothered to take action, usually through the initiative process.

And that brings us to recall, the latest public response to a political system gone out of control.

Whether recall deserves to pass depends on the case that Davis and his would-be successors lay out over the next two months. But irrespective of the ultimate outcome, the process itself can be a healthy experience, getting the public back into what's rightfully the public's business.

The people didn't create this mess, but the people alone can clean it up.

[NormsRevenge]

What we start on October 7th, Let's continue that good work in November 2004... For our state and our country.

Open Mic Catches California Democrats
(AP) - Unaware that a live microphone was broadcasting their words around the Capitol, Assembly Democrats meeting behind closed doors debated prolonging California's budget crisis for political gain. Members of the coalition of liberal Democrats talked about slowing progress on the budget as a means of increasing pressure on Republicans. A microphone had been left on during the closed meeting Monday, and the conversation was transmitted to about 500 "squawk boxes" that enable staff members, lobbyists and reporters to listen in on legislative meetings. More...

• Democrats' Budget Debate - Excerpts [PDF] (CA GOP Caucus)
• Calif. Budget Crisis (PPIC) | Message board

[gracie1]

That's an interesting question. I hope I have the correct answer.

California is different than the federal system in that the govenor and Lt. govenor are elected separately, not on a ticket. So if the recall passes, Bustamonte is still Lt. govenor.

An interesting situation occured will Jerry Brown was govenor. His Lt. govenor was a republican (I can't remember who it was) and the law stipulated that when the govenor was out of the state, the Lt. govenor was in charge. That meant he could sign or veto bills left pending if Brown left the state. So Brown had to be carefull when he left the state, because if bills were pending, they could be vetoed or signed against his policies. And Davis was Wilson's Lt. govenor.

Hey, who say's we don't live in a fun state?

[kayak]

Thanks for the answer. In NC our governor and Lt. governor are also elected separately but we don't have the fun and games if the governor leaves the state ..... :-)

[DoctorZIn]

Schwarzenegger seizes early lead(NBC News poll on California recall)
MSNBC ^ | 8/11/03

Posted on 08/11/2003 3:53 PM PDT by Dane

Aug. 11 — Most California voters believe Gov. Gray Davis should be thrown out of office, and more of them favor actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to take his place than any of the almost 200 other candidates in the Oct. 7 recall election, according to a new NBC News survey....

Schwarzenegger: 31 percent
Bustamante: 18 percent
Simon: 6 percent
Ueberroth: 6 percent
McClintock: 4 percent
Huffington: 4 percent
Other: 3 percent
Not voting: 3 percent
Not sure: 26 percent

You can find the post at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/962240/posts

[DoctorZIn]

Schwarzenegger avoiding issues, but strategy could work
Associated Press ^ | 08-11-03

Posted on 08/11/2003 3:54 PM PDT by Brian S
ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer Monday, August 11, 2003 (08-11) 15:50 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --

Arnold Schwarzenegger's brief campaign for governor has so far relied on his star power, famous one-liners and appearances on entertainment television.

The action star has avoided having to detail his views on social issues or give a plan to fix California's enormous fiscal troubles, but some analysts say he might be best off sticking with generalities and avoiding specifics that opponents and the media could pick apart.

You can find the post at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/962241/posts