The 9th Circus Court of Appeals

townhall.com ^ | September 17, 2003 | George Will

[Phaedrus]

LOS ANGELES -- All that was lacking to complete the awfulness of California's recall was supplied when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shoved its oar in.

Until judicial vanity intruded, there were three authors of California's suffering -- the governor, the Legislature and the public that elected both and now thinks of itself, in the modern American manner, as a blameless victim. The public has repeatedly used the initiative process to mandate spending that prevents sane budgeting. And the public has used this recall to throw a tantrum about what it, the public, has wrought.

[Phaedrus]

Think you might like this ...

[Diogenesis]

[thegreatbeast]

For once I disagree with Will...

"The later the vote, the more Davis will be mired in making unpopular budget choices."

If Davis' fate is sealed he is likely to sell California back to the Mexicans and assess a heavy finders fee for doing so! He is one dangerous man.

[thegreatbeast]

Excuse me but my point is that Davis won't make the hard decisions, he'll continue giving away the farm.

[lainde]

bttt

[for-q-clinton]

I didn't realize thsi was a George Will column, but it hit home with me (as he often does). He has a good point...let the Californians live in the mess they voted for.

To extend his points with mine...
Let the jobs continue to go east and build up the states economies that have managed their budget properly. Then Cali will be much like NY...they will try to tax themselves into prosperity. This will continue their downward spiral. Eventually California may be a nice & affordable place to live once again. Even if Tom won, he'd have a mess of state legislators thwarting his every move. So at best Tom would just allow California to stay a liberal state for another decade. What California needs is a real change of heart and that will happen when they finally throw ALL the liberals out of office. The fact that Bustamante is doing is good as he is, proves to me Californians still aren't ready for a real leader.

[kingu]

McClintock has risen from 8 to 13 to 18 percent and can reach a tipping point -- ``I don't know where it is, but I'll know it when I see it'' -- where ``pent-up'' conservatives now gritting their teeth and supporting Schwarzenegger will switch to him.

Why is it that this 18 percent number continues to float around, after being convincingly discounted by the Field Poll? The LAT did not use standards in their polling that we hold third world nations to.

Beyond, if every single conservative voted for Tom, we're still talking about 30 percent, and I've yet to hear how Tom intends on the recall suceeding if it appears that Tom might win the replacement ballot.

[The Old Hoosier]

Oversampling of blacks by the LA Times wouldn't affect McClintock's numbers--except maybe to make them smaller than they should have been. Same for Arnold's. Only Cruz would be inflated.

[kingu]

They also have been accused of oversampling conservative voters, which would affect Tom's numbers. Or are you perhaps implying that the LAT would be honest in anything that affects Tom when they're playing the numbers to make the recall look closer than it actually is?

[The Old Hoosier]

I don't see why the liberal LA Times would favor Bustamante over Schwarzenegger. All three agree on basically everything.

[Jerez2]

Since these machines were used in the 2002 election, doesn't that invalidate the vote for Gray Davis? Seems to me this is yet another reason for recall!

[DoctorZIn]

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[el_texicano]

"let the Californians live in the mess they voted for"

I beg differ with the venerable George Will and with your sentiment expressed above. Yes the CA voters voted Davis into office, yet the beauty of this system of government allows THE PEOPLE to hold office holders accountable.

The recall law was passed, the recall petition drive was successful, the sec. of state of CA validated it and the law has been followed. This is not an issue of popularity, it is an issue of fiscal responsibility and Davis has failed.

Reagan himself they attempted to recall, but it failed. And yet, even Reagan touted the people's right to recall. Oh, but the DemocRATS won't mention that fact when they wail and knash their teeth over the prospect of being held accountable. Ignore the loud protests, liberals think if they raise enough stink they will get their way like a petulant child.

No, the people of CA DO NOT deserve this. This was not what they voted for in Davis and they CAN and WILL recall him.

[an amused spectator]

This should be an excerpted article per George Will.

[Phaedrus]

Live and learn -- next time I'll excerpt.