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Hugh Hewitt: California recall: One issue, and one issue only
WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, September 24, 2003 | Hugh Hewitt

Posted on 09/24/2003 12:11:47 AM PDT by JohnHuang2

The big debate gets underway at 6:00 p.m. tonight, PST, and the media is working itself into a frenzy. My take is that unless Arnold comes up with the California equivalent of President Ford's declaration of a free Poland in 1976, the debate will be a non-factor in the race.

Oh, it could seal the end of Tom McClintock's career if he tries to land cheap shots on Arnold, and it might scare another few points away from Cruz when he announces his latest lame-brained idea ("We should socialize surfing – all boards the same length, all waves the same height and rides divided up equally, with extra attention paid to people who cannot surf!"). Arianna's desperation is growing more and more repellant, so expect some shrieking from her end of the stage, but generally, a non-event.

But no matter how odd the behavior of the second-tier candidates, or how boring the questions, it just won't matter. There is only one issue that matters to most voters. It absorbs all other issues in this race: The corruption in Sacramento.

The workers' comp mess? It is about the corrupt influence of the trial lawyers. The huge giveaways to prison guards and other public-employee unions? The corrupt influence of big labor. The massive expansion of tribal casinos and the obscene amount of money pouring from the slots into the voting process? The corrupt influence of California's Indian tribes.

Most of this corruption is legal. Most corruption is. But the stench of the decay in Sacramento doesn't diminish because Gray Davis has invented transparency in payoffs. The tribes brazenly gave millions to Cruz who transferred it to an anti-initiative campaign that features, surprise, Cruz. The money-laundering is out in the open, on the front lawn of the State House – but it is no less corrupt.

The tribes pumped huge sums into a pro-McClintock fund. This is legal, but it stinks. It is a manipulation of the electorate – a cynical assist to Cruz via the draining of votes from Arnold. Corrupt? Of course it is. Tom McClintock cannot raise enough money on his own under the $21,200 limit of the law, so he's welcoming the tribes' largesse via an independent expenditure.

Every single interest group lined up to get something from Gray as Gov. Clouseau's career dwindled into its final month. All the hands were stuck out, and Gray walked the line distributing bennies all along the way. Hiram Johnson never imagined corruption on this scale. The Los Angeles Times tut-tuts that the recall is bad for the state. How can anything that smashes the machine up north be bad for the state?

The scale of the collapse of public ethics is so huge that most pundits have given up commenting on it. Tammany is reincarnate. The Davis administration is epic in its fundraising and epic in its deal-making. It is the only thing that will be memorable about Davis – the size of his appetite for cash and the sleaze that was required to feed that appetite.

On Thursday, observers will be dissecting what Arnold said about paid leave or what Cruz said about the car tax. How boring and how beside the point.

This election is about the numbers of people that have a share in Davis, Inc. vs. the rest of us.

I think there are more of us than there are of them and that as a result Arnold wins hands down. Only McClintock can save Cruz at this point. The only interesting question is will he?


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; hughhewitt; mcclintock; recall; schwarzenegger
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To: doug from upland; ALOHA RONNIE; DLfromthedesert; PatiPie; flamefront; onyx; SMEDLEYBUTLER; Irma; ...
"...The scale of the collapse of public ethics is so huge that most pundits have given up commenting on it. Tammany is reincarnate. The Davis administration is epic in its fundraising and epic in its deal-making. It is the only thing that will be memorable about Davis – the size of his appetite for cash and the sleaze that was required to feed that appetite.

On Thursday, observers will be dissecting what Arnold said about paid leave or what Cruz said about the car tax. How boring and how beside the point.

This election is about the numbers of people that have a share in Davis, Inc. vs. the rest of us..." - Hugh Hewitt

.



(political cartoon courtesy of Mike Ramirez, originally published August 20, 2002)
Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times

A fish rots from the head.

DUMP Davis!
.

If you listen to Hugh Hewitt, or read his WND commentaries,
this PING list is for YOU!

Please post your comments, and BUMP!

(If you want OFF - or ON - my "Hugh Hewitt PING list" - please let me know)

81 posted on 09/24/2003 3:55:12 AM PDT by RonDog
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To: ambrose
Hugh Hewitt is nothing more than an RNC Shill. He always has been.
See also, from www.dictionary.com:
ad homi·nem adv.
Usage Note: As the principal meaning of the preposition ad suggests, the homo of ad hominem was originally the person to whom an argument was addressed, not its subject. The phrase denoted an argument designed to appeal to the listener's emotions rather than to reason, as in the sentence The Republicans' evocation of pity for the small farmer struggling to maintain his property is a purely ad hominem argument for reducing inheritance taxes.

This usage appears to be waning; [except here on Free Republic] only 37 percent of the Usage Panel finds this sentence acceptable. The phrase now chiefly describes an argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case: Ad hominem attacks on one's opponent are a tried-and-true strategy for people who have a case that is weak...


82 posted on 09/24/2003 4:02:21 AM PDT by RonDog
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To: calcowgirl; AnnaZ; diotima; Bob J; feinswinesuksass; DoughtyOne; Cinnamon Girl; Tony in Hawaii; ...
...."Hugh Hewitt, an attorney and co-host of "Life and Times" on KCET-TV, was appointed to the board by Gov. Pete Wilson in May 1995, pending Senate confirmation. But the Senate rules committee voted 3-2 Monday not to confirm Hewitt's appointment.

"His record is more pro-industry, at the expense of air quality," said Sandy Harrison, press secretary for committee chairman Sen. Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward. Lockyer also felt that Hewitt was not an air-quality specialist, as called for in state law, and that he had potential conflicts of interest because of his many business clients."(1996)

LOL!
Now, THERE is a credible source!
See also, from www.overlawyered.com:
*  In as belated and ungracious an apology as he could muster without sustaining further political damage, California AG Bill Lockyer now says he regrets his remark about locking Enron exec Ken Lay in a cell with tattooed "Spike" (June 1-3, 8-10) and doesn't after all think "that prison rape is proper punishment for criminals" ("Lockyer Regrets 'Crude Remark'", L.A. Times, June 20).

83 posted on 09/24/2003 4:17:25 AM PDT by RonDog
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To: ambrose
Here's my prediction: Arnold will propose massive tax increases based on the results of his "audit".. Count on it

I have that same feeling, fwiw.

84 posted on 09/24/2003 4:26:01 AM PDT by truthkeeper
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To: Roscoe
Do you know if Hewitt has disclosed his political debts?
Not sure, but I don't think that he has ever been the same since he started hanging out with those lefties over at NPR. :o)

See also, from www.hughhewitt.com/pages/about_hugh.htm:

About Hugh Hewitt

Hugh Hewitt

Hugh Hewitt is the host of The Hugh Hewitt Show, a nationally syndicated radio talk show heard throughout the U.S., including the afternoon drive in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco and Denver. The program airs weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m Pacific Time. Hewitt was the co-host of the week-night television news and public affairs show Life & Times Tonight on PBS Los Angeles affiliate KCET-TV. Hewitt has received three Emmys for the work on Life & Times. Hewitt was also the host of the PBS Series Searching For God In America, an eight-part show which premiered on PBS in July 1996. In addition to the companion book to Searching, which received the 1997 Gold Medallion Book Award of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in the category of "Christianity and Society," Hewitt has authored The Embarrassed Believer: Resurrecting Christian Witness in the Age of Mockery published in May 1998 by Word, and First Principles published in 1985. Hewitt's newest book In, but Not Of was released in April 2003. Hewitt currently writes a weekly column for WorldNetDaily.com and a bi-weekly column for the online edition of The Weekly Standard.

Mr. Hewitt divides his time between broadcast journalism, writing and the law. Hewitt appears frequently as a political and social commentator on shows including Fox News Network’s Special Report, MSNBC's Scarborough Country, Nightline, The Today Show and Larry King Live.


85 posted on 09/24/2003 4:27:57 AM PDT by RonDog
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To: calcowgirl; Cinnamon Girl
"I checked Michael Medved too.
He invested in slumlord apartments that actually listed a labrador (yes, a dog) named Grover Black as the President.
I think somebody got jail time in that one." - calcowgirl
Michael Medved, the friend to slumlords?
86 posted on 09/24/2003 4:33:09 AM PDT by RonDog
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To: RonDog
Funny you should mention Enron and Ken Lay"

"[Richard] Riordan himself met with [Ken] Lay at a Beverly Hills hotel in May. At the meeting, Lay presented Riordan a four-page plan detailing his solution to California's energy crisis. The plan called for further energy deregulation. Also attending the meeting were actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and financier Michael Milken. "

Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2002
Davis Conferred With Enron's CEO During State Energy Crisis Policy:
Governor says he met with Lay over several months at the request of Clinton and Bush administrations but ultimately took none of his advice.
Author: DAN MORAIN; TIMES STAFF WRITER

87 posted on 09/24/2003 4:40:36 AM PDT by calcowgirl (Right Wing Crazy #4052977)
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To: RonDog
Michael Medved, the friend to slumlords?

I don't know about the "friend" part. He was named as an 'investor', meaning owner.
So... I guess that makes him a slumlord, although the buildings were managed by others.

88 posted on 09/24/2003 4:43:49 AM PDT by calcowgirl (Right Wing Crazy #4052977)
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To: Roscoe
LOL.

New common campaign language:

"over the top"
"tongue in cheek"
"schtick"
"youthful indiscretion"

Should we keep a running list?
89 posted on 09/24/2003 4:46:27 AM PDT by calcowgirl (Right Wing Crazy #4052977)
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To: goldstategop
Why has no one addressed the idea that since McClintock already has a job in Sacramento, chosen by voters, that if he remained Comptroller, California would have TWO republicans working together?

I can understand why McC thinks he is the best man to be governor, but he is turning his back on the voters who gave him the job he has now.



90 posted on 09/24/2003 4:56:54 AM PDT by maica (Mainstream American)
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To: calcowgirl
I find it even funnier that you attack Arnold Schwarzenegger for merely attending a meeting with Ken Lay while at the same time ignoring some of Tom McClintock's more ... er, "interesting" donors:

Here are the top 10 donors or lenders to major party candidates for state controller:

TOM MCCLINTOCK (Republican)

2. Fieldstead & Co., which is headed by Orange County financier Howard Ahmanson Jr.: $190,000

One of Mr. Ahmanson's more ... interesting ... quotes :

"My purpose is total integration of biblical law into our lives."

Ahmanson inherited his money from his father, owner of Home Savings & Loan ... during the S&L scandal of the Reagan years, Home's investors, mostly small family investments, lost over $150 million dollars. No one went to jail."

More information about Mr. Ahmanson:

"Howard Ahmanson was a board member of the Chalcedon Institute for 23 years. This organization wants the government to adhere to biblical law, which, includes among other things, the killing of all gays and lesbians."

Want more?

"The group's biggest bankroller (both to campaigns and major conservative organizations) is Howard Ahmanson, who with his wife Roberta contributed nearly $2 million to various causes and candidates in 1992 alone. This is significant in part because Ahmanson is a longtime director of a theocratic think tank, the Chalcedon Foundation. The Chalcedon Foundation and its founder, R.J. Rushdoony, call for the abolition of democracy and the installation of a theocratic republic under "Biblical Law." The Chalcedon Foundation's theocratic agenda includes, among other things, capital punishment for such religious offenses as blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy, as well as abortion, adultery, and homosexuality."

And they say there is no American Taliban.

91 posted on 09/24/2003 5:04:27 AM PDT by strela (I wonder if Tom McClintock will have to "make a reservation" to pay back all that money?)
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To: Reagan Man; onyx; PhiKapMom
Just what do these people have against gambling enterprises, run by Indian Tribes?

The fact that it's run SOLELY by Indian tribes, that it is largely unregulated, and that the tribes are using the proceeds to buy political influence far outweighing their actual numbers. We're already seeing these problems: Bustamante and McClintock wish to exacerbate those problems through even more deregulation of tribal gaming.

There were two bills that were barely defeated in the Legislature this past session. Keep deferring to the wishes of the gaming interests, and they'll eventually pass.

One would have established a process that would have forbidden development on private lands that the tribes claimed to be sacred. The process would be secret and the actual sacred locations would be kept secret (to "preevent looting"). The adjudication would be done by political appointees--said appointees appointed by politicians on the hook to tribal interests for campaign funds.

You would only learn about the proceedings when the injunction forbidding you from using your land for your profit. Your land would suddenly lose most of its value. About the only people who would be willing to buy the land would be the tribe who had just stolen your property from you, and you'd end up selling at their price, not yours.

Which brings me to the other law that was barely defeated. The other law would have allowed the tribes to buy land anywhere in the state, declare said land to be part of their reservation, and build casinos on said land, without local regulation.

Put these two bills together, and you have a process whereby the tribes can (a) stop development on prime property, (b) force the owners of that now worthless property to sell it to the tribe at a bargain price, and (c) build a casino on that allegedly-sacred land.

If you are a conservative who values property rights, these two bills went beyond "troubling." We get up in arms when a city applies eminent domain to subsidize Costco.

Gambling that is limited to tribal entities is, at its core, the granting a financial boon based solely on the accident of birth.

That's not any sort of republican government. It's feudalism.

Gambling is a legal vice, after all and so are political donations.

Gambling is only legal for a priveleged few, and they're using that privelege to buy political power at the expense of republican values.

If California wishes to legalize gambling, it needs to legalize it for everyone, not just a priveleged few, and regulate it for all under the same rules.

Tom McClintock has stated that the tribes are sovereign nations. He then accepts campaign donations from them.

We got extremely snippy about Clinton accepting foreign donations. But the Tombots sing "Glory, hallelujah!" about it when it's their guy.

92 posted on 09/24/2003 5:11:59 AM PDT by Poohbah (Technical difficulties have temporarily interrupted this tagline. Please stand by.)
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To: Tamsey; BibChr; onyx; PhiKapMom; redlipstick; habs4ever; My2Cents; South40; Chancellor Palpatine
PING to Post 91 ...
93 posted on 09/24/2003 5:13:49 AM PDT by strela (I wonder if Tom McClintock will have to "make a reservation" to pay back all that money?)
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To: strela
"Howard Ahmanson was a board member of the Chalcedon Institute for 23 years. This organization wants the government to adhere to biblical law, which, includes among other things, the killing of all gays and lesbians."

And the Tombots will say, "Uh...what's the problem?"

94 posted on 09/24/2003 5:17:08 AM PDT by Poohbah (Technical difficulties have temporarily interrupted this tagline. Please stand by.)
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To: strela
Wow. That is scary, and confirms much of what I think of the alleged "morality" of the whacked out hard right.

That guy is using stolen money to gain and wield political influence.

95 posted on 09/24/2003 5:18:07 AM PDT by Chancellor Palpatine (All eyes were on Ford Prefect. Some of them were on stalks.)
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To: maica
Why has no one addressed the idea that since McClintock already has a job in Sacramento, chosen by voters, that if he remained Comptroller, California would have TWO republicans working together?

Mostly because he isn't State Controller--one of his main bragging points is that he lost by the fewest number of votes.

He is a State Senator from an allegedly safe district.

If he ends up throwing the election to Bustamante with his showboating, we'll find out EXACTLY how safe it is.

96 posted on 09/24/2003 5:19:46 AM PDT by Poohbah (Technical difficulties have temporarily interrupted this tagline. Please stand by.)
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To: strela
"Ahmanson inherited his money from his father, owner of Home Savings & Loan ... during the S&L scandal of the Reagan years, Home's investors, mostly small family investments, lost over $150 million dollars. No one went to jail."

Wonder what Mr. Ahmanson thinks the penalty should be for theft?

97 posted on 09/24/2003 5:19:49 AM PDT by Chancellor Palpatine (All eyes were on Ford Prefect. Some of them were on stalks.)
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To: Poohbah
And the Tombots will say, "Uh...what's the problem?"

True. They'd probably welcome some good ol' religious pogroms and holy wars in this country like they have in Northern Ireland and Europe during the Dark Ages.

Gimme that old-time religion or give me death (sarcasm OFF)

98 posted on 09/24/2003 5:21:21 AM PDT by strela (I wonder if Tom McClintock will have to "make a reservation" to pay back all that money?)
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To: Chancellor Palpatine
As long as the Chalcedon Foundation consists of crochety old farts, I'm not worried.

If they start seeking young men to become mujihadeen, then I'll worry.
99 posted on 09/24/2003 5:21:31 AM PDT by Poohbah (Technical difficulties have temporarily interrupted this tagline. Please stand by.)
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To: Lancey Howard
"Uh, Hugh... since when is a scripted question and answer borefest a "debate"?"

tell me about it!!

and what is "cheap shots"?

anything tom says about issues will seem like a cheap "cheap shot" towards arnolds.

anyway, this issue is really dividing people that should stick together and i personally WISH THERE WAS NEVER A RECALL AT ALL NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this sucks, i feel sorry for arnold when he is bing bashed and then when tom is being bad i feel sorry for him too! it sucks. i hope this is OVER ALREADY!!

a gop cali win will help bush in 04! so hopefully someone swallows their pride and step down for the other.

jesus!!!
100 posted on 09/24/2003 5:21:56 AM PDT by WillowyDame (BUSH 04)
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