Hmmmm.... one thing I haven't seen discussed in _any_ of the California recall threads is: how much of a "lame duck" period is there for the outgoing [recalled] Gray Davis? One day? One week? Is he "out" immediately after the Secretary of State certifies the election?
Even if the lame duck period lasts for but a few days, be on the lookout for collusion and a FLOOD of last-minute legislation, appointments, decrees and deals by the lame-duck Davis and the overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature.
Will Arnold be able to undo this damage? Will he be willing to do so? Remember the last-minute stuff by the Clintons? And remember how Dubya _did not_ act to repeal and revoke it?
Another thought: suppose a group like the ACLU decides to challenge the recall, on whatever grounds they choose. Will they be able to get a court, state or federal, to issue an injunction to bar the election winner (whom we presume to be Arnold) from assuming office until the court case is resolved? If that happens, will Davis REMAIN governor while the court case is pending? Again, this gives Davis and the legislature the opportunity to enact a lot of damage will will prove difficult for the Swarzenegger administration to undo.
Don't underestimate the Rats' attempts to sabotage the process in California (the way Texas Republicans found their politcal process sabotaged in Texas recently).
I will admit, as an out-of-stater, that earlier on it looked like Arnold couldn't win with McClintock in the race. Arnold has surged ahead not only on his popularity as a star, but also on the basis of his public appearances in which he has been able to articulate a vision for office. Good for him.
But the pig in the poke that remains to be seen is how much he will be able to actually _DO_ to "save California".
Just having a Republican as governor doesn't guarantee that the wheels of government below are going to spin to his tune. Arnold may be the best "helmsman" for the ship California at the moment (which is definitely headed Titanic-like for the iceberg), but when he turns the wheel, there is much between his hand and the rudder. And today, and also for the immediate future, that "machinery" is Democratic and "California liberal" (which we know is 'way to the left of "ordinary" liberal - laughs).
To paraphrase Isacc Newton, for every action The Governator takes, the Democratic legislature is going to RE-act in opposition. The harder Arnold "pushes", the harder they will "push back". It's NOT going to be easy.
I really don't see how Arnold, or ANYone, can deal with the state's financial disaster without reforms that will be, shall we say, draconian at least. There is NO way to get California's deficit under control with major budget cuts, layoffs, and outright repeal of laws and regulations that have gotten Caifornia to where it is now.
Does anyone here honestly think those laws and regulations are going to be repealed? By whom? By the governor? C'mon.
Cheers!
- John